You’re in a house where you don’t feel like there’s enough space, especially in your galley kitchen. Before you decide to pack up and move out, consider a galley kitchen remodel to make better use of available space and get a kitchen you’ll love. Sure, you’ve been fussing about that narrow, little kitchen. Stop fussing and start thinking. A galley kitchen needn’t be claustrophobic if you design remodel it right. When you remodel your galley kitchen, you need to think uncluttered, think bright and think vertical.

Moving on up to a great galley kitchen

Most kitchens do not make nearly enough use of vertical space, and suffer from storage problems because of it. When you remodel a galley kitchen, make absolutely sure you’re maximizing cabinet space. If you have a cabinet for canned goods, for instance, you don’t need the shelves to be more than a foot apart. Those extra narrow shelves will mean considerably more food storage space. Thinking vertically works well for counter space, too. Make sure you buy small appliances such as coffeemakers that can be installed to hang under counters to preserve working space for cooking.

Make sure you don’t store much outside of the cabinets. Clutter makes even large spaces feel small, and the last thing you want is to feel cramped in a galley kitchen. Keep detailed ornamentation to a minimum, and make sure that you keep your counters free of all but the most necessary of equipment. Make good use of the overhead storage you’re installing for less frequently-used appliances. But for a feeling of space, make sure that you keep your galley kitchen light. Install full spectrum lighting, choose light colors for cabinets and appliances, and if you can have a window or a skylight in your galley kitchen, this is the best option to make it feel like a kitchen that’s home to work in.

Kitchen design and planning requires a lot of thought, but it’s really worth it when you get it right. There’s nothing quite so good as having your kitchen designed exactly as you want it, so take great care in the planning stages to make sure that you’ll be getting the kitchen of your dreams that will serve you for a long time. Imagine how good it will feel to walk into a kitchen that’s uniquely yours and ready to serve as the center of your own home.

When you’re planning a kitchen design, make sure that you take your tastes and lifestyle into account. You want to make sure you’re getting a kitchen that’s going to be both beautiful and useful to you. Of course you want to consider the layout, designing carefully to make sure that the work flow of your kitchen accommodates the people who will be cooking there, whether it’s the solitary kitchen tyrant or a gaggle of gossiping cooks dishing up a great meal.

Make sure that in planning your kitchen design that you keep an eye on every detail, from counter surfaces to appliance placement. Even the cabinets pull both the look and the usefulness of your kitchen together. But before you’ve decided on appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting and cabinets, you might want to consider what sort of kitchen dècor style is going to suit you and your lifestyle best.

There are five different basic types of kitchens that are most popular right now: country, art deco, contemporary, modern and French Country. A country kitchen is great if you’re living in a rural area and want to blend in with your surroundings. The homey feel and classic look of the country kitchen welcomes everyone around your table for lemonade and fresh-baked cookies. When you’re going for the country look, think beautiful slate floors, stenciling on the walls and gingham curtains. Wrought iron is often another look that can work well in the country kitchen. If you’re a bit more eclectic in your tastes, an art deco kitchen might be the right choice for you. The art deco style was a popular design movement from the 1920s and 1930s -- typified by its use of stainless steel, aluminum, lacquer and inlaid wood. The stylized forms and smooth lines go well with any modern home, and give your kitchen a futuristic, streamlined look that’s sure to impress.

If you want something a little different, you might try a contemporary kitchen. Like the art deco kitchen, the contemporary kitchen has clean lines and uses modern materials, but form takes a back seat to function, and there is little in the way of stylized forms or colorful enamel. The clean, uncluttered look is a great favorite among many people because it gives a feeling of spaciousness, even where space is limited. Then there’s the modern kitchen design. Heavy on the stainless steel and still emphasizing an uncluttered look, a modern kitchen is a beautiful and functional way to design a great kitchen that will last forever and still be beautiful.

If you’re really excited about a look that will be light, fresh and inviting, you might want to try the French Country look. The French Country kitchen relies on bright color and lots of natural light. The windows will have minimal dressing, so as not to interfere with the natural sunshine that is the hallmark of French Country beauty. Dried herbs hanging from ceiling rafters, and plain pine work spaces create this inviting and beautiful way to decorate your kitchen and welcome guests into your home.