Kitchen Space Distance Recommendations

When designing your kitchen remodel, it might be tempting to be totally free about spacing and placement. Yet limits do apply. Limits stem less from mandatory building code than from voluntary space design recommendations, many derived from the National Kitchen & Bath Association's (NKBA) Kitchen Planning Guidelines.

These limits and spatial recommendations apply to key areas such as the distance between work areas; aisle distance between work areas; walkway aisles; seating clearances; dishwasher spacing and placement; and kitchen countertop landing areas.

Space	Distance (Inches)
Distance between island and counter	Minimum 42 inches usually or 48 inches for kitchens with +1 cooks
Walkway space	Minimum 42 inches near a work area or 36 inches elsewhere
Dishwasher to sink	36 inches maximum
Kitchen bar seating	32 to 44 inches, depending on exactly location and amount of expected foot traffic nearby

Triangle Distance Between Kitchen Work Areas

The kitchen work triangle is a design concept that recommends that you place your three most important work areas—sink, refrigerator, and stove—in a triangular fashion.

While the kitchen triangle concept has been around for many years, it is a tried-and-true concept that still works. If you are ever confused about the direction of your kitchen design, you can always fall back on the kitchen triangle.

The kitchen triangle can have many variations, as long as the total triangle length and individual triangle legs are kept in check.

Total Triangle Length Is 26 Feet Maximum

When all three legs of the triangle are totaled, they should be 26 feet or less. This ensures that, even if other factors are satisfied, the total travel distance is still kept to a minimum.

Leg Length From 4 to 9 Feet

With the kitchen triangle, no individual leg should be shorter than 4 feet and no individual leg should be more than 9 feet.

Limiting travel distance for kitchen activities is important. Moving from the kitchen to the prep area, for instance, is tiresome and inefficient if it's too far. So, distance is minimized.

But distances should not be too short, either. Tight distances don't provide enough room for working, for moving around, or for multiple users.

Balance is the main reason for the 4-to-9-foot leg restriction. If one leg is too long or short, the other two legs' distances after affected. All legs should be roughly the same distance.

Kitchen Island Clearance

Kitchen island clearance is often a question because homeowners simply need to know if their kitchen is large enough to support an island.

The recommended distance between kitchen work areas, which can include both perimeter countertops and kitchen islands:

• 42 inches minimum in a single-cook kitchen
• 48 inches minimum in a kitchen where more than one cook may be working

Because kitchens can get crowded with both cooks and passersby, it is important to abide by these space recommendations.

Note that these recommendations make a distinction between work aisles—which take you from one work area to another—and walkways—which move traffic through the kitchen. No maximum distance recommendations apply.

Kitchen Walkway Aisle Spacing

Walkways carry traffic through a kitchen. Walkways do not service kitchen work areas, as would work aisles.

The recommended minimum width for walkways is 36 inches. Walkways can be as wide as you wish.

Kitchen Seating Clearance Recommendations

Kitchen seating clearance is flexible and can be adapted to your needs. Expected seating is at a location such as a breakfast bar or an in-kitchen eating table; it does not apply to dedicated dining rooms.

• 44 inches minimum for traffic to move freely forward behind the seating area
• 36 inches minimum for traffic to edge by sideways behind the seating area
• 32 inches minimum for no expected traffic

Dishwasher Spacing and Placement Recommendations

​Dishwashers and sinks can easily get crowded since they need to be close in proximity to take advantage of their shared drainage and water supply.

• Dishwasher to sink distance: From the dishwasher to the sink, the distance should be no more than 36 inches. The intent is two-fold: first, to make sure that the cook can easily move dishes from the sink to the dishwasher; secondly, to ease under-counter hookups between sink and dishwasher.
• Dishwasher to base cabinets distance: From the dishwasher to the nearest base cabinets or other obstructions should be 21 inches minimum. Providing distance minimums gives the dishwasher door plenty of room to open.

Kitchen Countertop Landing Area Recommendations

A kitchen landing area is a countertop space that allows you to place, or land, items from the sink, refrigerator, cooking surface, and oven service areas. The countertop is adjacent to these areas.

For example, if a stove has no nearby landing area, the cook may be tempted to place a hot pan that has just been removed in a close but unsafe spot, perhaps on top of the fridge or on the floor.

A landing area is simply a way of describing the absolute minimum amount of countertop needed adjacent to one of these areas.

• Sink landing area: 24 inches on one side and 18 inches on the other side, minimum
• Refrigerator landing area: 15 inches on the handle side of the fridge
• Cooking surface landing area: 12 inches on one side and 15 inches on the other side, minimum
• Oven landing area: 15 inches adjacent to or above the oven