Among designers, keeping the kitchen triangle is a traditional way to achieve the best efficiency in your kitchen. Regardless of the shape of your kitchen, you can get the ideal relationship between your sink, refrigerator and stove to make working in the kitchen easy. When remodeling your kitchen, keep this concept in mind for functionality, although modern kitchens are larger and often the site of other activities in the family.
Origins of the kitchen triangle concept
Developed in the 1940s, the work triangle concept grew out of time motion studies popularized at the turn of the century and modified by the University of Illinois School of Architecture to become a standard construction process. At the time, the triangle was appropriate for a single-cook kitchen.
The idea of the triangle was to identify the three work areas of the kitchen and to recognize that for most foods, the cook will take them from the refrigerator to the sink, where the counter space is usually located, and then take the food. to the stove to cook. Although the triangle is defined within an imaginary line, each of its lines must be between four and nine feet long so that the total length of all three legs is between 12 and 26 feet.
To leave this space free, there should be no rubbish bins, cupboards, dishwashers or other obstacles; achieving this may mean having a couple of smaller doors instead of one large door for a cabinet. Even if the kitchen is a room that other people in the house pass through on their way to another, the path of the triangle should be clear of obstacles.
The most popular shaped kitchens are straight, U-shaped, or L-shaped. While small, straight galley kitchens can present a work triangle challenge if the refrigerator, sink, and range are on one wall, any form of kitchen is suitable for this workspace arrangement.
Changes in kitchen design
In the 75 years since the triangle concept became a staple of kitchen design, things have changed with kitchens. As houses have gotten bigger, so have kitchens. They can now have center islands, more and larger appliances, duplicate appliances and sinks, and multiple work areas. To accommodate this development, designers look at the space to determine logical work areas that can accommodate smaller triangles.
A kitchen may have an area for rolling out dough and baking, feature a coffee bar or prep sink, or have a large amount of counter space for other food prep. As a result, many designers now see kitchens as a series of multiple triangles, where some components, such as the refrigerator or sink, may be common. Others have abandoned the idea of the kitchen triangle as a necessity and focus on kitchen zones for food preparation, baking, cooking and cleaning.
The purpose of the work triangle is to make work in your kitchen more efficient. When you decide it’s time to update your workspace, find a design contractor and come up with a layout that includes a convenient kitchen triangle.