10 Stunning Skoolie Small Kitchen Ideas That Just Make Sense

Designing our skoolie small kitchen was no small task. Having strong design in a tiny home kitchen is so important! I share the 10 design choices we made in our skoolie small kitchen that we’re obsessed with.

10 Skoolie Small Kitchen Design Ideas

1. 12V Fridge
2. Breakfast bar seating with storage
3. Chef-style pull-down kitchen faucet
4. Foldable drying rack
5. Propane range with cooktop and oven
6. Quartzite counters
7. Storage containers for dry goods
8. Undermount single basin sink
9. Vertical cabinet with soft-close drawers
10. In-line water filtration

12V Fridge

We designed our skoolie to be completely off-grid with our main power source coming from solar energy. As such, we needed appliances that were as energy-efficient as possible and designed for mobile application (RV or marine).

When performing our energy audit, we determined that most of our energy pull would be from large house-hold appliances (refrigerator) and heating & cooling sources (air-conditioning).

We purchased a 12V 10 cubic foot refrigerator from Unique, a Canadian brand that specializes in manufacturing appliances for off-grid and mobile application. Unique also sells a 110V version at about 1/2 the price of the 12V. Both fridges will be more energy-efficient when compared to your normal household refrigerator.

Breakfast bar seating with storage

When you live tiny, it’s imperative that you have multi-use spaces. Our breakfast bar fits 2 wide bar stools with room for a third. Under the counter is cabinet storage for our dry goods and the kids’ snacks. We share meals around it, make art projects, complete office work, and just chill around this space.

Adding the breakfast bar was probably the best design choice we made for our tiny home.

Chef-style pull-down kitchen faucet

I mentioned in our “12 Hacks for Living in a Skoolie” blog that our faucet was an amazing design choice. When we’ve just come from the beach, we can swivel the faucet around and pull the sprayer out of the kitchen window to hose off sandy items or use it as an outdoor shower. Because of it’s high arch, we can also clean tall items in the sink like pots or children!

Foldable drying rack

We purchased up a roll-up drying rack that goes over the kitchen sink or over a towel on the counter. It is such a space saver and folds away easily under the sink when not in use. When drying everything on a towel on the counter, mildew grows quickly because there isn’t airflow. This compact drying rack solved that issue for us.

We purchased ours at Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Propane range with cooktop and oven

We purchased the white 24″ 4-burner propane gas range with oven, cooktop & broiler by Unique. We love how well it cooks food and that it was made for off-grid and mobile application. This range is from the same brand, Unique, as the fridge so they have a matching retro look that we enjoy.

Quartzite counters

Choosing quartz or quartzite countertops for our skoolie felt like a splurge; however, it really wasn’t that bad. Because of the small space, we were able to score a deal by purchasing a remnant from a larger job. That piece, including the kitchen sink, installation and labor, came out to about $1,400.

We love that it is easy to clean, stands up to children and holds up well in a mobile application.

Storage containers for dry goods

We purchased plastic storage containers from IKEA for all dry goods in our tiny home. I mentioned in “5 Easy Steps to Live Intentionally with Less in a Skoolie” blog that we try to limit packaging coming into the bus. These containers have been a great solution to that problem and they double as food storage contains for large meals that go into the fridge.

We recommend buying plastic or metal containers – avoid glass, even tempered glass, because items do fall out of cabinets and can break!

Undermount single basin sink

We love having a single basin sink for a small living space. It’s easy to fit all the dirty dishes (or kids) into one deep sink, and it also holds things like our large cast iron skillet when driving (so it doesn’t fall off the counter!).

Having the undermount sink is a nice feature to keep the counters clean and avoid the inevitable build-up of gunk around the rim of a kitchen sink. Everything can be pushed into the sink easily.

Vertical cabinet with soft-close drawers

Utilizing vertical space in a tiny home is key in a strong design. Rather than installing upper cabinets, which would have required us to lose that feeling of openness in the living space, we opted for a vertical cabinet with pull-out drawers instead. They are also soft-close, which is so lovely in a busy household.

In-line water filtration

We have two water filters in our skoolie. One is an in-line filter that screws on to the hose for water coming into the bus. This filters out any particles or sediment. Under the kitchen sink, we installed another filter that further purifies the water in the bus and makes it drinkable.

We prefer the in-line water filters because they are out-of-sight and don’t require us to move them when traveling. Countertop water systems like the Berkey require regular maintenance (refilling and cleaning) and storage when driving.

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Do you have a skoolie small kitchen?

I hope you enjoyed our 10 most-loved design choices in skoolie small kitchen. I would love to get your input in the comment section if you would put any into your tiny home on wheels.

Thanks for following our journey. – Ingrid & the HildeFam