The right floorplan will make-or-break a kitchen. Below, you’ll find useful advice and design tips from Interior Designer Natalia Zieba, plus every type of 2D and 3D floorplan, checklist, and a video tutorial.
A kitchen floorplan is the arrangement of countertops, major appliances, and storage areas in a given space. That’s the simple definition, but as anyone who has undertaken kitchen design — or redesign — knows, managing the multiple elements involved is challenging.
“One of the main components that makes a good kitchen layout is a workable triangle, ” says Natalia Zieba, Interior Design and Training Lead for Marxent, a 3D design, and visualization innovation company.
The Four Basic Kitchen Layouts
The triangle is the relationship between the refrigerator, stove, and sink. In this design, place the appliances where they can provide maximum convenience and functionality. The rule of thumb is to set the distance between the three work zones between four feet and nine feet. The sum of the three sides lying between the appliances should be 13 feet and 26 feet. Another aspect of work triangle planning is to think of workstations and include useful countertop work surfaces.
Another element to consider when designing a floorplan is the traffic patterns in your kitchen. Understand how the people in your home and visitors will move through the space and provide an adequate allowance to work and walk through the kitchen.
There are a variety of kitchen floorplans to fit every space. Sometimes you’ll need to work within the confines of your home’s layout. Even if you don’t like the current configuration of your space, existing kitchen layouts will help you see how to make your kitchen work for you.
Kitchen Blueprint Illustrations, Royalty Free Vector Graphics & Clip Art
To get started, you’ll need to measure your room, the components you plan to use, and the location of physical features. A kitchen floorplan includes elements like windows, doors, stairs, and furniture. You can use a variety of tools to design your kitchen that offer both 2D and 3D options so you can map out your new cooking and living space with accuracy.
2D Floor Planning: A 2D diagram renders the kitchen floor plan as a flat drawing, without perspective or depth. You can do it yourself by grabbing a pencil, graph paper, and straight edge to draw your plan by hand. You can also download an online floor planning tool that includes basic room shapes.
3D Floor Planning: 3D Floorplans are ideal for visualizing an entire room, including cabinets, appliances, colors, textures, and materials. They provide more detail than a 2D floorplan because they approximate how your new kitchen will look in real life. Here’s what a 3D floorplan looks like:
Plan Your Kitchen Cabinet Design Layout
For the best results, Zieba recommends a ground-up approach to kitchen floorplans. “The layout is the primary element in kitchen design. We don’t update or remodel kitchens often because of the expense and disruption — every five to ten years at the most. Bear in mind that installing the highest quality materials and appliances your budget allows is everything, especially if you plan on selling your home.”
In every version of the kitchen layout, one element predominates. “The biggest trend over the last few years is open-concept kitchens — it’s all about bringing people and the home together, ” notes Zieba. “Having a multifunctional kitchen in which everyone feels comfortable means a lot, and it’s one that’s perfect for hosting parties and entertaining.”
In the following section, we outline all the major layout types to consider. You’ll learn the pros and cons of Single Wall, Galley, Peninsula kitchen, L-type layout, U-type design, Single Island, Double Island, Corner kitchen, and an Open Kitchen concept.
The Best Kitchen Layout Ideas To Make The Most Of Your Space
Single wall-type layouts address space concerns for small condos, lofts, mother-in-law units, tiny houses, and mobile homes. With this design, you can gain more workspace and seating with a stationary or movable island. Another option is to use all the wall space and build up to add more storage and visual interest.
Pros: Single wall kitchens can be extremely efficient, and depending on the components, can cost less than other floorplans. The absence of a work triangle means you move laterally through the space instead of turning to reach needed items or areas. You can replicate the work triangle feeling by adding a table or island.
Cons: You need to be ingenious with the use of materials, carefully think through storage needs, and be judicious about what you store in the kitchen. Maintain space between the various work elements of your kitchen, so you’ll have room for food preparation or other tasks (including task overlap).
