Pros and cons of a galley kitchen

[Anonymous]

I’ve never lived with a fully open kitchen with an island so I can’t speak to functional comparisons. Currently have a really wide galley kitchen so two or three people can be in it pretty comfortably. Not sure that’s still technically a galley, but it’s nice that there’s some separation from the living room most of the time. It would be nice to have parties in an open kitchen, but I toured a lot of super open concept places and the idea of living in my kitchen was not appealing.

[Anonymous]

We had an open kitchen previously and a galley now (ours does have room for a table by the window) and really see no cons other than the weird stigma and open kitchens look nicer in realtor photos. I had read so much about “galley = bad”, but it’s actually a ridiculously convenient design even with two cooks and a nosy toddler and dog. And I also appreciate having an enclosed space to stash dirty dishes etc, in the open kitchen I’d be spending the whole night trying to keep everything neat and tidy since it’s so visible.

[Anonymous]

We have a galley kitchen with a table space at one end and to me that is the perfect combination.

The kitchen is fairly confined, for cooking and cleaning, but there is still space for my kid or guests to hang out nearby while I finish something up.

I know it’s not in style vs an open kitchen/island but I love it.

[Anonymous]

I think people are conflating a closed off kitchen with a galley. Galleys are tight (wall on either side) so it’s hard for another person to get by, few windows, but an efficient layout for cooking as long as you only have one person cooking. There isn’t space for someone else to clean up while another cooks. They can look nice, though. I prefer a separate kitchen that is a u-shape or wider space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A galley kitchen is a great layout for one person who is cooking. But that’s only part of what people do in their kitchens.

Not everyone hosts a boozy salon in their kitchen.

[Anonymous]

A galley kitchen is only tight if the space between the two walls of cabinets is narrow. You can easily create a two-butt kitchen, but the people in the kitchen will still be cut off from people in other rooms (which I like, but not everyone does)

[Anonymous]

There's a difference between a galley layout and a tiny galley in an apartment.

My KD worked up plans to keep our peninsula layout and move to a galley in our semi-open plan home. We're going with the galley. They said it's the most efficient layout (dominates pro kitchens, after all). It makes sense for our home.

Kind of like this:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a difference between a galley layout and a tiny galley in an apartment.

My KD worked up plans to keep our peninsula layout and move to a galley in our semi-open plan home. We're going with the galley. They said it's the most efficient layout (dominates pro kitchens, after all). It makes sense for our home.

Kind of like this:

This is very unusual layout for DMV. The vast majority of the galley kitchens here are in the 1950s ranchers, so they are small, dark, and cramped. They impact the resale value and there is a reason why the new houses don't have them. I had one in our old house, I have an open and spacious kitchen now and the difference is significant.

[Anonymous]

We had a galley kitchen in a home build in a subdivision in McLean in the '50s. It was to nearly as luxurious as the pic above, obviously, but it ran across the back of the house, had great light, was wide enough for anything we needed and had the eat in kitchen space, with double slider out to the deck/grill/etc. I sort of miss those days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a galley kitchen in a home build in a subdivision in McLean in the '50s. It was to nearly as luxurious as the pic above, obviously, but it ran across the back of the house, had great light, was wide enough for anything we needed and had the eat in kitchen space, with double slider out to the deck/grill/etc. I sort of miss those days.

*not as luxurious and not quite as wide, but otherwise, very similar layout.

[Anonymous]

Cons
-You feel like the hired help instead of a family member. You have to work closed off in a kitchen while the rest of the family plays in the playroom.
- We call that kind of kitchen a "one butt kitchen" meaning only one person can be in there at a time or else you run into each other. It was important DH and I could be together in the kitchen working.
-Missing a huge island. We have a big empty 9x3 island in the middle and it's so useful.
-The best kitchen layouts are ones that are an L with a huge island. Great working triangles but people can also walk around the island or be working on the other side of the island.

Pros
-Guests don't see the mess. But also, guests won't see your gorgeous kitchen either.

[Anonymous]

We had a tiny post war galley kitchen in our last house, and it was too small, but I liked it for the convenience plus the alone time. I'm a cranky cook, and an extra body that's just a distraction isn't any help.

Our new house is also a galley, but bigger, a full size kitchen with a tiny breakfast room at one end. Gorgeous light. Morning sun pours in through the breakfast area, there's two windows over the sink mid wall of the galley, and one window at the other end that never gets full sun but overlooks greenery. The dining room doorway is midway on the long interior wall, so if someone is sitting in there it's easy enough to join the conversation. It's a perfect set up, especially since it's now just the two of us plus college age kids off and on, it's very easy to get work done, not that much space to keep clean, and a pleasant place to be. I'm pretty sure this kitchen was originally built for help, but to me that means built for function.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a difference between a galley layout and a tiny galley in an apartment.

My KD worked up plans to keep our peninsula layout and move to a galley in our semi-open plan home. We're going with the galley. They said it's the most efficient layout (dominates pro kitchens, after all). It makes sense for our home.

Kind of like this:

This is very unusual layout for DMV. The vast majority of the galley kitchens here are in the 1950s ranchers, so they are small, dark, and cramped. They impact the resale value and there is a reason why the new houses don't have them. I had one in our old house, I have an open and spacious kitchen now and the difference is significant.

I'm the person who posted the picture. Our current kitchen has a peninsula in a space similar to what I showed in the picture. It's really common in our neighborhood. Our KD mocked up a new kitchen with a peninsula and without (a galley, like in the picture). The kitchen is becoming a little "longer," so our storage is still the same, but the galley layout makes it more open.

[Anonymous]

My apartment in Dc years ago had a small, dark galley and then my condo had a small kitchen room that wasn’t exactly galley or open floor plan. It was the worst. I just moved from a dates, but open kitchen to an apartment with one similar to the layout in the picture above. At one end it opens to the dining area and I find kids and friends can sit there while I work in the kitchen. The other end has a huge pantry and laundry and then to the side (end of counters) is a door into the living room. I really love the layout. There’s a huge window over the sink with great southern light. Granted I’ve never had a huge kitchen, but between the under counter cupboards, the cupboards running the length of the kitchen, and the massive amount of shelving at the end in the laundry nook, it’s the most storage space I’ve ever had in a kitchen and it’s brighter than I realized a galley could be. Five feet between the counters helps for moving around.

[Anonymous]

Pp here. Our layout is similar to this. I suspect our kitchen is a bit longer though (and ours doesn’t look quite so elegant!)

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/356488126731796002/