I love our galley kitchen. The cabinets go all the way to the ceiling and storage is ample. To mop the floor, I spritz with a 1/2 water 1/2 vinegar solution and use a rectangular mop with a terry cover to mop it up. Have a good amount of countertop space, too. I sure would not trade it for a large kitchen like I see posted on here so much.

Thanks WalnutCreek! It's the counter space I'm most concerned about - the kitchen currently has ~36 inches on each side of the sink (which is centered on one wall under a window) and that is *all*! The other side has stove and fridge, with microwave cart between the two - no counters at all. Obviously that could be changed, but I'm concerned about the limited counter space...

I have a galley kitchen designed and built by a non cook from 1965. I hated it for years, BUT it is bigger than my rv kitchen and I have learned to work with it. Pot racks, clean as you go, cook some stuff ahead of time, ect. You will learn to deal with the counter space.

I chose to put a galley kitchen in our house; I love their efficiency. However, our last house had a corridor kitchen leading from the garage to the rest of the house and it was a nuisance for a family of 4.

Can the door be moved?

When we gut renovated this house we turned it from a 2 bed 1 bath to a 3/2, turning the kitchen into a 3rd bedroom. I'm wondering... since it's just you and the location is fantastic, would you enjoy turning a bedroom into a kitchen? Dependent upon the floorplan, perhaps you could carve out space for an ensuite bathroom in a 2/2 floorplan instead of keeping it a 3/1.

I don't have one, but both DD have tiny kitchens. But, cooking is not important to them.

Quite honestly, I think you can become used to anything. Only you can decide how much counter space you require to do what you want to do.

I've never had a kitchen larger than that, but they've been dead end, not pass through. It seems adequate for the size of the house and you could certainly modify the layout to provide more workspace in the desired places.

Thanks for the comments! eld6161 and S_7bAL - good points! I've actually lived with worse kitchens (I have a worse one now, arguably) but I'm in a rental so I put up with it. And I'm sure I could grow to love the tiny space, if, for example, I put a fancy induction range in it! Benjesbride, I had never considered removing a bedroom - you've given me food for thought... I hate to lose a bedroom, but what you describe is the situation I would have - when coming in from the garage, the rest of the house can only be reached by going through the kitchen. Palimpsest - the kitchen size is pretty common for the area, I must admit - so my focus may end up being on how to eke out the most function in the limited space.

I would be a lot happier with the range and a modular sink (like The Galley( on the same side.

I'd say if everything else is perfect (or almost), I'd go for it. Check out www.apartmenttherapy.com for small kitchens at work.

I can't remember who this is, but someone on gardenweb in a small townhouse in Philadelphia renovated her small galley kitchen (IKEA?), and it was most adorable and functional.

Thanks Milly - people rave about the Galley, and I think if the range and sink would fit on the same wall, it could be nice to have a sink that could do tricks and double as extra counter. nosoccermom - yes, apartment therapy is a great resource, I look forward to the 'small cool' competition! I'll also search for the kitchen you mention.

Our galley is 8.5 x 11, dead end, so the counters run 8.5, like your possible galley. The range is in the middle of one counter run, the other run is fridge, trash, sink, DW. It's just my DH and me.

I agree totally with palimpsest, and that has been my experience, if benjesbride's thought or something similar isn't in the cards.

We addressed the counter space issue last year by deepening the range counter to 39". I personally prefer working in a deeper, rather than an elongated area because I spread out to fill the space available, so am better off contained. Any deepening you can eke out would help counter functioning.

I actually enjoy cooking and baking in my galley more than hiking around my ample, normal sized last kitchen (although, to be fair, that kitchen needed GW Kitchen Forum layout tweaking).

Sounds too good to pass up! I had a small galley for a year before we reno'd, because the kitchen had a half wall through the middle with laundry on the other side. Anyway, I just wanted to mention that I've been reading about combination appliances as I research for possibly building a studio apartment. There are so many choices for creative folks. Hope to see photos, etc.

PS What is "The Galley"?

Thanks for the reassurance barncatz! Have you posted any photos of your kitchen? I'd love to see it, as I had never considered centering the range - that could definitely work. Additionally, with a width of 8.5' I think there is definitely room to make at least one run of cabinets deeper. I'll have to sketch that out! mercurygirl - "The Galley" is a fancy sink that has all kinds of accessories - I'd never heard of it either until I started reading posts on this forum. The sink costs like $3,000 - which means it's likely not in my future :)

Rutavi makes sinks like that. Sub $1000 even when not on sale for their largest. Elkay, Kohler, creategoodsinks, and even Ikea make some, but ikea's are too small to be preactical.

Hi AMS, I have a 30" induction range and just prefer having a bit more counter on each side of the range. That also let me use 30" drawers. The set across from the DW holds silverware, plates, as well as frying pans, colanders, so it's a breeze to empty the DW. Our whole house is tiny. I love it. Definitely post if you buy the house and the format gurus here will help you think things through!

