150-kitchen-work-triangleIt’s been a long day at the office. The drive home took longer than usual. The traffic was heavy for no apparent reason whatsoever. The daycare center was busy; parents in and out, kids playing, saying goodbyes, grabbing coats, backpacks, and out the door.

Get in the house. Now, it’s time to tackle the 52 things that still need to be done. Let the dog out, check the homework, start dinner. Dinner, again! Every single night it has to happen.

You take things out of the fridge and pantry. Turn the oven on, and grab the cutting board.  Doesn’t it always seem that what you need is never quite where you are? You walk across the room with your veggies to get to the counter to chop, and then back across the room to put them in the pot on the stove. But the salt to add to the water is way over there with the spices. Too many steps, too many obstacles, too much time wasted.

Shouldn’t this be easier?

Sounds like a poorly designed kitchen. The work doesn’t flow. Consider a re-design that puts the triangle to work for you. The Kitchen Work Triangle is a seventy year old concept that states the three main components of a kitchen: stove, refrigerator and sink should be close, but not too close. And the work that takes place in the kitchen should flow freely between these three points.

The rule of thumb is that they should not be more that 9 feet apart or less than 4 feet apart. Save steps, simplify, but allow for counter space in between. At each step of the way, you should have some room to work.

Your path between the points of the kitchen triangle is best when it’s out of the major traffic flow of the house. Tripping on a toddler or dog as you take your boiling water from the stove to the sink is certain disaster! If injury does not result, aggravation will. You’ve got enough to deal with! Make your life a little easier by making your time in the kitchen more efficient. A well-planned kitchen won’t bathe your kids or iron your suit for tomorrow’s big presentation, but every bit of simplification helps.

Before you get started on your renovation, make sure you ask your remodeler these top 10 questions.