The Best Kitchen Design Layout Ideas

If you plan on renovating your home for a new and improved kitchen, you might want to learn about the best kitchen design layout ideas. Knowing about the different ways your kitchen can look will help you figure out the right fit for your needs. In this article, we discuss various layouts for you to consider that will complete your kitchen floor plans, whether you have a huge space to work with or a kitchen that comes with limited space. 

Why Look into Kitchen Design Layouts? 

Deciding on the right layout for your kitchen is among the most important steps in any kind of remodeling project. This means thinking about practicality, storage, function, and your lifestyle; no matter what the space, you’ll want a room that’s both functional and beautiful. Below, we discuss a wide range of options for you to choose from, along with the most popular kitchen layouts that could be a good fit for your home. 

Different Types of Kitchen Design Layouts

Whether you want to update your current kitchen or build your home from scratch, deciding on the best layout should be a priority in your planning process. 

U-Shaped Kitchen Layout

When you want enough space for all your cabinets, look no further than a U-shaped kitchen layout, where 3 walls or even partial walls are used to leave one wall open as your entry point. It can also be used as an open area that leads to your dining room or living room; as such, this layout will work well with larger kitchens but will also work with a kitchen space no more than 10×10 feet. Using this design will help to equally distribute all your big ticket appliances and will feature the sink over one wall, your oven on the other, and finally your fridge on the last wall. 

This will create a functional area that will provide you with lots of room, ideal for anyone who wants a plan with an open floor. It will give you a kitchen that will give you an efficient work triangle with more space on the countertop compared to any other kind of kitchen layout. If you want to prevent your kitchen from feeling cramped, try not to install upper cabinets over every wall and opt for only one or two walls.   

G-Shaped Kitchen Layout

This kind of kitchen layout is the ideal choice when you want to create an open-concept floor plan and is close to the configuration of the U-shape layout. The only difference is it comes with a partial 4th wall, also known as a peninsula which transforms the U shape into a “G.” With this kind of kitchen, you’ll enjoy lots of storage space along with a wide countertop surface area between all four legs of the kitchen. 

The G-shaped layout has become more and more popular in interior design and will work best inside small and medium-sized areas. Using this option can be a great choice for anyone in need of extra seating, cabinet storage, or a countertop area. Fortunately, your G-shaped kitchen doesn’t need to have a peninsula; homeowners can simply use this partial wall as an extra workspace or storage. 

But how you use this layout will depend on the amount of space your kitchen has to work with; to make the most out of your room, make sure to place your upper cabinets away from the peninsula. This peninsula can also serve as your dining area if you’re working with a smaller space, but you shouldn’t crowd it using bulky cabinets.  

L-Shaped Kitchen Layout

L-Shaped kitchen layouts have become highly popular because it’s both efficient and flexible, offering a lot of functionality. Moreover, using this L-shaped layout is also known for its ergonomic design which helps to provide a good workflow. To develop your L-Shaped kitchen, you’ll need to work with two adjacent walls — these walls are commonly called “legs” that may come in different lengths but one will often be longer and the other shorter. 

They can be, however, an equal size; inside your L-shaped kitchen, you’ll see that most of your main appliances will be on one side while the rest will be on the other. This kind of layout can be created to suit a wide range of spaces and can be exceptionally useful inside small kitchens. However, this option can also work well with larger spaces but you will want to put your upper cabinets throughout the longer leg of your kitchen — doing this will offer easy access to your cookware. 

If the legs of your L-shaped kitchen come with equal lengths, you can place your upper cabinets over the stove to help you access cooking supplies while leaving lots of space around your sink. You can optimize a kitchen’s functionality by placing your fridge, sink, and oven on three points around the kitchen to make a triangle for effective workflow. You can also add an island to your kitchen layout; this can be ideal for people looking to add additional storage space and seating.   

Galley Kitchen Layout

This is among the most classic layouts inside kitchens and is a popular choice for small kitchens. It consists of 2 parallel countertops or walls that are separated by your walking space; this option won’t typically offer a dining area and will have less space compared to other types of kitchen layouts and might not be the best choice when you want to entertain. The advantage of having a galley kitchen is that it places your fridge and sink on one side while the oven is placed on the other, providing easy access to your most essential appliances. 

When you use the galley layout, it’s important to use cabinets to make your space more functional; you won’t see any corner cabinets inside this type of kitchen but you can be sure that all of the space you have will be utilized. Galley kitchens can also provide lots of countertop space and plenty of storage space, making it a good choice for small spaces. To make this design work for your home, using one wall for your cooking area rather than using both is better. 

Doing this will help you avoid congestion when too many people are inside the kitchen — another great way to make your space more functional is to place a peninsula or kitchen island on one of the walls. Placing either one of these options is a great way to create a more open space or can be used for additional seating. If your kitchen has room, you can decide to have a more open floor plan to increase function and enhance your kitchen’s usability.   

