A Space-Saving Solution for Smaller Homes
Kitchens are available in all shapes and sizes, but they primarily fall into one of five diverse layouts: L-shaped, U-shaped, G-shaped, one-wall, and galley. Of the five mentioned aside, galley kitchens are perhaps the most efficient, both in terms of actually cooking and maximizing space specially if you are facing space crunch while cooking.
Galley kitchens are long, narrow spaces that provide upper and lower cabinets in a walkway-type layout. Essentially, all of the stuff making up a kitchen – appliances, storage space, and countertops – run along with two parallel units, forming something like a corridor.
What Does the Word “Galley” Mean?
“Galley” actually refers to kitchens on ships, planes, and trains, where long space requires floor plans like hallways. But galleys have now come to earth surface and are found in many smaller homes.
What Kinds of Spaces Do Galley Kitchens Serve?
Always Galley kitchens have been a great option for obvious, space-saving reasons, in smaller homes. You will be able to discover that they are commonly built in apartments, which inherently have smaller footprints, and also in older homes, where kitchens are tucked away and not used as a social space.
But it can be fun to see a galley-style kitchen in a bigger home as well. They can form a sleek and organized feeling to a candid concept space. If you are including a galley kitchen into an open floor plan, you must forget about the corridor concept – you must make use of an island for the parallel units purpose towards definition of a galley kitchen. Just because there is a need for two parallel sides has no meaning of being identical!
Pros
- Most Efficient Cooking Layout: It is a practice of standard design towards formation of a “work triangle” in a kitchen, meaning that if you have drawn lines from the sink to the stove to the refrigerator, a triangle would be formed. The reason being that it gives you the best flow when you are cooking. In a galley kitchen, you have been bestowed with the perfect layout for a work triangle.
- Maximization of Space: Galley kitchens have small footprints leaving space for other rooms within your house floor plan.
- Relatively Low-Cost: Due to smaller size of galley kitchens, fewer kitchen cabinets and counters are required – both of which are pricey elements, typically.
Cons
- Too Many Cooks Can’t be Had in the Kitchen: Narrow spaces mean you are limited from your whole home. If you are fond of socializing while cooking, this may not be a space that is workable for you. But if you can form a half-wall or remove a wall outright and open it into the dining room, it will provide you with a nice balance to counteract your small space.
- Can Get a Claustrophobic Feeling: Definitely, galley kitchens are not small. Since they are long and narrow like a hallway, they tend to get a feeling of being much more cramped than a kitchen with another layout.
How Can A Galley Kitchen Feel More Spacious?
The clear-cut answer is to remove one of the walls and install either a half wall or an island that will open up the kitchen physically. On the other side, you can still give a more space illusion. You must get creative with your storage solutions and tuck larger appliances away when not in use. Countertops with less clutter makes a smaller modular kitchen feel more spacious and open for cooking and meals preparation.
Further, you can add lots of reflective surfaces like a mirrored backsplash behind areas except the cook-top to make a galley kitchen feel larger. Also painting cabinets and walls the same colour and using panel front appliances helps with visually maximizing the space.
Tips for Decorating a Galley Kitchen
- Maximization of Vertical Space in a Galley Kitchen: Utilize all the available space and this implies any vertical space that you may have. If there are no kitchen cabinets going all the way to the ceiling, you may tend to waste a lot of kitchen space.
- Addition of Plenty of Light to a Galley Kitchen: Most galley kitchens tend to be dark since they are a dead-end into a wall. This can make the room appear darker which is why you must have an abundance of light in the kitchen.
- Make Kitchen Supplies Work Double Duty: Instead of bringing in décor items to hang on the wall, you can use your kitchen supplies rather. This way, you will be able to save space since you are already in need of kitchen supplies. And of course, you can put them on display.
- Opt for the Lighter Colors for the Kitchen’s Décor: Most galley kitchens are on the small side, so you must, if you can, avoid dark colours when painting the walls and go for the main colour scheme. Dark colours painted on the walls make a room look much smaller while lighter colours can give a room an enormous look.
Conclusion
Galley kitchens are perhaps the most efficient, both in terms of actually cooking and maximizing space specially if you are facing space crunch while cooking. They are long, narrow spaces that provide upper and lower cabinets in a walkway-type layout. Galley kitchens are always a great option for obvious, space-saving reasons in smaller homes. They can form a sleek and organized feeling to a candid concept space. Get a valuable solution if your are facing space crunch while cooking. Call to our kitchen design experts today.