A kitchen layout works when aisles are wide enough to cook and pass through, the sink, cooktop and refrigerator sit close enough to be efficient without crowding each other, and each one has counter space beside it. The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) publishes planning guidelines for all of this. They are design recommendations, not building code. The figures below come from an older NKBA guidelines PDF. NKBA has since released a 5th edition, so confirm each number against the current edition with your designer, and confirm anything structural, mechanical or electrical with your municipal building department.
Which edition these numbers come from
The PDF is an older edition that NKBA has since superseded. It is hosted under a 2022 upload path, and its edition number is not confirmed here. Its accessibility references point to US standards such as ICC A117.1, not Canadian ones, so treat it as a design reference only.
NKBA says its 5th edition was prompted by the 2024 International Residential Code and CSA B652 Accessible Dwellings (2023). It also says its experts compared the IRC with the National Building Code of Canada. Among the 5th edition changes, NKBA lists formalized identification of activity zones, work areas and the tasks done in each defined centre, across both the kitchen and bath chapters. Its planning guidelines page also mentions updated guidance on power outlets at kitchen islands.
This article has not checked every figure below against the 5th edition. Treat the numbers as a starting point for a conversation with your designer, not as final dimensions.
Work aisles and walkways
The older NKBA edition separates two kinds of floor space. A work aisle is where someone stands to cook or clean up. A walkway is the path people use to pass through the room. It recommends a work aisle of at least 1,067 mm (42 in.) for one cook and at least 1,219 mm (48 in.) for multiple cooks. The work aisle is measured between counter frontage, tall cabinets and appliances. The NKBA walkway recommendation is at least 914 mm (36 in.).
The work triangle and work zones
The classic work triangle connects the three primary work centres: the cooking surface, the cleanup or prep sink and refrigerated storage. A major appliance and its surrounding landing area form a work centre. For a kitchen with three work centres, the older edition recommends that the three legs add up to no more than 7.9 m (26 ft.), with no single leg shorter than 1.2 m (4 ft.) or longer than 2.7 m (9 ft.). Each leg is measured from the centre front of the appliance or sink.
Two related recommendations are easy to overlook:
- No leg of the triangle should intersect an island, peninsula or other obstacle by more than 305 mm (12 in.).
- A full-height, full-depth obstacle such as a tall oven cabinet or a tall pantry cabinet should not separate two primary work centres. The guidelines treat a properly recessed tall corner unit as acceptable.
In practice, think about where you prep, cook, clean up and store food, and check that the main route between rooms does not run through the middle of those areas. Ask your designer how the current edition applies to your layout.
Landing areas beside appliances
Landing areas are the stretches of counter where you set down a hot pan or a bag of groceries. In the older edition, landing area is measured as countertop frontage next to a sink or appliance. To count, the countertop must be at least 406 mm (16 in.) deep and between 28 and 45 in. (about 711 to 1,143 mm) above the finished floor. The recommendations are:
- Sink: at least 610 mm (24 in.) of landing area to one side of the cleanup or prep sink and at least 457 mm (18 in.) on the other side. The guideline has separate conditions where the counter height at the sink is not the same throughout, so read the full text if that applies to your plan.
- Cooking surface: at least 305 mm (12 in.) on one side and 381 mm (15 in.) on the other. If the cooking surface is at a different counter height from the rest of the kitchen, the guideline says both landing areas should be at the cooking surface height.
- Refrigerator: at least 381 mm (15 in.) of landing area in any one of four positions: on the handle side, on either side of a side-by-side refrigerator, across from the front of the refrigerator at no more than 1,219 mm (48 in.) away, or above or beside an undercounter-style refrigeration appliance.
Islands and peninsulas
Most island problems are clearance problems. The 305 mm (12 in.) limit means an island can sit near a leg of the triangle but should not cut deeply into it. If the island holds the cooktop, the older edition adds a safety recommendation. The counter should extend at least 229 mm (9 in.) behind the cooking surface when the counter is at the same height as the cooktop.
Measure every side of the island on your plan against the aisle and landing figures above, then compare them with the current edition. If the room cannot hold the clearances you are targeting, test a peninsula or a smaller island before committing to a large one.
Planning kitchen storage
NKBA sizes storage by total shelf and drawer frontage. The older edition describes the calculation as cabinet width in inches, multiplied by the number of shelves and drawers, multiplied by cabinet depth in feet (or fraction thereof). For example (an illustration, not an NKBA figure), a 30 in. wide, 24 in. deep base cabinet with two shelves works out to 30 × 2 × 2 = 120 inches of frontage. The target totals depend on kitchen size, so take them from the current guidelines rather than from an older summary.
Beyond the totals, a few practical habits help:
- Put everyday dishes, pots and cleaning supplies close to the sink and cooktop rather than in the farthest corner.
- Choose pull-outs or other corner hardware for blind corners instead of leaving dead space.
- Keep heavy items in drawers or low cabinets and rarely used items high.
Common layout mistakes
- Measuring aisles from the cabinet box instead of between counter frontage, tall cabinets and appliances.
- Placing a refrigerator or tall pantry where it splits the cooking and cleanup areas.
- Letting a doorway or hallway route cut across the main work area.
- Leaving no counter beside the cooktop or the refrigerator.
- Choosing an island first and fitting the aisles around it afterwards.
- Ignoring door swings, including the room's own entry door, which should not collide with appliance doors.
Check the layout before you order cabinets
Mark the cabinet and island outlines on the floor with painter's tape and stand in them. Open imaginary dishwasher and oven doors, and have two people move through the space. Walk the path from the entry to the refrigerator, sink and cooktop. This costs nothing and catches more problems than a drawing does.
Existing conditions will limit what is possible. Plumbing and gas locations, bulkheads, structure and condo corporation rules can all constrain a layout. Moving walls or changing plumbing, gas, electrical or ventilation can involve permits and inspections, so ask your municipal building department which apply, and check with your condo board where relevant, before you finalize a plan. More planning guides are on the RelyReno blog.