On several occasions a year, we are confronted with clients that just don’t have a ton of room to work with and are reluctant to remove any walls that would open up a floor plan. Some kitchens are nestled within a high-rise building in New York, along the New Jersey Gold Coast or a condo at the shore and space is limited. Re-designing a galley style kitchen so that it maximizes space, it works functionally and emits an ambiance the client wishes to achieve can be a very big task in a tiny template.

Smaller Kitchen Designs That Maximize Space

There is so much we can do with cabinetry these days. After understanding a client’s cooking habits, how they would like to entertain and get a good feel for their style and color preferences, I begin laying out a few cabinetry design ideas using a refrigerator, sink position and cooking surface as anchors in my layout. Younger professionals are leaning towards the cleaner, more simple style of cabinetry requiring less storage places to hide small appliances, specialty cookware and serving platters. They enjoy the convenience of all the necessary ingredients within an arm’s reach. So these sliding mini pantries are very fashionable. 

High end smart kitchen appliances, stainless steel finishes and large appliances that sit flush or even disappear into the overall kitchen is a definitely still the growing trend. Most of the top brands are making appliances “Integrated” these days. This page on Sub-Zero’s website shows off their line of Integrated Refrigeration and they are making models that are only 24” wide or fit under a countertop.

Galley Style Kitchens Captain Cook Will Envy

We are seeing a resurgence of galley kitchen designs. Single family cottages and urban condos & townhomes are often built with galley style kitchens. As new homeowners buy and attempt to transform these kitchens, they are challenged with how to upgrade to a superior quality kitchen with limits on space. Galley kitchens often have two ends that lead to a small dining area on one end and a doorway that connects to a living room or formal dining area. So either side of this center aisle is all we have to work with. In this example, the center aisle is wide enough to accommodate traffic and a few people working. More often, that is not the case. Here you will see plenty of prep area on either side of the sink and cooking space on either side of the glass range top. The under counter cabinetry was more than enough to accommodate cookware, service ware and pantry items. This allowed us to design some decorative open shelving for glassware and the essential sugar & flour cannisters on one wall and leaving the rest of the space open. This gave the kitchen the appearance of having much more room. My preference is to position the cooktop across from the sink on opposing walls and keep the oven (or two) on the same side as the range. It is recommended to not place any cabinetry above the stovetop ventilation and wall ovens so any vertical storage would have to be at either end and not opposing the refrigerator.