A small kitchen doesn’t have to feel like a limitation. With the right design choices, it can become one of the most efficient and inviting rooms in your home. The most successful remodels often focus less on adding square footage and more on transforming how the space looks, feels, and functions day-to-day. Designers call this “visual square footage.” By using color, light, and layout, you can make a modest footprint feel open and airy. Let’s explore how a few small changes can completely change the feel of your kitchen. Use our recent small kitchen remodel in Wentzville for inspiration!
Choose a Light, Unified Color Palette
If your kitchen feels small, your color choices can make a big difference. Light, cohesive colors help the room feel brighter, calmer, and more open.
Cabinet finishes play a big role here. The soft gray in the Wentzville remodel reflects both daylight and fixture light. That reflection casts light across the room. As a result, the kitchen feels airy instead of dark or cramped.
To keep that airy feeling, pick cabinets, walls, and countertops from a similar family of whites, grays, or warm beiges. When everything relates, your eye glides across the room instead of stopping at sharp color changes. That way, the kitchen reads as one larger, unified space.
You can still add character with gentle shifts in texture or tone. For instance, a slightly warmer counter or a softly veined quartz complements many muted colors without losing that open, easy flow.
Play with Tiles
Tile is a simple way to change how big your kitchen feels. Patterns naturally guide the eye, so the right layout can make walls seem longer and the room feel bigger.
Subway tile is especially helpful when you want a small kitchen to feel bigger. When installed in long horizontal rows, subway tile draws the eye along the wall. Its texture subtly stretches the space, making it feel less closed in.
If the grout is close in color to the tile, the pattern reads as a soft texture instead of a busy grid. This thoughtful touch keeps the room calm rather than cluttered.
The Wentzville family used this idea throughout their kitchen. Light subway tile wraps the perimeter, creating a clean backdrop that quietly elongates the walls.
Within that base, they added blue-and-white patterned tiles in a few key spots:
- Behind the range
- Near the sink window
- Around the light switches
Those accents draw the eye to the areas the family uses most without overwhelming the room. Since the colors stay soft and consistent, the kitchen keeps its open, airy feel while still showing plenty of personality.
Maximize Natural Light Strategically
Playing with natural light is one of the easiest ways to help a small kitchen feel bigger and more comfortable. A clear, open window lets outdoor light reach farther into the room. A touch of the outdoors inside naturally makes the space feel less boxed in.
Keeping window treatments simple by skipping bulky valances. Also, avoid clutter on the sill to help daylight spread across the counters and walls.
Installing new, energy-efficient windows can make outdoor light easier to access, brighten the entire kitchen, and improve comfort in every season. Even small habits, like cleaning the glass and trim regularly, can noticeably brighten the room and make finishes look newer.
The Wentzville family’s remodel shows how powerful these choices can be. Their sink window stays open and airy, so light can flood in and reflect off the light cabinets, countertops, and tile.
Just a few steps away, a large picture window pulls in even more sunshine and visually extends the kitchen into the backyard. Warm brown frames give each window more presence, turning a standard feature into a subtle design highlight.
Use Reflective Surfaces Wisely
Small kitchens often feel a little dim, even when you have adequate lighting. Shiny, reflective finishes can brighten spaces without adding more fixtures.
Stainless-steel appliances, glossy faucets, and a slightly sheened backsplash bounce light around the room. These kitchen essentials can be used strategically to soften shadows, making the space feel more open.
Small details can make a big difference. For instance, brushed nickel or chrome hardware adds a soft shine without feeling overdone. The same goes for pendant lights with a subtle metallic finish. Plus, semi-gloss paint on trim and doors also catches the light. Together, these choices look polished, not flashy.
The Wentzville kitchen remodel is a good example of how this can work in real life. A large picture window faces the stainless-steel refrigerator, so daylight reflects off the fridge door and makes that side of the room feel especially bright.
Not every layout allows that kind of direct pairing, but it is worth exploring whether moving a major reflective surface could help you use the natural light you already have. If you are thinking about relocating appliances or changing your layout, a professional can help you evaluate electrical, plumbing, and structural needs so the plan is both safe and practical.
Streamline Your Countertops with Style
Most homeowners want their kitchen to feel larger, but it also has to work hard for everyday life. When space is tight, the easiest way to create a “bigger room” feeling without changing the footprint is to reduce visual noise. Start with the countertops.
Busy patterns with lots of speckles or strong veining can feel like visual clutter, even when the surface is clean. The Wentzville family chose a light, white quartz-style counter with soft, subtle movement.
This material reflects light, making the counters look bright and smooth rather than busy. That simple, clean surface helps the whole kitchen feel larger and lighter, while still holding up to everyday use.
A well-placed peninsula can make a small kitchen feel more comfortable and easier to move through. In the Wentzville remodel, the peninsula helps define the kitchen from the nearby seating area while still keeping everything visually connected.
The added surface creates a natural landing zone for prep, serving, or casual meals, so the rest of the counters can stay focused on cooking and cleanup. By keeping the peninsula top simple and clear of physical and visual clutter, the space feels open, welcoming, and ready for everyday life.
Simple Cabinets with Hardware That Pops
While cabinets are necessary for a kitchen, they take up a lot of space! So, their style has a big impact on how the room feels.
Light-toned cabinets are a chic way of helping a small kitchen feel open and relaxed. Soft whites, grays, or beiges keep the walls from feeling heavy, so the room looks brighter and more spacious, even if the footprint is modest. Simple door styles, like Shaker fronts, also keep the look clean and easy to take in at a glance.
Once that light backdrop is in place, hardware becomes the fun part. Bold pulls and knobs in darker metals add contrast and personality without making the space feel cramped.
Black, oil-rubbed bronze, or deep brushed nickel are excellent choices for warm cabinet colors. Instead of weighing the room down, they act like jewelry for the cabinets, bringing just enough zing to make the whole kitchen feel more polished and intentional.
Take A Wall Down
Open up a world of possibilities by opening up your kitchen and taking down a wall. This monumental change can dramatically change how the whole first floor feels.
When sightlines extend into a dining room or living area, a modest kitchen suddenly feels larger, brighter, and more connected to the rest of the home. If you have the space to do so, removing a wall can create the open-concept layout many homeowners dream about. You’ll have more room for an island or peninsula, better flow for entertaining, and easier everyday movement for your family.
Since walls often hide plumbing, electrical lines, and structural supports, it is essential to partner with a qualified professional before making any decisions. A licensed contractor, structural engineer, or reputable design-build firm in the St. Louis area can determine whether a wall is load-bearing, what it would take to reroute utilities, and how to keep your home safe and up to code.
With expert guidance, you can explore options like partial openings, cased openings, or full wall removal. Our team at Mosby can help you land on a solution that gives you the airy, open kitchen you want while protecting your investment.
Remodeling Your Kitchen In St. Louis
Even the most thoughtful DIY updates can only go so far before a small kitchen still feels tight or dated. When that happens, working with specialists can help you see possibilities you may not realize are there.
Whether that means rethinking the layout, improving storage, or simply making smarter design choices so the room feels lighter and more comfortable, an expert can help. A good design team will listen to how you actually use your kitchen, then shape a plan that respects your budget, style, and the quirks of your home instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all solution.
At Mosby Building Arts, our designers and craftsmen have deep experience turning compact kitchens into spaces that are easier to cook in, gather in, and enjoy every day. The goal is not to guide you toward the right mix of changes that will make your kitchen truly work for you. To explore what is possible in your home, contact us today or call Mosby at 314-909-1800.