Are you trying to tweak it, or are you completely changing? If tweaking, are the countertops staying?

we just bought this, so budget is slim for the next 6 mos or so. Sadly, counters need to stay for the moment, but I'd LOVE any ideas you have for future!! :)

OK - I think the green is too dark, and paint is cheap! Maybe pick up a lighter color from the countertops and go with that. Maybe if you use something in the tan family, it would blend in the floors better and give it a more cohesive look, rather than the choppy color thing.

For the future, there's not much to do in terms of layout unless you're changing walls. I would get rid of those bulkheads unless they're hiding hvac stuff, then go taller w/cabinets. Galley kitchens may seem somewhat limiting (less "sexy" than big kitchens), but they're among the most efficient uses of space.

If tweaking involves paint, then yes, repainting is an option. I would love to replace counters, too, but floor needs to stay for time being. Thanks annmarie2 !

Can you remove any walls & open up the space?

we are thinking of moving wall opposite window, but it is the main load-bearing wall thru center of house (built in 1960), so would be a MAJOR remodel. Not ready for that $$$-wise yet! refrigerator is on it's way out, thank you, Interiors International, Inc & Paulson's Construction, Inc for your thoughts tho!

They used to call this a cooks kitchen. Never knew why.

There are some amazing galley kitchens on houzz so I think you should embrace it! I'd like to see the wall color something fresher even if it's just a light grey. Look at crate and barrel for some floor runners. They have two with a yellow stripe that may pick up your wall in the other room.

my husband & I call it a "one butt kitchen", and it'd better not be a very big butt!! lol. I hadn't considered a grey, sam0705, .... might be interesting! right now the hallway (what you see at the end of the galley) AND the dining room (behind you at the other end of the galley) are both that yellow-orange color, as is the living room on the other side of the refrigerator/range wall. . thinking of changing, but......? may be digging too big a hole for myself :). THANKS for the thoughts! & suggestions!!

I agree with a counter-depth refrigerator.

About the function of your kitchen: My galley kitchen is wider than yours, but we still have to dance around each other if more than one person is working in the kitchen. Here are some things that I do to include more than one person in the work: I try to station "helpers" at one spot with everything that they need to do their work so as to minimize the "dance". They stay at their place and you bring what they need. So, try to have two work areas. I also have our dishes, glasses, and silverware in the cabinet closest to the table where we eat, napkins and placemats are at a shelf next to the table. That way the person who is setting the table doesn't have to cross the person cooking. When I have a big gang and it is time to serve dessert, one person takes and delivers "orders" (some want ice cream with cake, some cake only, some ice cream only...) while another person, stationed away from the door to the dining room, dishes up.

great ideas, @yvonnecmartin ! much better than getting tense at one another when someone steps on a toe in "the dance" .... :). Iike the napkins, placemats, etc being next to the table..... gonna borrow your idea! Dining room needs WORK right now, tho.

@sam0705, i had looked thru Houzz kitchens before but NOT with "galley" as the search, duh, you're right - love some of the ideas. What shade of grey were you thinkng? dark grey to contrast the cabinets & stay with the value of the yellow walls in the DR and hall, or ??? my taste runs to eclectic/contemporary.

I have Pittsburgh paints greystone all over my downstairs except for my dining room which is PP quicksilver a slate blue. I see a lot of people recommending Benjamin Moore revere pewter as a good grey. I'd probably paint everything and get rid of the yellow unless you love it. I love yellow but more as my pop of color. I also like the west elm chevron runner for your kitchen. What kind if fridge did you get? I agree that anything other than counter depth will stick out like a sore thumb in a galley kitchen.

Oh and they greystone is a medium warm grey.

I think you need to play up the white, and go with the white/pewter/grey color scheme, even if the house isn't particularly modern.

I've been living in a galley kitchen for 6 months and have decided that I love it. True, it's a one person affair, but it's really efficient. The beauty of the "one-person" part is that sometimes that person isn't me! Then I can't do anything but relax somewhere else...

@sam0705, you really got me thinking!! the pewter grey looks great, and I am now thinking of it, ALOT. The color scheme is dated, from several years ago, but happy, so we've left it alone so far. Pottery Barn had a fun striped rug, whatcha' think???
Yes , @nonoanna , i'm ready to embrace the contemporary part of modern. House is a mid-century cutie built in 1960. Liking the idea of playing up the horizontal & LOOONG aspect of the kitchen. Need to update the sad little foyer. Maybe the long gallery pictures idea below??
Scrapping the dining room completely, and the LR sofa is gone. Grey sectional in its' place....... where to go from there???
GREAT creative sparks, Houzzers.... THANKS! :)

Love the picture gallery. I'm dying to do a living in gray men's suiting fabric with a mix of velvet and satin as accent pieces, but I"m not sure that works with the fun rug you show. Very chic though - black white, camel and some fun accent color.

