The Kitchen Triangle

The ‘kitchen triangle’ or ‘work triangle’ theory came about in the 1940s and was a rather revolutionary idea at the time. The idea was that the kitchen was to be based around three main items; the fridge, sink and stove/oven. The three points of the triangle connecting these appliances via an imaginary line and was called the ‘kitchen triangle’. These days, our homes and our lives have changed dramatically. Our homes, including our kitchens, are far bigger than they were. We have introduced more appliances into our kitchens and the purpose of our kitchens have moved from solely being a place to prepare food, to a room that serves many purposes. The kitchen triangle has shifted and evolved into kitchen work spaces; various zones in the kitchen that serve multiple purposes. These work spaces include:

• Consumables zone (which can be split in two) includes the fridge and pantry
• Non-consumables zone: crockery, cutlery,
• Cleaning zone: sink, dishwasher and rubbish bin plus cleaning products used for the kitchen
• Preparation zone: Bench-top
• Cook zone: Oven, stove, microwave

It might be helpful to think about each zone and what you will need to access easily. For instance, you should keep your dishwasher (cleaning zone) close to the crockery and cutlery (non-consumables) that you use daily, so that when you are unloading your dishwasher, the storage area for these is close by. Your preparation zone should be close to your cleaning zone so that rubbish from meal preparation can go straight into the bin and dishes into the sink or dishwasher. Bench space either size of the cook zone is handy for putting down any items awaiting to be cooked. If your kitchen space doesn’t allow for this, consider an induction stove that can double as bench space when not in use. Also, think about how you use your kitchen. Do you want to have multiple cooks in the kitchen? If so, ensure your aisle space is at least 105cm. If you have the space, 120-140cm aisle space can be helpful if you entertain often and have multiple cooks in the kitchen at once. Also, consider whether you want to incorporate a breakfast bar, a place to prop for breakfast, for guests to chat while you cook or for children to complete homework during dinner prep. Thinking about all of this may sound confusing, but a kitchen should be more than just beautiful. And once the honeymoon period is over with your new kitchen, you want to appreciate the space for how well it works, not just how it looks. Food for thought, as they say!