An L-shaped kitchen needs two walls of about 10 ft each. With a 36 in fridge, a 33 in sink base, a 24 in dishwasher and a 30 in range, a 10 × 12 ft room meets every NKBA spacing check; a 10 × 10 ft room does with a 33 in fridge. An island fits once the room reaches about 13 × 13 ft.
What an L-shaped kitchen is
Two runs of base cabinets and counter meet at a right angle in one corner. The other two walls stay free for doors, a table or an opening to the next room, so traffic passes by the kitchen instead of through it. Nothing faces the counters, so an L has no work aisle of its own until you add an island.
Every plan below was drawn by our kitchen layout planner, which tries each appliance in every position and checks the gaps NKBA recommends: counter beside the sink (24 in on one side, 18 in on the other), beside the range (15 in and 12 in) and beside the fridge (15 in), and a work triangle with legs of 4 to 9 ft. Where two appliances share a stretch of counter, NKBA asks for the longer of the two plus 12 in.
How long the legs need to be
Counters are 25½ in deep, so on each leg the first 25½ in is the corner. The rest has to hold the appliances and the counter between them. Four rooms, smallest first:
- Work triangle: 17 ft 2 in
- Counter: 6 ft 3 in
- 1 NKBA check short
8 × 10 ft: one check short, even with smaller appliances
The 8 ft wall is 70½ in of usable counter after the corner. The sink and dishwasher take 48 in of it, and with the dishwasher kept 21 in from the corner, the sink ends up 2 in from the end wall, where NKBA wants 18 in of counter. Everything else passes.
- Works: a compact triangle of 17 ft 2 in, every leg between 4 ft 8 in and 7 ft 4 in.
- Watch: one of the two runs is too short for a sink with counter on both sides. A one-wall layout plus a cart, or a smaller sink, is the usual way out.
- Work triangle: 16 ft 10 in
- Counter: 7 ft 9 in
10 × 10 ft: passes with a 33 in fridge
A common room size, and a tight one. With a 33 in fridge every landing area passes: 28 in of counter between the range and the fridge, where the two together need 27 in (the fridge’s 15 in plus 12 in).
- Works: a work triangle of 16 ft 10 in, legs of 4 ft 6 in, 5 ft 1 in and 7 ft 2 in.
- Watch: with a 36 in fridge the same counter is 26 in, 1 in short. The planner’s best 36 in plan is in the 10x10 kitchen layouts.
- Work triangle: 18 ft 4 in
- Counter: 9 ft 6 in
10 × 12 ft: passes with standard appliances
Two more feet on the side wall let a 36 in fridge keep 34 in of counter beside the range. The triangle grows to 18 ft 4 in, still well inside NKBA’s 26 ft.
- Works: every landing area passes with room to spare; the counter beside the sink is 38 in on each side.
- Watch: the counter adds up to 9 ft 6 in, short of NKBA’s target of 158 in (about 13 ft). Most kitchens this size are; it’s a target, not a minimum.
The corner
Where the legs meet, one cabinet reaches into the corner and the other butts against it. That corner box is the hardest storage in the kitchen to reach. The usual choices are a lazy susan (a round turntable behind a corner door), a blind corner cabinet with pull-out shelves, or a diagonal corner cabinet with an angled front. Each takes room along both walls, so plan the corner before the appliances.
Keep the appliances out of it. A dishwasher next to the corner can’t be loaded: NKBA asks for 21 in between its edge and any counter at a right angle to it. A fridge in the corner stands in front of the other leg’s counter (a standard fridge sticks out about 9¾ in past the counter) and its door can’t open past the wall. The planner keeps both out of the corner. The counter in the corner still counts as landing: NKBA lets the sink’s 24 in run to the corner and continue on the other leg.
Where the sink, range and fridge go
- Sink: usually under the window, with the dishwasher right beside it, at least 21 in from the corner.
- Range: on the other leg, with counter on both sides. NKBA says not to put it under a window.
- Fridge: at the open end of a leg, so its door swings toward the room and its landing counter is on the inside.
