Small Kitchens Styles with Big Personality

Who says small kitchens are boring? Check out these kitchen styles from light and bright coastal, to sleek modern, friendly farmhouse, unique

[adrotate banner=”30″]Showcase of small kitchens styles with personality bigger than Dallas! All the images in this post are from Kraftmaid.com. We strive to include whatever cabinet specs were listed so that if you want to look at a particular cabinet it should be easy to find.

While we appreciate how gorgeous the cabinets are, this article is designed to highlight different small kitchen styles to give you ideas for your small home. That means we’ll go through and tell you what we like as well as what we don’t like about the various features.

Small Kitchens Kraftmaid Farmhouse Style
Photo: Kraftmaid Farmhouse Style

First up is a modern farmhouse appeal in the picture above.  You have to be fairly bold.. read ‘neat’ to go for the open shelves.  I’ve never had open shelved upper cabinets myself but have always liked the way they look.  And of course you also need some pretty snazzy dishes to pull this off.  Mismatch won’t do.

Check out the farmhouse apron front sink in this small kitchen.  Another feature I’ve yet to experience but love.  We thought about putting it into our Tuscan house but didn’t because of the cost.  They are about three times the cost of a conventional sink. If you go to Lowe’s kitchens and search ‘apron front kitchen sink’ you’ll find the least expensive is a stainless steel sink at about $445.. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I looked up the price of a farm sink like the one in this picture with the raised back.. $1,750! Yeeeaah, pretty but pricey.

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Notice the kitchen table right smack in the kitchen instead of a typical bar. I think it makes for a cozy farmhouse appeal. Cabinets are a maple cabinetry in Biscotti with Cocoa Glaze with a matte nickel hardware.

Small Kitchens Kraftmaid Modern Style
Small Kitchens Kraftmaid Modern Style

Very slick contemporary kitchen.. and how about that back-splash? Almost looks like a tin of some sort that you can get in sheets to go on the ceiling.. Not sure I’d want that for the long haul. Cool bar design, though. You have the taller part and then shorter size just perfect for dining for two.

Modern, natural finish, quartersawn cherry cabinetry. Slab doors add a dynamic feel to the space. With Contemporary, less is more.. and the lean look is ideal when you’re short on kitchen space.

Photo: Kraftmaid Coastal Style
Photo: Kraftmaid Coastal Style

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Ahhhh, pretty, pretty! Bright and coastal kitchen. Again, open shelves but they added a row of cabinets at the top with doors. Nice how they are lit inside. Kind of the best of both worlds with open shelving and then the closed ones to compliment.

My favorite part of this small kitchen is the floor! Love it. Just pick out two different wood colors and put them together for contrast.  I like the sharp contrast in this picture but it would look good in a slightly less contrast, also.

Cabinetry in Biscotti with Coconut Glaze and warmly lit satina glass doors.

Kraftmaid Black and White small kitchen
Kraftmaid Black and White small kitchen

OK, folks, you know I LOVE black and white!  The black in this kitchen is used sparingly so as not to overpower.  Glass doors with contrasting black back panels create a dramatic backdrop for putting special serving pieces on distinctive display.

The white marble counters give a formal feel.  You could go a little more casual with a different counter.  Maybe granite?

Kraftmaid Scandinavian kitchen
Kraftmaid Scandinavian kitchen

Speaking of casual, this small kitchen is that and more.  Long rows of open shelving for dishes, light woods and beaded cabinet doors give this kitchen a smooth Scandinavian feel.  I’d probably go with a tile floor because the wood is a bit overdone between the cabinets and wood floors.  Even a brick pattern tile would look good.

Kraftmaid Marquette small kitchen
Kraftmaid Marquette small kitchen style

Not sure those counters are blue above? ..but except for the possibly blue counters, you’ve got a classic theme here with the dark wood and brick patterned back splash.  A classic subway tile would also look nice.

I’m glad they went with large tile on the floors.  Wood would have been a bit much, don’t you think?  Then Marquette cabinets in Sunset Cherry warm up the kitchen with a layer of rich woods to make this a traditionally styled kitchen. Accent lighting under the cabinets imparts a cozy glow.

Kraftmaid Galley small kitchen
Kraftmaid Galley kitchen with floating bar

Now this kitchen above has a nice blend of a rich wood for the hardwood floors and creamy white cabinets.  I think a granite counter to pull the dark wood and light cabinets togehter would actually look better than what they have.

No wasted space with cabinets even in the bar.  Smart move in a smaller house that’s for sure.

Cove molding and the square raised door panels add quite the architectural interest to this bright and spacious kitchen in Kraftmaid’s cream Thermafoil.

Kraftmaid Kaffe cabinets
Photo: Kraftmaid Kaffe

Clever use of space in the galley kitchen above.  The bar isn’t a bar in the traditional sense.. with the lovely glass cabinets you can’t exactly scoot up and have a cocktail.   But that problem is solved with the cute table height eating space for two.

Tall wall cabinetry in warm Kaffe resembles beautiful art on these walls and provides much needed storage to a small kitchen.

Kraftmaid transitional kitchen
Kraftmaid transitional kitchen style

Fun, fun!  I left the most unique kitchen for last.  There are many interesting elements to this striking kitchen.

Sleek, contrasting door finishes with 4′ slate tile back splash.  Now I do have to warn about a slate back splash.  Slate is somewhat common in Texas.. less than it used to be because people started noticing the problem I’m getting ready to tell you about.  Here’s the BIG negative: It’s porous.  And porous materials absorb everything including grease and spats from cooking.  You can’t get it out so it starts looking splotchy.  If anyone tries to tell you it has sealant on it and it’s fine, I’m here to strongly disagree.  I’ve never seen a sealant yet that can stand up over time.  Your lovely slate will start looking dirty; trust me on this.

Notice how the microwave is built into the right side of the bar.  Smart.  Hubby and I often finish out our kitchen bars with the panels like you see here.  It gives that ‘furniture’ component.  Much better than painted sheetrock that gets kicked while sitting at the bar stools,  and starts looking tired.

Well, that’s it.  I hope you liked our journey through all the different small kitchen styles.

If you want to peruse the Kraftmaid cabinets, you will find them at Home Depot or Lowes.