{"id":3468,"date":"2021-04-20T11:09:32","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T10:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/?p=3468"},"modified":"2021-12-21T13:41:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T13:41:24","slug":"is-this-finally-the-end-of-the-kitchen-triangle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savoytimber.com\/help-and-advice\/is-this-finally-the-end-of-the-kitchen-triangle\/","title":{"rendered":"Is this finally the end of the kitchen triangle?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You don\u2019t need to be an expert on kitchen interiors or laminate kitchen worktops<\/a><\/strong> to be familiar with the kitchen triangle. It\u2019s a concept that\u2019s underpinned the design of countless kitchens for just under a century, from dearly treasured domestic kitchens to fast-paced commercial and industrial kitchens. But now, after all those centuries, there\u2019s a good chance that we might finally be seeing the end of it. And so we find ourselves asking – is this finally the end of the kitchen triangle?<\/p>\n

What is the kitchen triangle?<\/h2>\n

OK, so let\u2019s start with a quick crash course or refresher, just in case you\u2019re not familiar. The kitchen triangle was first developed all the way back in the 1920s by Lillian Moller Gilbreth, the world\u2019s first industrial psychologist and a pioneering force for improving efficiency in homes and workplaces. (She\u2019s often been described as \u201ca genius in the art of living\u201d, to give you an idea of who we\u2019re dealing with here).<\/p>\n

Seeking to optimise kitchen layouts, Gilbreth proposed the idea of the kitchen triangle, which would encompass the three most important areas of the kitchen; the stove for cooking, the sink for cleaning, and the fridge for snacks. She was very specific in saying that the sum measurements of the triangle shouldn\u2019t be more than 26 feet, with each side measuring somewhere between 4ft and 9ft.<\/p>\n

Now, there\u2019s a reason this idea has stood the test of time for about 100 years now. It helps you to organise your kitchen more effectively by ensuring that everything is easily accessible when and wherever you need it. That ultimately makes cooking a lot less stressful, especially when you consider that timing is absolutely crucial for certain types of dish. (For example baking, which has notoriously unforgiving parameters for failure.)<\/p>\n

So why might this be the end for the kitchen triangle?<\/h2>\n

In a nutshell, because society has moved beyond it. Or, at least, some parts of it.<\/p>\n

For starters, for some kitchens, there\u2019s simply not enough space to implement a kitchen triangle. That\u2019s especially true in spaces like narrow galley kitchens. So right from the off, we know it\u2019s not the be-all and end-all when it comes to efficiency, as no shortage of galley kitchens do just fine without the inclusion of a triangle.<\/p>\n

But the same can also be said for kitchens on the other end of the scale too. Open plan kitchens are the epitome of spaciousness, and increasingly common these days. What\u2019s more though, modern open plan kitchens represent some seismic societal shifts away from the old way of doing things. While the traditional kitchen triangle might have been just fine for individual housewives who found themselves carrying out the majority of the cooking, modern open plan kitchens might have as many as three or four people using them at once – cooking different meals, or someone one mains and someone on dessert, or simply cleaning up after a party the night before.<\/p>\n

Complicating this is the fact that lots of kitchens have become more diverse and personal in their contents and appliances, which means that one-size-fits-all solutions like the kitchen triangle simply might not be as applicable as they used to be any more. Not everyone has a single oven anymore, or a single sink and tap, or even a single drinks cupboard. (But we\u2019re not here to judge.)<\/p>\n

Homeowners with these sorts of kitchens might turn to a different solution in place of the kitchen triangle, and that\u2019s kitchen zones. What this does is essentially expand the kitchen triangle from the three zones of stove, sink, fridge, and expanding them to five:<\/p>\n