Much of the kitchen’s color scheme stems from the expansive views of the ocean, visible from the kitchen’s pass-through. It’s “all just a complement to the ocean,” Worth says. “Looking at that beautiful ocean out there with all the similar colors ... I just love it.”

52 square feet: Sounds more like a closet measurement than kitchen dimensions. Small, narrow and lacking storage, Veronica Worth’s former kitchen didn’t exactly invite her in.

The layout lacked functionality and it didn’t complement her apartment, especially with the kitchen’s entrance visible from the front door. “I just thought it was tacky because the first thing you saw when you walked into the apartment was a refrigerator,” Worth says.

Worth, who has owned (and remodeled) a total of four apartments in the Tropic Seas complex in Waikiki, understands potential when she sees it. She knew the kitchen could be better.

While visiting the Gentry Pacific Design Center, she came across Snaidero Hawaii. “I’ve always liked that store, and they had a lot of compact kitchens,” she says. “I just really liked the look. It was very clean—streamlined.”

From the beginning, Worth knew what she wanted. Her wish list included stainless-steel finishes, flooring, countertops and wall tiles. She had ideas for the location of the new kitchen entrance and wanted to keep her previous dishwasher, while also including storage on both sides of the space.

She also knew what she didn’t want, like a pair of jalousie windows (which Worth says she was “allergic” to, she disliked them so much).

With her desires outlined, Worth called on Mark Shigei, AIA, of Snaidero Hawaii. Even he, who specializes in smallspace design, struggled with the size. “It’s very small and very narrow, too,” he says. “This may be the smallest full kitchen [I’ve ever designed].”

Worth wanted to include cabinets on both sides of the kitchen, which might have proven difficult in such a small area. The solution? A diagonal-shaped layout (see plan, above). “By making it diagonal, I could solve a lot of problems and maximize space,” Shigei says. 

The small space wasn’t the only obstacle. The electrical panel in the wall connecting the space to the rest of the home also posed problems. “With the electrical panel in the middle of the wall, you cannot hang anything,” Shigei says. His solution: turn it. “If I turn the panel, I can hang cabinets wall to wall.” And that’s just what he did.

How do wall-to-wall cabinets keep from cramping such a tiny room? Shigei says it’s the reflection of the stainless steel and glass finishes that expands the space visually.

Worth is ecstatic about the outcome. “I own the apartment next door, and I put another kitchen in there that is four times the size of this, and I much prefer this one,” she says. “Everything is right there within a few steps, and to me it’s very, very efficient.”

Not only does the layout make the kitchen efficient, but it is also low-maintenance. For Worth, who travels frequently, this is especially important. “It’s the easiest kitchen I’ve ever had to take care of ... I loved it from the moment that I saw it.”