Great Kitchen Layout Blends Function With Timeless Style

The following kitchen layout advice will help you plan that new kitchen you’ve been dreaming about.

Use these interior design tips and techniques to plan a kitchen that fits your family’s needs. Learn if a kitchen island is right for you and how to make the best use of space and traffic patterns.

Smart kitchen layout starts with considering your work triangle.

The simple concept of the work triangle has the stove, sink and refrigerator located at the three points of a triangle. Your triangle can have any angle in order to adapt to a u-shaped, l-shaped or galley style kitchen. Pay attention, though, to the length of the legs of your triangle. Ideally each leg should be from 4 to 9 feet (1.2 to 2.7 m) long.

An efficient work triangle is the basis of good kitchen and layout maximizes the efficiency of movement while you work in the kitchen.

If you have a big household and a busy kitchen, it’s wise to locate your refrigerator on an outside point of your work triangle. This gives the other family members access to the refrigerator for snacking and for putting groceries away while keeping them out of the food prep work traffic.

Dishwashers are a fourth station to consider in your kitchen layout… And are best placed inside the work triangle next to the sink.

Be sure to allow at least 24 inches (60 cm) on both sides of the dishwasher for ease in loading and unloading.

Now grab your tape measure. Get your approximate measurements from wall to wall and put the kitchen “footprint” down on graph paper. Use a simple scale like 1/4 inch to a foot (1 cm to 30 cm).

Cooking in our house is a social thing. Even on quiet week nights, our whole family will pitch in and make dinner together.

A great way to provide additional work space in your kitchen layout is with a kitchen island. If you have room, plan a second sink in your kitchen island to create space for friends to work together creating informal dinner where family can bond making comforting holiday meals.

Kitchen islands give welcome additional storage. Open, under-counter storage in a kitchen island is a great place for over-sized pots and bowls and for bulky small appliances like blenders and food processors.

Kitchen islands are on almost all of my clients’ kitchen design “wish lists”, but they don’t work everywhere. And, an out-of-place kitchen island is worse than no kitchen island. To keep your kitchen layout from feeling cramped, a minimum of 42 inches (105cm) is needed for all pathways.