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Interior Design vocabulary · Kitchens & Bathrooms

Galley kitchen

Meaning in interior design, with examples

/ˈɡæli ˌkɪtʃɪn/nounCommon term

In interior design, galley kitchen means: A long, narrow kitchen with units along two facing walls and a walkway between them, or sometimes along a single wall.

In Turkish: koridor mutfak, paralel mutfak

How it is used

Named after the kitchen on a ship or plane. Common in apartments; efficient for one cook but it can feel tight. Designers check the aisle width, often aiming for at least 1–1.2 m, and use light colours so it does not feel like a corridor.

Example sentences

  1. It's a galley kitchen, so there's no room for an island, but we can fit a fold-down table.

  2. Galley kitchens are very efficient: everything is within one or two steps.

Common collocations

  • narrow galley kitchen
  • galley kitchen layout
  • double galley kitchen
  • work triangleThe imaginary triangle between the sink, the hob and the fridge in a kitchen, used as a guide so that the cook can move between them easily.
  • kitchen islandA freestanding block of cabinets with a worktop in the middle of a kitchen, used for preparing food, for storage and often for casual meals.
  • clearanceThe free space needed around furniture, fittings and doors so that people can move, sit, open drawers or use appliances comfortably and safely.
  • layoutThe way rooms, furniture and fittings are arranged within a space, including where things are placed and how people move between them.

More terms: Kitchens & Bathrooms

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