The three most important requirements for human survival are food, drink, and shelter. Your kitchen fulfils two of these needs, making it the most important room in your home. But how much thought do you put into the design of your kitchen? There is a simple set of principles to be followed in kitchen designsometimesreferred to as the Kitchen Work Triangle.

The Kitchen Work Triangle

Almost a century ago, the principle of the Kitchen Work Triangle was introduced to help design ergonomic kitchen layouts. It was assumed that the primary tasks would involve a 7-inch deep sink, the hob, and the refrigerator. Imaginary lines were drawn between these three items on a kitchen plan. The plan would then be amended until these three spots were close, but not too close, to one another. If these locations are too far from one another, you are forced to step around more than necessary while cooking. You may also have to carry hot pots over a distance, which is not safe. So, keeping the most important tasks confined to a narrow area is a good idea. However, you need space to work. This is especially true when two or more people may be cooking in the kitchen at the same time. For that reason, you don’t want your primary locations too close to one another either. Today, you may have other priorities. You may end up with a kitchen square, or pentagon, or hexagon. No matter how many primary tasks you carry out in your kitchen, the principle remains the same. When it comes to performing your primary tasks, close is convenient but too close causes clashes.

Knowing Your Family Needs

To achieve the ideal shape for your kitchen, you must identify the most important and frequent tasks you and your family will perform. In your kitchen, the hotspots where you spend time may be by your electric kettle, your soda water maker, and your kitchen table. Also consider the theme of your kitchen, whether you want a traditional style kitchen or an industrial kitchen that uses raw materials like stainless steel and aluminium checkerplate. You don’t want them tocome to blows over bruised elbows and hob space. For example, let’s assume you’re a keen chef cooking alone. Your primary tasks will then be ingredient acquisition (refrigerator, food cupboard), preparation (countertop), ingredient washing(sink), and cooking (hob, oven). Having identified these primary tasks, you can get things down on paper. Sketch a layout of your kitchen’s shape and size. On your plan, pencil in where you intend to carry out your primary tasks. Draw lines between those spots as you imagine walking from one workspace to another. Ensure that whoever is cooking won’t have to walk a marathon to prepare dinner. But don’t cramp their style by failing to provide the room they require to create fine cuisine.

How Much Space?

Ideally, the lines sketched on your plan will be between 1.2 m and 2.7m long. Because they represent the movement of real people, these lines also need a thickness of 1.1m, so they are really more a corridor than a line. There shouldn’t be any obstacles, such as the kitchen table or a cabinet, blocking these corridors or causing them to bend. This would decrease kitchen efficiency. If your kitchen is a thoroughfare between other rooms, try to design your triangle or other shape so it isn’t crossed by people just passing through. There should be a clear countertop for preparation adjacent to your sinkof at least 91 cm.Similarly, plan a countertop of at least 38 cm next to your fridge. You also need countertop space to either side of your hob of a similar size. These countertops enable the person cooking to move straight from one stage of the cooking process to the next without excessive movement.

What If Space Is Limited?

Kitchens come in many shapes and sizes. The available space in your kitchen will limit the possibilities of your kitchen design but at the same time may inspire design innovations. In a perfect world, you would have the budget to do whatever you want and extend your property to provide more space. With more finite resources, it may be possible to repurpose a room. For example, a seldom-used but large dining room could become your kitchen while your old kitchen becomes a utility room, or family room, or possibly a smaller dining room. If your circumstances mean you have no choice but to retain your small kitchen, then look to space-saving tricks. Ensure you have corner cabinets to maximize cupboard space. Built-in appliances take up less space than freestanding ones and free more countertop area.