There’s sizzle in sleek, simple kitchens
Homeowners veer from gadget-filled spaces to galley-style designs
When best-selling cookbook author Jenny Rosenstrach renovated her kitchen, she figured she would squeeze in as much storage space as possible. But over time, she found she had filled all the cabinets and shelves with useless things.
Last year, she decided to rip out about 20 per cent of her cabinets.
“It’s so much better,” she said. “I gave away three cabinets’ worth of small appliances, bowls and mugs, and I have not once said to myself, ‘Oh, I wish I had that back.’ ”
Turns out Rosenstrach is not alone. Recent research from the National Kitchen & Bath Association shows there is movement away from large cabinet-filled kitchens to smaller galley or “in-line” kitchens that are laid out in one straight line.
Kitchen designer Jennifer Gilmer, in Maryland and Virginia, finds that 85 per cent of new homeowners are choosing the cleaner, more contemporary and simple style of a galley kitchen.
“People may have grown up in oversized houses with kitchens that were too large and poorly designed, so as a reaction they want smaller, more compact spaces,” Gilmer says.
She makes a good case for galley kitchens: They allow you to work without the obstruction of an island or table. They also keep the work area smaller, which means less walking from one appliance to another or to the sink.
Dan McFadden, president of PB Kitchen Design in Geneva, Ill., and president of the Chicago Midwest chapter of the National Kitchen & Bath Associa- tion, says another benefit is that galley kitchens cost less.
“You’ll have fewer cabinets and fewer feet of countertop, so you can splurge on appliances, fixtures and hardware.”
McFadden likes to use sleek built-in appliances with clutter-free controls, such as SubZero’s integrated refrigerators that sit flush with adjacent cabinets.
For a typical galley layout, McFadden suggests putting the refrigerator on one end, a pantry and wall ovens on the other end, with the sink and cooktop centered in the middle on opposite walls. If the kitchen is wide enough, he recommends putting the cooktop directly across from the sink.
Gilmer recommends always locating the refrigerator on the same side as the sink.
“It’s natural to take something out of the refrigerator and then need to use the sink prior to preparing the food,” she says.
Countertop space is critical in a galley. Elle H-Millard, industry relations manager for the National Kitchen & Bath Association, suggests thinking in terms of zones.
And as any galley/small kitchen owner will tell you, have a large cutting board that can cover your sink and provide a few more feet of counter space.