Galley Kitchen Ideas

All of us agree that, kitchen is a warm happy place that smells of butter, scones and fresh bread. Women spend a better part of their day in the kitchen, cooking the most amazing lunches and dinners for their loved ones. Every meal, be it an elaborate meal or just spaghetti, requires preparation before it is cooked and this preparation requires space. Cooking is a skillful job, so women get irritated if they don't get plenty of space in their small kitchens. Are you one of them? So why not think of kitchen remodeling to efficiently make use of this small space.

Galley kitchens originated in Frankfurt in 1926. A galley kitchen is an efficient style kitchen that helps to utilize small space in an effective manner. The units, in a galley kitchen are placed lengthwise in parallel counters. The cabinets are placed overhead which provide increased storage space and makes best use of restricted space. Here are some ideas that will help you to get rid of the space issue.

Galley kitchen ideas work with kitchens that are small without enough space for the various kitchen appliances. The most important thing to remember while designing a galley kitchen is that there should be sufficient aisle space between the two parallel kitchen counters to facilitate easy movement during cooking. The other things to be kept in mind are color themes, lighting, space utilization and furniture for galley kitchen. You can create numerous kitchen designs by considering all these points. Given below are galley kitchen renovation ideas to make your kitchen elegant and functional.

Color Ideas
Galley kitchens are usually smaller kitchens. Using light color, wall paint helps small spaces look bigger. You can use pastel colors like ivory, peach, light brown, pale lemon yellow, pale pink and the like, in your kitchen to make it look bigger. Also, the use of white color in the kitchen gives it a pristine appearance. The color of the cabinets in the kitchen should also be towards the lighter shade. Dark shades will make the kitchen look smaller, as the cabinets will be very noticeable in the small space. The color of the kitchen countertops should also match the color of the walls and the cabinets. All of these kitchen color ideas will certainly give a classy look to your kitchen.

You can also think of kitchen backsplash using light colored materials for backsplashing. This makes kitchen cleaning easier and gives your kitchen a good look. Glass, tiles, ceramic tiles and marble are some of the kitchen backsplash ideas that you can use. Make sure that these are also in light colors to help reflect the light from the window or the overhead light, making the kitchen look bigger.

Lighting Ideas
Effective kitchen lighting is another important aspect of the galley kitchen decorating ideas. A galley kitchen should be well-lit so that it appears bigger in size. If you have a window in the kitchen, ensure that your kitchen window treatment allows plenty of light to stream in through the window. In case there is no window in your kitchen, go in for overhead lighting. Overhead lighting is one of the best kitchen lighting ideas and will brighten up your kitchen. Sufficient lighting is the best small galley kitchen idea to make it look big and warm.

Match the color of the flooring of your kitchen with that of the walls, cabinets and the kitchen countertops. Ensure that your kitchen flooring is not dark in color, as dark flooring tends to give a closed look to the kitchen. At the same time, care needs to be taken to choose tiles or flooring that is easy to clean. Using tile designs that match with the kitchen furniture, is a good idea.

Cabinet Ideas
Cabinets are an integral part of every kitchen. A lot of space is necessary to store all the cookware and appliances. Kitchen cabinets made of wood with glass doors will enhance the beauty of your kitchen. Alternatively, use pastel shade laminating on your wooden cabinets. The cabinets can be made to go right up to the ceiling. This will make your kitchen look taller.

If your cabinets do not reach right up to the ceiling, there are ways to use this lost storage space. This space can be effectively used by storing less used utensils or by arranging beautiful dinner sets stylishly on top of these cabinets. Less used items can also be stacked in quaint baskets and these baskets can be arranged artistically on top of the cabinet. Alternatively, you can make wooden shelves in the available space and use them to store the kitchen items that are not required daily.

Open shelving in place of overhead cabinets will make your kitchen look spacious. These shelves can be wooden, metal, luxurious stone or in sleek chrome. You can also think of laminating these shelves with a light color that go perfectly with your wall paint and the counter tops. Care needs to be taken to see that these shelves are not cluttered with your bottles and jars. Another small galley kitchen idea is concealing the fridge and dishwasher behind cabinetry panels. This will make the small kitchen look neat.

Space Utilization
If the available space is not used optimally, it beats the purpose of a galley kitchen. Kitchen appliances like microwave and blenders can be placed on hidden shelves that slide out from inside of a cabinet. You can also place these appliances by installing shelves underneath the kitchen countertop. Slide out mesh baskets, besides the cooking range, can be an ideal place to store your cutleries and other small cookware.

The aisle between the two kitchen counters should measure at least 5 feet wide. Arrange for the refrigerator and the kitchen sink to be on one side, while the cooking range can be arranged on the other counter. Hang pots and pans on racks that are suspended from the ceiling and you can also have cups hanging from wall hooks. This will minimize over-crowding the kitchen cabinets.

Kitchen islands add extra workspace in the kitchen which can be used for food preparation. If there is some space that you can spare in your kitchen, you can have an island created. This island can have small drawers that can hold your kitchen cutlery for you.

Another way to use the storage space is building a floor to ceiling pull-out pantry. You can convert a part of your wall into a pull-out pantry and store your jars in it. It saves a lot of space. Roll out shelves can also be used if you don't want a pull-out pantry. This design also helps in saving space.

Clutter Free Kitchen Ideas
Clutter is the major reason why women get irritated with a small kitchen. With effective utilization of the available space, you can get rid of this problem. Given below are different ways to keep your kitchen clutter free.

• Keep all your kitchen items in their respective places. This will make your kitchen tidy.
• Arrange the dish towels and paper napkins attractively so that they are handy as well as they add to the beauty of your kitchen.
• Install a built-in bin to save space and to make your kitchen clutter free.
• Don't crowd your kitchen counters with fruits baskets. You can use a wire mesh hanging from the ceiling to store these fruits and vegetables.
• Keep your baking utensils inside the oven instead of stacking them on top of the oven. This will reduce the clutter in your kitchen.
• If you have a window in the kitchen, don't overcrowd the windowsill with jars and bottles. Place a vase with fresh flowers to make your kitchen colorful.

I hope that my galley kitchen style ideas were able to throw some light on converting your kitchen into an utilitarian galley kitchen. So, don't lose your peace of mind if you have a small kitchen. Instead make kitchen decorating fun by using any of the above galley kitchen ideas to make your kitchen look as beautiful as the rest of your home.