Island Kitchen Layout

Using an island kitchen layout can offer you limitless possibilities inside your home, and is among the most coveted designs in the world of kitchens. It’s so versatile that you can incorporate an island inside almost every layout type and there’s no “right” way to design your island layout. However, this kind of design is best for large kitchens since they require a minimum of 36” of space on each side of the island. 

Having this space will be enough to give your appliances enough room to stay functional while giving you enough space to move around. Working with an island kitchen layout can offer you plenty of countertop space, along with additional storage at the base of the island. To ensure that you get an efficient workflow, always place the island in the middle of your kitchen’s floor plan. 

Using this design will allow your island to stay centered just steps away from your fridge, sink, and stove, giving you easy access to your most essential appliances. However, if you want to extend your island’s countertop to add bar stools for a bigger kitchen, you should be able to fit as many as 4 seats comfortably. Adding these seats can help turn your kitchen into a place of entertainment and with such versatility, you can also add a stovetop or sink to your island to get even more cooking done! 

Peninsula Kitchen Layout

Peninsula layouts can offer kitchens optimal function and flexibility for your family’s kitchen — it works like the U-shape layout but adds a peninsula which turns it into more of a G shape. But while most U-shape configurations come with 3 sides that stick to your walls, a peninsula layout will give you easy access to all sides of your kitchen. Because of this advantage, peninsula layouts can be great for separating your open floor pan while seamlessly transitioning from your kitchen to the dining or living room.  

Using a peninsula layout is the ideal choice for homeowners who want a kitchen island but don’t have the space to work with. Because peninsula designs offer similar functions to an island such as providing a bigger seating area and additional storage space, it’s a versatile choice. They can also be combined with an additional island inside a large kitchen to create even more seating areas while maximizing your surface area and storage. 

When it comes to using a peninsula layout, it can be as short or as long as you want, so how much you can do with it will depend on how much space you have. If you want to work with an open floor concept, this is the best choice for you; because it can separate the kitchen from the dining room, you’ll be able to entertain guests easily. 

One-Wall Kitchen Layout

Also known as the “Pullman kitchen,” this kind of kitchen layout will feature cabinets as well as appliances and cabinets located over a single wall. For those who live in small homes such as lofts or studio apartments, this format will keep everything next to you for easy reach. However, keep in mind that this configuration won’t use the work triangle; instead, components will be organized by working area to help your space flow more efficiently. 

The most important part of this design is the available space your kitchen has vertically since overhead cabinets and shelves are the only ways for you to maximize your storage and organization. If the space in your kitchen permits, you can use the one-wall kitchen layout to expand your space with the help of other items. Adding a kitchen cart or mobile kitchen island can offer you extra serving and workspace.  

Factors to Consider for the Best Kitchen Layout

There are plenty of things to consider when choosing the right layout for your kitchen remodel which range from your personal preference, style, budget, and practical considerations. Below are just a few things you’ll want to think about. 

• Size: Does your existing kitchen size meet the criteria for your needs? If it doesn’t then you may need to extend your space by moving an internal wall or knocking one down to incorporate an adjacent room to your kitchen. If you have extra funds for your project then take the opportunity to extend your scope to make the most out of your new kitchen.
• Shape: Check if your kitchen is the right shape for your needs; if it’s too narrow or has an awkward shape that won’t help decongest a busy kitchen, then it may need to change. Decide whether you have better layout options that can utilize the shape of your room or whether or not you can alter the shape of your room.  
• Open Plan: If you’re looking to create open-plan kitchens for your home rather than working with an enclosed kitchen, then a remodel is the best way to make this happen. Opening up your kitchen to the adjacent living room will create a large space that’s ideal for entertaining guests and the whole family.  
• Workflow: Are the kids getting in the way of your cooking or do you lack suitable spaces for slicing vegetables? Have you noticed that your storage and appliances aren’t positioned in the best areas? Then a fresh take on the layout of your kitchen will correct these issues. 
• Budget: While you can make the least amount of changes to stay within budget, the best way to improve your kitchen is to check what your needs and preferences are. This will ensure that all the problems will be addressed and that your revised layout is better than what it originally was.     

Conclusion 

There’s nothing more exciting than creating the ideal space for your kitchen, and choosing the perfect layout is the first step to doing so. We hope that the options and information we’ve provided above will be enough to help you make an informed decision on the right layout for your kitchen. A lot of planning goes into creating the perfect kitchen space; considering the type of layout you want that will go along with the space you have is the biggest challenge but this guide has hopefully pointed you in the right direction.

Sources 

• Forbes.com
• Mkdkitchenandbath.com
• Hailekitchen.com