Appliances Symbols For Building Plan
Galley kitchens (sometimes referred to as parallel or corridor kitchens) have more length than width. Two parallel cabinet runs create a central corridor in a galley kitchen. This floorplan savers space but can be inefficient without careful design and planning.
Many home chefs prefer galleys because it works well with the classic work triangle. Galley layouts are ideal when you need doors or entryways at both ends of the kitchen.
Pros: With everything within easy reach, a galley kitchen is a functional layout. A galley is an excellent fit for small homes because it offers functional workspace and exit points.
Kitchen Design Layout
Cons: This layout is narrow and can often be tight and dim. Depending on the length of the kitchen, it may have limited counter space. This design is often not conducive to have more than one person preparing food. If space allows, add a table or island in between the two counters to create more prep space.
The G-type, sometimes called a peninsula kitchen layout, is an alternate version of the U-shaped kitchen. This layout can make your kitchen more inviting, expand workspace, and increase surrounding storage options on three sides. Two usable countertop sides provide a work surface or breakfast bar, or alternately two sides for work and visible storage.
Pros: Three side-walls provide space for kitchen cabinets, food, small appliances, and tool storage. This floorplan offers two options: raise one wall for more privacy or breakthrough it to open it up and connect to other living spaces. You can implement a work triangle option and, this design accommodates multiple cooks (depending on square footage).
Restaurant Kitchen Floor Plan
Cons: In homes designed in the 1960s through the 1980s, these kitchens can feel small due to cabinet units hanging over the peninsula. The corner base cabinets in G shaped kitchens are often dead space that requires special storage solutions. If there isn’t ample space, this layout can also limit access to the kitchen for multiple cooks or guests.
The L-shaped kitchen plan is a classic that remains popular because it’s flexible design can be adapted to a variety of kitchen sizes and decors. The ergonomically friendly kitchen design fits well into a 10-foot by 10-foot kitchen footprint, which is the benchmark for cabinets and counter cost estimates.
The Pros: This layout offers efficiency and costs less than more complex designs. Adding a table or island (movable or stationary) creates a more ergonomically efficient kitchen triangle.
Kitchen Design 101 (part 1): Kitchen Layout Design
The Cons: Some homeowners may find walking back and forth between their stove, sink, and refrigerator inconvenient. Multiple cooks may find this layout awkward to navigate, too, depending on square footage. Corner base cabinets may be a chore to use unless there are accessories in place that enhance functionality.
A U-shaped layout features a closed-off galley. Adding a kitchen island can increase functionality, but many older U-type kitchens don’t have enough space. For an island to work well, you need at least 3.5 feet between the island, surrounding cabinets, and appliances. This extra space gives doors enough allowance and people can use and move through the kitchen with ease.
Pros: A single cook can work seamlessly in any U-shaped size kitchen. The design offers ample storage and counters on three sides, so there’s plenty of room for adequate food preparation and cooking.
Kitchen Layout Ideas That Work
Cons: A U-Type kitchen’s constrictive nature can’t accommodate a kitchen table and chairs or even a small island. Additionally, depending on the position of the sink, the dishwasher may not fit next to it. Accessing bottom corner cabinets is a challenge, and workstations can be too far apart.
Islands are all the rage in kitchen layouts. The average size of a kitchen island measures three by 6.5 feet and should have at least 42 inches of clearance for a walkway. When adding an island, a kitchen should be approximately 12.5 feet to 13 feet from wall to wall to allow for cabinetry on both walls and a walkway on either side.
Pros: Kitchen islands are popular because they provide extra counter space for work, storage, and can be used to serve guests buffet-style meals. This layout also adds seating and is an attractive way to define space in open concept designs.
U Shaped Kitchens
Cons: An island can break up the classic work triangle. You can keep the work triangle intact by placing dishwashers or cooktops in the island. While this offers a solution, cooktops can be hard to vent, and the hot surface can be dangerous for children and adults, too.
Two islands are a luxury option used in large, newer homes with open floor plans. With a smart layout and configuration, two islands in a kitchen can improve traffic function and flow.
Pros:
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