Even in a studio apartment, the kitchen often feels like its own little nook — and that’s true for Anna Meyer’s (@wittlenycrat) 200-square-foot apartment. “My apartment is one tiny room,” she says.

What was a cramped and dark kitchen that had an awkward brick wall with a pizza oven added decades ago, is now an open and airy space. The new kitchen was expanded, taking over a maid’s quarters, ...