Types Of Kitchen Layouts

In this article, we will discuss different types of kitchen layouts used in homes and other buildings.

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What Is Kitchen?

Kitchen is a separate space or a special room in a house, specially meant for cooking. Kitchen is one of the most important parts of a house. From morning breakfast till dinner at night, the kitchen is used all day long. Kitchen is constructed in all residential structures. It is also present in many commercial oﬃces and establishments nowadays.

A kitchen is usually equipped with a stove, a sink, utensils, refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, facility for hot & cold water, etc. Kitchen is designed in such a way that all of the above listed equipment can easily fit into it.

The main functions of a kitchen are to store food and other related equipment, and to prepare and cook the food. Sometimes tasks other than cooking, like washing the vessels are also done in the kitchen.

Besides homes and oﬃces, kitchens are also seen in restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, hospitals, etc. Which are used commercially to serve the people with diﬀerent varieties of food items for which in return people have to pay a certain amount of money.

Diﬀerent places have diﬀerent types of kitchens with diﬀerent types of equipment and appliances. For example, a kitchen in a house is mainly used for cooking food for 5 to 10 people.

But kitchens in hotels are designed to serve hundreds of people every day and also have large equipment for preparing & cooking food in a larger quantity and they also have a huge space for storage of kitchen appliances and other related stuﬀs for a cluster of people.

Types Of Kitchen

As we know, there are diﬀerent types of kitchens or kitchen layouts constructed for diﬀerent purposes. Kitchens are categorized by the arrangement of the kitchen cabinets, sink, stove, and refrigerator.

Diﬀerent types of kitchen layouts are as follows:

Straight line kitchen or one line kitchen.
Galley kitchen or parallel kitchen
L-shaped kitchen
U-shaped kitchen
Island kitchen
Peninsula kitchen

1. Straight Line Kitchen or One Wall Kitchen

This type of kitchen is also known as one wall kitchen or one line kitchen. A straight line kitchen consists of a single platform. On that platform, a stove and a sink are usually present.

If the size of the platform is large enough, it may also give room to one or two appliances like a mixture, grinder, juicer, microwave, etc. This type of kitchen is also known as one wall kitchen or one line kitchen.

The layout of a straight-line kitchen is usually simple and sober. It is space eﬃcient without giving up on functionality. There are cabinets installed under the platform, to store kitchen accessories and utensils.

Straight Line Kitchen or One Wall Kitchen

In some cases, if more storage space is required, then the cabinets are also made above the platform at an average height of 5ft to 6ft from the finished floor level.

The straight line kitchens are generally found in relatively smaller families, consisting of 2 to 5 people on average, are to be served.

2. Galley Kitchen

Galley kitchen is a layout consisting of a set of platforms and cabinets arranged parallel to each other. This type of kitchen is also known as parallel kitchen.

Parallel kitchens are usually built where there is ample space. If space is not a concern, the galley kitchen can turn out to be extremely useful and a productive layout indeed.

Galley kitchens have multiple work zones. It provides a working space for more than one person to work as multiple tasks can be done by more than one person at a time. The galley kitchen is ideal for a small to a medium-sized family consisting of 5 to 10 people on average.

3. L-Shaped kitchen

L-Shaped kitchen consists of platforms and cabinets arranged in L-Shape. The L-Shaped layout of kitchen is the most common type of layout found in Indian homes. Like galley kitchen, the L-shaped kitchen also provides an ample amount of space for more than one person to work at a time.

Unlike the galley kitchen, the second part of the platform is adjacent to the first one. So the things you need are right in front of you and you need not move here and there in the kitchen.

4. U-Shaped Kitchen

A U-shaped kitchen is an arrangement of kitchen cabinets along three sides of the wall, leaving the fourth one for the entrance door. This layout utilizes most of the space in the kitchen for cooking and storage purposes.

The main advantage of u-shaped kitchen is that it provides ample workspace so it doesn’t let anyone disrupt your workflow. U-Shaped kitchens are ideal for medium to large facilities usually consisting of more than 10 members. These types of kitchen are gaining popularity rapidly worldwide.

5. Island Kitchen

This type of layout consists of a platform at the center of the kitchen room, surrounded by other arrangements for kitchen appliances and cooking along the walls of the kitchen.

The platform located at the center is referred to as an island, surrounded by water on all four sides. Similarly, the center platform is isolated in the center of the room.

It is used for various purposes like cooking, storage, as a simple platform, or even used as a table sometimes. Island layout is recommended for larger families and it is adopted where the dedicated space for kitchen is larger.

6. Peninsula Kitchen

This particular layout of kitchen consists of an additional counter attached to the wall, despite having the primary platform for basic functions of kitchen.

This counter is mostly used as a breakfast counter or a dinner table for usually 2 to 4 persons. It serves the purpose of a multipurpose table/counter sometimes.

Also, stools or chairs can be arranged near the breakfast counter. Although this type of arrangement may not be a primary requirement, it is widely used in houses where the available kitchen space is more.

So, these are the types of kitchen layouts. You can choose any for your home. Which one do you like to install in your home? Let me know in the comments.