Keep Your Kitchen Design in Working Order with a Work Triangle

Home renovation programs show you all the different ways to can make your kitchen shine. A new, sleek backsplash can add a pop of color. New granite or quartz countertops add value and make your kitchen instantly more luxurious. Adding a kitchen island can give you more counter space and open up the kitchen for more conversation. But all of these glamorous design changes are founded in tried and true design principles. So if you’re giving your kitchen more than a surface-level face lift and rearranging everything, don’t lose your kitchen work triangle.

What’s the kitchen work triangle?

Most of the tasks you complete in your kitchen involve three things: the refrigerator, the sink, and the stove top. Many of the tasks also involve walking from one to another during the course of preparing meals or cleaning out the refrigerator. If you want to have an efficient kitchen, make sure your design includes a clear walkway between the three points. This forms the kitchen work triangle.

The devil is in the details when it comes to the kitchen work triangle. The major points can’t be too close to each other; the different work zones will start to take over each other’s counter space. If two people are working in the kitchen at the same time, then tight quarters could easily lead to frustration. Ideally, each triangle leg should be four to nine feet in length. If you’re incorporating an island to your kitchen design, make sure it stays out of the triangle.

There are also additional suggestions for the amount of counter surface area given to each work area. Sometimes the work triangle can grow into a rectangle to incorporate a microwave or a dishwasher. Depending on how you use your kitchen, you might divide your kitchen into different zones for food preparation, baking, cooking, and cleaning rather than a triangle based on efficient movement.

Whether you’re redesigning your kitchen’s whole layout or you’re upgrading the surfaces, go to Excellent American Painting & Handyman Service to get it done right.