Well hello there! We are still waiting on the final furniture to arrive at our NYC apartment, but our kitchen is fully organized with all of the essentials. I’m so excited to share this NYC kitchen reveal with you! Other than our empty apartment tour (which you can view here), this is the first “reveal” of a space in our new studio. Yay! Read on for the full reveal, all of the decor details, and how to organize a small kitchen.
SHOP MY NYC KITCHEN DECOR
NYC Kitchen Reveal
Two things we loved about this kitchen: it had been redone, and it was separate from the rest of the apartment. Having a separate room as the kitchen really gives us great space for the living area.
We eventually may redo the tile floor and backsplash, but I love the counters. As a small upgrade, we swapped out the original brushed silver pulls with matte black pulls. Our faucet will eventually also get traded for a matte black version.
SIDE NOTE: Our plan is to eventually redo the bathroom with black and gold accents. Since our apartment is less than 500 square feet, I wanted to carry the main colors through the entire apartment. I normally don’t mind mixing metals but because it’s such a small space, I didn’t want silver and gold for the apartment. I wasn’t into gold hardware for the kitchen, so we opted for black.
Decorative Details in Our NYC Kitchen
Our Coffee Corner
Nespresso recently released a Nespresso Mini – and it is just that. I’m not a coffee drinker, but Matt is, and this tiny coffee maker fits perfectly in the corner of our kitchen.
I purchased these monogram mugs because the faux tile design reminds me of the Subway!
These white ceramic canisters are beautiful and functional. One holds Matt’s coffee pods, and the other holds tea bags for me. I usually keep these on a shelf in the cabinet, but they look nice on the counter, too.
Inside the Cabinets and Drawers
I used these bamboo inserts to organize one of the drawers in our small kitchen. They are tension-based with grips on either side and really stay in place! This drawer holds all cooking utensils and pot holders. The second and only other kitchen drawer holds our gold flatware, bag clips, and plastic cutlery from takeout orders.
This nesting bowl set features any size bowl you’ll ever need, from a large mixing one to a small pinch bowl for prep and cooking. The nesting feature saves a ton of space. Since these are minimal in design, they also work as serving dishes.
Our dishes are part of the Kaloh dinnerware collection from West Elm. We have the black color. I love the two-tone combo of them!
On the Counter
We have Wusthof knives in our LA home and the quality is worth the price. We’ve had our knives for eight years and have yet to need to replace them. This small knife block comes with six knives (I bought a separate tomato knife) and is a great size for a smaller kitchen with limited counter space.
To keep your sink area tidy, consider a dish or tray to house hand and dish soap. I recently discovered Grove Collaborative, a company that sells clean products for kitchen and home. I love the look of these glass soap dispensers from Grove Collaborative. The palm dish brush is from Target.
I bought this salt keeper purely for looks; I love the black marble! It’s divided, so I keep salt and pepper in there but you could use whatever spices or seasonings you like.
SHOP SMALL SPACE ORGANIZATION
How to Organize a Small Kitchen
Use Vertical Space
The previous owner, who renovated this kitchen, utilized the kitchen’s vertical space by adding floor to ceiling cabinets. Genius! As we settle in, we will most likely use the upper cabinets to house decorative platters and serving dishes for entertaining. When organizing, put what you grab the most at eye level, then things you grab the least, higher.
Another trick I have for utilizing vertical space is to add a shelf within a shelf if needed. Our two-tone plates got awfully heavy when they were in a single stack, so I picked up this shelf divider from The Container Store. No drilling or hardware required! Now the smaller plates go on the shelf while the larger ones go below. It makes grabbing them much easier.
The cabinet above our fridge houses pans, cutting boards, plastic wrap, etc. This vertical sorter allows us to put the pans and cutting boards on their sides, saving space and noisy stacking. I also bought a kitchen wrap organizer for foil, cling wrap, and plastic baggies.
Finally, stacking glasses make a big difference when you organize a small kitchen. These glasses from Crate & Barrel take up half the space of regular glasses thanks to a crafty design.
Consider Function
The previous owner also put in slide-out shelves in the lower cabinets across from the sink. I love these because you don’t have to crouch down to dig through a deep cabinet, or pull out everything in them. This area is where I keep our pots, pans, and small appliances.
By the way, if you have a small kitchen and need to maximize space, I highly recommend this cookware set by Equal Parts. I split them on two shelves due to our cabinet layout, but all four cookware pieces can stack onto each other!
Function can also live on your countertops. This low gold bowl serves as a pretty fruit bowl, but can also double up as a serving dish if needed. Look for pieces that can perform multiple tasks when you organize a small kitchen.
Don’t Overlook Under the Sink
Our kitchen is next to front door, and I didn’t want a trash can right in the entry. I also didn’t want a trash can to take up prime, under-the-sink real estate. The solution? This mini, over the cabinet trash can! It provides just enough space for our garbage.
Because of this trash can, I was able to get back the entire area under the sink! Here you’ll find kitchen cleaning supplies, dishwasher tablets, and garbage bags that would have otherwise gone in the hallway closet. (Click here for the white bins and here for the container that holds the dishwasher tabs.)
I hope your enjoyed our NYC kitchen reveal plus these tips to organize a small kitchen! If you’re looking to tackle your kitchen pantry and and organize food items, I wrote an entire blog post dedicated to that – you can read it here.
Stay tuned for more NYC reveal posts; hopefully with furniture and decor soon!