I just opened an old House Beatiful and they show a beautiful gray Farrow & Ball paint called "Down Pipe 26". Very rich and inviting but could be dark. Might be worth a look.

My personal preference would be a bolder stripe on the floor to take any attention from the tiles. I also think if you can get away with something with a wider stripe with some white in it, it will contribute to brightening up the space. The West Elm zig zag rug is what I would put in my kitchen if I didn't know my toddlers and dog would destroy the white! It comes in black/white with red trim and grey/white with yellow trim. Then add more of the color in the room with accessories.
http://www.houzz.com/west-elm-zig-zag-runner-in-kitchen
I also like a lot of these runners: There are some options with yellow if you want to keep that in.
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/decorating-and-accessories/floor-runners/1

@nonoanna, i agree abt the striped rug, for Living Rm! I'm thinking of using it in the Kitchen...... kinda wish the stripes went long-ways and not across, but ....??
For the Living rm, this photo is from several years ago. Only thing the same is the wall-color.
I LOVE your men's flannel idea! What color walls?? I'm wanting to keep my decorating $$$ for special things, and reuse/re-purpose what I have. For a rug, what I have in another room is a very muted Oriental, in pale purples, greens, rose colors on cream background. Trying to envision that with new charcoal grey sectional in the Living Rm ??? I love the purples/greens/melons color palette. Maybe brighter as velvet/satin accents with the sofa?? clearly I enjoy Eclectic style.... :)

Oooh, sam0705, I LIKE the chevron-zig zag idea.... couldn't find West Elm at crate n barrel, thanks for the pix. I like the "more-white" idea, too but we are outdoorsy types, and would probably trash it, too!

This is sounding fun. The oriental rug goes with anything, right? They get used almost like a neutral.

Iam a big fan of House Beautiful's "Color" column which shows a selection of colors each month and descriptions of how they've worked by various decorators. They also published a book with several years' worth of the column. The beauty of this is that you get pictures of the color in situ, and descriptions from decorators that have actually used them. So if you want to go out on a limb and use a color like eggplant or coral, you get a good description of one that really works.

I suppose it depends on what direction you want to go - if you want to go with corals or purples or greens. If you go with the greens, a friend used a Pratt & Lambert called Celeri that was beige but had a touch of green that wasn't at all sickly or institutional, which is the biggest fear with green...

hmmmm..... LOTS of great ideas, nonoanna and sam0705!! kinda like the feel of this HouseBeautiful room, but unfortunately the cream chairs would NEVER work for us! Pear greens or even pops of coral accents?? I had toyed with the idea of this Aubergine/green for the Mudroom at one time, but wanted more cream or white accents or....... something ......Yep, this IS sounding fun!!

I believe your kitchen could modernized just a little. Paint the kitchen a light grey. Therefore, it would blend in well with your white appliances and back splash. When you have a few extra dollars change your microwave to a stainless one when there is a good sale. Change the door of your dishwasher to the stainless steel cover which is right behind the original that is on their now, and then you can buy for a minimal cost a stainless steel skin to go on your refrigerator and stove and hood. All this should cost no more than maybe $350.00 if you shop online for deals. You'll have a beautiful kitchen. Good Luck!

I am glad you liked my idea. You have great house. A little paint and some small changes can make everything look different and wonderful to you.

Hi again, Here's an idea book of the purples and greens you like. I think that is a great color scheme and would also work with grey in your kitchen or elsewhere.
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/inspired-by-nature-purple-and-green-stsetivw-vs~325832

Oh and here's a link to the zig zag rug:
http://www.westelm.com/products/zigzag-rug-r656/?cm_src=AutoSchRel

like it, like it!! you're GOOD, sam0705! the floors in the living room & mud room are an OK laminate, in a warm oak color, & will have to do until the $$$Fairy pops in & we can put down hardwood. I really like the grey in the kitchen with lime & amethyst. Monet's Water Lilies and Water Iris paintings have always spoken to my heart..... i may have just found THE inspiration, THANKS to you!! :) Now to find some more money - ! lol

and THX for the West Elm site ..... no wonder Pottery Barn didn't have anything....silly me?!