That is the opposite of a galley kitchen

These are a galley kitchens

I think it is a galley kitchen. You just don't have a wall on the back of one side. Ours is the same, and I took to calling it an "open galley" when describing it. If there is some other more descriptive term for it, I don't know what it is. I have heard "corridor kitchen" but yours doesn't really lead anywhere, so I wouldn't call it that.

Back to the matters at hand.

1) I won't say your 14.5' kitchen is too long, because mine is 17.5' long. It makes for a freakishly long "island", but I wouldn't trade it.

2) Are you tied to the stove location because of the vent hood ducting? If not, and if you don't mind shifting that ducting, consider swapping your two 18" base cabs for two 21" base cabs. That will eat up the extra 6" and give you more working space to the left of the range.

Another idea would involve the treatment of the fridge, if you're not getting a counter-depth fridge. Is the pantry already built? And if so, does it stick out 26" (room for a 24" base cabinet + counter overhang), or does it stick out further? If it sticks out further (or if you can build it out further) you can hide the left side of the fridge box. You can then take that extra 6" and build a wall on the right side of the fridge to make a little alcove for the fridge (that's what we did). That will hide the sides of the fridge box on both sides, and will allow you to mount the over-fridge cabinet flush with the front of the fridge walls. It also keeps you from having to decide how to deal with the backsplash when you get to the fridge. The wall will take up about 5", which will leave you an inch of play for filler along that wall.

3) I think that's a very personal decision. Keep in mind you'll get more counter space by closing it in, but you won't necessarily get more useful cabinetry, as you will have just created two inside corners.

4) I don't know squat about zones. We left our appliances in basically the same spots because they worked there and it would have been cost-prohibitive to move them, anyway. One issue you might have is the oven and DW doors colliding. And someone at the range could bump butts with someone at the sink. But our layout is almost identical to yours in that respect and it is workable. But we have almost a 50" passageway. Is yours actually only 36"? It really needs to be more than that -- I'd say a minimum of 42". Others with more knowledge will tell you if more than that is needed.

I've added some photos of our kitchen, where nothing is ever ground, canned or slaughtered. Your self-sufficiency in cooking for your family is to be commended!

*Existing pantry, and the new wall to the left of the fridge:

*Range wall, showing the new wall to the left of the fridge:

Yes, that IS an open galley!

The length is fine. But, it is only 7 feet wide? From the wall to the back of the island (facing DR)? That is too narrow. Your aisle is only 36". Can you push the island out 6-12"? My galley is 8 ft. wide (walls both sides) and even with 48" cabinet to cabinet it is a tight squeeze, but people can pass each other.

Why is there a gap between the back base cabs? How wide is each drawer base flanking the range? Only 15" - then DEFINITELY add that 6" to the base cab next to the fridge - that counter space is too short. So put a 21" cabinet there. Plus, the drawers inside a 15" wide cab are less than 12" wide - not good. You need a wider pot and pan drawer base between the fridge and range. That counter will be used for both groceries and hot pots.

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OK, this is what I would do if I was you. A bit unconventional, but I dig your lifestyle so I think this may work.

First, I would make the aisle 6" wider so when someone does walk in they aren't literally walking over you.

Then, you need to separate you baking / grain (dry) zone from your meat and cheese (wet) zone.

First, I would steal 12" from your pantry and shift the fridge over (and recess it back into your storage room if possible). I would scale back the pantry doors to 30" or 24". It will still have 12" deep shelves along one wall, and then put narrow shelves between the studs on the wall next to the fridge. Your pantry is more like a walk-way to the storage room, and I assume that is used for bigger items. this gains 12" along the back wall and the fridge starts before the island, so it's easy for people to grab a drink from the DR without bothering you.

I would then replace the 36" drawer base in the corner with a corner cabinet with bifold doors (not an angled front)and a Super Susan. This will take up the same space along the back wall and 36" along the end wall. I would then put in a 6" pull-out next to it (towards DR), and then put a 24" wide (24" deep) base cabinet backing up to the pull-out FACING the DINING ROOM (it will be installed backwards from the island cabs).

