Weight-loss design: kitchens slim down for small spaces

Does size matter? Well, when it comes to kitchens, tiny layouts are becoming not only a response to spatial constraints, but also a deliberate design choice that favours focus and warmer vibes.

It's no coincidence that, since the pandemic and with the rise of home working, kitchens have also become workspaces, where we look for both concentration and a cup of coffee always at hand. Small kitchens also resonate with the needs of new generations of families: young couples, especially in big cities, tend to favour smaller apartment units due to lower costs and easier maintenance.

And let’s not forget that the intimacy of a small kitchen can turn even a weekday dinner into a quietly romantic experience.

But, yes. Spatial constraints matter – mostly insofar as they act as catalyst for creative design that challenges those limits, while taking into account new ways of living and reimagining rooms that, until a few years ago, were considered mono-functional.

We've selected five kitchen projects below for your delectation, from XXS to S, to show just how fun it can be to think diminutively. Get cooking, good looking.

1. Isola Apartment, Archiplan Studio, Milan, 2025

In just 45 square meters, the kitchen becomes an exercise in self-restraint. Fully concealed behind custom cabinetry, it appears only when needed, then quietly disappears again, allowing the living space to shift from cooking zone to sleeping area. Stainless steel surfaces keep things precise and durable, while vertical storage does the heavy lifting. Proof that, in small apartments, the smartest kitchen is often the one that knows when to step back.

2. The Cabanon, STAR, Rotterdam, 2024

In The Cabanon, the kitchen is measured in millimetres and budget lines. Designed around off-the-shelf elements – the depth of a mini-fridge, standard appliances, no bespoke heroics – it proves that radical compactness doesn’t require luxury spending. Everything is sized to fit what already exists, not the other way around. The result is a kitchen that’s ultra-dense, fully functional and deliberately affordable, embedded in a 6.89 square meters apartment where efficiency is the whole point.

3. AFL Praga, Mistovia, Prague, 2023

In AFL Praga, the kitchen doesn't try to disappear at all. It’s small, open to the living room, and built around one unapologetic move: a full-height block of American walnut burl veneer that turns storage into scenery. Against that wild grain, brushed stainless-steel cabinets and plain white tiles keep the rest almost deadpan. Compact, yes. Quiet, absolutely not.

4. Micro Apartment in Moabit, Paola Bagna, Berlin, 2015

Here, the kitchen uses the corner as leverage. Set into a tight 21 square meters Berlin micro-apartment, it unfolds along the wall and then turns, extending into the living space without ever feeling intrusive. Whitewashed maritime pine keeps the volume light, while overhead cupboards wrap around the corner to pull storage upward rather than outward. It’s a compact setup that does everything a kitchen should do, quietly and efficiently, proving that good organisation can feel generous even when space is not.

5. Apartment with a Library, Olbos Studio, Milan, 2025

Tucked into a narrow corner, this kitchen proves how little space is needed to make things work. Built as a compact L-shaped volume, it keeps all functions close at hand while remaining visually restrained, almost peripheral to the room. The curved island softens the geometry and turns the edge into a usable surface, allowing the kitchen to exist as part of the living space without ever taking it over.

© Architonic