9 Ways to Enjoy Your Narrow Kitchen More
Use color, pattern and even your cooking supplies to personalize your skinny cooking space
Becky Harris
November 7, 2017
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
Kitchens designed to pack a lot into a narrow space can sometimes feel strictly utilitarian. Many of the millions of people who have them are tempted to throw up their hands when it comes to a redesign. But there’s no reason such a space can’t express your personal style and make you happy. Consider some of these ideas if your narrow kitchen is ready for a spruce-up.
1. Give it a striking ceiling. Cheerful lemon wallpaper on the ceiling draws the eye up in this sunny galley kitchen. If you’re a renter, check out removable wallpaper for this design move. Other strategies for accomplishing this include painting the ceiling a different color and adding an eye-catching light fixture.
Wallpaper: Serena & Lily
Wallpaper: Serena & Lily
2. Put a pattern on the floor. Conversely, you can go light and white on the ceiling for an airy feel, and make your big design move on the floor. This show stopping “rug” looks like tile but actually is painted on the wood floor.
How to Paint Your Hardwood Floors
How to Paint Your Hardwood Floors
3. Create an eat-in space. It can be possible to eke out an eat-in area in a single-wall kitchen. This clever table folds down when not in use, and the folding stools are easy to stash away.
15 Tiny Tables for Two | Find folding tables
15 Tiny Tables for Two | Find folding tables
4. Be fearless with color. There’s no need to shy away from your favorite color just because space is tight. Bold apple green energizes this small, sleek kitchen.
Cooking With Color: When to Use Green in the Kitchen
Cooking With Color: When to Use Green in the Kitchen
5. Bring in some artwork. Black-and-white photography makes good use of often-wasted space above the cabinets in this compact L-shaped kitchen.
6. Put pots and pans on display. The proportions of this long narrow pot rack work well in this single-wall kitchen. And its utilitarian style fits right in with the loft’s architecture and industrial roots.
See more pot racks
See more pot racks
7. Install open shelving. In a spot where every inch of storage is at a premium, open shelving is not the first option that comes to mind. But as long as you keep it neat and organized, it can be a design asset that helps a kitchen feel more open. And an open shelf is a great place to keep your oils, herbs and spices handy in the cooking area, as long as it doesn’t get too much light.
The Pros and Cons of Upper Kitchen Cabinets and Open Shelves
The Pros and Cons of Upper Kitchen Cabinets and Open Shelves
Here’s another clever way with shelving. By creating a recess that is just a few inches deep, the designer created a beautiful spot to display the spices in this very narrow galley. They almost look like a piece of art.
8. Add greenery. A number of these galley kitchens have a fantastic window at the end, but those people are plum lucky. If you don’t have a galley with a view, bring in some life with a shade-loving plant, even a small one. If you don’t want to sacrifice the counter space as they did here, consider hanging one from the ceiling or installing a little shelf on the wall for it.
9. Splurge on a bold backsplash. You don’t have to stick with a tiny pattern on the backsplash just because your kitchen is compact. With so much extended cabinetry in here, the large-scale pattern of the backsplash breaks up all the wood and gives the eye a stylish place to land.
Tell us: Do you have experience with a narrow kitchen? What were some of your best storage solutions? Did you make any unexpected design moves? Please share with us in the Comments.
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My Mom, too. A galley kitchen is the only layout I've ever known. A U-shaped kitchen would seem huge to me.
It's not the size nor the shape of the kitchen - it's the cook who knows how to use the tools to the maximum benefit.
I often stand in my kitchen and try and figure out how I would rearrange it, and always come up with nothing that doesn't involve taking out bearing walls and such. So I've accepted it as it is. It's a narrow kitchen with the back part added on at some time in the past (not entirely level). I've put in a greenhouse window, butcher block counter and table top where I could and stone tile mosaic countertops where I couldn't. Painted the dark brown cabinets in a bright white and painted the walls in a tan that's picked up from the tile. It's kind of disjointed, but cozy.