The work triangle joins the sink, the cooktop and the fridge. The NKBA keeps each leg 4 to 9 ft and the three legs at 26 ft or less, measured from the center front of each one. It also says no leg should cut through an island by more than 12 in. A tall cabinet or fridge shouldn’t stand between two of them, and no main traffic route should run through the triangle.
Work triangle checker
Measure the three legs from the center front of each, as below, and enter them. The checker draws your triangle to scale and marks any leg outside the NKBA’s range.
The kitchen layout planner runs the same check on a whole plan, with the appliances placed in your room, alongside the aisles and the counter beside each appliance (see what the planner checks).
The rule, in full
- Each leg at least 4 ft and at most 9 ft; all three 26 ft or less. With more than three main work centers, such as a second sink, each extra distance is also 4 to 9 ft.
- Measured from the center front of the appliance or sink.
- Islands: no leg should cross an island or peninsula by more than 12 in.
- Tall obstacles: a full-height, full-depth unit such as a tall oven or pantry cabinet, or a fridge, shouldn’t separate two of the three. A properly recessed tall corner unit is acceptable.
- Traffic: no major traffic route should cross through the triangle.
The 26 ft cap only bites when the legs average more than 8 ft 8 in: three legs of 9 ft would make 27 ft. In small kitchens, the 4 ft minimum is the one to watch.
Measuring across an aisle
When the sink faces the cooktop across an aisle, both fronts sit on a counter edge, so a leg straight across is exactly as long as the aisle is wide. Slide one of them along its counter and the leg grows: it’s the hypotenuse of the aisle and the slide.
| Slide along the run | 36 in aisle | 42 in aisle | 48 in aisle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight across | 3 ft | 3 ft 6 in | 4 ft |
| 12 in | 3 ft 2 in | 3 ft 7¾ in | 4 ft 1½ in |
| 24 in | 3 ft 7¼ in | 4 ft ¼ in | 4 ft 5¾ in |
| 36 in | 4 ft 3 in | 4 ft 7¼ in | 5 ft |
| 48 in | 5 ft | 5 ft 3¾ in | 5 ft 8 in |
| Slide for a 4 ft leg | 31.7 in | 23.2 in | none needed |
Leg = √(aisle² + slide²), rounded to ¼ in. Our arithmetic. The NKBA’s aisles: 42 in for one cook, 48 in for two; see space between island and counter and the galley kitchen layout.
One-wall kitchens
In a one-wall kitchen the sink, cooktop and fridge sit in a line, so the outer leg is the other two added together. In our one-wall plan with every NKBA landing area, the fridge-to-sink leg is 5 ft 1½ in and sink to range is 5 ft 7½ in, so fridge to range is 10 ft 9 in: over 9 ft. With a 30 in fridge and range and a 33 in sink, we found no order along one wall that keeps every landing area, the 36 in prep counter and the 9 ft limit; see kitchen dimensions for that plan and one-wall kitchen layout for the layout itself.
Questions people ask
What is the kitchen work triangle rule?
Each leg between the sink, cooktop and fridge 4 to 9 ft, all three 26 ft or less, measured from the center front of each, and no leg through an island by more than 12 in (NKBA).
What size should a kitchen work triangle be?
Each leg 4 to 9 ft, so the three legs add up to somewhere between 12 and 26 ft (NKBA). Under 12 ft, at least one leg is shorter than 4 ft.
How do you measure a kitchen work triangle?
From the center of the front of the sink, the cooktop and the fridge, in straight lines between them.
What is the minimum distance between the sink and the stove?
For the work triangle, 4 ft from center front to center front. The NKBA also asks for counter on both sides of each: 24 and 18 in at the sink, 12 and 15 in at the cooktop.
Can a leg of the triangle cross an island?
By up to 12 in, under the NKBA’s guidelines. More than that and the island is in the way.
Which kitchen layouts have a work triangle?
Any layout that puts the sink, cooktop and fridge at three points: a galley, an L-shaped or a U-shaped kitchen, or one with an island. In a one-wall kitchen all three sit in a line, so the outer leg is the other two added together.
Does the work triangle still apply?
Yes, as a guide for kitchens with three main work centers. It is in NKBA’s free kitchen planning guidelines, the edition we checked. NKBA published a paid 5th edition in June 2026, which we have not checked.
Sources
- National Kitchen & Bath Association, Kitchen Planning Guidelines with Access Standards: distance between work centers, separating work centers, traffic, work aisles, and the sink and cooktop landing areas. This is NKBA's older free edition; the paid 5th edition (June 2026) was not checked.
Checked 11 October 2026; NKBA numbers checked again 19 October 2026. Metric values are converted from feet and inches. Leg lengths across an aisle, and the one-wall and galley plans, are our arithmetic.