Galley Kitchen Designs DC, MD & VA | Galley Kitchen Remodel
living room with lit fireplace
Blog

Small Space, Big Function: Galley Kitchen Remodel in Washington, DC

 
From dark and gloomy to light and airy with a galley kitchen renovation

From dark and gloomy to light and airy with a galley kitchen renovation

Do you feel like your kitchen should be more spacious? Is it time to remodel your galley kitchen to better fit your modern lifestyle? It can often seem like a daunting and even impossible task, but with the right remodelers, galley kitchen renovation is nothing to worry about! Galley kitchens, prominent in many of Washington, DC’s historic districts, are typically narrow and dark. Depending on the homeowner, this space not usually favorable for cooking and entertaining. Luckily, with the help of a reputable design-build firm familiar with the difficulties of galley kitchen remodeling, a dreary and uncomfortable space can become practical and still maintains the historic charm and character of the rest of your home.

Successful Galley Kitchen Remodel in Northwest DC

Former dreary and cramped kitchen

Former dreary and cramped kitchen

When the owners of a row house in the historic Washington, DC neighborhood of Foxhall Village contacted Wentworth about a galley kitchen remodel, they told us they wanted to extend and modernize their kitchen. We knew that a small addition, coupled with a smart use of space, would dramatically improve the space from both a functional and aesthetic standpoint. As the current kitchen impeded the homeowners’ ability to easily chat with guests while preparing food, we suggested that the client sacrifice a rear porch to add additional square footage to the kitchen. What the clients lost in outdoor space, they gained in useable kitchen space and a cozy breakfast nook with a view of the garden that now sits where the porch used to be. The breakfast nook is a beautiful and seamless extension of the old kitchen and serves as a functional space with additional seating.

White subway tiles maintain character in a historic home

White subway tiles
maintain character
in a historic home

More Space in Galley Kitchen Designs

One of the smartest ways to extend a galley kitchen is to remove a wall. For our Foxhall Village clients’ galley kitchen remodel, we suggested removing a wall between the dining room and kitchen. This move added 6inches in width to the galley kitchen – a space gain that did wonders for the usability of the kitchen!

Outside porch became the breakfast nook

Outside porch became the breakfast nook

 

The additional space also added much-needed storage. By encroaching 12 inches into the dining room with base cabinets, the homeowners gained functional storage. Two straight runs of kitchen cabinets help ensure there are no dead corner cabinets, and a wide arch divides the dining room from the kitchen, thus retaining a pleasing visual definition between the two spaces. Unused space under a staircase was the perfect place to tuck a pantry, and white cabinets and the new subway tile backsplash keep the kitchen light and airy while maintaining the townhome’s historic charm. Clever kitchen design features – roll-out shelving and a mix of glass and solid cabinet doors – expanded the space and created a cohesive sense of lightness in what the clients once described as a “gloomy galley kitchen.”

New breakfast nook adds space and function to a galley kitchen

New breakfast nook
adds space and function
to a galley kitchen

With the right design and an experienced design-build team, a galley kitchen, no matter how cramped and unusable, can become a usable entertaining and cooking space! If you’re interested in a galley kitchen remodel in Maryland, Washington, DC or Virginia, contact the kitchen design/build experts at Wentworth today.

With the right design and an experienced design-build team, a galley kitchen, no matter how cramped and unusable, can become a usable entertaining and cooking space! If you’re interested in a galley kitchen design in Maryland, Washington, DC or Virginia, contact the kitchen design/build experts at Wentworth today.

“ I would STRONGLY recommend using Bruce Wentworth up at Chevy Chase Lake -- it's a design-build firm so you have an integrated team working for you.  We started out a kitchen-family room project with another design-build firm and it would be hard to communicate exactly how much BETTER the design that Bruce came up with was. Bruce and his team also did a project for my daughter and her husband this past fall which was amazing. ”

L.M., Chevy Chase, MD