The classic galley kitchen
The galley kitchen’s origins lie in ships and the traditional layout would be thus: two lines of cabinets and appliances with a walkway (galley) through the middle. It’s as classic as they come and the image that springs to mind when we think of this style. There’s more than just one way to approach a galley kitchen layout, though. Julian Chichester’s kitchen in Portugal (above) may be wider than the average galley – and does of course benefit from high ceilings and doors onto the balcony, which amplify the feeling of space – but another reason it feels much bigger is the absolute lack of any cabinetry up top. Instead, a mix of cupboards, drawers and open shelving lines the lower half of each side, above which is a stone splashback on the cooking side and an eye-catching painting on the other. It’s a stylish yet relaxed kitchen, which has plenty of space to breathe. However, it’s worth noting that open shelving like this does lend itself to displaying appealing crockery and tableware rather than cooking equipment, so if you’ve got a lot of bulky, less attractive items to store, it might be worth considering a slightly different take on the classic galley kitchen layout.
The other way to approach a classic galley kitchen is to pack in as much storage space as possible, either by having a run of base units and wall units on the two sides, or by incorporating full-length storage. This mansion flat in Bloomsbury combines both, with a couple of wall cabinets on the left and floor-to-ceiling cupboards flanking the fridge on the opposite wall – this is also a great way of getting in a much larger fridge than you’d usually see in a galley kitchen. The open shelving at the end of the run is just enough for your nicer bits of tableware without wasting too much space. The units were already installed when designer David Bentheim worked on this apartment, but he made the bold – and very successful – decision to paint them in a sunny yellow and line the walls in Morris & Co’s ‘Fruit’ wallpaper to brighten the dark worktops and floor tiles.
The one-wall galley
The smallest of narrow galley kitchens allow only enough space for a run of units on one side, and maybe against one of the short walls if you can. In these, it's key to maximise as much worktop space as possible and interior designer Christian Bense has done just that in his tiny Battersea galley kitchen. The main pressure point when renovating the flat was the tiny kitchen, which at 1.5 x 2.2 metres required ‘a millimetre by millimetre autopsy in order to make it work’. He rose to the challenge of squeezing in a full-height fridge, dishwasher, bins, boiler cupboard and plenty of storage by taking cupboards right up to the ceiling, but adding a small open shelf underneath them for more space. ‘It was just a high street kitchen from Wren that we dressed up with DeVol handles,’ explains Christian. The decision to stick with standard-size, off-the-peg units was a clever cost saver, allowing him to spend a little more on a bespoke marble-topped boiler cupboard (on the left) that makes the most of the room’s small footprint, and provides an additional surface for storage or display. But perhaps the most clever thing he’s done to make more space is put the sink where it is, with the taps coming out the side wall, not the facing one.
Another one-wall (or one-and-a-half) wall galley we love is the above example from fashion stylist Martha Ward’s cottage in Notting Hill. A skylight keeps it feeling lovely and bright, and she has packed in plenty of storage with base units and wall units along the longest wall. It’s proof that, when well designed, a galley kitchen can still accommodate a larger range cooker rather than a standard oven as well as a generous butler or Belfast sink, giving a classic country house feel. We’re also very impressed by the corner bookshelves next to the range cooker and the very narrow open shelving above, which provides a space to display some favourite glassware and ceramics.
The open-plan galley
This kitchen of a mid-century townhouse in London doesn’t instantly read as galley, but imagine a wall where the island currently is and galley you shall have. Opting for an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area can be particularly effective if you value a feeling of space over clear delineation between rooms – and works very well for entertaining. In this case, it was made possible by adding a rear extension, but taking down a wall between the kitchen and living room can have the same effect. But what if you want the benefits of a separate kitchen without the narrow, sometimes claustrophobic feel of a traditional galley?
One solution is the sort of ‘broken-plan’ approach that photographer and artist Zoë Zimmer has taken in her Notting hill flat. Rather than taking down the wall between the rooms entirely, she had a large section knocked out to create a sort of bar or hatch effect. This created a visual link with the living room but retained a sense of separation, so she can cook and entertain at the same time, without quite being in the same room. The added benefit of this is that the kitchen doesn’t feel quite so small, so it’s a win win. What you do lose here is the ability to have two walls filled with units, but you can make space in other ways. For instance, you could have a dresser in your adjoining living area for tableware, or you could have a kitchen island or peninsula with open shelving on one side, as seen in the example above in Corey Hemingway’s 1960s townhouse.
