What Is The Kitchen Work Triangle?

In this post we will talk about “What is the Kitchen Work Triangle”.

It is fair to say that the location of your Hob/Oven, sink and fridge are critical in how well your Kitchen works on a practical day to day level. Although not always referred to, many designers will use the “Working Triangle” to help determine the position of your cooking, washing and Refrigeration facilities.

Lets crack on.. What Is The Kitchen Work Triangle?

The basic concept of the triangle is to locate cooking, washing and refrigeration/ storage all within comfortable access of each other. As these three areas are commonly used in conjunction with each other, it makes perfect sense to maximise their accessibility. 

For example, when cooking fresh foods, these will most likely be accessed from your fridge, then washed and prepared before going onto your hob or into your oven and finally, plated/served up. So, locating these areas to work in conjunction with each other will help to make the most practical use of your Kitchen space. 

So, could and should this concept always be used?

Not necessarily. It depends very much on the size and shape of your room. Try to think of the whole concept slightly differently.

You will find that most Commercial Kitchens work in a different way. So, rather than a triangle they will more often than not work in a linear process with four areas to consider. Locate (Fridge or Cold Store), prep (Sink), cook (Oven/ Hob), serve (Pass). The point being that commercial Kitchens need to work in the most efficient way so will base their Kitchen design on process rather than being confined by a shape.

By nature, as there four areas to consider, this cannot form a three-point triangle. From experience, we have found that basing a design on the whole cooking process rather than a singular concept, will give a far more practical and balanced layout of the Kitchen design. 

Should I Consider The Working Triangle?

The idea behind the kitchen working triangle is to reduce the amount of steps you need to take when cooking and make the kitchen user friendly, safe and less chance of spills.  The working triangle can help with that, however, it is not suited to everyone as Kitchens come in different shapes and sizes, so at the design stage, yes think about how you can make your kitchen practical but it doesn’t have to be in the shape of a triangle :). Your designer may incorporate the working triangle, but if not, they will help come up with ideas and designs that will make your kitchen run smoothly and where everything is easily accessible.

If you wanted to find out more about where the Working Triangle orginated from you can view the Wikipedia on the working triangle here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_work_triangle

In Summary – What is the Kitchen Work Triangle?

The basic “Working Triangle” locates three key parts of your Kitchen (Storage, preparation and cooking) in critical areas around your room. However, as all Kitchens come in different sizes and shapes, try not to get locked into technical terms and a fixed way of thinking as this may well cloud your judgement.

You should find it much easier to come up with the best design for your Kitchen if you base your thinking more on the lines of the working process rather than being restricted by shapes.

Additional Resources

We hope you have enjoyed reading this post entitled What is the Kitchen Work Triangle?, we also hope it gives you an understanding of what it is, how it works and why you might want to incorporate it into your new kitchen….. or not 🙂

We have some other posts, which maybe of interest to you, so before you go, please do check them out.

Do I Need A Kitchen Designer?

How Much Will My Kitchen Installation Cost? 

Local Kitchen Fitters Near Me

Many thanks for stopping by our website and taking the time to read.