| When shopping for custom or semi-custom kitchen | | | | adequate room on which to prepare and lay out |
| cabinetry, it's best to have a floor plan already in mind. | | | | ingredients. On the other hand, the perimeter of the |
| The plan will determine the most efficient way to set | | | | triangle itself should not go beyond 26 feet, as too |
| up your cabinetry in relation to the three basic kitchen | | | | much space between stations also has its obvious |
| workstations: the refrigerator, the stovetop, and the | | | | disadvantages. |
| sink. | | | | When an island is incorporated into the floor plan, at |
| Although the one-wall plan is the most space-efficient, | | | | least 42 inches of aisle space should be allotted for |
| since less cabinetry eats up the existing floor space, it | | | | each side of the island. For larger kitchens, the island is |
| is also the least efficient for cooking and food | | | | a convenient place to have specialty counter tops like |
| preparation and is only common in vacation homes or | | | | a butchers block, or marble for rolling dough. |
| small apartments. Unless all three workstations are | | | | Once the floor plan is final, the kitchen cabinetry can |
| placed on a single wall, each workstation can be | | | | be customized to work around the three workstations. |
| thought of as one of the corners of a triangle. | | | | For example, utensil drawers go near the sink, a |
| A golden rule, as far as cabinetry is concerned, is to | | | | pull-out spice rack can go near the stove, and smaller |
| have at least four feet of space between | | | | overhead cabinets can go over the fridge area. |
| workstations located on the same wall. This allows for | | | | |