Work With Maximum Efficiency In Your Kitchen Using The Kitchen Triangle Design Method

Popular opinion, which is usually right, says that the easiest, simplest way to lay out your new kitchen is to use the kitchen triangle design technique.

This is a simple concept that combines form and function, making one of the most used rooms in your home functional, stylish, and homey. The National Kitchen and Bath Association defines the "work triangle" as an imaginary line between the three most used elements in any kitchen: the sink, the cook top, and the refrigerator.

A well designed kitchen places the most important areas namely the sink, refrigerator and cooking surface within close proximity to each other as this is where most of the work in the kitchen is carried out.

The basic layout of the kitchen design is a triangle with their three sides measuring no more than 26 feet in length. The straight line between any two of the work stations should be between 4 and 9 feet, without being impeded by a peninsula or island by more than 12 inches. Further, household traffic should not flow directly through the work area.

A few reasons for these guidelines are that the food preparer will frequently go between these work stations, the distances will allow for efficient and more streamlined workflow, and household traffic would hinder that work flow.

There are several variations of the standard triangle. L-shaped kitchens have a long wall with two of the elements intersecting a short wall with the other, the sink being the central element.

The Double L kitchen allows ample storage and counters for larger kitchens, and with an extra sink or cook top provides two functional triangles for a second cook. The U- kitchen allows for three walls with the sink in the center section and cook top and refrigerator opposite one another.

The G- kitchen builds upon the U-shape by placing a fourth wall with an extra sink or cook top, creating two functional triangles. An I-shaped kitchen in a small, confined, and narrow area can be used if the sink is in the middle. A central sink allows for this non-triangle to benefit from the triangle concept in part.

The Galley is a Double I-shape, with cabinets, counters, and our three key elements on opposing walls. The sink should have its own wall facing the cook top and refrigerator.

Remember however that your kitchen is just one room in your home you also need to enhance your kitchen triangle design to take into account access to and from the kitchen area.

You may have a requirement for a design that allows for more than one person cooking in the kitchen or have a kitchen that is not separate but maybe open plan to the rest of the living area. In that case you will find the G and the double L shaped variations more suitable for your needs.

The kitchen triangle design is a useful and proven concept providing one avenue for making your house your home, and the masterpiece you craft using this triangle and modifying it to your needs can attract and bless your home for many happy years.

For more kitchen design ideas click through to the free website run by Lorraine Smith where you can discover more and find some inspiring kitchen design photos to help you put together your own unique design.