Galley kitchens are popular in both small and large spaces, as well as in any design style. However, due to their inability to maneuver around the walled space, renovating options may seem limited.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at 10 galley kitchen renovation ideas.

Galley Kitchen Renovation Ideas

Galley kitchens are very common. This style presents itself with a pair of parallel walls and a flowing walkway in between. Each side contains a varying combination of cabinets, cupboards, countertops, and appliances.

Choosing to make small changes or renovations to a galley kitchen can have a major positive impact. To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of the 10 quickest galley kitchen ideas that will give you big results.

1. Upgrade to stainless steel appliances

Stainless steel appliances make a wonderful addition to any kitchen – and any design style. However, when it comes to a galley kitchen, adding stainless steel appliances not only look stunning, but they also bring with them an additional benefit: brightness.

Smaller kitchens, including galley kitchens, can seem a bit stuffy. The idea is to brighten up space, making it feel more open and breathable. Black, dark, or dull appliances fail at this trick. Stainless steel, however, can give you just what you need.

Thor Kitchen offers a wide variety of beautiful appliances in stainless steel, including gas ranges and refrigerators.

2. Avoid dark colors

Just as we discussed when it comes to the color of your appliances, dark colors, in general, can make a small space seem smaller. This includes your countertops, your cupboards, and shelving, as well as your floors and walls.

Remember, light and bright is what you are going for to make your galley kitchen seem more open and inviting.

3. Update your lighting

Lighting in the kitchen is one of those things that often gets pushed to the back burner. However, lighting can have a great impact on the feel of your kitchen space. This is especially true for those kitchens that are smaller or narrower in size, such as a galley kitchen.

First and foremost, avoid large and bulky light fixtures as they only work to make your space seem more crowded, despite their light. Instead, for this space, consider recessed lighting. These small lights can give a big impact. But, because they are recessed, they are out of the way and do not affect the flow or design of the kitchen itself.

4. Add a bright backsplash

A neat backsplash can make any boring kitchen appear magical. When it comes to your galley kitchen, your backsplash should be bright, colorful, and bring life to the space. For example, having dark countertops and/or dark cupboards can cramp the space. However, placing a bright backsplash between them can off-set the dreary vibes. Choose various shades or designs of metal or brightly colored pieces of tile or glass.

Another fun option for an effective backsplash would be to add mirrors throughout the galley kitchen. Mirrors can extend any small space, giving the illusion that it is bigger than it actually is.

5. Organize your countertop clutter

Renovating doesn’t necessarily have to mean you incur big construction processes. It could simply require you to create a new structure and organization of space. When it comes to your galley kitchen, keeping your countertop space open can make this space appear less constricting.

It is easy to throw things such as mail, bills, recipe books, kids’ homework, etc. on your kitchen counter. Despite how neat of a stack you keep, it still looks cluttered and in the way. Take time to organize your countertop clutter and find a method of keeping it at bay. This will increase the flow and comfort you find while within your kitchen.

6. Keep your appliances along one wall, if possible

Believe it or not, the placement of your appliances matters. When it comes to your galley kitchen, there are things that you need to take into consideration when it comes to cooking. Sure, your kitchen may only have one chef on most days. However, that may not always be the case. Having more than one person cooking in a galley kitchen can leave you feeling as though you just played a game of human Tetris.

One way to avoid any issues is to place all your appliances on one side of the kitchen. This reduces the need for you to be back-to-back when cooking and maneuvering the space.

7. Let in the natural light

Natural light does wonders for many situations – especially galley kitchens. It’s not often that many of these spaces have an included window. But if there is one located within or near your kitchen (such as at the end of the space) use window treatments that offer you privacy without taking away the natural light.

8. Use large tile or stone flooring, rather than smaller options

Something you may not have considered is the type of flooring you have selected for your galley kitchen. If you’d like to take advantage of a renovation that will open up the walkway of the kitchen and make the entire space seem more flowing, change your floors.

Choosing large tiles or stone flooring, rather than smaller tiles will leave you with a much more open walkway.

9. Take your storage to the ceiling

What do you do if your kitchen is lacking space? You make use of every open spot available. Of course, you don’t want to over­-clutter your kitchen, but taking advantage of space, such as the untouchable area located at the top of your cupboards, can be very beneficial.

Just be sure to keep it neat, clean, and organized or you will find it has a counter-effect.

10. Opt for open shelving

Not everyone is daring enough to give up cabinets and opt for open shelving. After all, it does require you to be a bit more organized. Though, when it comes to a galley kitchen, choosing to forego the cupboards – whether partially or entirely – and adding sturdy, open shelving can give the feeling of more open space.

Conclusion

Renovating your galley kitchen should be fun and exciting. There are so many options and trends that can take your space and transform it into some bright, orderly, and welcoming -just as a kitchen should feel.

Photo by wu yi