Galley
Two parallel runs, with 1.2m between them if two people cook. Fast to work in and often unfairly dismissed — a galley kitchen has the shortest distances of any plan.
The most efficient plan there is — everything within a turn, nothing wasted.
Everything is within a turn. No walking round an island, no crossing a room between the sink and the hob — a galley puts the three points of the working triangle within arm’s reach of each other, which is why professional kitchens are galleys and have been for a century.
Closed at one end, or opening into a dining space at the far end, a galley reads as a room rather than a route — and it is the plan that gives you the most kitchen for the floor area you have.
The number that decides it is the gap between the runs. At 1.2m two people pass each other without thinking about it, and opposing appliance doors clear. That one measurement is worth more than any other decision on this page, and it is the first thing we check on your plan.
1.2m between the runs
Enough for two people to pass, and for a dishwasher door and an oven door to open on opposite sides without meeting. We work to it from the first sketch.
Split the functions across the runs
Sink and dishwasher on one side, hob and ovens on the other. Turning between them is the shortest movement in any kitchen plan; walking along a run to reach both is the longest.
Give it an end to arrive at
A window, a tall bank or a dining area at the far end turns the run into a room with a destination. It is a small move on the plan and it changes how the whole space feels.
Go up, not out
Full-height units on one run and open shelving or glass on the other gives you the storage of a much larger kitchen while keeping the space light and open down the middle.
Lighting does the work
Lighting under the wall units on both runs, and light down the centre of the ceiling rather than over each side. Done properly it is what makes a galley feel generous.
It puts the budget where you feel it
Shorter runs, no island and no seating structure means more of the budget goes into appliances and worktops — the parts you touch every day and notice far more than another metre of cabinetry.
Galley kitchens
We have not photographed a galley kitchen for the website yet. There are more in the showroom, and more still in the brochures.
