How to Design an Attic Kitchen With Low Ceilings

Imagine this attic space converted to a kitchen.

Designing an attic kitchen must conquer the challenge of low ceilings and slanted walls. However, a finished attic space can add value to your home and may be the best use of space for a mother-in-law suite or a separate eating area for an older child or roommate. Determine your needs for this small kitchen and add some creative space planning to get the most bang for your buck.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Graph paper
• Pencil
• Cabinets
• Appliances
• Paint
• Paint brush

Instructions

1. Take precise measurements. Attics are typically full of many angles and you need to make sure that you have all of the necessary measurements to order appropriate cabinetry and fixtures that will fit in tight spaces.

2. Determine your needs for the space. Since this is a second kitchen, you can probably do without all of the bells and whistles. Vertical space will be limited with the low ceilings in your kitchen, which may limit the amount of top cabinets that you can install. Determine whether you need a full refrigerator and stove, or if you could make do with a mini-refrigerator and a microwave.

3. Draw your floor plan on graph paper. Draw your kitchen design to scale. Determine where your larger pieces will go, such as your stove, sink and refrigerator. Take the angles into consideration. For example, you can place a bottom cabinet or sink area under a sloping wall to give yourself extra counter space while not making the room feel cramped. A peninsula may be the most effective design for an attic kitchen since the peninsula can double as a counter and table.

4. Install your cabinets and appliances according to your drawing. Lighter woods are preferable to darker woods in small spaces, since lighter wood makes the space seem larger. Use apartment-sized cabinets and appliances if possible, since these smaller models will free up more floor space. Refrigerators that set in the base cabinets are available and can also free up floor space, especially in an attic with low vertical height.

5. Use countertops in a lighter color to add light to the room. This is important in a room with low ceilings. since low ceilings can make a room feel like it is closing in on you.

6. Install flooring. Large tiles or hardwood floors can make the space look bigger.

7. Paint the room. Lighter colors make the room appear bigger. Stripes can add a sense of higher vertical lines to compensate for the low ceilings. Paint the ceiling the same color as the walls to make the ceilings look higher.

8. Add lighting. Effective lighting will counteract the closed-in feel of low ceilings. Install recessed lighting in the ceiling since it won't make the ceiling seem any shorter like a light fixture may. Under-and-over cabinet lights add much needed light without taking up meaningful space.

References

• This Old House: Read This Before You Remodel a Kitchen
• The Kitchn: Attic Kitchen: Pros and Cons of Cooking in the Rafters
• Kitchens-It: Let's Talk Kitchens
• Apartment Therapy: CHI Good Questions: How to Light a Windowless Kitchen with a Low Ceiling?
• Devine Decorating Results: Tips and Tricks for Decorating with Tall and Low Ceilings
• Handy American: 10 Easy Tips; How to Make a Small Room Look Bigger