Avoid these three typical kitchen missteps in galley layouts to maximize your small space without sacrificing style.
Transforming Your Galley Kitchen: A Guide to Efficient and Chic Design
A galley kitchen, with its narrow layout, can sometimes feel cramped and impractical. However, with careful planning and considerate design choices, it's possible to create a functional, comfortable, and visually appealing space. Here are some strategies to help you achieve this.
Maximizing Space
Michael Tawadrous, lead designer at John Lewis of Hungerford, suggests using bespoke base units that are half-depth but taller than standard designs. This clever trick creates additional space in a narrow kitchen. Additionally, reducing the depth of units or setting them within walls can help establish a 1-metre walkway without compromising storage. Swapping bulky wall cabinets with open shelving can also contribute to a sense of spaciousness.
Lighting
The kitchen lighting is crucial in a small kitchen. A combination of pendant lights, up-lights, and inside upper glass cabinet lights can create a lovely atmosphere. Motion sensor lights can provide adjustable under-cabinet lighting, adding functionality and aesthetic appeal.
Natural light is the single most powerful tool to take a galley kitchen from drab to fab. Maximizing natural light involves keeping design and décor simple, using light-colored cabinets or countertops to visually enlarge the space. Fully glazed patio doors, such as French doors, can maximize the amount of glazing in a galley kitchen and allow for outdoor dining. Skylights or roof windows can provide natural light to a galley kitchen, reducing dependence on artificial lighting.
Color Schemes
Light kitchen color schemes, such as whites, creams, and pastels, can make a galley kitchen feel expansive and work well for adding pops of color. Styling open shelving in a kitchen should include favourite decorative pieces that are used regularly.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Common mistakes in galley kitchen design include ineffective lighting, inappropriate color schemes, excessive cabinetry, and narrow walkways. To avoid these pitfalls, limit overuse of wall cabinetry to prevent creating a cramped or claustrophobic space. Instead, balance storage between wall and base units and consider options like reduced-depth or taller units to save room without sacrificing storage. Not filling open shelving excessively is also important to avoid making the room feel cluttered.
Extending a galley kitchen isn't always an option due to costs, planning legislation, or lack of available outside space. In such cases, a combination of paint and artificial lighting can transform a galley kitchen if structural changes are not possible.
By implementing these strategies, you can make the most of your galley kitchen, turning it into a functional, comfortable, and visually appealing space that you'll love to cook in.
In the pursuit of interior-design innovations, you might consider integrating stylish storage solutions, such as half-depth, taller base units or open shelving for houseplants, to maximize space in your galley kitchen. To breathe life into your newly designed kitchen, consider employing a vibrant lifestyle approach with a light color scheme that allows for pops of color and showcases your favorite decorative pieces.
