Making a Galley Kitchen Count

This kitchen used to be a way out. People entered from the hall or the dining room, zipped down the narrow aisle between the counters, and disappeared out the back door. Author and architect Stefan Hampden changed that. He eliminated one door with a linen closet, and blocked the other with a built-in hutch. Instead, he created one new entry to the kitchen from the dining room, and moved the back door right next to it. This compact circulation path freed up space for more countertops and a well-planned, comfortable breakfast nook. Its sturdy table is supported by a steel post bolted to a concrete footing in the crawlspace. Other ingenious touches include pivoting storage shelves for the corner base cabinets and a flat-panel TV mounted on a pivoting arm that recesses into the wall.