This will create a baking / grain area. You can store your grinder and supplies in the Super Susan, and spices, oils in the 6" pull-out. This will create a 42" wide aisle and the end wall will have a 25" deep counter. You can wrap upper cabinets onto this wall. I would use a 27" wide, 42" high corner upper between back and end walls and 15" deep cabinets on end wall. I would put two 21" wide x 30" high cabinets (15" deep) mounted at the ceiling on the end wall. This is for extra baking stuff, but it is high enough to not be in the way (30" above counter). I'd then mount a shelf below this for often used items like canisters / jars of flour, sugar (to keep it off the counter). Then on the end I would mount a 15" wide x 42" high cabinet FACING the DINING ROOM (only 12" deep). The side facing the kitchen can have an end panel or...

Put that extra 6" split between the two 15" cabinets to get 18" cabinets. If for some reason you don't want to do that put that 6" at the end of the wall and make it a pull-out broom closet if needed.

I would put your DW, if possible, on the other side of the sink. Right now you have doors from fridge, oven and DW all opening into the same space. Also, if your dishes etc are in the upper cabinets along the stove wall the DW is closer for unloading.
Then shift your sink a bit to the right to be nearer the DW. You would have 2' of counter (on top of DW), sink, then 6' (I think) of uninterrupted counter space.

I think it is a galley kitchen. You just don't have a wall on the back of one side.

An "open galley" is like an "open square".

It is a contradiction.

Imagine a kitchen in an 13th century ship. This where the term first came from. Now imagine you "don't have a wall on one side" of the ship.

I just think a better discription gets more interested and knowledgable people to click the topic and get better advise.

This is an open kitchen in a kitchen great room.

"...I cook by myself and have two small children..."

You will soon be a 2- or 3-cook family! As your children (very quickly) grow up, you will probably be teaching them how to cook, bake, grind, and cleanup. I recommend not planning for a one-cook kitchen. [Speaking from experience...they'll probably start "helping" by the time they're 4 or 5 and be a real help by the time they're 7 or 8.]

It's rarely a good idea to plan a kitchen around a family of small children where the adults do all the cooking & cleaning. Rather, plan for the future...older kids, tweens, & teens helping out along with their friends. Those years will not only be much longer, but a kitchen designed for older children will also work well with all adults and, later, grown kids + grandchildren! [Even if you have many more children, your current children will be helping out in the kitchen in no time at all!]

I like the open end on both sides of the aisle...it will give you and others room to move about the kitchen doing various tasks.

I do, though, agree that the aisle b/w the two runs looks rather narrow, but w/o actual dimensions it's difficult to say for certain. In particular, look at the aisle b/w the refrigerator and island...it barely looks wide enough to open the refrigerator. I strongly recommend a french-door refrigerator for this narrow an aisle. [If the aisle is 36" b/w the counter on the island and the counter along the wall, then you will have close to a 30" aisle b/w the refrigerator and island counter...b/c even most counter depth refrigerators are around 30" deep when you count the doors and handles.]

Not only are your DW & oven doors in conflict as was mentioned previously, but your DW is also going to block access to the refrigerator from the range and counters on the right.

You also have all three zones crammed into one small portion of your kitchen...Cooking Zone where the range is, Cleanup Zone where the sink and DW are, and Prep Zone where there's water and proximity to the range...the same end of the island with the DW.

See...

...

Are you open to other ideas? Here are a couple...

With Zones...notice how the zones are spread out a little more, allowing more than one person to work in the kitchen at one time. These layouts will also work well with just one person cooking or cleaning up.

Because you asked (#4)...!

Zones, what are they?

"Zones" are areas in your kitchen where the work occurs. Work in the kitchen is broken down into three primary work zones. Everyone has these three zones, everyone!

Prep Zone...This is the zone where food prep takes place. Food prep can be anything from making a sandwich to preparing a multi-course meal. It includes cleaning/rinsing food, cutting, mixing, processing, etc. For many people, especially those with small kitchens, their Prep Zone is also their Baking Center for rolling out dough, etc. 70% of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent prepping. It's the most often used and longest used zone in your kitchen!

Cooking Zone...This is the zone where you take the food you've already prepped and apply heat...cooktop, oven, MW. Only 10% of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent actually cooking. This is the least used Zone, relatively speaking. Think about it, you usually don't spend the entire time standing in front of your oven or cooktop watching it cook. Sure, there are some things that do have to be stirred constantly, but most things are not. And even then, you usually still spend more time prepping before you begin cooking.

