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When a kitchen\u2019s square footage is tight<\/a>, cooking can be tough. Not only are you limited in the number of sous chefs you can have helping you with any given meal, but you might also be lacking places to store the ingredients with which to make it. All this might not matter much if your home isn\u2019t intended for more than one or two people, but for a family, it can be a real pain point.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n UK-based homeowner Klaire Walmsley (@midcenturymam<\/a>) faced such a dilemma with the kitchen in her home, which wasn\u2019t cutting it for her family of three. There wasn\u2019t enough storage space, the area was too tight to maneuver around others, and the back door only opened up to about a 45 degree angle before it hit a countertop. All that to say: it was a tight squeeze.<\/p>\n \u201cThe family that lived there before had lived there for close to 68 years but their children hadn\u2019t lived at home for a long time so adapting the space to fit our growing family was a priority,\u201d Klaire says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The kitchen was adjacent to a carpeted dining room, but a wall closed off the two spaces. Klaire and her partner, Richard, decided that removing that wall was the best way to expand the kitchen\u2019s footprint and make it more usable for everyone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Klaire and Richard brought in pros to install a new support beam that would allow the couple to safely eliminate the load-bearing walls, then they pulled out all the old carpet, cabinets, and plaster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Klaire bought other vintage items to fill out the kitchen, too. The breakfast bar, for example, is a 10-foot piece of teak she got on Facebook Marketplace for just \u00a35 (about $6).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The wood panels in the dining room were free from FB Marketplace, too. \u201cThey were someone\u2019s \u201840s flooring that had been ripped out,\u201d Klaire says. \u201cWe sanded down each piece, stained them, and fit them to the wall.\u201d Also vintage? The tiles, which Klaire installed herself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m really proud that 95 percent of the items in our kitchen are thrifted or things we already owned,\u201d Klaire says. \u201cThe cabinets, tiles, floor tiles, curtains, wood cladding, furniture, appliances (like the kettle and coffee maker) are all secondhand.\u201d All that smart shopping helped keep the total cost low \u2014 just \u00a32500, or about $3,180 USD.<\/p>\n The retro-new kitchen is packed with personality now, and even better? It actually works. \u201cWe can open the back door fully, we don\u2019t bump into each other, and we\u2019ve got worktop space. We\u2019ve got enough cupboard space and an adapted pantry now,\u201d Klaire says. \u201cIt\u2019s such a nice space to be in \u2014 there\u2019s so much to look at and it\u2019s such a bright happy yellow.\u201d<\/p>\n Inspired? <\/em>Submit your own project here.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n