Triangle theory is a well-established principle in kitchen design first developed in the 1940s. It is now held as the gold standard for efficiency and productivity in the kitchen. The work triangle provides several advantages, mainly setting out a dedicated workspace within your kitchen that minimises unnecessary traffic throughout the cooking space. By placing the main appliances used in daily cooking within relative proximity of one another, keeping each arm of the triangle between 1.2 and 1.7m apart, it preserves the spaciousness of your kitchen while keeping everything close to hand.
In larger open plan kitchens, the work triangle may no longer be the most effective way to lay out a kitchen. An increase in appliances within the kitchen may increase the size of the working triangle to a size that makes it impractical. In this case zoning of your kitchen may help to maintain efficiently within the space.
Creating zones for cooking, preparing, and seating preserves the overall efficiency of your kitchen. When creating zones within your kitchen it is essential to keep similar tasks within the same zones. For example, locating your sink less than a metre away from your dishwasher. To increase the productivity in your kitchen, integrated bin units can be used with this zone.
Zoning in your kitchen not only will increase efficiency but also helps to maintain a neat and tidy workspace. By locating bin units on the edge of your clean up zone, you create a bridge between this zone and the next, allowing for easy movement between your zones. It would be ideal for this zone to be dedicated to preparation to maintain workflow and allow for easy clean up
Seating and entertaining zones should be kept at a good distance between cooking and preparation zones to maintain comfort for guests and hosts alike.