13 Gorgeous Galley Kitchen Ideas for Your Small HDB Flat

The galley kitchen layout isn’t a sexy one; but it’s practical especially for small spaces. This linear and sometimes narrow kitchen design features countertops and counters flanking both sides, maximising prep and storage space while taking up the least amount of square footage as possible.

For a few of us, going with a galley kitchen is a choice; for most of us, there’s not much of one. But whether your galley kitchen is by choice or by design, these gorgeous ones we found in HDB flats should give you some new ways to think about this functional kitchen layout.

1. Feeling detached

Not having the space for a kitchen island getting you down? Here’s the solution: make a part of your kitchen counters detachable and attach castors to it and voila, a mobile mini kitchen island you can bring around your cooking space.

Image courtesy of Kejico
Location: Tampines

2. Grey number

If the space for your galley kitchen is particularly narrow, you might want to consider hacking away part of the walls like in this HDB flat. Replace concrete with glass panels to brighten up the space while keeping fumes and grease contained.

Image courtesy of Lemonfridge Studio
Location: Bukit Batok

3. The great divide

Dividing your kitchen between wet and dry zones is a useful way to keep all the heavy cooking in the wet area, while leaving lighter meal preparation in the dry area. It’s a design that works even for galley kitchens. Just use a sliding glass door to keep both zones separated.

Image courtesy of Amoz Boon
Location: Choa Chu Kang

4. Pint-sized wonder

Galley kitchens don’t have to be long and linear. Take this boxy galley kitchen in this 2-room HDB flat for instance. It may be small, but it packs a punch in features, incorporating everything you need and then some. Handle-less cabinets and cubby shelves help to reduce the visual bulk in this cooking space.

Image courtesy of The Minimalist Society
Location: Punggol

5. A vision of white

An all-white palette isn’t the easiest to maintain, especially if you do heavy cooking. But if you’re a light user, it is a great way to open up a small cooking space. Here, glossy surfaces, a lot easier to clean, were chosen for the cabinets to brighten the kitchen further. Instead of going for two sides of counters, the homeowners went with a bar table on one side to serve as a breakfast nook.

Image courtesy of Style Living Interior
Location: Punggol

6. Keeping things classy

The modern Victorian style may be heavy on details, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work in a small galley kitchen layout. To reduce the visual heft, the designer did away with the conventional counters on one side, replacing it with a sleek and elegant marble-topped buffet table.

Image courtesy of The Scientist
Location: Telok Blangah

7. Mermaid magic

Whatever you want to call them, mermaid, fish scale or scallop tiles, they are totally trending. Incorporate them into your kitchen backsplash—with a contrasting grout, no less—like in this galley kitchen to make a strong graphic statement.

Image courtesy of The Local Inn.terior
Location: Telok Blangah

8. Patterned perfection

There isn’t a need to place upper cabinets on both sides of your galley kitchen. Leaving one side bare helps to free up the space visually, making things seem less cramped. The bare walls were replaced with patterned tiles in this cooking space, creating a focal point. Open shelves were also mounted on the wall, providing the perfect spots for everyday wares.

Image courtesy of Notion of W
Location: Bukit Batok

9. Country charm

This galley kitchen oozes a country charm with glass kitchen cabinets and rustic style brown square tiles. But it’s that adorable curved-edge breakfast area for two at the end of the counter that steals our hearts.

Image courtesy of Starry Homestead
Location: Punggol

10. Get a handle on this

Galley kitchens don’t have to be boring. Large, round turquoise knobs steal the show in this funky galley kitchen. The handles are as ergonomic (better grip) as they are fun. Notice that one section of the cooking space features full-height storage instead of counters, which is a good choice if you need more storage.

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Image courtesy of Linear Space Concepts
Location: Upper Boon Keng

11. Staying afloat

A floating kitchen counter design in addition to the hidden warm LED lights lend an airy feel to this galley kitchen, which helps to create the sense of a less visually bulky cooking space.

Image courtesy of The Roomakers
Location: Marsiling

12. Asymmetrical beauty

There’s nothing conventional about the kitchen counters in this galley kitchen, which run along the wall in varying heights. It keeps things interesting in a linear layout, but it’s also a good way to zone the different areas on the counter.

Image courtesy of Van Hus
Location: Punggol

13. Rough around the edges

Rustic wood and matte black surfaces create a very masculine style galley kitchen, which can be a bit visually heavy. To lighten things up, do away with top cabinets and replace them with open glass shelves.

Image courtesy of Design Zage
Location: Bukit Batok