Here's a link to the kitchen posted on my tile maker's site

PS: We added a second light over the range counter. Looks better.

Yes, find it more efficient than friends huge kitchens. Everything is convenient, just a couple of steps away. Keep countertops free of clutter, so plenty of workspace. Base cabs are drawers. Have fridge & stove on one side, sink on the other. Have "pre" and "post" prep areas to the right and left sides of the sink. Works well for me.

Barncatz, I love your kitchen and that tile is beautiful! Your open layout has me dreaming of knocking down walls - in a house that I may never own :) mdln, thanks for your feedback - everyone's posts make me think that my potential future kitchen could be small but mighty!

This new house sounds very exciting if it’s in your dream area! I’m sure you can make this kitchen work. Think about all the NY city galley kitchens out there. I’ve seen some beautiful small galley kitchens in magazines and online. One thing I would do, if possible, is live in the house for a little while before you make any changes. You may find that after living in it, there are changes you might like that you wouldnt have considered otherwise. For instance, you want to sacrifice a bedroom to open the kitchen up and add a bathroom, or move the sink, etc..

I think the kohler stages sink is cheaper than the galley. I’d keep an eye out for a good deal. I got a great deal on mine. I bought a couple items off ebay for my kitchen at great prices..brand new...but check to make sure the seller has a good rep. If you do this. If you get the house, I hope you post pics!

I really like my galley kitchen, which isn't much bigger than what you're describing (ours was 7.5x14 post-reno) and works pretty well for our family of 4. Ours also had doors at either end, so when we renovated we opened up one end and extended a few feet into what was probably the original dining room of our house (before a 1980s addition.) It made a big difference in terms of light and sense of space. Because it's such a narrow space, we recessed the fridge and did narrow-depth cabinets on one side.

My family's beach house has a renovated decent-sized kitchen. I like having an island for socializing, and more room is always welcome when you're surrounded by very tall family members. But I don't find a larger kitchen with an island inherently more useful for cooking. YMMV.

If you search, you'll find a lot of photos of galley kitchens here. Some of my favorites are: BrooklynGalley, marthavila, MGMum, kitchen_maman, runninginplace, erhm, nycbluedevil, histokitch, smilingjudy, yesdear,carrieb. Each is unique and really lovely.

Good point about removing one of the door openings.

The other option that is (relatively) easy to do is to install pocket doors. They can allow you to reclaim dead space. Even in a more spacious house that isn't a bad idea. But in a smaller house, that can make a huge difference. We installed pocket doors in several rooms now, and we love them.

Fully agreed with everybody else, a small kitchen can be made to work; and it can be made to work really well. It obviously won't be a place to socialize with large groups, and it won't allow you to have all the fancy and huge appliances that others have. But that doesn't mean it can't work.

On the other hand, as the example of the sink shows, it might get expensive to do things really well. Some amount of custom furniture can make a big difference in efficient space utilization. But customization drives the cost up.

My galley kitchen does have a door at each end, but it is not a pass-through kitchen. One doorway is open and the other has old-fashioned louvered double swinging doors which we can close. On one counter side is the induction cooktop, a small wall oven, and small wall microwave. On the other counter side is the dishwasher, sink, and regular size French door refrigerator. I love the refrigerator because there is no external water dispenser so the fridge is totally smooth - the water dispenser is inside the fridge. Haven't measured how much countertop space there actually is, but is does get crowded when preparing a big holiday meal. But, it still meets our needs. I do have a small laundry room, so washer and dryer are not in the kitchen.

@AMS, do you already know a contractor who you trust? If so, you might be able to persuade them to come to the house for a free consultation. And even if you don't know anybody, contractors might still be willing to do this, as it part of their marketing cost. As your real-estate agent and/or your future neighbors for a referral.

A contractor would be able to tell you how difficult it is to make changes to the the floor plan. Some things look really easy and turn out to be difficult because of load bearing walls or plumbing running through the walls. Other things look so complicated you would never consider tackling it, and the contractor might tell you that it is less than a week's work to move that particular wall and have everything finished again. As a new home owner, this is hard to tell.

But there could be relatively low-hanging fruit allowing for optimizing the floor plan to better fit your needs. And the best time to do so would be before your furniture has been moved in.

For example, if you reduce the need for travel through your kitchen, you'll probably appreciate it in the long run.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3514091/reveal-the-door-south-philly-row?n=93

Does ANYONE have pictures saved from this thread? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2626772/brooklyn-galley-kitchen-finished-not-white?n=106 

Curse you Photobucket!

Just kidding.

Not really...

My last apartment had a galley kitchen that was on the small side and I enjoyed it.

Yeah, I was looking for the Brooklyn kitchen....

