U-Shaped Kitchen Layouts
U shaped kitchen floor plans can be very efficient designs, with everything close to hand and no through traffic.
The main downside is that you have two corners to deal with. Sometimes if the opposite working walls are fairly close together you can be better off using the space as a galley rather than a U.
A galley or L-shape can sometimes be turned into a U by adding workspace across the end of the galley, or a peninsula to an L shape.
In a U shape layout, what is minimum recommended distance in feet between the opposite walls?
Hi Frank, a great resource for questions like this is the NKBA site at
http://www.nkba.org/guidelines/kitchen.aspx
For your specific question, they say this:
“The width of a work aisle should be at least 42” for one cook and at least 48” for multiple cooks. Measure between the counter frontage, tall cabinets and/or appliances. The width of a walkway should be at least 36”.
Code Requirement: State or local codes may apply.”