Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, according to the real estate adage. Maybe that’s why House Beautiful magazine features a kitchen and bath of the month in each issue.

In May, the spotlight kitchen is a large outdoor space equipped with a grill (of course), fridge drawers, ice maker, pizza oven, two cooktops, etc. Wow. And no worries about inclement weather; this outdoor kitchen is in Massachusetts, so the appliances, countertops and other materials and elements were all chosen for their weather-worthiness.

The kitchen that really caught my attention, however, was the one in this month’s “Makeover Bee Cottage” column. If you’ve got a House Beautiful magazine subscription, you may be following along as contributing editor Frances Schultz walks readers through the remodel of her cottage, one room at a time, one month at a time.

She’s now reached the kitchen. It’s a lovely unassuming galley kitchen whose narrow footprint Schultz has opted to preserve. Galley kitchens are wonderful for their efficient use of space–who needs a stadium kitchen? The Bee Cottage kitchen is a lovely mix of old and new: Spiffed up original cabinetry looks smashing next to new top-of-the-line appliances; ceramic tile floors beautifully mimic ones made of old oak; and a multipaned door at the end of the kitchen floods the area with light.

What’s better than a galley kitchen? A galley kitchen with a butler’s pantry at one end. Oh, bliss. This area incorporates a small desk area and bookshelves and has a dramatic teal ceiling (avid followers of the column might recognize the hue from April’s account of the guest room renovation). Glass-front cabinets and lots and lots of drawers complete the 1920s charm of this fantastic space.