Villas

Kitchen Small Space Design for Villas

Keep one clear route and make infrequent activities share a footprint. Measure what happens when the room is occupied.

Explore the ideas
White L-shaped kitchen with gold-tone handles, under-cabinet lighting and a chimney
Kitchen inspiration: an L-shaped work surface and integrated lighting.

Plan in this order

  1. Remove items used elsewhere and list what still needs to fit in the room.
  2. Put frequent-use storage against a fixed edge and test whether shallow storage works there.
  3. Tape the occupied footprint of the largest movable item, including the user and the space needed to operate it.
Worked example

A studio kitchen has one short counter shared by coffee making, meal prep and dish drying.

Give the counter a daily prep strip; move drying to a compact rack over the sink and store occasional appliances elsewhere.

How to test it

Rehearse the busiest moment with everything open or pulled out. If the route disappears, change the furniture size or position.

Apply it to this space
Layout
Separate the heavy cooking run from a breakfast counter and provide a short route to dining and patio.
Detail
Use task lighting at prep zones and durable finishes where garden traffic enters.
Trade-off
A large island creates gathering space but may lengthen the cook’s work route.
  • Walk the prep-to-dining route
  • Check sun and heat at counters
Parallel kitchen with teal cabinets, a pale backsplash and profile lighting
Kitchen inspiration: two opposing work runs in a compact plan.

The Elixir portfolio

Details worth a closer look

Photographs for design inspiration
L-shaped kitchen with pale green lower cabinets, white upper cabinets and a tiled backsplash
Kitchen inspiration: a light palette and continuous counter run.
Straight kitchen with sage base cabinets, white wall units and under-cabinet lighting
Kitchen inspiration: a single-wall arrangement with task lighting.

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