In a galley, the aisle sets the width. The NKBA asks for 42 in where one person cooks and 48 in for two. With 25½ in counters on both walls, that makes the room 7 ft 9 in wall to wall for one cook and 8 ft 3 in for two. With counters on one wall, 5 ft 7½ in. Below 7 ft 3 in with two runs, the aisle is under 36 in, the least for any walkway.
Galley width checker
Enter the room’s width from wall to wall and whether the counters are on one wall or both. The checker takes off the counters and tells you what the aisle is wide enough for.
To lay out a galley in your own room, with the doors and appliances placed and every gap checked, use the kitchen layout planner.
How wide should a galley kitchen be?
| Wall to wall | Two runs: aisle | Allows |
|---|---|---|
| 7 ft | 33 in | Too tight |
| 7 ft 3 in | 36 in | A walkway only |
| 7 ft 6 in | 39 in | A walkway only |
| 7 ft 9 in | 42 in | One cook |
| 8 ft | 45 in | One cook |
| 8 ft 3 in | 48 in | Two cooks |
| 9 ft | 57 in | Two cooks |
Aisle = width − two 25½ in counters. With counters on one wall only, take off 25½ in: 5 ft 1½ in leaves a 36 in walkway, 5 ft 7½ in a 42 in aisle, and 6 ft 1½ in a 48 in aisle. Our arithmetic from the NKBA’s work aisle and walkway numbers.
For a wheelchair user in a pass-through galley, the 2010 ADA Standards ask for at least 40 in between facing counters, and two ways in (ADA 804.2.1). That is a little less than the NKBA’s 42 in work aisle, and it binds buildings the ADA covers, not private homes. Narrow and short galleys are covered in small galley kitchen.
Three galley kitchens, measured
Three 12 ft galleys with doors at both ends, drawn by our kitchen layout planner with a 33 in sink base, a 24 in dishwasher, a 30 in range and a 36 in fridge. The width is what changes.
- Narrowest aisle: 32¼ in
- Work triangle: 14 ft 4 in
- Counter: 15 ft 9 in
- 2 NKBA checks short
7 ft 9 in: right for the counters, not for the fridge
Two 25½ in counters leave exactly NKBA’s 42 in. But a standard-depth fridge stands 35¼ in out from its wall, so where it faces the other counter the aisle is 32¼ in, and next to the end door it stands in the 36 in walkway. Every landing area passes.
- Fix: put the fridge where it faces a door or a gap in the other run, choose a counter-depth one, or make the room wider.
- Narrowest aisle: 43¾ in
- Work triangle: 15 ft 4 in
- Counter: 15 ft 9 in
8 ft 3 in: passes with a counter-depth fridge
48 in between the counters and 43¾ in at the fridge door. The triangle is 15 ft 4 in, legs of 4 ft 10 in, 5 ft 9 in and 4 ft 10 in.
- Narrowest aisle: 59¼ in
- Work triangle: 19 ft 1 in
- Counter: 15 ft 9 in
10 ft: room for two cooks
69 in between the counters and 59¼ in at the fridge, more than NKBA’s 48 in for two cooks. The triangle stretches to 19 ft 1 in, still well under 26 ft.
Where the sink, range and fridge go
Along each run, the NKBA’s landing areas decide what fits where:
- Sink: 24 in of counter on one side and 18 in on the other, and 36 in of continuous prep counter right beside it.
- Range or cooktop: 12 in on one side and 15 in on the other.
- Fridge: 15 in on the handle side, or 15 in of counter no more than 48 in across from its front. In a galley, that can be the counter opposite.
- Two landing areas side by side: the longer one plus 12 in.
- Dishwasher: within 36 in of the sink. See dishwasher dimensions.
Worked through, a run with a 30 in fridge and a 33 in sink needs about 9 ft 9 in: 30 in fridge, 36 in between (the prep counter, which also covers both landing areas), the sink, then 18 in. A run with a 30 in range needs 4 ft 9 in: 12 + 30 + 15 in. Our arithmetic.
The work triangle in a galley
A leg of the work triangle that crosses the aisle is as long as the aisle is wide when the sink and range face each other straight on: 3 ft 6 in across a 42 in aisle, under the NKBA’s 4 ft minimum. Offset them along their runs by about 2 ft and the leg reaches 4 ft. See the kitchen work triangle for the numbers and a galley plan drawn to scale.
Galley with an island or a peninsula
A galley rarely has room for an island. An island needs a work aisle on both sides, so with 25½ in counters on both walls, a 25½ in deep island and two 42 in aisles, the room has to be at least 13 ft 4½ in wide, by our arithmetic from the NKBA’s aisles. At that width the kitchen is an island layout rather than a galley: see kitchen layouts with an island and kitchen island dimensions.
A peninsula fits more easily, because it works off the galley’s own aisle and needs no second one. Joined to the end of one run and turned across the galley, it adds counter, takes stools on its outer side (with 32 to 44 in behind them, depending on whether people pass) and closes off that end: a pass-through galley becomes a one-way galley, unless you leave a 36 in walkway past its tip (NKBA) so people can still walk through. The plan then works like a U-shape; see kitchen peninsula and U-shaped kitchen layout. Opening up a wall to make room for either is structural work, so talk to a licensed contractor and your local building department first.
Questions people ask
What is the minimum width for a galley kitchen?
With 25½ in counters on both walls, 7 ft 9 in wall to wall for the NKBA’s 42 in aisle for one cook. At 7 ft 3 in the aisle is 36 in, a walkway only.
How wide should the aisle be in a galley kitchen?
At least 42 in for one cook and 48 in for two or more, between the countertop edges (NKBA).
How long should a galley kitchen be?
Long enough for the appliances and their landing areas: about 9 ft 9 in for a run with the fridge and sink, and 4 ft 9 in for the range’s run, by our arithmetic from the NKBA’s guidelines.
Can you put an island in a galley kitchen?
Only in a wide room. With counters on both walls, an island with a 42 in aisle on each side needs a room at least 13 ft 4½ in wide, and at that point the kitchen is an island layout rather than a galley.
Can a galley kitchen have a peninsula?
Yes. A peninsula across one end works off the galley’s own aisle, so it needs no second one. It adds counter and room for stools on its outer side, and the plan then works like a U-shape.
Is a one-wall kitchen a galley?
Some guides call it a single-row galley: one run of counters with the aisle beside it. With 25½ in counters, it needs 5 ft 7½ in to the opposite wall for a 42 in aisle. See one-wall kitchen layout.
Sources
- National Kitchen & Bath Association, Kitchen Planning Guidelines with Access Standards: the work triangle, work aisles, walkways, seating clearances, the landing areas at the sink, fridge and cooktop and how to combine them, the prep area and the dishwasher. This is NKBA's older free edition; the paid 5th edition (June 2026) was not checked.
- U.S. Department of Justice, 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, 804.2.1 (pass-through kitchens)
- Our standard cabinet depth guide: 25½ in countertops over 24 in base cabinets, from KraftMaid and Home Depot
Checked 11 October 2026, and on 19 October 2026 against NKBA’s guidelines and the 2010 ADA Standards. Metric values are converted from feet and inches. Widths, aisles and run lengths are our arithmetic.