Small Kitchen Plus Living Room Design Ideas

Combining a small kitchen and living area creates an intimate setting for homeowners to cook meals and entertain guests. This open concept layout radiates simplicity and efficiency while allowing for endless design possibilities. With some strategic planning, a tiny kitchen living room combo can maximize every square inch to accommodate all your functional needs in style.

Benefits of an Open Concept Kitchen Living Room

Knocking down walls between cramped kitchens and living spaces boosts the feeling of spaciousness. The improved airflow allows fresh aromas from home cooking to mingle with pleasant fragrances in the living room. Shared lighting brightens up both areas to create a cozy yet dynamic environment for dining, lounging, or hosting get-togethers.

Multifunctional furniture arrangements optimize storage solutions for kitchenware, linens, and miscellaneous household items. Custom storage pieces like kitchen islands double as dining tables or home bars to satisfy different occasions. The continuity of colors, textures, and decorative accents ties the whole aesthetic together as one expansive space for families to enjoy.

Choosing the Right Layout Design

The kitchen layout dictates where you position appliances, cabinets, and fixtures. Common types like galley and U-shaped kitchens work well paired with a living room area. Compared to sprawling L-shaped and island designs, their compact footprints leave ample space for a couch, armchairs, media console, and coffee table.

Consider Traffic Flow Patterns

Analyze how you navigate around fixed elements before finalizing a layout. Avoid squeezing high-traffic paths like main walkways and entries. If the living room opens into a galley kitchen, place the sink by the doorway for a smoother transition between rooms.

Incorporate Multifunctional Furniture

Furniture that serves multiple purposes optimizes valuable real estate in a small kitchen living room. For example, storage ottomans offer extra seating plus hidden compartments to organize household clutter. Kitchen carts topped with butcher block or marble transition from food prep space to impromptu dining tables for casual family meals.

Allow Enough Space for Furniture Arrangements

When planning out furniture placement, map out traffic lanes with at least 36 inches of clearance. Position furniture outside high-traffic areas bordering islands, sinks, and ovens. Anchor lighter accent chairs around a central couch and coffee table grouping facing the kitchen. Incorporate bar stools on one side of a kitchen island to create casual counter dining without cramming.

Selecting Floor Plans and Fixtures

A contiguous floor plan between the kitchen and living room establishes visual continuity. Hardwood floors flow seamlessly from one area to the next to enlarge the space. Area rugs add softness under lounging furniture while protecting floors from heavy foot traffic near ovens and sinks.

Install Space-Saving Appliances

Compact appliances like 24-inch wide refrigerators, slide-in ranges, and shallow sinks maximize what little space you have. Wall ovens mounted singly or combined as double units occupy less floor area compared to traditional ranges. Under-cabinet microwaves free up precious counters without sacrificing convenience.

Incorporate Clever Storage Solutions

Strategic cabinets keep kitchenware and serving items organized yet easily accessible. Opt for floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets or tall utility cabinets. Install pull-out shelving, spinning corner lazy Susan shelves, and slide-out trays for effortless access inside deep base cabinets. Take advantage of vertical space with hanging pot racks and mounted spice racks.

Use Pocket Doors to Separate Rooms

For more privacy without completely closing off the kitchen, install sliding or pocket doors. These space-saving alternatives to hinged doors fold discreetly into walls or slide along discreet tracks to quietly separate rooms when needed. Closed off, the kitchen contains cooking aromas and noises when you want to relax in the living room.

Interior Elements That Brighten Up Small Spaces

Painting walls white or neutral shades keeps things airy and spacious rather than dark and confined. However, an accent wall introduces character without overwhelming. For contemporary styles, concrete finishes, exposed brick, or matte black painted walls anchor the lighter hues.

Incorporate Mirrors and Glass Elements

Strategically placed mirrors visually double small spaces to enhance the illusion of roominess. Glass partitions, tables, shelving units, and pendant lights maintain lightness without fully disconnecting rooms. Frameless shower doors, glass cabinet doors, and interior windows serve functional needs while preserving the open sightlines.

Choose Durable, Low-Maintenance Finishes

Porcelain, quartzite, and granite make smart countertop choices in high-moisture kitchens. Unlike wood, these durable, non-porous natural stones resist stains, scratches, and liquid damage from daily use. Adding a finish like quartz coating or food-safe sealant creates an impenetrable surface for prepping meals.

Creative Storage Hacks for Small Kitchens

Running out of storage space strains efficiency in petite kitchens. However, some clever renovation ideas optimize every square inch to accommodate all your equipment and pantry items.

Maximize Cabinet Organization Systems

Keep contents visible and pull out wire shelving, spinning racks, and slide-out trays make reaching items in back of cabinets effortless. For seldom-used equipment, install vertical lift systems that lower mixers, blenders, etc. with the touch of a button. Add inner cabinet lighting so you can actually see what's inside.

Utilize All Vertical Storage Space

Take advantage of soaring ceiling heights by building storage up. Floor-to-ceiling shelving, wall-mounted cabinets and stacked upper cabinets expand storage capacity. For frequently used ingredients and sauces, mounted wall rails with S-hook hang small ramekins, mason jars or baskets easily within reach.

Incorporate Hidden Storage Compartments

Conceal rarely-used large platters, roasting pans, and serving bowls inside unused spaces to open up primary kitchen cabinets. Try lifting up drawer dividers or the entire drawer compartment to access hollow base cabinet spaces beneath. You can even customize pull-out tray compartments under cabinets and islands to stow small appliances out of sight.

Furnishing And Decorating The Combo Space

Furnishings with clean lines, convertible functions, and concealed storage optimize usable space. Visually lighten up rooms with glass and metal furnishings and brightly-colored accents anchored by neutral backdrops. Finally, creative decoration circumvents a lack of architectural detailing.

Choose Multipurpose Furnishings

Sleek Murphy beds seamlessly fold down from the living room wall only at bedtime. Daybeds moonlight as couches offering flexible guest sleeping solutions. Nesting coffee tables slide compactly under each other then separate for serving meals or playing games.

Display Collections Creatively

Fill empty vertical space with carefully curated displays. Mount a Ledger stone-look veneer backing along one kitchen wall to artfully exhibit heirloom china. Floating shelves alternating with wall sconces liven up the back of a breakfast nook. The visual interest draws attention upwards.

Without installing permanent walls around a kitchen space, area rugs distinguish living room lounges from dining zones. Different floor treatments like tile to hardwood signify functional areas. Light pendants hanging lower over islands focus task lighting while accent fixtures illuminate seating areas.

Combining small kitchens with living rooms comes with endless possibilities. Thoughtful layout planning, multifunctional fixtures and furnishings optimize the available square footage. Clever storage solutions prevent chaos and clutter despite limited capacity. Finally, subtle decorative and lighting elements carve intimate nooks out of single open concept spaces.