Cleanup Zone...This is the zone where the dirty dishes are handled! Dishes, pots, pans, etc. 20% of the work and time spent in the kitchen is spent cleaning up.

++++++++++++++

OK, so now we know what the primary zones are. So now, how do we design a kitchen keeping them in mind?

Prep Zone...works best when it contains a water source and is next to or across an aisle no more than 48" wide or so from the Cooking Zone. Trash & recycle bins should also be in the Prep Zone.

Cooking Zone...works best when next to/across from the Prep Zone (see Prep Zone). It's also nice to have a water source nearby as well as trash & recycling nearby.

Cleanup Zone...works best when separated from the Prep & Cooking Zones. This can be on the opposite side of a one-sink kitchen from the Prep Zone or it could be in a completely separate location (the latter usually only works well if you have two sinks). Obviously, it also needs a water source and the DW.

What else do we need to keep in mind regarding planning a kitchen and zones?

Dish Storage...works best when it's near the DW and near the serving/eating locations (island, DR, Nook, etc.)

Food Storage...works best when it's near the "action". It's nice to be able to store staples, etc. at their point-of-use, so food storage can be spread throughout the kitchen. E.g., flour, sugar, etc. in a "Baking Center", spices in the Prep or Cooking Zone, Cereal close to where breakfast is eaten, etc. If you have a dedicated pantry, it's nice to have the pantry near the point where the groceries enter the house as well.

Refrigerator...works best on the periphery of the kitchen so it's easily accessed by people working in the kitchen as well as...

Wow, you guys are awesome!!!! I can't thank you enough!

I'll spend the morning studying all this and revising my plans, and I'll start another thread titled "Maybe NOT a galley kitchen!" Lol.

Thanks!!!!!

I have the same kind of layout like you and Jakabedy.

Why don't you just make the 15" cab a 21" cab? You could just do a narrow cab and use that for trays.

I would DEFINATELY keep the island open at both ends for traffic flow.

I know you have the dining table right there, but consider working island seating into your plan. That is a regret of ours.

Where are you putting dishes?

I cook a lot too from scratch and would recommend putting your sink on the wall run. Maybe I am a total mess (okay, not maybe) but just last night I was cleaning up from making mustard and got the mustard all over the sink wall. Which is fine because it is white subway tile. But if my sink was on the island, it would have been an uncontained mess.

I really like Buehl's Layout #1.

Good luck! Every cook deserves a fab kitchen!

Here is a link that might be useful: my kitchen

As I hate blind cabinets in inside corners (the corner, and several inches of the adjoining runs, becomes hard to access - Lazy Susan is way worse than Darling Drawer) I prefer buehl's #1. I also like the distinctive long island. #2 loses that.

Forgot an important point above....

When designing your kitchen, ideally, the zones should follow the normal/usual workflow in a kitchen: Refrigerator â (Prep) Sink â Workspace â Cooktop/Range â Table OR (Cleanup) Sink â (Cleanup) Sink â Cabinets (dishes, pots/pans, etc.)
Which translates to:
Refrigerator â Prep Zone â Cooking Zone â Serving Zone â Cleanup Zone

You don't necessarily have to have this exact flow, but something close. For example, you might have the Cooking Zone located between the Refrigerator and Prep Zone. This isn't necessarily bad b/c these two zones are tied so closely together. On the other hand (OTOH), it's not a good idea to put the Cleanup Zone between the Refrigerator and Prep or Cooking Zones on the same run or on the same aisle if it's a narrow aisle. In this case, the DW and someone cleaning up and/or unloading the DW will be in the way of anyone prepping or cooking because the refrigerator is an integral part of both prepping and cooking. And, of course, the reverse is true....someone prepping and/or cooking will get in the way of someone cleaning up!

Darn! The arrows showed up so nicely when I previewed the post!

Doh! I just realized that my U-galley takes a 30" drawer base after corner cab to make a 42" wide aisle (not a 6" pull-out). Total brain-fart!

That being said, I actually like Buehl's layout #2. I would DEFINITELY wrap around the corner, whether you close it off or leave it with an island open on both ends.

There just is not enough counter / storage / specific prep areas for what you do with the galley. The "L" with island will be MUCH more useful and efficient.

