Galley kitchens can be a challenge but with a little careful planning and the right layout and design, you can have a stylish, practical workspace in no time
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Turn a compact galley kitchen into a stylish, practical space
Narrow, long and thin, galley kitchens are often dismissed as being tricky to work in and even more difficult to plan. Yet by choosing the right appliances and using some clever interior design tricks, you can easily make the space more accessible as well as lighter and brighter, too. One of the advantages of this type of kitchen, where base cabinets run along either one wall or two in parallel – think ship’s galleys – is that there is less space to walk around, making everything within easy reach. And they take less time to clean!
Choose retro-style tins and pots to store cutlery and utensils and display on open shelving
Salt and Pepper storage tins, £6.95 for a set of two, Rex London
Pop a couple of bar stools under a worktop overhang for an instant breakfast bar. Choose comfy weathered oak for a rustic farmhouse feel Ferguson Farmhouse bar stool, £137, Sweetpea & Willow
Draw the eye to a window at one end of the room with a vibrant blind, as this will help to elongate the space. It can also add a splash of colour or an on-trend pattern or print, which will be quick and easy to swap when you fancy a change
Roller blind in Guatemala Olive, from £57.74, MissPrint
Inject some colour and personality into a dark, narrow kitchen with a feature wall. Add a couple of floating shelves and display your favourite cookbooks, ceramics or potted plants
Active Orange and Spiced Honey matt emulsion,
£29.16 for 2.5L, Dulux
Incorporate clever storage solutions beneath bench seating and surrounding areas, making sure to keep an open feeling by limiting the number of wall units within the space Cambridge kitchen in Midnight Blue, from £1,700 for eight units, Benchmarx
Try to slot in a curved breakfast bar when there’s no space for a kitchen table. Simply pop a couple of bar stools underneath for an instant dining space Milbourne kitchen is similar, from £10,000, Second Nature
Think angled, adjustable wall lights over worktops and preparation space for essential task lighting when chopping food
Beleck black wall light,
£45, Iconic Lights