When you’re planning a kitchen renovation project it’s easy to get distracted by tiles, colours, and cupboard handles. But, these things are finishing touches. To create a kitchen that you’re going to enjoy cooking in, you need to go back a few steps and think about layout.

In this article, we’re going to talk through kitchen flow.

What is Kitchen Flow?

Kitchen flow is how you and others will move around the kitchen space. Traffic must be able to easily navigate the space, with no corners or appliances getting in the way. To understand what good kitchen flow is, let’s look at examples of bad kitchen flow.

  • Not enough countertop space, making food prep awkward and camped. It’s especially essential to have ‘landing zones’ near key appliances like the hob and sink.
  • Appliances in random places that get in the way. For example, a fridge in the middle of the worktop which, when open, blocks anyone getting past. Same with dishwashers!
  • Cupboards that don’t open fully because they are too close to walls or other cupboards.
  • Narrow walkways that create traffic jams. You don’t want to be getting completely in the way whilst unloading dishes and unpacking the food shopping! In most cases, walkways should be at least 1300m inches wide, to allow enough crossing room when multiple people are in the kitchen.

5 Kitchen Flow Tips

 1. Think about the working triangle

The working triangle is your hob, sink and fridge. They are called this because most of the activity in your kitchen will happen in this area.

 2. Create zones around your appliances

Once you’ve planned out your appliances, in your triangle, you need to think about the zones around them. Think about space for prepping, cooking, cleaning and putting away. Some people might prefer to prep closer to the hob, whilst others might like to prep near the sink. Think about what you prefer, and then leave enough room for it.

 3. Think about your storage

Designing a kitchen from scratch is a dream because you can pre-plan exactly what goes where. For example, you might want an in-built spice rack in one of your cupboards right near the hob. Or, you might decide you want to keep all of your pots and pans under the hob, so you need a large, tall cupboard to allow for this.

 4. Use vertical space

Older kitchens usually have a gap between the top of the high cupboards and the ceiling, but really, this is just wasting space. Plus, the tops of those cupboards get notoriously grubby and greasy. It often makes more sense to have your cupboards run right to the ceiling, then you can keep the items you rarely need in the hard-to-reach spaces.

 5. Work with what you’ve got

The most important thing any kitchen design would tell you is to work with what you’ve got.

Something that you’ve seen on Pinterest or in a friend’s kitchen might not work in your space. So, think outside the box whilst also being realistic about what you can achieve in your kitchen