Best Kitchen Design Layouts for Better Workflow

Do you find yourself bumping into things (or people) while trying to cook a meal in your kitchen? If so, you might be in need of a new kitchen design layout. Whether you’re open to a full remodel or just a subtle shuffling of appliances, the kitchen layouts we’ll share in this post will give you plenty of ideas.

Kitchen Design Layout Options

Kitchen Layouts with an Island

No matter what style (or size) of kitchen you have, an island can offer great looks and functionality – as long as you incorporate it into the space properly.

Kitchen layouts with an island can include the following.

Pullman (One-Wall)

One-wall kitchens are very popular in condominiums and smaller houses. Adding an island that runs parallel to your primary countertop can create the feeling of a galley kitchen. It’s the ideal kitchen layout for managing flow in a one-wall kitchen, which isn’t inherently intuitive to navigate.

Galley

If you have a galley kitchen, you may be wondering where you could possibly add an island. While it’s true that the tightest of spaces aren’t able to incorporate an island while maintaining the ‘three feet of clearance’ rule, you can still get creative and squeeze an island in. Many designers achieve this through the use of a “portable” kitchen island. A narrow table can do the trick, allowing you to move it out of the way when you need the space. To make the island look intentional, use the same quartz countertops for it as you do for your primary countertops.

L-Shape

In L-Shaped kitchens, “islands” often take the form of peninsulas. You can think of this as a “connected island,” which sounds like an oxymoron but is actually quite practical. A peninsula transforms your L-Shaped kitchen into a U-Shaped one. It makes the perfect seating area and can help give your kitchen a very inviting feeling.

Horseshoe

An island in the center of your horseshoe kitchen can help prevent the space from feeling too daunting. It’s also great for directing kitchen flow. This is also the ideal kitchen layout if you like entertaining guests while preparing meals. Your guests can sit comfortably at the island and communicate with you easily.

Achieving Kitchen Flow with the “Triangle”

The “kitchen work triangle” is a design philosophy that focuses on three areas: the oven, sink, and refrigerator. As the philosophy goes (and as many who swear by it can attest), these elements need to be placed within an imaginary triangle. All sides of the triangle should be at least four and no more than nine feet long. This places them at a distance suitable for working comfortably in the kitchen.

Choosing The Ideal Kitchen Layout

Above, we outlined what designers consider to be the best kitchen layouts. To reiterate, these are:

• Pullman
• Galley
• L-Shape
• Horseshoe

In this section, we’ll give you some tips on choosing the best kitchen layout for you from either the above items or whatever other options you’re considering.

Focus on Function

While there are many types of kitchen layouts that look stunning in magazines and online, they’re not worth considering if they don’t increase your kitchen’s functionality. Some questions to ask yourself before you redesign your kitchen layout include the following.

What’s your lifestyle like?

Do you have a large family? Do you entertain often? If either of those things is true, you may want to consider a layout that enhances your ability to entertain within your kitchen.

If, on the other hand, you live alone and aren’t the entertaining type, that will influence which kitchen layout plans make sense for you.

What appliances do you absolutely need?

With so much to worry about when it comes to redesigning your kitchen layout, it’s easy to neglect the most basic questions. For example, many simply assume that they need to include a dishwasher in their kitchen layout because, well, that’s what kitchens have, right?

However, you can free up a lot of space for more important aspects of your dream kitchen by forgoing appliances you won’t use often, perhaps ever. The dishwasher is one of the most common culprits in this regard.

Am I prepared to hire an architect?

If the types of kitchen layouts that you are considering involve substantial changes to your home’s floor plan, you’d be wise to consult an architect. Experts especially recommend doing this if you are spending more than 5% of your home’s value on the renovation, which can easily be the case if you’re going all-out with your remodel.

Set a Budget

Your budget will arguably have a greater impact on the kitchen design layout you choose than any other factor. It’s recommended that you don’t let the cost to remodel your kitchen exceed 5% to 15% of your home’s resale value if you hope to turn a profit from the ordeal.

Relocating your plumbing, electrical lines, and walls will all add substantially to your cost but may be worth it if you’re truly designing your forever home and have the means.

Kitchen Layout Planner: Use The Caesarstone Visualizer For Inspiration

A kitchen layout planner is essential for helping you visualize how the room will actually end up looking. We invite you to check out the Caesarstone kitchen visualizer, which is designed to help you choose from the many types of surfaces available. You can begin to color-match your countertops, flooring, and walls while also seeing how various Caesarstone surfaces look in different settings.

Once you’ve found a quartz surface that appeals to you, contact one of our Caesarstone locations to begin making your dream kitchen a reality.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you design a kitchen layout?

Our kitchen layout tool is primarily designed for you to experiment with different surfaces and colors. If you want to play with the layout itself, kitchenplanner.net is one of the popular free options. If you’re working with an interior designer, they’ll have access to premium tools that can help you create and visualize the layout in greater detail.

What are the six types of kitchen layouts?

Six of the most popular kitchen layouts are:

• L-Shaped
• U-Shaped
• Galley
• One-Wall
• Peninsula
• Two-Island

That said, these are far from the only kitchen layouts. Many designers create custom layouts as well.

What are the best principles of design and layout for a kitchen?

The kitchen work triangle is the principle you’ll probably hear about most often. Another popular principle is what’s known as “The 4 Quadrants.” It focuses on four zones: cooking, storage, pantry, and dining. The cooking zone usually encompasses the stove and food prep area. The storage zone is where flatware, containers, cutlery, the dishwasher, and sink would be found. The pantry zone is wherever you’ll store food and is usually on the outskirts of the kitchen or near the fridge. The dining zone should create a separate space for sitting down to enjoy your meals.