When remodeling a kitchen, deciding on the right design layout is crucial. After all, the exact location of your various countertops and appliances will dictate just how smoothly you can cook, clean up, and chat with your guests while rinsing the lettuce.
You probably have a dream kitchen already built in your head, but that doesn’t mean it’s a perfect first for your space. That’s why we are going to highlight the various kitchen design layouts you should consider, as well as their pros and cons.
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Kitchen Island
Kitchen islands are great for people who love efficiency and those in possession of some serious space. Center islands continue to be one of the hottest kitchen design trends. Which that shouldn’t come as a shock since an island can ensure a strong and efficient work triangle. It can also provide an extra surface for dining, doing homework, or for making cocktails. If space permits, an island becomes an added benefit of storage and function. However, the keyword is space. The minimum recommended size for an island is 40 square inches, plus a clearance zone of 31.5 inches.
Kitchen Peninsula
As stated above, you need a ton of space to pull off a kitchen island. A more realistic option for many people is a peninsula. You still get an island, it’s just connected to a wall, making it a peninsula. This is perfect for home without enough room to allow for a decent-sized kitchen island and the necessary circulation around it. A peninsula provides stool space and an open feel in a more space-efficient layout.
Single-Sided Kitchen
The single-sided kitchen is a straight run design along just one wall. This solution is most suitable for narrow spaces and small houses, where only one, or a maximum of two people work in the kitchen at a time. Will all appliances and cabinets against one wall, the work triangle is reduced to a straight line. To maximize your storage capacity in this streamlined design, invest in a wall-mounted rail system where you can hang pots, knives, and other items you want to keep within reach.
Galley Kitchen
You love to cook and spend hours in the kitchen, yet have narrow space to do so, with windows, or even doors, situated on the short walls of the room. Don’t worry there is a layout for you. It’s called a double-sided or galley kitchen, in which work surfaces and storage space line both sides of your space. Still, you need to resist the urge to cram as much as you can into this layout. For instance, you’ll need to plan a minimum of 47 inches between opposite kitchen units so that doors and drawers can be opened freely from both sides at a time. Avoid placing workspaces opposite each other so that two people can comfortably work together without getting in each other’s way.
L-Shaped Layout
Homeowners looking to remodel overwhelmingly gravitate toward this spacious and flexible kitchen layout, which is just what it sounds like. Your kitchen and countertops arranged in an “L” shape. the L-Shaped kitchen layout works best for those who are wanting to merge their dining table with their kitchen area. You can use this to create a separate eat-in kitchen or as a part of an open living area.