Friday, October 24, 2025

Galley Kitchens | Maximizing Area for Small Houses

Blue-walled galley kitchen with white cabinets, gold pulls, black counters, and a window with blinds at the end.Blue-walled galley kitchen with white cabinets, gold pulls, black counters, and a window with blinds at the end.

(Above) Rashmi’s new galley kitchen with white cupboards and an eat-in counter

A galley kitchen structure can rework a small house into an environment friendly and trendy cooking space. This design options two parallel counters separated by a slim walkway, good for kitchens underneath 90 sq. toes.

Protecting the gap between the counters round 4 to six toes ensures clean motion and environment friendly workflow.

U-shaped kitchen with dark blue shaker cabinets, white quartz countertops, French-door fridge, and a wide pass-through to the living room. (Above) Andrew and Germàn’s renovated Miami kitchen with a pass-through and quartz counter tops

Andrew and Germàn modernized their galley kitchen of their 1936 Med-Deco house. The room was closed off to the remainder of the dwelling areas. The renovation plan was to maintain the sq. footage the identical in order to not disturb any architectural particulars with enlargement.

Nonetheless, breaking by means of the wall for a pass-through breakfast bar was the answer to open the house as much as the lounge. It was the correct resolution: it ended up turning into an eight-foot centerpiece within the house. 

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Galley kitchen with dark lower cabinets, marble counters, apron-front sink, subway tile, open marble shelf, and black-and-white tile floor.Galley kitchen with dark lower cabinets, marble counters, apron-front sink, subway tile, open marble shelf, and black-and-white tile floor.(Above) Emily’s New York galley kitchen with a pass-through and patterned tile ground

The six-foot-wide galley kitchen in Emily’s prewar condo was initially an enclosed house. A number of concepts helped it really feel open and fewer closed in. Rather than higher cupboards, open shelving in marble and brass supplied the airiness the small kitchen wanted. An undercounter fridge took up much less house and was much less visually intrusive.

To make the structure extra perfect for entertaining, her Sweeten contractor created a pass-through window with an prolonged counter and two stools on the non-kitchen aspect.

Galley kitchen with white uppers, brass faucet, open wood shelves, farmhouse sink, and a window.Galley kitchen with white uppers, brass faucet, open wood shelves, farmhouse sink, and a window.(Above) Megan’s reworked galley kitchen with open cabinets and white counter tops

Megan didn’t need to change her galley kitchen ground plan or footprint. She simply needed to offer the darkish kitchen house a facelift. All new fixtures contributed to the lighter look, as did the extension of a pass-through window into the primary dwelling house.

Her contractor knocked down the bar to countertop peak and enlarged the opening. Now, all the sunshine from the neighboring room streams in.

White galley kitchen with dark quartz counters, subway tile backsplash, brass pulls, stainless sink and range, and a hallway beyond. (Above) Monique’s renovated galley kitchen with white cupboards and a subway tile backsplash

Storage and a wise structure made all of the distinction for Monica’s kitchen rework. For extra handy kitchen storage, a brush closet was remodeled right into a pull-out meals pantry.

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The fridge sat outdoors of the row of board-and-batten-style cupboards, conserving its peak and measurement out of sight. Including to the galley kitchen’s character was a comfy eat-in eating area of interest.

Compact galley with one-wall cabinets, flush fridge, stainless range, white counters, mosaic backsplash, and gray large-format floor tiles.Compact galley with one-wall cabinets, flush fridge, stainless range, white counters, mosaic backsplash, and gray large-format floor tiles.(Above) Jenna’s new kitchen rework with one-wall cabinetry and a flush fridge

To maximise Jenna’s slim galley kitchen, a run of higher and base cupboards sit alongside one wall, and face a flush fridge and uncluttered wall. Though she admits, “I’m within the course of of making a “bucket checklist” set up for the remaining wall, although I’m having fun with the house the empty wall creates.”

