The Kitchen Work Triangle: As Seen In Real Kitchens!

The kitchen work triangle is a design concept that can help create efficient use of kitchen work spaces. The idea is that a line drawn to the refrigerator, sink, and range should create a relatively even-sided triangle within which the major kitchen activities take place.

The triangle layout can reduce unnecessary movement in the kitchen, making your use of the space more efficient. The first image in the gallery above gives you the idea in a diagrammatic way. And following, we thought we'd show you the triangle overlaid on some real spaces (from The Kitchn's kitchen tours) to really illustrate the idea. Here are a few real kitchens that more or less stick to the triangle layout:

FIRST ROW:
• 1 Some diagrammatic examples of the kitchen work triangle.
• 2 A Lovely 'Before' from Rena and Derek
• 3 An efficient little triangle in Jill's Small Powerhouse of a Kitchen (there's a good-sized kitchen sink to the right, just outside of this shot).
• 4 A well-centered triangle in Ashley's Bright and Efficient Kitchen
• 5 From Ulrika and Mark's Transformed Tudor

SECOND ROW:
• 6 Ashley Ann's $500 Light and Lovely Remodel
• 7 By the books: Pratt Designer Infused Kitchen
• 8 The broad and functional triangle in Kelly Moseley's Calming Austin Kitchen
• 9 Daniel's Cure-Inspired Project
• 10 In Scott and Ray's Colorful 10-Year Renovation, the original, well-functioning triangle still exists

What kitchens' work triangles seem to work best here? Do the workhorse appliances in your kitchen form a triangle? Do you agree that this guideline is helpful or are there other kitchen layouts you prefer?

(Images: See linked posts above for full image credits.)

Comments (15)

Unless you have a single-walled kitchen, aren't three points (fridge, sink, stove) always going to make a triangle?

I think the most efficient setup is a single line.

Refrigerator, then sink, then range, with counter space between each appliance. It seems logical to me. You take food out of the fridge, you move down to the sink to wash it, you chop and prep between the sink and stove, and then you cook it.

I don't like layouts that have a traffic artery or a break in counter space between the sink and stove (particularly when carrying hot pots).

There must be something to the shape of the triangle. Certainly three points make A triangle, but in my kitchen, the fridge, oven and sink/cutting board area are all practically on top of each other, making a squashed triangle. It's not so bad to me, but my husband complains about how hard it is to cook in (he cooks a lot).

I think the idea is that the sides of the triangle are no more than a certain length (10 feet maybe?) so that you don't have to walk far from one point to the other. Also, you probably don't want an island to be in the way between one point and another because you will always be bumping into it.

My first instinct when I moved in with my boyfriend was to move the refrigerator, and now that I look at this, it made a more evenly sided triangle. How 'bout that.

I have a small galley kitchen, not by choice, but it's incredibly efficient as long as I don't need a ton of counter space. (Baking is pain, for example.) I don't take more than two steps from one thing to another. I'm more like spinning in a small circle.

I think the most important thing though is having adequate counter space close to the stove. You shouldn't take more than a step or two to put your prepped items in a pan or into the oven. And the same goes for plating the finished food when it's done.

Having my sink opposite the stove helps too. Super handy for draining pasta. I just turn around and dump it out.

How I long for a kitchen triangle. I have the dreaded single wall kitchen in a (wait for it) GALLEY KITCHEN SPACE. Why??? I've put a kitchen cart on the empty wall for some counter space but the ridiculousness of my rental kitchen knows no bounds.

When I took a drafting course in high school, the idea was not just to make a triangle, but to make said triangle a certain size -- not too big and not too small.

And yes, as a person who had a straight line kitchen, I can say it was a huge PITA, especially since it was a long line.

Gimme a U - gimme a U. The U shaped kitchens I have had have always been the most efficient. I want a continuous counter between the sink and stove. My next favorite is a galley with the stove and sink on one side and the fridge on the other. When I was in college as a foods major - they recommended the fridge as the appliance that could most easily be out of the triangle if necessary and I agree.

I think the placement of prep spaces is a lot more important than the appliances, especially if you practice mise en place, which makes my cooking more linear and reduces the need for a lot of running around. My kitchen is laid out Fridge, prep space, sink, prep space, stove which works really nicely for me - gather ingredients, prepare ingredients, keep prepared ingredients handy next to stove/oven while I cook.

The one thing I also think should be considered is where the trash can is - that's one thing i wish was closer to my prep area. I usually end up grabbing an already dirty bowl or empty package of some kind to toss things in as I go and dump it at the end so I dont have to trek across my kitchen to our step can (only place it will fit).

We have a rental, so there's not much we can do about our situation. Our fridge is too many feet away from the sink; a doorway actually spans the space between the sink and the fridge. We don't have a dishwasher, so the counter space next to the sink is taken up by a dish drying rack. The only usable prep space is a corner space between the sink and the oven. My husband likes it, but because it's a corner, I can't sneak around and clean up after him as he cleans. And it's in front of one of our few "top" cabinets, so I can't put dishes away as he cooks. It drives me nuts!

Eventually, I need my own space for cleaning and for baking, and he can have his own space for prepping and cooking. In other words, we're probably going to go the newer "station" route, rather than the triangle route. We want to be in the kitchen at the same time, but the traditional triangle means we're bumping into each other constantly.

I'd love to hear how people manage their kitchen space to accommodate a cook and a cleaner-upper at the same time. We have the opportunity to re-do our kitchen in the next year or so and will gain a lot more space in the renovation, enough to hopefully have enough room for me to cook and for my husband to wash & put dishes away.

And in all the kitchens I've ever lived in, a u-shaped kitchen with the sink in the middle was the best for my type of (cooking on the fly, no mise-en-place) cooking.

"Unless you have a single-walled kitchen, aren't three points (fridge, sink, stove) always going to make a triangle?"

That really did crack me up.

And yes, the point is to have a certain distance. I've read a few books on space planning (text books) and have found that the number differ slightly, but they more or less tend to stick to: perimeter of triangle not exceeding 20'-25', and no traffic path going through the triangle. There's a lot more that goes into it and a quick search of "kitchen triangle" will bring up more than a few sites with numbers.

I have the most obnoxious what I believe could be called 'galley' kitchen. The actual SPACE is big, it's technically an eat-in kitchen with room for a little table. but there is literally about 2 feet worth of actual counter space. Even that is broken up onto each side of the sink. Across from the sink is the oven and refrigerator. They are about 2 inches apart. Although it makes a neat little triangle, I couldn't hate it more.