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Discussion Forum

how much room for a galley kitchen?

Crawdad | Posted in General Discussion on October 29, 2007 04:57am

I’m doing a kitchen remodel (my own) and am thinking about moving the cabinets/sink/appliances etc to another area of the kitchen (after I knock out a wall) to make room for a nice big table where all those items are now.   The newly available space will be 12ft  by 91in.  Is  91in  enough room to have full depth base cabinets and counter tops on both sides and still be able to effectively work  in the kitchen and open the d/w, cabinet doors etc?   We originally thought we would put the table in there and leave the cabinets and appliances where they are even though I think the 91in is tight for a table w/ chairs on both sides.   We are stuck with the 91in figure so I have to work with it.  Thanks.

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  1. User avater
    Gene_Davis | Oct 29, 2007 06:18pm | #1

    I like to design for a minimum of 42" clearance, countertop to countertop, and with 91 inches wall to wall, that will leave you with 24-1/2" of counter, which is a teenie bit slim.

    Any chance you can have the basecabs built custom to a shallower depth than standard?  Most stuff is about 24-1/2" to 24-3/4" back to front, and requires a countertop depth of at least 25".

    Losing an inch of depth shouldn't bother basecabs construction.  There should still be adequate depth for most drawerslides.

    1. Crawdad | Oct 29, 2007 06:41pm | #5

      I could bump into the interior and steal some space from what will be the enlarged bathroom.   I'll have to consider that, some time the most obvious things escape me.

    2. User avater
      CapnMac | Oct 29, 2007 11:40pm | #9

      have the basecabs built custom to a shallower depth than standard

      Which is a cool way to gain kitchen space--you just have to remember to allow for things like ranges and d/w that "presume" a 24" depth (don't ask me how I know <sigh>)

      Another thing for narrow kitchens is a custom depth toe kick--going from 3" to 4 or even 6" creates a longer "sight line" that makes the sapce seem bigger.  That is, if you can stand having a bit more difficult spot to sweep/clean in the kitchen.

      Going with an "industrial" look, with legs instead of a kick, and having the boxes look to be separate (i.e., not scribed to the walls) can add visual space.  But, only if a person can live with the look, it can be cold and not at all "homey."Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

  2. bjr | Oct 29, 2007 06:28pm | #2

    We bought our house that came with a galley kitchen and we have cursed that ever since we bought the house 17 years ago. We do a fair amount of entertaining and the kitchen is where everybody always seems to gravitate and it can really be a dangerous bottleneck if your trying to manouver around 5-6 people while carrying a hot 15lbs turkey right out of the oven.

    Hire an architect and do your space designing right even if it means bumping out walls. You will not regret it and it will probably ad much value to your house.

    BjR 

    1. Crawdad | Oct 29, 2007 06:38pm | #3

      Thanks for the advice.

      Edited 10/29/2007 11:41 am ET by Crawdad

  3. Hudson Valley Carpenter | Oct 29, 2007 06:39pm | #4

    Sure, 91" is plenty of room if you configure the kitchen correctly.  It's also sufficient for a table up to 30" wide but IMO, unless it's only a 24", two person table, it'll take too much space out of the kitchen. 

    Placing the sink under a window at the approximate mid-point on that side's base cabinets with the refrigerator and stove on opposite ends of the other side will give you the accepted standard arrangement, one which works well with one cook and a helper. 

     

     

  4. Dave45 | Oct 29, 2007 10:13pm | #6

    We have a galley kitchen that measures ~102" wall to wall and it works pretty well.  Our's has an "eating area" at one end that opens into the family room and there's a pocket door at the other end that goes to the "formal" dining room.

    It's definitely best as a one person kitchen, but two people can manuver with a little "dancing".  The eating area works pretty well as a congregating area so the "tourists" can talk to the cook but stay out of the cook's way.

    Although all the doors would open, 91" would probably be a little too narrow for more than one person.  If I were designing your cabinets, I would probably recommend 20" base units and locate the appliances so the doors could open fully without conflicting.

    In a perfect world, I would walk thru fire to avoid having another galley kitchen!! - lol

  5. IdahoDon | Oct 29, 2007 11:00pm | #7

    When designing a kitchen we mock up the space if possible and you can see for yourself how tight things are.

    As for width between things, that's also somewhat of a personal choice.  Some cooks love an open kitchen where passing someone is easy, while others don't want extra bodies in the kitchen and they want the counters close so they don't have to walk far between activities.   For instance, on an island you may want more room on the main pathway, and less on the other end if it will only be used occationally and rarely is a spot where two people meet and go around each other.

    3' spacing is about a minimum for main traffic areas in the kitchen and only if the cook likes things to be close. 

    The best kitchen designs are based on how you actually cook.  For a baking fanatic, it makes no sense to leave 4' of space between counters if it means doing away with something as useful as a custom baking center right next to the ovens.

    Design the kitchen for how you cook and let the experts with cookie cutter designs sell them to the McMansions.

    Cheers

     

    Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.

  6. User avater
    CapnMac | Oct 29, 2007 11:30pm | #8

    Is  91in  enough room to have full depth base cabinets and counter tops on both sides and still be able to effectively work 

    That's about what my old apartment kitchen was (96(cabinet) x 90).  In a perfect wolrd, the refrigerator ought to have been moved out of that, as it made for a tiny work triangle, even for just one (15" cab, 30" range, 15" cab, 36" fridge really too tight for just one wall).

    91" is a hair tight for a rectangular table perpendicular to that dimension, 112 -120" is better.  does not mean 91" won't work, jsut that you'd probably wind up with some sort of diagonal postion for a 4 or 6 place table.

    I'm thinking your instincts are right, that a galley arragement will work best in your space.  If you gow with a U, thats only 43" across that one side, and you "lose" two feet of your 12, into which you likely have 8.5' (36+36+30) of "stuff" (oh, and if possible do not have the d/w across from the range--trust me).  What might work is an extended L or really wide U; but, I don't know where your table would go with two 91 legs and the one 12' leg of cabinets.

    A sketch showing the constraints of the space might help "us" brainstorm on this--knowing where windows are, doors, etc..

    Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
    1. Crawdad | Oct 30, 2007 03:12am | #10

      I'll talk to the wife about a sketch, I have no idea how to put that on here. Me computer stupid!    Thanks to everyone for the input.

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