If you do a google image search, old gardenweb photobucket images can be found. Here's one from Brooklyn Galley

And here's CarrieB's

I don't think a sink and range will optimally fit within 8.5 feet. My minimums would be wall-18" counter-30" range-30" counter-30" sink - 24" dishwasher; that's 11 feet.

This is an 8'x8' galley I posted on another thread. The sink is 24", the range is 30", the fridge is 30".

Looking ahead, I'd assess the house for the feasibility of rearranging things to get a better sized kitchen.

Thanks rockybird for the optimism and suggestions! I will definitely post photos if I am lucky enough to get the house.

Thank you smalloldhouse and midcenturymaiden - I *love* your kitchens, they are beautiful and HUGE! :)

I agree cluelessincolorado - and thank you to benjesbride for finding an elusive photo of the brooklyn galley kitchen - that seems a similar size to what I might get.

Thanks M and rjknsf for your feedback and suggestions - I don't have a contractor yet. Let's be honest, my cart is *so* far before the horse here. But it's good to plan!

Thank you benjesbride and nosoccermom for the photos and layout suggestions - I love Carrie B's kitchen! My 'future' 'potential' 'may-never-happen' kitchen is adjacent to the only dining area in the house, so to take space from there would make it harder to entertain (the main reason I want to get out of my 850 sq ft apt with a dining 'corner'). The potential house is on a large lot, but unless I win the lottery this week I don't see any demolition in my future. *note to self: buy lottery ticket*

@benjesbride , if you have so little space, you'll inevitably have to think harder and you'll have to make compromises. Some of these compromises might save a little money, others ironically will cost a good amount more. But hopefully, by buying a smaller house in a private sale, some money can be saved which would be available to splurge on one or two customized space-saving items.

Let's daydream and think about a perfect kitchen for @AMS. She can then gradually eliminate things that are too expensive or don't have enough of an advantage.

First of all, I would make all appliances no more than 24" wide. A 24" stove isn't normally what I like to cook on. But in a tiny kitchen that frequently only needs to make food for one person, that's fine. It is possible to find 24" induction cooktops, although that frequently means that there are only three zones. @AMS would need to decide whether that's a problem. I found one four-zone induction cooktop, but I have no idea how well it works.

An induction cooktop also puts a little less strain on the venting requirements. So, maybe the hood can be more compact. I'd for once consider not having the customary 3" extra on each side.

Next, I would think very hard how much both an oven and a microwave is really needed. That takes up a lot of space. In my first apartment, I lived 8 years without ever needing a microwave. If you have a small household without kids, it's often not that important. Just wait a few seconds longer for the stove to heat things.

On the other hand, if this is not acceptable, then consider getting a combined microwave and convection oven (aka SpeedOven). They are expensive, but very space efficient. Or if @AMS wants to be more flexible in how to use the oven, get a combination steam oven (expensive!) and forgo the microwave. It's not a 100% replacement. But in many cases it can do comparable tasks with reasonable efficiency. And it also functions as a very versatile primary cooking appliance.

Reduce the number of counter tops, so that there is more space for lots of cabinets with lots of drawers. This means, the remaining counter-tops have to be very efficient. Custom cabinets can allow for all sorts of useful temporary surfaces that fold away after use.

Speaking of custom cabinets with so little space, I would consider getting toe-kick drawers and making the cabinets as tall as possible. Use every little bit of available space to your advantage.

And if the budget allows for a custom sink, then take a look at this very compact and functional [24" sink[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/am-i-crazy-to-want-a-24-sink-dsvw-vd~4647411). It becomes the primary prep area and eliminates the need for some of the traditional counter tops.

Instead of a bulky refrigerator in the kitchen, install space efficient 24" refrigerator drawers. I think, Perlick makes the ones that have the most usable interior space. Not cheap, though. Then put a traditional fridge into the garage for items that aren't used as frequently. Or maybe, if @AMS is really disciplined, forget about extra fridge space and just put a chest freezer into the garage.

Finally, depending on just how much cooking @AMS does, she could eliminate the dish washer. Personally, I could never go back to a household that doesn't have one. But some people seem perfectly content to wash by hand. And it certainly does save space.

I am sure there are all sorts of other cool tricks. But this is what springs to mind for now. Once, @AMS posts actual drawings and tells us more about what is and isn't important to her, we can proceed to give much more personalized advice.

I admit, I learned to use my rangetop as prep space in my small kitchen. It wasn't galley, just small with inadequate storage. Built when tv dinners were the rage. So, I had unavoidable clutter. Only one useful upper. (For me, lowers can be back breakers, but converting to drawers would help.) Got tired of storing in the guest bedroom and garage.

But, the good folks here will definitely help you with design - I only wish I'd known about this place years ago!!!! I simply felt I was stuck, unless I wanted to knock out an exterior wall.

