When my friend's parents bought an airstream trailer a few years ago, I fell so deep into a Pinterest hole of "tiny homes" that I created a savings account to someday buy myself an airstream trailer. While my plan of someday living in an airstream has adjusted (the rest of my Pinterest boards decidedly don't fit into a trailer), I'm still fascinated and impressed by those who are able to live gracefully in tiny spaces. I hope you enjoy her tips as much as I do! - Leslie

All you need to make the highest-quality food are five, maybe six, products. Really! No kitchen is complete without a quality carbon steel sauté pan, which is my go-to for everything from scrambled eggs to roasted salmon. Carbon steel has all the advantages of cast iron at a fraction of the weight, and with much more finesse. Since it’s a tool that lasts a lifetime, we’ve invested in American hand-forged pans from Blanc Creatives, but Matfer Bourgeat manufactures a pan with similar performance as a really reasonable price. 

Add in a quality Japanese knife, a steel fish spatula (Peltex if possible, though it's often out of stock), a GIR silicon spatula, and a nice spoon, and that’s just about all you need. A Nutribullet or Vitamix is a nice bonus for making all sorts of lightly processed foods (butters, smoothies, drinks, etc.), but we don’t think there’s anything else you truly need to make the highest-quality food. 

If you do have the option to splurge though, my absolute favorite tool is my Primo ceramic grill. These can roast, bake, smoke, grill, and do just about anything else you can think of. They’re not cheap, but they last forever if properly maintained and make some of the most delicious meats you’ve ever had, all with close to zero cleanup.

I think the biggest way to make a kitchen seem larger is to really hone in on how you want to cook and what you want to eat. Get everything that you need to accomplish that goal together and get rid of the rest. Sell it, donate it, throw it away. If you don’t use it, get it out of your life.

I’m in love with our ceiling-mounted pan rack. It’s funny because we've never had room for one of these in a traditionally sized kitchen, but we designed our tiny house kitchen to fit one perfectly. The rack hangs directly above our fridge and provides easy access to all my essential pans, plus storage space above for items we use less often.