Creative tips to customize your small kitchen design

If you're tight on space, there are plenty of ways to give the illusion of a bigger kitchen design. Make your small cooking area work wonders with these customized design elements for maximum storage space in your kitchen:

- Use plenty of light, whether natural or artificial. It will work wonders.​

- To keep your countertops clutter-free, consider installing an appliance garage between your upper and lower custom cabinets. You can use this cubby space to hide your coffee pot, blender or toaster when they aren't in use. When building the garage, consider having an outlet installed as well so you won't have to pull the appliances out and plug them in elsewhere.

- If you decide to use two different colors of custom cabinets in your kitchen, reserve the lighter color for the island. Bright paint colors or light stains should be used for the island design to keep the space from feeling dark.

- Make use of hidden compartments in your kitchen design. Install a pull-out spice rack between your cabinet design and the refrigerator or pantry so you don't lose any space. You can also use one of your cabinet drawers to disguise a built-in cutting board so it's one less kitchen accessory you'll need to find a home for.

- The interior of your cabinets is just as important as the exterior. Pull-out wire baskets under the sink are perfect for storing cleaning supplies. Use drawer dividers to organize silverware and cooking utensils so you don't have to dig around when you need a cooking tool.