Research the 5 common kitchen layouts before choosing your countertops
People have been building kitchens in their homes for…ever! This has lead to the development of many common kitchen countertop shapes being used in homes here in Nashville, and all over the world. The size and shape of your kitchen countertops will in turn be shaped by the size and shape of your home.
The work triangle
The first thing to think about is the work triangle. Every kitchen countertop layout creates a triangle that leads from the fridge, to the cooking surface to the sink.
Planning for an ideal work triangle involves keeping your oven near the sink and countertops so you don’t have to cross the whole kitchen with hot pans. Keeping your fridge and sink close so that you have easy food prep, and making sure you’re not too far away from the cooktop so that you don’t walk too far to drain pasta. Keeping a worktop near your fridge and cabinets makes unloading shopping bags easy.
Single line kitchen
A single line kitchen is often dictated by space. Your work triangle is flattened out so that everything happens in a line along your kitchen countertop. They can still use effective work triangle principles as you plan to put all of your workspaces in the best possible straight line.
Single line kitchen countertop with an island
This is where you really get to use your space better. You’ll have more storage, more work space and more flow and movement around your work areas. This also makes it easy to always have a work space near your fridge, oven, and cabinets.
L shaped kitchen countertops
This is the shape most often used by those who want to have a small dining table in their kitchen. You’ll be able to optimize a corner kitchen space and incorporate a dining area. Be sure that your dining table, or extra island, doesn’t go too far into your work triangle. Don’t turn your work area into an oval!
U shaped kitchen countertops
A large kitchen is a great opportunity to maximize the cooking space that you have. You’ll have a very large triangle, make sure they’re not so far away that you can’t manage your time as efficiently. You may have multiple points that make your triangle a little bit more four sided, but the principle remains the same of wanting your three key elements within reach.
