Please welcome my guest today,
Katie from Making This Home!
BBigger is supposed to be better. That’s the message we often hear: a better life means a bigger house, a bigger car and, above all, a much larger kitchen.
I’m learning that bigger doesn’t always make life better.
This is my kitchen:
It’s the smallest kitchen I’ve ever had by at least 60 percent. It also happens to be my favorite. My husband and I built it ourselves. With such limited space we had to make every inch count. Here’s how the kitchen looked when we started the project:
We had to carefully consider what we wanted — like a microwave — and what we really didn’t need — like a KitchenAid left on the counter. Every choice had to justify its place in the space.
We also had to resist what society expects.
Most people assume you need a four- or five-burner stove. How often do you use that many burners? We discovered we rarely did, so we chose a simple two-burner range that fit our needs and our budget.
Large ovens take up space and use more energy. Electricity in Germany is much more expensive than in the U.S., so a smaller oven made sense for us. As vegetarians, we typically cook casseroles rather than huge roasts, so we prioritized a compact oven that fits our lifestyle.
We went a step further: we chose a combined oven and microwave. It took some adjusting — I can’t reach for the microwave while something is in the oven — but I’m adapting. I’ve returned to simple techniques like melting butter on the stovetop the way my grandmother did. Choosing simplicity over constant shortcuts feels rewarding.
Every time I work in this small kitchen, it feels like a celebration. Preparing meals isn’t a chore. With limited counter space I clean as I go. Unloading the dishwasher is quick and everything stays within easy reach. The small footprint encourages order and presence rather than excess.
Everything in our kitchen serves a purpose, and we use and value each item. I expected to miss extras, but instead I appreciate what remains. Living with fewer gadgets makes me more aware of simple joys.
I grate cheese with sunlight on my hands and watch people bike along the cobblestone streets of Berlin. Those small moments were easy to overlook when I relied on machines for every task. The best thing a kitchen can offer isn’t a flashy appliance — it’s a window to the world outside.
A small space that meets your needs and reflects your personality is more meaningful to me than a kitchen ten times the size.
Katie, author of the blog Making This Home, is an American living in Berlin. Her home is 480 square feet; the kitchen is 36 square feet.
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For more ideas on managing a small kitchen, see the post on Blissfully Domestic.