I used to make soap and did it in a small kitchen. I used special pots and pans that I got from a thrift store, was careful with the toxic materials (lye) and wore gloves.
At first I thought this would be a great, fulfilling hobby that had practical, economical use, would allow me not to use so many chemicals and also be able to custom perfume my own soaps – but the novelty wore off quickly. I found that I was freaked out about using the chemicals in my kitchen, I got sick of having filled soap molds covering all of my surfaces, and I actually wound up spending a lot more money on the supplies. I dunno- when I was making a product like soap it was hard for me to not spring for all the extra details. Ultimately I realized I liked the convenience and lather of my commerical soap better.
I don’t want to dissuade you though, because the first few times were fun, as a learning experience. I would recommend you invest in a small, pre-packaged hobby kit and try it once or twice – then use the soap and see if you really like it and think that all the people you will inevitably give it to for gifts will too.
I think that would be a good way to test drive the hobby, with a low of investment of time or money.