Galley Kitchen Design

We've met with two kitchen designers so far, Canac Kitchens and Altima Kitchens. Since our kitchen layout is fairly simple (i.e. a rectangular box), we were hoping to go the semi-custom route. This means that we'll work with cabinet boxes of standard widths and have some customization where required. While not totally ready to assemble (think Ikea kitchens), going the semi-custom route does save some $$ as opposed to a custom kitchen. Canac was more traditional in design and could meet our semi-custom needs. Altima, on the other hand, is more contemporary and the designs are customized from the cabinet paint colour, to the drawer sizes, and everything in between. We're still waiting on the quotes, but amazingly, both kitchen designers came up with almost identical designs.

First though, we provided them with our list of "must haves"
- shaker style door fronts
- deep pot drawers
- slide out trays for small appliances (the toaster, KitchenAid stand mixer, George Foreman grill...)
- drawer for the cookie sheets and cutting boards, preferably in the lower cabinet as there is no way I can reach above the new refrigerator
- good mix of shelves and pull out drawers
- pantry with a mix of slide out shelves and fixed shelves
- ample counterspace
- glass front doors beside the window
- either granite or Caesarstone countertops
- room for workstation centre, with upper and lower cabinets, shelving, and ample headroom to install a wallmounted small tv on a swing arm
- full height uppers with no bulkhead
- slide out recycling drawer

So what did they come up with? Here's a mock-up I did with the Ikea online planner, along with a few before shots:








View towards the dining room:


View towards the window:


All in all, its a pretty simple design. No major structural changes except for the removal of the small pantry we currently have to the left of the dining room door. That'll be changed into a workstation with room for TV/computer monitor. It'll be great to surf for recipes or watch an episode of "French Food At Home" right in my kitchen! We had considered angling the corners of the cabinets on either side of the dining room door, but it would have created a more traditional look. I think with this design we can easily go sleek and contemporary. Just what I wanted.

Amazingly, this has been a simple process so far. I don't expect any surprises (though the sagging floor near the stove suggests a few rotting joists may need to be replaced) and our timeline is fairly quick... measurements before demo, demo near the end of March, fix the floors, electrical, plumbing, spray insulation, drywall, tiling, and cabinet installation. Should take about six weeks, no? Yes? All you experienced renovators out there, am I being too ambitious? I guess time will tell.