But, if you do have enough space for bulk storage in the storage room behind the kitchen, I'd still consider shifting the fridge 12" into the pantry area. That way you can create a a longer (48" to corner sink) prep area between the range and corner sink dedicated to your activities that require water and heat (cheesemaking, canning, meat prep); that stuff takes up a lot of space and is MESSY! I would REALLY try to keep these activities totally separate from the dry grain / baking area.

Based on Buehl's layout #2:

Shifting fridge 12" into pantry space = Fridge, 33" drawer base (groceries, hot pots), range, 18" drawer base, 30" drawer base (meal prep, cheesemaking, canning etc).

Corner sink base separates wet / dry prep.

Along the end wall I'd run a 54" counter with two 27" drawer bases (instead of 48" run). This is because you loose at least 4-5" of actual drawer interior, so two 24" cabs = approx 19" wide drawers, whereas 27" cabs = approx 22" wide drawer interior. The end will then line up with the back of the island. This would be the baking zone.

On the island I would use a 36" sink base, not 30". This will make the short aisle between the island and baking center 36" wide, which is fine since it's not the primary work zone and there are no major appliances there.

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You said that you like to bake "A LOT." I'm wondering if maybe you want an extra oven? If so, in the baking zone you can put a 30" wall oven installed under the counter after the sink base and then a 30" drawer base. This will extend the "L" to 60", so 6" beyond the back of the island, but it doesn't appear this would interfere with your dining room. The oven door will open into the main work aisle, not into the island side.

Honestly, it sounds like you live on a farm and are really into the Homesteading lifestyle. That is pretty much my DREAM, and my "Dream House" and kitchen is designed for just such a life (no meat though, I'm a vegetarian ;) Unfortunately I live in the burbs, and I am still making sure to eek out every inch for separate zones with as much storage and counterspace as possible. My pantry will actually be outside the kitchen in order to do this, and since you have that storage room, you can afford to lose 12" to gain a larger canning / cheesemaking area. 3 ft. just isn't long enough for that, especially if someone else is making a meal at the range at the same time. Also, I really think you will want one really big sink, 33"-36". Great...

Zones and Kitchen Workflow

When designing your kitchen, ideally, the zones should follow the normal/usual workflow in a kitchen: Refrigerator --> (Prep) Sink --> Workspace --> Cooktop/Range --> Table OR (Cleanup) Sink --> (Cleanup) Sink --> Cabinets (dishes, pots/pans, etc.)
Which translates to:
Refrigerator --> Prep Zone --> Cooking Zone --> Serving Zone --> Cleanup Zone
You don't necessarily have to have this exact flow, but something close. For example, you might have the Cooking Zone located between the Refrigerator and Prep Zone. This isn't necessarily bad b/c these two zones are tied so closely together. On the other hand (OTOH), it's not a good idea to put the Cleanup Zone between the Refrigerator and Prep or Cooking Zones on the same run or on the same aisle if it's a narrow aisle. In this case, the DW and someone cleaning up and/or unloading the DW will be in the way of anyone prepping or cooking because the refrigerator is an integral part of both prepping and cooking. And, of course, the reverse is true....someone prepping and/or cooking will get in the way of someone cleaning up!

First - buel, thank you so much for putting in the time to do these layouts AND type out the whole zone explanation in such an easy to understand way. It was incredibly helpful.

Here's Notagalley Version 2.0 {{gwi:2107161}}From kitchen for KF

I've extended it to 16.5' long and 7.5' deep. That makes the aisle 42" wide. The french door fridge will either be cabinet depth or I'll tuck it further back into the storage room so it's the same depth as the cabs.

The galley I'm in now (it's a 14'wide trailer and geeze it's awful!!) has a 48" aisle and it's really too wide. 36" feels good to me since we're a family of long skinny folks. I like being able to swivel on one foot and reach both counters. But I'm scared of making a horrible mistake so if everyone thinks 36" is too small I'm willing to bow to the collective KF wisdom.

What I DON'T want is to spend the rest of my life in this house wishing I had just added x more inches to something

I made all the base cabs 36" except the one between the fridge and range. I LOVED having 36" drawers in my old kitchen. I didn't know you could get uppers deeper than 1' but I like that and will look into it. I think we've found a local cabinet maker.