With solely the width of a variety to work in, this structure presents an environment friendly strategy to navigate this house.

Galley kitchen with shaker cabinets, butcher-block counters, white subway tile, open wood shelves, and a relocated fridge near the window.Galley kitchen with shaker cabinets, butcher-block counters, white subway tile, open wood shelves, and a relocated fridge near the window.(Above) Kate and Daniel’s galley kitchen renovation with open cabinets and butcher block counters

Daniel, a meals author and former chef, put in open shelving as an alternative of higher cupboards alongside half of the wall within the kitchen. This eradicated the sensation of claustrophobia that plagued the previous kitchen.

His Sweeten contractor moved the fridge away from the entryway, the place it had made getting into the kitchen troublesome. It was relocated to the other finish creating symmetry and making it simpler to maneuver by means of the house. 

White galley kitchen with long counters, uppers on one side, a full-length wood shelf on the other, hex tile backsplash, brass faucet, and a window.White galley kitchen with long counters, uppers on one side, a full-length wood shelf on the other, hex tile backsplash, brass faucet, and a window.(Above) Sheilaja and Sergio’s new galley with lengthy counters, uppers on one aspect, and a full-length wooden shelf

Sheilaja and Sergio’s lengthy galley kitchen had a eating house on the finish that they not wanted (because of transferring it to the dwelling and entryway space). They as an alternative used that additional house to make the most of the room’s size and set up decrease cupboards all the best way to the window wall.

To make it really feel even larger, they opted for one lengthy wooden shelf reverse the wall of higher cupboards.

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Discover limitless house renovation inspiration, detailed guides, and sensible price breakdowns from our blogs. You may as well put up your mission on Sweeten at present and get matched with our vetted common contractors and get estimates without cost!

White galley kitchen with glass-front uppers, shallow base cabinets on one side, white quartz counters, subway tile, and a stainless fridge.White galley kitchen with glass-front uppers, shallow base cabinets on one side, white quartz counters, subway tile, and a stainless fridge.(Above) Sandra and Michael’s galley kitchen rework with shallow base cupboards and white quartz counters

Sandra and Michael overhauled their current galley kitchen structure so as to add extra cupboard and counter house. They selected slim base cupboards (mainly wall cupboards) to save lots of the sq. footage with out making it really feel extra cramped.

Compact galley with dove gray cabinets, white counters, herringbone subway tile, relocated fridge, gas range, and under-cabinet lighting.Compact galley with dove gray cabinets, white counters, herringbone subway tile, relocated fridge, gas range, and under-cabinet lighting.(Above) Hari and Kaity’s renovated galley house with a herringbone subway backsplash

In Hari and Kaity’s galley kitchen the fridge placement minimized counter house and the encompassing partitions made the entire house tight. They relocated it to a spot a number of toes outdoors of the kitchen partitions. A cutout within the wall on the entrance additionally helped release house.

Professional tip: In the event you’re not sure about taking down partitions, transferring your fridge will be a substitute for release house whereas preserving the prevailing structure.

Blue-walled galley kitchen with white shaker cabinets and dark stone counters.Blue-walled galley kitchen with white shaker cabinets and dark stone counters.(Above) Rashmi’s blue-walled galley kitchen with white cupboards and an prolonged counter

Sweeten home-owner Rashmi had little interest in an open kitchen when it was time to renovate. She lived with the galley kitchen for 4 years to know what she wanted from the room.

To save lots of house, shallower 18” kitchen cupboards had been put in on one aspect. Nearer to the entry, a slim eat-in bar that was an extension from the countertop within the kitchen match two stools.

Reverse the bar, Rashmi put in built-in cupboards for storage and a washer and dryer. It had as soon as been useless house.

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Put up your mission on Sweeten without cost and make your dream galley kitchen a actuality. Sweeten places you answerable for your renovation, from discovering the proper contractor and gathering design inspiration, to utilizing price guides to plan your funds properly.

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