Small kitchen design ideas for Irish homes
A well-planned small or galley kitchen (€4,500 to €10,000 supplied and fitted) can hold 35% to 50% more storage in the exact same footprint by building wall cabinets right to the ceiling, swapping hinged base cupboards for full-extension pan drawers, and using slimline 450mm appliances.
Practical layout and storage upgrades that make narrow terraced galleys, apartments and 1970s/1980s semi-D box kitchens work twice as hard.
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Calculate your fitted kitchen design & worktop cost
Select your room layout, door construction and worktop material to see a realistic Irish supplied-and-fitted guide range.
Estimated guide price
€4,500 to €8,800 supplied & fitted
Cabinetry & fitting: €3,700–€6,800 · Worktop: €800–€2,000
Guide price for a compact single-wall or small L-shaped kitchen (6 to 9 units) with modern slab or J-pull handleless doors and high-pressure laminate worktops. Keeping the sink and hob in their existing positions avoids extra plumbing and electrical first-fix costs. Appliances, plumbing/electrical moves (€500 to €1,500–€500 to €2,000) or an RSJ wall knock-through (€2,000 to €4,000) are priced separately if needed.
Book a local measure & 3D planSix cabinet upgrades that double usable storage
- Full-height wall cabinets to the ceiling (900mm or 960mm high). Standard 720mm wall units leave a 300mm dust-collecting gap above them in a typical 2.4m Irish ceiling. Taller 900mm+ units with a neat scribed cornice gain an entire extra shelf right around the room for platters and occasional cookware.
- Wide 800mm–900mm pan drawers instead of two 450mm hinged cupboards. Kneeling on the floor to reach the back of a dark 600mm deep base shelf wastes half the box. Three-tier soft-close drawers pull the entire contents out into the light.
- 300mm pull-out larder tower. A 300mm or 400mm full-height wirework larder tucked beside the fridge holds as many tins, jars and packets as two standard wall cupboards and is visible from both sides.
- Le Mans or Magic Corner pull-outs. In an L-shaped small kitchen, a blind corner base unit with kidney-shaped Le Mans trays swings pots completely out of the dead 600mm × 600mm corner.
- Shallow 350mm–370mm units on the narrow wall. If a galley kitchen is only 2.1m wide, fitting full 600mm cabinets on both walls leaves a tight 900mm alley. Using 600mm units on the sink/hob wall and 350mm deep cupboards along the opposite wall opens the walkway to 1,150mm while giving huge pantry storage.
- Plinth drawers and over-fridge bridging units. The 150mm kickspace under your base units can house flat plinth drawers for baking trays and roasting tins.
Right-sizing appliances so you keep prep counter space
| Appliance / fixture | Standard width | Small-kitchen upgrade | Counter / space gained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dishwasher | 600 mm (13–14 place) | 450 mm slimline integrated (10 place) | +150 mm extra drawer or bin width |
| Sink bowl | 1,000 mm sink + steel drainer | 500 mm single deep bowl (no fixed drainer) | +500 mm continuous prep worktop |
| Oven + microwave | Separate counter microwave | Built-in combi microwave-oven above main oven | Clears 500 mm of worktop clutter |
| Boiling water tap | Worktop kettle + filter jug | 3-in-1 boiling water tap (tank under sink) | Frees worktop and eliminates kettle steam under wall units |
Colour, splashbacks and lighting for narrow rooms
In a north-facing galley or internal apartment kitchen, dark navy or charcoal wall units drink the light. If you love a deep forest green, slate or navy, use the two-tone rule: keep the deep shade on the base cabinets and paint the eye-level wall units in warm off-white, putty or pale cashmir to bounce daylight around.
Run a continuous warm-white (2700K–3000K) LED strip recessed into the underside of every wall unit, and fit a single sheet of toughened back-painted glass or matching 20mm quartz splashback behind the hob with zero grout lines to visually widen the back wall.
Real examples and installation detail
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Kitchen designs guides & price breakdowns
Straight answers to what people ask most: itemised costs, specifications, planning or grants, and what to check before you book.
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Questions homeowners ask
How much does a small fitted kitchen cost in Ireland?
A small single-wall, apartment or galley kitchen of 6 to 10 units typically costs €4,500 to €10,000 supplied and fitted with high-pressure laminate worktops, or €6,500 to €12,500 if upgraded to painted Shaker doors and 20mm quartz stone.
What is the smallest kitchen width that can take units on both walls?
With standard 600mm deep units on both walls, you need at least 2.2m to 2.3m room width (leaving a 1,000mm–1,100mm walkway). If the room is 1.9m to 2.1m wide, fit 600mm units on one side and 350mm shallow units on the other.
Kitchen designs across all 26 counties
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