- Triangle: one appliance on one leg and two on the other keeps every leg between 4 and 9 ft. See the kitchen work triangle.
When an island fits
An island needs a work aisle on the sides you cook at (42 in for one cook, 48 in for two), its own depth, and room behind the stools. With stools at a 36 in counter it is 40½ in deep: 24 in cabinets, a 1½ in lip and 15 in of knee space. NKBA asks for 36 in behind seated diners for someone to edge past and 44 in to walk past. Across the room that adds up to 25½ in + 42 in + 40½ in + 36 in = 144 in, or 12 ft; along the room, the leg’s 25½ in counter, the 42 in aisle, the island’s 48 in for two stools and a 36 in walkway at the far end need 12 ft 7½ in.
- Narrowest aisle: 42 in
- Behind the stools: 38¼ in
- Work triangle: 18 ft 5 in
- Counter: 14 ft 6 in
13 × 13 ft: an L with an island
The island sits at least 42 in from both legs and from the fridge door, and the fridge counts the island as its landing area, which NKBA allows when the counter is within 48 in across from the fridge door. The stools have 38¼ in behind them.
- Works: every check passes, with a triangle of 18 ft 5 in.
- Watch: 38¼ in behind the stools is enough to edge past, not to walk past (that takes 44 in).
- Narrowest aisle: 42 in
- Behind the stools: 36 in
- Work triangle: 19 ft 10 in
- Counter: 21 ft 6 in
The open L
Take away the fourth wall and the island can grow: here it is 8 ft long with three stools facing the room, 42 in from both legs. The counter adds up to 21 ft 6 in, well past NKBA’s target.
Islands get their own page: kitchen layouts with an island, and the island sizes are in kitchen island dimensions.
Questions people ask
What is the minimum size for an L-shaped kitchen?
In our plans, about 10 × 10 ft with a 33 in fridge, or 10 × 12 ft with a 36 in one, for every NKBA landing area to fit. An 8 × 10 ft L is one check short even with a 30 in fridge and an 18 in dishwasher.
Can an L-shaped kitchen have an island?
Yes, from about 13 × 13 ft with two stools. The island needs a 42 in aisle to each leg and 36 to 44 in behind the stools.
Where should the fridge go in an L-shaped kitchen?
At the open end of a leg, never in the corner. In the corner its door can’t open fully and it stands about 9¾ in in front of the other counter.
Is an L-shaped kitchen good for a small space?
It is the best fit for a small square room: it uses two walls and leaves the rest open. In a narrow room, a galley often fits more counter.
Sources
- NKBA’s free Kitchen Planning Guidelines with Access Standards: work aisles (42 in for one cook, 48 in for two), walkways (36 in), the work triangle (each leg 4 to 9 ft, 26 ft in all), landing areas beside the sink, cooktop and fridge, the dishwasher’s place and standing room, and seating clearances. This is the older free edition; the paid 5th edition (June 2026) may change some numbers.
- Wolf Classic Cabinetry product specifications: base cabinets 34½ in high and 24 in deep, stock widths 9 in and 12 to 42 in in 3 in steps (45 and 48 in by special order), wall cabinets 12 in deep
- Caesarstone: the standard depth of kitchen countertops, 25½ in (24 in cabinets plus a 1½ in overhang)
- Samsung “Will it fit” sheets for a counter-depth (28¾ in to the door front) and a standard-depth fridge (34¼ in to the door front); the planner adds 1 in behind, as KitchenAid’s guide asks
- GE Appliances product pages: 29½ in, 32¾ in and 35¾ in wide models for 30, 33 and 36 in openings
- Kraus spec sheets: a 30 × 18 in sink needs a 33 in base, a 33 × 22 in double sink a 36 in base
- Whirlpool WFES3530R 30 in range dimension guide: 29⅞ in wide, 25 7/16 in deep without the handle
- Bosch 300 Series SHS3ADF5N spec sheet: a 24 in wide, 24 in deep, 33⅞ to 35 in high opening
Checked 19 October 2026. The plans are drawn and measured by our planner; room sizes are wall to wall.