Beef Up Your Ranch Kitchen

Ranch-style homes have a reputation for having small kitchens. While the tendency is to open these kitchens up by knocking down walls and creating open-plan living spaces, there are other options.

There are benefits to working in a small kitchen. For one, everything is at your fingertips. Your triangular arrangement of sink, stove and fridge is tight, making cooking a effortless dance involving the three. Secondly, a closed-off kitchen means the scents and mess stay somewhat hidden. Third, small kitchens make it hard for many people to work at the same time. While that may be a detriment to some, I love it! I love keeping my kitchen , working in my own little area and knowing exactly where every little thing is.

Join me now as we look at some suggestions for making your ranch kitchen function better.

Faiella Design

When space is tight, every inch counts including the ceiling. Make a grand statement with the lighting in your kitchen and draw the eye up. Visually expanding the space upward is a welcome distraction from busy corners.

Amy Birdsong

Maybe you want to bring a little life to your kitchen. Why don’t you try a bold paint colour in your cabinets? This yellow-green gives this kitchen a shot of personality.

Rina Magen

A ranch-style kitchen is typically small, so rather than trying to fight the obvious, why don’t you play its scaled-down nature? Instead of a giant aluminum hood, then go to get a smaller-size hood and stovetop to match the space.

Praktyczne i Piękne

When storage space is lacking, consider moving some kitchen things to another room. Employing a traditional hutch or an updated thrift store dresser is a fantastic way to store extra dishes and flatware in a fresh corner of your dining room.

Burke Kitchen & Bath Design

The complete couple improvement for a small ranch kitchen would be to bring a window above the sink. It is a timeless placement for a window, and many ranch homes are already blessed with one. Breaking up the bowling alley texture and offering a vista in the cozy nest of your kitchen is a much-needed boost into the ranch kitchen. Exercising with a bay window is much better.

NURIT GEFFEN-BATIM STUDIO

This is just another method of developing a bay-window effect in a contemporary composition. Notice the way the countertop expands into the corner behind the sink, leaving lots of rooms for herbs, sprouts and other plants.

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR

Assessing the window into the ceiling completely opens up the space in a very small kitchen. Imagine how dark this kitchen would be without this massive expanse of glass. The juxtaposistion of sunlight with the deep, dark wood in the area is simply perfect.

Michael Minadeo + Partners

If you’ve got low ceilings (hello, classic ranch), you may not have the capability to devote a massive bank of tall windows. You may, nevertheless, have a wonderful long, horizontal space to get a row of windows. The windows serve as a perfect framework for the mountains outside, and I bet there is fighting over who gets to do the dishes in this kitchen!

Working with small spaces in a traditional ranch-style house can often be a struggle, but it is likely to make a space you like to live in. By utilizing creative storage, opening up views with windows and other characteristics, and providing your room life and personality, it’s possible to truly make your ranch kitchen a gratifying home on the range.

More:
17 Space-Saving Solutions for Small Growing
Not Your Average Ranch
Rejuvenated Ranch

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