Short answer. In a flat, the room usually chooses the layout: one wall or a galley in a narrow room, an L in a corner or an open-plan room, a U where you have three walls, and an island or peninsula only where there is space to walk round it. Keep the sink, hob and fridge close but not crowded, leave about 1 to 1.2 m (39 to 47 in) between facing units, and give the hob and the sink worktop on both sides. The numbers here are common guidelines, not rules: your room, your appliances and local regulations come first.
Open-plan kitchen and living roomIKEA planner alternativeSmall bathroom layout
The layouts
- One wall: everything in one run, common in studios; a wall of about 3 m (10 ft) fits the basics.
- Galley: two parallel runs; with 60 cm (24 in) units it wants about 2.2 to 2.4 m (7 ft 3 in to 7 ft 10 in) wall to wall.
- L-shape: two runs meeting in a corner, leaving room for a table; plan a fitting for the hard-to-reach corner.
- U-shape: the most worktop and storage, but two corners and a middle wide enough for two.
- Island: needs a walkway on every side, usually a room about 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) across. A peninsula gives most of it with one side less to walk round.
The working triangle, and where it stops working
The triangle joins the sink, the hob and the fridge. A widely quoted guideline gives each side about 1.2 to 2.7 m (4 to 9 ft) and the three about 8 m (26 ft) at most, with no main route cutting across. A one-wall kitchen has a line instead, two cooks get in each other's way, and in an open-plan flat people walk through, so many designers think in zones: fridge, sink, worktop, hob for cooking, and table, sink, dishwasher, cupboard for clearing up.
Clearances: common guidelines
| What | Common guideline | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Walkway between facing units | About 100 to 120 cm (39 to 47 in); below about 90 cm (35 in) gets tight | Open doors and drawers take the space |
| Way round an island | About 100 cm (39 in) on working sides | An open oven with someone passing |
| Worktop each side of the hob | At least about 30 cm (12 in); more is better | Pan handles, and somewhere to put things down |
| Worktop beside the sink | About 45 to 60 cm (18 to 24 in) on at least one side | Dirty dishes on one side, clean on the other |
| Main preparing space | About 90 cm (36 in) of clear worktop, ideally between sink and hob | Chopping and mixing |
| Worktop height | About 90 cm (35 to 36 in) | Higher or lower for tall or short cooks |
For hobs, ovens and hoods, the maker's instructions and local regulations come first.
Clashes, and what you cannot move
- Dishwasher facing the oven in a galley: open together, nobody gets past.
- Dishwasher in a corner: its door can block the drawers on the other run; a filler panel helps.
- Fridge hinged against a wall: the drawers inside may not come out.
- Drains, the extractor's way out, gas and vents decide much of a flat kitchen; moving them may need a pump, an engineer or the building's permission.
Try the layout in 3D
In Flatwalk the kitchen is built piece by piece along the walls of your own plan. Walk up to the hob at eye level, measure the walkway between the fronts with the tape measure, add lamps and LED strips for the evening, and give the address to see where the morning sun lands. Flatwalk does not check these guidelines for you and is not a kitchen fitter's survey: measure the real room before you order anything made to size.
What Flatwalk does that older planners skip
Lights
Add ceiling lights, lamps and LED strips and see the worktop lit in the evening, not only by day.
Your flat in its city
Give the address and the street and buildings around you appear in 3D where the map has them.
Sun for your address
See whether the morning sun reaches the kitchen, by date and hour.
One piece, in your own room
Through the live camera or in a photo of the room, stand a table or a sofa on your own floor at its true size before you buy.
Detail
Kitchens, wardrobes and bathrooms built piece by piece, with floors, tiles and paint.
Made for a thumb
Tap the start and end of a line to measure a walkway.
Swipe for more. Every picture is the app itself.
One flat, free
Most people plan one home. For that, Flatwalk costs nothing: no trial clock and no card. Drawing the flat, building the kitchen, the tape measure, furniture, lights, sun and walking are all part of it, and each AI tool gives one free try. A membership is for people who want more flats or more AI.
Questions people ask
What is the best kitchen layout for a small flat? Usually one wall or a galley in a narrow room, and an L-shape in a corner of an open-plan room. Choose the one that leaves a clear walkway and worktop beside the hob and sink.
How wide should a galley kitchen be? A common guideline is about 1 to 1.2 m (39 to 47 in) between the fronts of the two runs. Below about 90 cm (35 in) it gets tight once a door is open.
Is the kitchen work triangle still useful? As a quick check, yes. With two cooks or many appliances, planning in zones works better.
How much space do I need for a kitchen island? A common guideline is about 1 m (39 in) of walkway on every working side. With one run of units, that usually means a room about 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) or more across.
Flatwalk lets you build your kitchen piece by piece in a 3D plan of your own flat, walk up to it at eye level and measure it, free for one flat. It is launching on Google Play; join the waiting list at flatwalk.app.
Join the waiting list