AMS- Thank you for the compliment. My current cooktop cabinet run is 13'. It may appear to be longer than it really is. I actually shortened the run to create an alternative route through the house to what I use as a dining room. The sink run is 14" shorter to accommodate the widening of the entry into our sunroom on the other side.

We had lived in our home for a bit before the dishwasher flood. I had a good idea of what I would like to change in the space if I could. In my case it wasn't the galley layout, it was the fact that it was so closed off and essentially a dark hallway leading to the garage. Once the kitchen was demo'd, I played and played with layout. I really wanted to widen the entrance to the sunroom off the sink run. It had a slab exterior door which you could not prop open. I also wanted to create an entrance to the dining room off the cooktop run. This was a biggie because I would lose what could be a nice buffet area with ample cabinet space. I changed my mind daily on the right way to go. In the end, my dad came over with a Sklz saw and cut a hole in the wall into the dining area. Once the sunlight filtered into the kitchen, I was sold. We then moved over a few feet and cut out the space a bit further down so we could see the fireplace from the kitchen. We worked our way around the room removing louvered doors exiting the kitchen into the fireplace/living area and then made our way to the sunroom entrance. It was a mess, and a bit stressfu for DH (lol)l, but it was worth it in the end.

If you really like the rest of the house, don't be afraid to be creative, find a good cabinet maker and give it a go. Good luck and please share your progress.

I love how you opened up that space. This is an awesome kitchen! You can be quite proud of it!

I saw this remodel and thought of this thread. Although the kitchen space is longer than yours, it's only about eight feet wide. They noted that the sink/window wall purposely has no uppers in order to appear more spacious.

[https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-kitchen-craftsman-kitchen-portland-phvw-vp~277469[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-kitchen-craftsman-kitchen-portland-phvw-vp~277469)

M- I'm a pretty frugal, stay at home mom, so my paradigm leads me to simple Ikea-able kitchen layouts with standard sized fixtures (as above.) I agree that custom cabinets and a $3000 Liebherr maximize space in a small kitchen, but folks who have been around here a while know that my GW style is more in the realm of DIYing Ikea cabinets and purchasing appliances from the Sears scratch n dent :-)

***

Induction or ceramic top ranges make great prep space when not in use (at least it has for me) and cutting boards that span the top of a sink increase work top space as well. Uppers to the ceiling. All-drawer base cabinets. Minimizing kitchen tools and dishes. These can all help make the most of a basic, small kitchen.

For me... in a 3/1 house of 1100 square feet, any spending splurge would go toward a long term plan to turning it into a 2/2. My house is 1200 sf with 3/2--if we had less than 1200 sf, I don't think I could have eeked out that 2nd bath without compromising a bedroom.

Fully agreed that more than one bathroom is really a big deal for families. My wife grew up in a house with a single bathroom, and it's always painful to visit the grandparents because of that.

Fortunately, that does not seem to be a major concern for @AMS. So, even if she occasionally hosts parties, she probably can save the money that otherwise would be spent on adding another bathroom.

I fully agree with you though. My suggestions were meant as a starting point for discussion, not necessarily as a plan on how to spend money on the kitchen remodel.

M - thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful comments. I had also considered getting European sized appliances (why are tiny things always more expensive? *shakes fist*). I think a narrow fridge and 18" dw are a must, but I admit I wasn't aware of all the fancy new oven options. I lived in London for years with only an undercounter fridge and mini oven for two people (our kitchen was ~10x10 and was actually a kitchen, dining, living room - and we were so happy!), so I know I can do it, but when I did that I was young, poor, and lived above a pub - I'm none of those things anymore and have to weigh what is important.

I live in an area of the country where everyone has a spare chest freezer and fridge in the basement (this house does too, and they would stay) so I would have extra storage downstairs. If this sale goes through, I will have so much to think about! It's funny, when I first looked at the house I thought - well, that must be all you can do with this space - and then I found the gardenweb community and realized there are so many tricks and options and can maximize functionality and space. It really made me reconsider this home!

artemis_ma and mercurygirl - thanks for sharing your experience and the link, I too have gotten used to using the cooktop as prep space (I recently went through a macaron phase [sigh] and was balancing cookie sheets everywhere!).

benjesbride - I think my sensibilities are similar to yours - I think of cabinets more as storage than works of art - but those sensibilities also make me pause at the idea of changing a $300K 3/1 fixer upper into a 2/2. So much food for thought - and I may never even own the place! :) Thank you everyone for sharing your ideas - if this sale ever goes through (long story) I will be back with a vengeance, and drawings and photos!! For now I feel confident that with the right budget, cabinetmaker, and ingenuity, a tiny kitchen could work...

Good luck with the sale! Home ownership is an adventure, but I think you'll love it

Yes, good luck!