Living in a tiny house has become an increasingly popular lifestyle choice for those looking to downsize and simplify their lives. With limited square footage, designing a functional kitchen in a tiny home can be challenging. Choosing the right appliances is key to creating a workable cooking space.
When selecting appliances for a small kitchen, you’ll need to consider size, efficiency, and versatility. Your cooking habits and lifestyle will also influence your appliance needs. This guide covers the best tiny house kitchen appliances to maximize usefulness while saving precious space.
Importance of Selecting the Right Appliances for Tiny House Kitchens
Kitchen appliances are one of the most important elements to get right when designing a tiny house. With less room to work with, you can’t simply default to a standard kitchen set-up.
Space Constraints and Efficiency
Every inch counts in a tiny home, so appliances must be compact and serve multiple functions when possible. You’ll need to optimize the layout and select appliances strategically to work within your space limitations.
Choosing full-sized appliances may lead to an unworkable kitchen. Identifying appropriately sized appliances for your cooking needs ensures you make the most of your petite cooking area.
Personalized Cooking Habits
Your cooking style, appliance usage, and menu preferences should guide your appliance selections. Do you bake often or rarely use an oven? Does a dishwasher rank as a must-have or could you live without one? Catering to your habits allows you to prioritize the appliances you’ll truly utilize in a tiny kitchen.
Eco-Friendly and Energy-Saving Considerations
Since tiny houses have a small physical footprint, reducing your energy consumption and environmental impact is important. Seek out Energy Star-certified appliances optimized for efficiency. This helps cut utility bills while treading lighter on the planet.
Types of Essential Appliances for Tiny House Kitchens
Here are 13 of the best tiny house kitchen appliances to make the most of your compact cooking space:
1. Workstation Sink
A workstation or commercial sink serves as a multitasking prep space. With a deep basin and wide ledges, it provides room for washing dishes, produce, and other tasks. This dual-purpose appliance is a perfect tiny kitchen problem-solver.
2. Multi-Use Coffee Machine
An all-in-one coffee maker that can brew K-cups, drip coffee, and espresso drinks covers your morning caffeine needs without monopolizing counter space. Some even have a hot water dispenser for tea, cocoa, and more.
3. Electric Kettle
Forget the stovetop. An electric kettle quickly heats water for coffee, tea, oatmeal, and a wide range of uses. Today’s models have options like temperature control settings and a keep warm function.
4. Hot Water Dispenser
Similar to an electric kettle, a standalone hot water dispenser gives you an always-ready supply of hot water. Simply fill the tank and turn on the heater. Dispense hot water on demand.
5. Space-Saving Refrigerator
A mini fridge of around 3 cubic feet can work for a single person or couple in a tiny house. Top-freezer and bottom-freezer models require less floor space than side-by-side fridges.
6. Cooktop Stove and Oven
A two-burner cooktop stove paired with a compact oven allows you to cook comfortably. Models sized around 17 inches wide by 20 inches deep are a great fit for tight spaces.
7. Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker
These handy cooking gadgets make the most of the limited cooktop space. Toss in ingredients, turn on the cooker, and enjoy hands-off meal prep with minimal kitchen effort.
8. Ultra-Powerful Blender
A high-speed blender like a Vitamix or Ninja can blend, puree, chop, grind, heat soups and sauces, and more. This small but mighty appliance eliminates the need for other gadgets.
9. Compact Dishwasher
Although not essential, a slim 18-inch dishwasher can be a lifesaver for cleaning up after meals in a tiny home. Look for portable and countertop models to maximize layout options.
10. Food Dehydrator
Dehydrate fruits, veggies, meats, and herbs to preserve foods without taking up fridge or freezer space. This helps expand your food storage options in a compact kitchen.
11. Spice Grinder
Skip bulky appliances and use a manual spice grinder to freshly grind coffee beans, spices, herbs, nuts, and more. Electric models are available too but manual grinders take up less room.
12. Instant Pot
The ultimate tiny kitchen multi-tasker, Instant Pots combine the capabilities of a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, warmer, saute pan, and more in one vessel.
13. Air Fryer
Air fryers provide a healthy cooking option to enjoy fried foods using little to no oil. Their small footprint is perfect for tiny home kitchens.
Curating the Perfect Tiny House Kitchen
Optimizing your tiny house kitchen appliances allows you to cook comfortably in a petite space. Keep these tips in mind:
- Choose appliances that suit your lifestyle and cooking preferences. Don’t opt for gadgets you won’t use regularly.
- Carefully measure available space and select appliances to fit your layout.
- Multi-use tools like an Instant Pot allow one gadget to perform many functions.
- Don’t overload your tiny kitchen. Pick versatile appliances and skip redundant gadgets.
