Click on the image below for your printable kitchen layout grid and printable kitchen design graph paper.
Whatever the size of your dream kitchen, from a small space to a large extended room, a good kitchen layout is essential. When designing a new kitchen, I like to start with making the simplest kitchen floor plan.
Many professional designers use CAD and other technology to try different layouts and ideas. I find using simple kitchen layout templates with graph paper the easiest way to begin.
Printable kitchen layout grid instructions
I’ve designed this free printable kitchen layout grid / graph paper with scaled cutouts representing kitchen cabinets and appliances.
- Use a tape measure and make accurate measurements of your current kitchen (and dining area if they are combined). Don’t forget to measure window length and positions, door openings and sizes and mark up light switches.
- Print the kitchen layout grid paper. The grid paper can be easily printed and joined together if you have a larger kitchen. I printed mine on this thin white card for extra resiliance!
- Draw the outline of your room remembering to mark door and window openings and any other fixed obstacles e.g. fireplaces, the boiler etc.. You now have your kitchen template.
- Print the scaled 2D printables of standard kitchen cabinet sizes commonly used in the UK and USA and kitchen appliances and cut them out carefully. As above, this thin white card is a good choice.
- Use the 2D printables to start designing your kitchen.
- Optimise the best cabinet sizes and layout for your space quickly by moving the 2D printables around your graph paper ‘room’!
- Please let me know in the comments or send me a DM if I have missed a unit size that you need and I can add it for you.
Printables
Click the image to Download and Print
Click the image to Download and Print
Click the image to Download and Print
Click the image to Download and Print
kitchen design layouts
The layout of your kitchen will mostly be dictated by the size and shape of your room. These are the standard layouts most commonly used:
- Single Wall Kitchen
- Galley Kitchen
- L Shaped Kitchen
- U Shaped Kitchen
- Kitchen Islands
- Peninsulas
The Kitchen Work Triangle
A foundation of any good kitchen design is the kitchen work triangle. This design concept minimises the distance between the kitchen’s three main sections: the sink, the fridge, and the cooker. The kitchen work triangle is the triangle created by imaginary lines between these three sections. Use the following guidelines for the kitchen work triangle in your kitchen design layout.
- The distance between each section (i.e. the sink, the fridge and the cooker) should be between 1200mm and 2800mm (approx 4–9 feet).
- The total perimeter of the triangle (i.e. the length of each triangle side added together) should be between 3.6m and 8.0m (11-26 feet).
- To create good kitchen traffic flow, major traffic paths (e.g. doorways) should be kept out of the triangle.
- One cook (or dishwasher stacker) should have at least one meter (approx 42 inches) of clearance around them wherever they are in the work triangle. Putting the sink, fridge and cooker too close together is as inefficient as putting them too far apart!
- Cabinet doors, drawers or any other furniture should not intersect the imaginary line of the kitchen work triangle by more than 300mm (12 inches).
Here are some tips for creating an efficient kitchen floor plan whatever the size or shape of your kitchen:
Single Wall Kitchen Layout
This kitchen layout works in a small space for example in a studio apartment or can be used in a larger kitchen where you have a kitchen island or peninsula. This layout keeps all of the cabinets and appliances against one wall.
The wall needs to be at least 2.4m (8 feet) to accommodate everything you will need unless you have a kitchen island where you can house one of your major appliances or the sink.
A single-wall kitchen usually has a fridge at one end with the sink next to it with storage underneath. The hob and oven are typically located at the other end. Always ensure that there is worktop next to the cooker or hob for setting food down.
You could use tall cabinets to bookend the kitchen, provided they don’t block any windows. A tall cabinet could house an oven and storage on one end and a fridge/freezer on the other end.
Run upper wall units above the run of base cabinets making one of them an extractor unit above your hob.
The single wall kitchen layout works particularly well if you have a kitchen island or peninsula to house additional storage and to provide essential worktop space. In a smaller room, a kitchen table can also double as worktop for food prep.
The Galley Kitchen
The galley kitchen layout features a long and narrow layout with appliances and cooking areas on both sides and a walkway between. The distance between the two sides should be no less than 1.2m (4 feet).
A galley kitchen typically has two workstations that face each other: one wall with the cooker/hob and the opposite wall with the sink and a prep surface.
As with the Single Wall Kitchen layout, you could bookend one wall with a tall fridge/freezer and oven housing.
Galley kitchens can be extremely ergonomic as long as you apply the kitchen work triangle guidelines.
The L-Shaped Kitchen Layout
The L-Shaped Layout is best when you have free space between two adjacent walls shaped like an ‘L’. It is similar to a Single Wall Kitchen Layout with the slight difference in arranging the appliances, cooking area, and countertops next to two adjacent walls instead of a single wall. It is the most efficient layout for open plan kitchens and is suitable for both large and small kitchens.
The L-Shaped Layout fits perfectly into a 3 meter x 3 meter kitchen (10 foot x 10 foot), which is still the standard for estimating the costs of cabinets and countertops.
The U-Shaped Kitchen Layout
A U-shaped kitchen plan is a popular design that includes built-in cabinetry, countertops, and all the appliances on three sides, with a fourth side, left open. This layout works well in a larger kitchen to provide flexible work zones and well organised counters and cabinets.
U-shaped kitchen layouts are versatile in lengths and depths, and they often include a central kitchen island for additional workspace and seating.
If there is no room for a central kitchen island, a peninsula can be attached to one side to provide seating and extra counter space while leaving a clear path in and out of the kitchen.
Smaller U-shaped kitchens may be built into three walls of a dedicated room.
To be at maximum efficiency, U-Shape Kitchens should have a width of between 2.7m and 3.7m (9 feet – 12 feet). The depth of the ‘U’ can vary but the total area of the U layout should be around 10m2 (107 feet squared).
There should be a minimum of 1.53m (5 feet) space between the units on the opposite units of the ‘U’. It is recommended that this zone be 1.8m – 2.4m (6-8 feet) to allow for adequate access and movement space for multiple people.
The Kitchen Island
A Kitchen Island is a separate piece of furniture that can be added to the above kitchen layouts where space allows.
It provides more counter top and cabinet space and with the addition of bar stools can provide a table space for meals. Aside from its many practical applications, the island can also be used as a decorative focal point in the room.
In most kitchens with islands, either the sink or hob will be placed on the island and then whichever is not used will be on the opposite wall. This will ensure that your kitchen work triangle is uninterrupted.
The kitchen island should be at least 1.2m long (4 feet) and 60cm wide (2 feet), but preferably larger. I would recommend a simple table or butchers block if you have more limited space. You can buy ready made kitchen islands such as this one by GT or this one by Ikea.
The Peninsula
A peninsula is a counter that juts out from a wall or cabinetry. It often has cabinets underneath and an extended worktop which provides extra counter space and/or table space along with bar stools.
A peninsula is often used in an L or U shaped kitchen where the room is narrow and there is not enough traffic-flow space for a kitchen island. It is a great solution that offers the benefits of a kitchen island where space does not allow for an independent island to be installed.
The minimum gap for traffic between the end of the peninsula and the opposite wall is 1.1m.
There’s more!
Need more help? Book a Design Consultation with us here
Bathroom Inspiration for a Coastal Georgian Flat in Cornwall
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something using my links, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
The plans shown are for illustrative purposes only. The graph paper and cutouts should be used as a guide for planning your kitchen. I suggest that you take your measurements to a professional before ordering to double check your kitchen design.
