When met with the decision of designing a space based on the kitchen work triangle or by kitchen zones, you may wonder which direction to go. Well good news, technically there is no right or wrong option. Each method is meant to help with organization and to create a natural flow to the space. Here, we utilize both methods on a regular basis. Whichever method that is designed naturally is what we use, and at times it’s both simultaneously. Learn more about kitchen work triangles vs. kitchen zones below!

Kitchen Work Triangle

The kitchen work triangle is the age-old way of making a kitchen function well. In theory what makes a kitchen triangle are the points the connect the sink, cooktop, and refrigerator. Each leg of these points are to lie somewhere between 4 and 9 feet long and the sum should be somewhere between 13 and 26 feet. The point of this is to not create large distances between important areas of the kitchen. So yes, the kitchen work triangle rule is an old one, but it’s been tried and trusted for many years, which is why we still use it!

This is a great example of a kitchen utilizing the kitchen work triangle. See the invisible points connecting the cooking area, sink, and the fridge.

Kitchen Zones

In some cases, the kitchen work triangle may not be the best method of designing a space. A kitchen can be too large, too long, or it simply just doesn’t make sense. So to create meaningful stations in the kitchen, we utilize zones. The cleaning zone, cooking zone, storage zone, baking zone, work zone, entertaining zone, are all different types of zones. Zones are a great tool for planning out the kitchen space in any situation! Learn more about zones, here!

Since this kitchen is quite large, working with zones was a wonderful method. Each area of the kitchen serves a purpose for various tasks keeping things organized and efficient.

Final Thoughts

Whether you want to design a kitchen around the work triangle or zones, you’ll surely have a good foundation choosing either one!