I've got an extra 12" of depth that I can use to either extend the island countertop out (to make a slim overhang) or add to the dining area. I'm a little worried that 10' isn't wide enough for a dining room, considering it's between the entry and the living room. Or I could pull the back cabinets out from the wall to make them even with the fridge and give me an extra deep countertop on the back wall. Or I could give it back to my poor cannibalized storage room, lol.

This is a new build so nothing is unmoveable at this point. I would like to keep the sink opposite the french doors but that's negotiable too.

I tried to separate the zones better. The baking zone needs to have the stand mixer, the food processor, and counterspace so I think it would go best in the back against the wall.

I put a freestanding 36"x36" table opposite the fridge to kind of save the space. I may put a butcher block table there or maybe a tall table for the kids to sit at. Eventually I want to put a woodburning cookstove there.

One thing that draws me to the galley layout is my dissatisfaction with all the kitchens I've ever had with deep, inaccessable, wasteful, cavernous corner cabs. I once had a Lazy Susan but wasn't thrilled with that either. If they've made wonderful innovations lately I'd love to reconsider layout #2.

natschultz - Yes we do live on a farm, but just moved here so I don't really know exactly what I need in a farm kitchen. The grain mill is a Country Living brand. I researched a lot before I bought it. I love it. I grind all our flours, corn, barley (a little barley flour adds a nice texture to...

I think the exit space at the end is too narrow. It should be wider than your working isle so people use it as an exit from the kitchen. You don't want people to not use it because it is too tight. The way you have your dining room furniture arrangment, I just don't see how people will get around the chairs to go into the kitchen through the "right sided" opening. In order to create a comfortable space, you need to have enough space to walk around it. You should have at least 2 to 3 feet behind the chair even when someone is sitting in the chair so people use it as a passage. If that entry/exit ends up not being used, then you will end up with a dead-end kitchen, a terrible fate IMHO.

I like my blind corner that pulls out. The items are delievered to me, like a drawer. You have to use a large door like this system, I think 24 inches so things are easy to access. When the doors are small as in folded corner doors, it is PITA. I had that before.

I also store large items like as shown in the picture and it works great because the large items take up too much storge in other places. I prefer to relegate these large itmes to the corner. (I store my large mixing bowls 12 qt size, salad spinner, stock pots etc)

42 inch isle cabinet placement ends up being about 38 to 40 inch countertop distance by the time you account for handles and countertop overhangs. I find that I can turn with 1 pivot with my 42 inch cabinet distance kitchen set up. I have 48 inch island in front of the frig and I don't work there. We only use it as entry/exit.

If you are using a custom cabinet manufacturer, it really does not matter if the drawers are 36 in wide or 38 or 32. What you like are wide drawers. I would focus on what makes the kitchen functional. For example, on your current plan, I would move either the DW or range so that the doors can be open at the same time without interfering. Some of my drawers are wider than 36 inches. I had them create a line where the length was divided perfectly evenly....

If I were you, I would make the storage smaller and dining room bigger. The construction cost is the same whether it goes to the storage or dining if it is heated. It is still construction. I would invest in really efficient storage that you can fill to the max. Your dining it tight. There is no good entry. Where will the shoes/muddy boots/coats go? I would prefer to come into the LR rather than the DR if that is your only entry.

Another thing to think about is what goes into "unheated storage (ie cheaper part of the contruction)" and "heated". If you can delegate items to unheated storage then they are out of the expensive real estate.

Here is a link that might be useful: pull out blind corner system.

I was going to suggest putting the sink on the right of the stove run and a prep sink in the left side of the island (buehl's #1 LO). This will give you access to water / draining w/out crossing the aisle (important with little kids!) and will give you water access on the island for prep. you'll spend more time in prep than dishes and this will have you facing the table where people/friends/family might be sitting to visit with you.
you could put a rounded or half rounded ('rounded' on one side) overhang of counter top on the left end of the island. this will give you more counter space and a place for someone (maybe you) to sit up to the counter to visit - or help. taking your main sink off of the island will also give you more counter space for canning, prep etc.

I do think pushing the fridge back into the storage area a bit would certainly help if that is possible.

and keep the island open on both ends - that access around it is important. the right access for clearing the table and probably setting it also w/o getting into the cooking area.

use that 6" as others posted - larger drawers!

remember that the counter top edges out over the cabinets a few inches. That'll shorten the space between the wall run and the 'island run'. if it measures 36" now, you might only end up with 30-32".