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Kitchen Plans

Open floor plans are all the rage right now, but every kitchen design has its benefits. Choosing the correct plan for your new or remodeled home will make all the difference in your enjoyment of the finished product. Here are some of the more popular kitchen floor plans and their function in the modern home.

Horseshoe or U-Shaped Kitchen

The U-shaped kitchen's best attribute is versatility, manifested in the number of workstations it provides. The horseshoe kitchen is about as far as you get from an open floor plan. On the one hand, it's good for preventing unwanted foot traffic through the room while the chef is hard at work. On the other, it often prevents socializing in the kitchen, really separating the room from the rest of the house. In today's come-and-go lifestyle, including the growing trend that is seeing kitchens become more of a social environment, U-shaped kitchens are slowly becoming less popular.

The U-shaped kitchen traditionally has but one entrance - hence, the oft used dead-end reference - but that need not be the case. Much depends on the layout of the entire house. In many cases, the U-shaped kitchen is like a wing of the house in that it has three exterior walls to allow plenty of natural light.

L-Shaped Kitchens

L-shaped kitchen plans are very popular because they fit the open floor trend very well. The countertops move out from an inside corner in either direction. Larger L-shaped kitchens often facilitate kitchen islands and bars, which stand at the threshold of kitchen and communal living space. L-shaped plans are best suited to larger areas. In order to work, the kitchen space must be at least four feet on either line of the "L," preferably eight feet if possible.

L-shaped kitchens allow easy work flow. Islands in this design often include the cooktop and oven as the central location, making traffic from the fridge to prep/cook station and from there to the sink nice and smooth. L-shaped plans also allow family and friends to hang out so the chef won't feel lonely or left out while hard at work.

Galley Kitchens

Since we're already knee-deep in alphabet soup, we may as well (just once) call the galley kitchen the 'I' floor plan. Or perhaps a numerical symbol, "11," would be more appropriate, as galley kitchens are characterized by parallel walls. The longer the walls, the more functional the kitchen. Typically, you'll have refrigerator and sink on one side and cooktop on the other. Galley kitchens are great for storage since they usually have plenty of cabinets, both lower and upper, on either side. Galley kitchens are perfect for small spaces for that very reason. They also allow easy workflow for the cook. Contrarily, they do not offer much room for anyone else. The more space you can get between countertops (preferably four feet), the better.

Galley kitchens can also be corridor kitchens. It is a simple variant on the general theme, in which there are entrances on both ends. The only drawback is the propensity of footsteps through a kitchen that is already limited in floor width.

Island Kitchens

Island kitchens usually act as an addition to the L-shaped kitchen plan, but their sheer popularity throws them into a category all their own. In fact, unless space is too limited, hardly an L-shaped kitchen will be built without an island incorporated into the plan.

Peninsula Plans

A peninsula plan simply moves the island from its lonely perch and attaches to a wall in the kitchen. Peninsulas are especially great for kitchens that have four walls and a large enough space to "stub out" a peninsula, but not enough to situate an island in the center without inhibiting flow. Peninsulas make excellent breakfast nooks as well as suitable locations for sink or cooktop. Peninsulas can also act as functional barriers between rooms.

Single-Wall Plans

These are the most space-saving but also the least efficient. Very few homes will have a single wall kitchen unless it's acting more as a built-in basement bar or similar situation. Single-wall kitchens are the hardest to cook in because of a lack of counter space and are much more common in apartments, studios, cabins or vacation homes. If a long enough wall is available, they can serve decent function, but necessarily force the the cook to face away from any action going on in the house.

So Many Options!

These are just some general kitchen floor plans. All will have their variations, customized to fit your home and kitchen design. That's part of the beauty of remodeling or designing a new kitchen; no design is ever exactly the same. Worry not if you're unsure about which kitchen floor plan is better suited to your needs and home layout. There are plenty of qualified kitchen contractors available to walk you through the design and installation process.