How To Make A Galley Kitchen Look Bigger

If your home has a galley kitchen, it can present a few challenges, primarily due to space. However, with some clever organizing and planning, it can be an efficient work zone, although, still look small. Luckily, there are some easy ways to make a galley kitchen look bigger.

Using whites or light colors and maximizing natural light can help make a galley kitchen look bigger. Swapping out cabinets for open shelving, removing clutter, and using glass containers are other ways to open the space. Patterns on the walls or a long runner on the floor, paired with a focal point, provide the illusion of a larger area.

The good news is you don’t need to start knocking down walls to make your galley kitchen bigger. Instead, employing a few simple design tricks and habits can go a long way toward making your narrow kitchen feel roomier.

Nowadays, the wishlist of most homeowners includes an open kitchen with plenty of room for friends and family to gather. It’s understandable since the kitchen is often the heart of the home. When you have an open kitchen, you can cook and prepare meals without feeling cut off from the rest of the family.

Open kitchens also tend to have more space to work and store items. On the contrary, galley kitchens are notorious for being small and feeling cramped. The average galley kitchen is roughly 100 square feet (but on the plus side, it’s less kitchen to clean).

This area typically consists of a linear length between 7.5 and 12 feet. The width of the overall space can vary, but it’s critical to have at least three feet between the two counters. Ideally, this space would be closer to 4 to 6 feet between opposite counters for more maneuvering room.

Avoid dark colors throughout the space that can become oppressive in a galley kitchen. Using various shades of white and lighter colors can help maintain a sense of airiness. Plus, white can help bounce around the natural light flowing into the space.

Although white kitchens might not be as big a trend as in the past, they’re still very popular. But the trick is balancing the white with warmth so your kitchen doesn’t feel cold or sterile.

Open up the space by removing upper cabinets and replacing them with floating shelves. Keep the things you don’t want people to see in your lower cabinets, like pots, pans, and plastic storage containers.

On the shelves, keep items you use daily that look pretty, like your bowls, dishes, and cooking utensils. These things are more pleasant to look at, but you also use them frequently.

Therefore, the shelving makes them easier to access. Plus, since you use them often, you won’t have to worry about dust or grease build-up. In other words, it’s best to keep items you’ll wash more frequently on your open shelves.

If you can’t remove the upper cabinets, consider removing the doors. You can paint the cabinet interiors a light color or white and still have a sense of openness. If removing the doors isn’t an option either, consider using glass-front cabinets or have glass panels installed.

Another way to ensure your countertops stay clear is to have ample storage elsewhere. Don’t forget about your vertical space; it’s an often-forgotten place to keep items.

You can hang extra shelves on an open wall, use magnetic strips for your knives on your backsplash, etc. Also, don’t forget about hidden vertical space, like the inside of your pantry or cabinet doors.

Install decorative hooks on your backsplash, walls, or the back of a cabinet to hang utensils, pot holders, or dish towels. Instead of a fruit bowl on the counters, mount a wire basket or two on a wall to hold produce.

Galley kitchens are typically long and narrow, so using a runner on the floor is an opportunity to enhance the space visually. Choose a pattern that elongates the floor, such as vertical stripes or a bold design that carries the eye through the space.

Adding a rug to your kitchen also has many practical benefits. It helps keep your feet warm while you’re cooking and prepping meals. Plus, it can protect your floor from scratches and scrapes. Consider using a washable runner in your kitchen to make it easy to keep clean.

If you plan to keep cooking utensils in a container near your stove or pasta in a canister, choose glass. Glass looks good, is easy to clean, and takes up less visual space. Additionally, glass helps bounce light around the room, which helps the kitchen feel bigger.

Now, this isn’t to say, fill your counters with glass containers. Remember, the rule is still to keep most of your countertops free and clear. But if you plan to keep a few things out in the open for easy access, go with glass.

Some of the most challenging things to work around in a smaller kitchen are the small appliances that tend to pile up. Suddenly, you have a microwave, toaster oven, pressure cooker, steamer, chopper, and things you don’t even know.

Take an honest look at your small appliances and determine which ones you actually use. Get rid of the ones with names you can’t pronounce and that are covered in dust.

Then, designate a storage space for the ones you want to keep. A good option is to put them in a slide-out in a lower cabinet. You can find slide-outs at home stores and easily install them yourself.

With just a few simple changes, your galley kitchen can look bigger and feel more open. Keep colors light, but use bold patterns to help the eye travel through the space. A runner on the floor is a great option, as is adding a focal point to the end wall of the kitchen.

Swap out upper cabinets for open shelving, or simply remove cabinet doors. Maximize lighting in the space and use glass containers and other surfaces that can help bounce light around the room.

Get rid of items you don’t love or need, so they aren’t cluttering up your kitchen and taking up space. Also, don’t hang on to tons of small appliances that end up being oversized paperweights. Store the ones you choose to keep out of sight.

A good rule of thumb is to keep 75 to 85% of your countertops clear. Don’t forget vertical space for storing and displaying things like dishes, utensils, and fruit baskets. Before you know it, your galley kitchen will start to feel more like the kitchen of your dreams.