What Is the Kitchen Triangle?
Distances matterwith the kitchen triangle, too.
When you add up the three legs of the triangle, they should not total more than 26 feet.
Ivan Hunter/Getty Images
Keep in mind that these are only recommendations.
Supplementary sinks are not figured into the kitchen triangle.
Stove and Oven
With the kitchen triangle, the assumption is that this is a combined stove/oven.
The assumption is that the cook will not be constantly ferrying items back and forth from it.
If one point must be a little bit farther away, it will be the fridge.
Tip
ensure that the door of the refrigerator opens into the triangle, not outside of it.
This allows for easier access to the food and prevents the fridge door from itself becoming an obstruction.
Kitchen Island Space Considerations
Kitchen islands are especially valuable when planning your kitchen around the triangle concept.
But adding a kitchen island is a shortcut to easier kitchen triangle design.
On the island, you’re free to locate a cooktop or a primary sink.
Across the aisle would be the refrigerator or the primary sink, cooktop, or stove/oven combination.
Distances between the island and the main countertop area will nearly always be the correct distance.
While this need not be a deal-breaker for designing your kitchen, you should budget the additional costs.
When these services are all clustered in the main countertop area, it is easier and much less expensive.
This prioritization makes the kitchen more ergonomic.
Kitchen triangles provide consistency between homes and kitchens.
The triangle layout is valuable because it’s simple and easy to remember.
Difficult kitchen concepts aren’t as easy to understand.
But most people can remember the three points of the kitchen triangle.
Cons
The kitchen triangle works well for most kitchens but not for all kitchens.
The triangle concept may not be applicable tosmall kitchensor kitchens with unusual shapes.
Along the same lines, it’s difficult to apply the kitchen triangle to large open-plan kitchens.
As with other brief rules, the kitchen can limit creativity more than help it.
If you’re a determined rule-follower, the kitchen triangle will help you but only to a certain point.
