In Italy, they have a saying: La cucina piccola fa la casa grande—a small kitchen makes a big house. It's the opposite of how Americans think about kitchens, where bigger is always better and open concept reigns supreme. But there's wisdom in that old Italian approach, something that architectural firms like Alvisi Kirimoto understand when they design Roman penthouses with deliberately modest cooking spaces meant for morning espresso, not dinner parties. The truth is, there's no universal formula for kitchen perfection. Below, we’ve rounded up 20 kitchen layout ideas from the ELLE Decor archives, so you can discover your dream layout.