Kitchen Ergonomics - How to design your kitchen?

Your dream kitchen doesn’t have to stay a dream. However, bringing it to life doesn’t start at the selection of perfect colors, materials or appliances. Have you ever felt that you have the most stylish cupboard, the most stunning granite worktop, or an array of professional tools that would turn every master chef green with envy, yet something is still not right? Have you ever noticed that you don’t spend as much time in your kitchen as you wanted, despite having always loved fussing around by the cooktop? We might have a solution to your problem! If you haven’t heard of the magical “kitchen work triangle” yet, scroll down and find out the secret behind creating the perfect kitchen!

The kitchen work triangle is the result of a 100-year-old realization and it is still the guiding principle of kitchen ergonomics today. The basic concept is simple: to be able to move around and cook in your kitchen comfortably and efficiently, you need to arrange the three key areas (cooktop or stove, refrigerator and sink) in an optimal fashion. The three areas are the three vertices and the space enclosed by them is ideally a triangle with the following specifics:

• All of its edges are between 1.2m and 2.7m.
• The sum of its edges are between 4m and 7.9m.
• The edges are completely uninterrupted by any items, storage, or kitchen counter.
• It’s relatively “traffic-free”, people don’t pass through it often.

These four principles have passed the test of time, and they have been the fundamental pillars of ergonomic kitchen layout since the 1920s. Of course, habits have fairly changed in these past years, affecting the division of labor and general kitchen work significantly, thus creating new needs and expectations of the modern kitchen. The various sizes and functions of kitchens can generate new stations and intersections, and the idea of joint creation and kitchen collaboration (where a group of people work together at different posts) is also rapidly gaining popularity.

The palette of appliances, furnitures and accessories has also grown substantially. The joy of cooking can become even more comfortable if you choose from the endless selection of new lighting solutions, innovative appliances and complementary tools - provided that their arrangement and storage are guided by realistic use and practicality.

Come to the 10th Kitchen Exhibition in Budapest Aréna between 1-3 March and explore the latest trends, the newest small and major appliances, and tools that can turn your minutes spent in the kitchen into real joy. Until then, follow us here and take in all the tips, tricks and solutions we offer in the fields of design, storage and gastronomy!