Painting is the easiest way to give your kitchen a clean new look. Make sure that you use a good degreaser on the walls in the kitchen before painting as years of cooking can leave your walls sticky with old oil. It's also not a bad idea to prime the walls before painting to leave the best possible finish for the paint to grip to. Paint the kitchen with a good washable paint; consider bright or off-white with a colored accent wall or strip.
You may want to invest in small, apartment sized appliances when you renovate so that they take up less of your precious space. Painting your kitchen a light color will help it feel larger and brighter; installing a skylight can also help to open up a small space, particularly if your kitchen doesn’t have a window in it. A wall oven can be a great way to get more space out of your small kitchen as well, depending on the floor plan.