Putting In a Kitchenette Could Dramatically Increase Your Home's Value—Here Are 20 Great Ways Designers Pull It Off
When considering home upgrades to increase your property value, adding an extra kitchen might be a great option, especially if you love hosting or your guest suite needs an update. However, if a full-size “dirty kitchen” wouldn’t fit in your space or isn’t the vibe you’re going for, consider installing a kitchenette instead.
A kitchenette is simply a smaller version of your kitchen and doesn’t need specific features or amenities to qualify. Typically, these spaces have less counter space and cabinetry and fewer appliances than your main kitchen. This addition can make home life a bit easier, especially if your main kitchen is far from your entertainment area. There are numerous stylish kitchenette ideas available, providing great inspiration but sometimes overwhelming choices.
We’ve compiled some of the best tips and tricks that designers use when adding these home upgrades. Whether your focus is on extra storage for yourself or making visits easier for your houseguests, these 20 charming kitchenette ideas are sure to spark your creativity.
For more inspiring kitchen ideas:
Add In a Stunning Backsplash
Make your kitchenette a true showstopper by decorating it with a backsplash that would look just as beautiful in your full-size kitchen. This dynamic slab that designer Augusta Hoffman installed in this home bar area brings so much drama to the space.
Focus on Your Favorite Beverage
While many kitchenette ideas suggest you add a bar space in the design, alcohol doesn't have to be in the equation for you to create a beverage hub. In this New Hampshire farmhouse, designer Heidi Lachapelle added a separate coffee bar around the corner from the entry. “They call it the ‘coffee shrine,’” Lachappelle says. “Our clients have important morning coffee rituals.”
Give It Multiple Uses
Because kitchenettes are typically short on storage compared to your main kitchen, give yours double usage by putting in extra cabinets and a spot to make your favorite cocktails. Designer Mark J. Williams chose walnut cabinetry for this space, giving the separate area a rich, elegant vibe.
Go Heavy on the Wood Paneling
In this kitchenette idea, designer Melanie Millner included the same wood panels throughout the rest of the house, helping to create a cohesive aesthetic. Even if your home is one particular style, let this be proof that you can still create a separate vignette if you so choose.
Put In a Mini Fridge
If you're hesitant about putting in a kitchenette because you don't have enough room for a fridge or other full-size appliances, you can still get creative with smaller versions. A mini fridge, like this one for beverages in this home designed by Mimi+Hill, is perfectly suitable if that's all you have room for.
Make It Colorful
Though this home by Rebecca Bridges is colorful all over, you can use your kitchenette space to be a bit bolder with your design decisions. Like powder rooms, use this vibrant kitchenette idea to make the area in your home a little jewel box.
Related Story: 45 Beautiful Powder Room Ideas You and Your Guests Will Love
Choose a High-Gloss Paint
Speaking of vibrancy in your home—consider going with a high-gloss paint to coat your kitchenette. These mini kitchens are commonly found in basements and other areas without a ton of natural light, but this reflective coating can help make the space brighter. This tucked-away butler's pantry by Story Street Studio is the perfect example of a bright, glossy paint color adding so much life into an otherwise dark room.
Related Story: How to Use High-Gloss Paint at Home, According to Designers
Transform an Old Pantry
A "dirty pantry" or kitchenette—whatever you want to call it—is a wonderful way of keeping the mess out of the main kitchen when you're entertaining. Though this is not a full-size dirty kitchen, designer Stephanie Sabbe added some kitchenette ideas into this room, such as a dishwasher, sink, under-counter microwave, and wall oven, along with plenty of storage. Even though it's not the main attraction, the warmth of the wood and color palette makes it look so elegant.
Splurge on the Features
Just because your kitchenette isn't something you'll use as frequently as your main kitchen doesn't mean you should brush off the overall design. In this kitchenette idea, designer Rebekah Zaveloff splurged with the Venetian plaster walls, white marble countertops, romantic Circa Lighting chandelier, and antique mirrors as backsplashes underneath the cabinets. It's a completely different vibe from the main kitchen, but it can definitely hold its own when it comes to the design.
Plan for High-Traffic Areas
Richard Anuszkiewicz's clients needed a kitchenette that could withstand catering crews when they held big parties, so the designer chose marble countertops, a brass-trimmed sink, and drawers with wire insets that added texture while providing ventilation for root vegetables. Even though the materials and appliances are sturdy, the design didn't sacrifice glamour.
Choose Glass Cabinetry
The way mirrors and reflective paint can help make a small kitchenette idea feel bigger than it is, glass cabinetry can do the same. In this moody and playful kitchenette by Eddie Ross, the designer chose glass cabinetry to display the beautiful tableware and decor kept inside, but it also tricks the eye into thinking the room is larger since you can see into the cabinets.
Add In Refrigerator Drawers
If a mini fridge isn't your vibe, add two refrigerator drawers instead to your kitchenette idea. For our 2021 Whole Home, the team at Jean Liu Design opted for symmetry and went with two drawers that could be independently set to five temperatures, from 50 degrees Fahrenheit to freezing, depending on what needs to be stored for any occasion.
Leave Everything Open
In our 2023 Whole Home, the team at McCroskey Interiors left everything open in this kitchenette area rather than close it off. Doing something like this is a great idea if you have beautiful barware and glasses you want to show off, and shelving options typically have a greater variety in materials to choose from.
Add In a Niche
For a kitchenette idea that lets you show off your extra space, follow in Emma Beryl's footsteps from our 2023 Whole Home and add a little niche for it to fit into. Not only does this make the kitchenette idea a true eye-catcher, but it can help the feature feel like it better belongs in the room.
Make It Shine
Though the curved backsplash is enough to make any design lover swoon, it's the gilded cabinetry that has us so excited. In our 2022 Whole Home, the team at Kimberly + Cameron Interiors did not hold back with the glitz and glam in this media room. This kitchenette idea, which doubles as a wet bar, adds an extra layer of luxury to the space.
Make It Moody
Though this kitchenette by Whittney Parkinson for our 2022 Whole Home utilizes the tip of adding a mirror to a dark space to make it feel brighter and bigger, we appreciate that the designer still went for an overall moody vibe with her color scheme. The patinaed glass between the two blue-painted cabinets creates texture and dimension while embracing the general darkness of this windowless room, and it works so well.
Tie It Into the Rest of Your Space
When your mini kitchen is on a completely different floor of your home, giving it a distinct style can work so well. However, if it's in a spot that you're always passing through, then stay true to your original design and make it match everything else, as designer Jennifer Hunter did in this kitchenette idea.
Combine Old and New
When Jenny Wolf's clients bought a home built in 1910, the designer knew she had to restore as many original details as she could while still giving them modern touches and amenities. In this basement kitchenette, she did just that with this beautiful wallpaper and new countertops and cabinets. The wallpaper “had not been touched since it was built,” Wolf explains, so she used it as inspiration for the rest of the bar area through the colors and nautical vibes.
Allow for Ample Counter Space
If you're going to be using your kitchenette mainly as an extra prep area, make sure you design it to have a lot of available counter space. Similarly to how this wall by Betsy Wentz is designed, give your mini kitchen plenty of room to both hold decorations and fit multiple cutting boards.
Fit It to Your Needs
One of the most valuable kitchenette ideas is to simply customize the feature to fit your needs and lifestyle. In this Stephanie Sabbe–designed space in our 2021 Whole Home, she added in a soft spray faucet for washing produce and making cleanup time easier.
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