Kitchen Layout Ideas

The kitchen is often called the heart of the home because it's the family's center of daily life. From cooking and storing food to just gathering around the table for conversation, a kitchen sees a lot of activity. For this reason, the kitchen is one of the most often remodeled rooms. Giving some thought to the needs of the family will help in choosing a kitchen layout. When remodeling a kitchen, the layout should be chosen by what is suited best to the family's work space needs, the flow of the work done and the lifestyle of the family that will be using it.

L Shape KitchenThis kitchen layout adjoins another common room such as a dining room or living room. This is the most common kind of kitchen layout. The work space, counters and appliances form an L shape, leaving plenty of room for movement among the floor of the kitchen. There may be room for a kitchen table or a free-standing item such as a kitchen hutch, depending on the size of the complete kitchen. This is a good choice for a family that cooks together or has several people in and out of the kitchen at any given time.

Work Triangle KitchenThe work triangle is based on being efficient while working in the kitchen. It places all work stations and appliances within a few steps of each other, usually in a clockwise-type order: for example, refrigerator, sink and stove. They are often on different walls, but a person only has to take a couple of steps or sometimes just turn around to use the next work station. This layout is probably the best for those who use a kitchen only to prepare meals and use the rest of the house for daily living purposes.

Island KitchenIsland kitchen layouts are very popular.The name comes from the feature of a free-standing part of the kitchen away from other work stations. Many kitchens with other layouts combine the space with an island layout, too. One downfall of an island is that it is usually in the middle of the room so that it can be close to appliances. This can be irritating if open floor space is preferred. Islands today, though, have started being more than a free-standing counter space. They have added sinks, stove tops and ovens to become a true multitasking space. In addition, some islands are large enough that one side can become an eating nook when a few kitchen stools are added on the counter end. Families with young children should be aware that the kids will tend to like running around an island. This could be dangerous, resulting in bumped heads as well as burns if the island includes an oven.

U shaped kitchenThis layout idea usually involves three walls in the kitchen area. Instead of a fourth wall in the room, the kitchen opens out into another room, such as the living room. The actual kitchen is a bit smaller than other layouts. This kitchen layout idea would be good for people who entertain often because they can still interact with their guests while cooking the meals. There is also the option of a half wall in place of the open area, as this will still give accessibility to the other room. The only drawback with a half wall is that the person may get hemmed in because of the appliances and work areas on the other three walls taking up space.

Galley LayoutThe galley kitchen layout is also called the corridor kitchen layout. It is long and narrow with appliances and counter space on both sides. Most galley kitchen layouts connect two other rooms. They are often used in apartment building kitchen layouts. Because counter space is smaller, when remodeling, try to plan counter space by the appliance used most. Usually this is the stove, but it could also be the sink.