Kitchen Layouts: The Work Triangle vs. Work Zones

If you regularly use your kitchen to prepare and cook your meals, you may have noticed that there are certain areas of it that you use most often. Most likely, these areas would be where your stove, sink, and refrigerator are. This is what led to the concept of “The Kitchen Triangle”. This originated back in the early 20th century, a time when kitchens were much smaller than they are today. According to this principle, each leg of the triangle should be between 4 to 9 feet, with a total distance between 13 to 26 feet.

Pros and Cons of the Kitchen Triangle

The kitchen triangle has stood the test of time because it works really well. Having the three main areas so close to each other allows the cook to move with relative ease. Cooking, cleaning, and food storage are all easily within reach –just a few steps away. The guidelines also ensure that there’s enough counter space between the three, giving the cook ample space to prepare.

The thing is, times are changing, and our kitchens along with it. The kitchen triangle doesn’t lend itself well to having multiple cooks in the same kitchen. These days, couples and families enjoy cooking together as a way to bond. Even when not cooking together, the kitchen has also become an informal gathering area where family members do work and chat. This causes a lot of intersecting traffic within the kitchen. Another thing that’s changed over the years is the number of appliances used in the kitchen. Aside from the stove, most kitchens also have an oven, toaster, microwave, and many other small appliances.

The New Approach: Kitchen Work Zones

Because of these limitations to the kitchen triangle, another design guideline has emerged: Kitchen Work Zones. This is a more modern approach to designing kitchens, and instead of focusing on the three specific appliances, this approach looks at the kitchen, and groups things by function. The most common zones are the following:

1. Food Storage – This would be where your refrigerator and pantry would be.

2. Preparation – Often this zone would have a long stretch of counter space, giving the cook ample space. It’s usually situated close to the cleaning zone where the sink would be. In larger kitchens, this could even have a dedicated prep sink.

3. Cleaning – This zone would have your sink, dishwasher, and drying area. Here is where you’d

   also place cabinets to keep all your clean and dry utensils.

4. Cooking – Here in this zone is where you would put anything related to cooking. Here you’d find the stove, the oven, and a landing area for ingredients.

The beauty of the kitchen zone approach is that you don’t have to limit yourself to just these four common ones. Depending on your family needs, you can add zones as needed. If your family regularly bakes, you can have a dedicated baking zone separate from the cooking zone. Some kitchens would also have a dining area which sometimes doubles as an entertainment area. There’s more you can add such as a hot beverage zone, small appliances zone, work zone, etc.

The kitchen can be divided into different zones. In this one, the preparation zone also doubles as a dining zone. Small appliances were also placed in the storage zone. (Original Photo by Sidekix Media on Unsplash)

Which Approach is Better?

The answer to that question is, “It depends.” Depending on how you intend to use the kitchen, you can use the triangle method, the work zones method, or even a mix of both! The best approach would be one that works for your needs. This is where it pays to work closely with a designer. Run by them what you normally do and what you want to add to your kitchen. Together, you can design the kitchen of your dreams –a kitchen made just for you.

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