Rule of thumbRecommended
Kitchen minimum size
STY-KITCHEN-MIN-01Description
Kitchens should be at least 80 sq ft to accommodate a basic work triangle (sink, fridge, range) with 42-inch work aisles.
Why this exists
Kitchens smaller than 80 sq ft can't fit a sink, range, fridge, dishwasher, and counter run with the clearances NKBA mandates. Tiny kitchens force compromises that show up later.
Categories
Life safetyKitchen
Source
NKBAno manifest entry
Kitchen Planning Guidelines (2024)
Section: Guideline 14 (Storage)
Published 2026-05-09 · last verified 2026-05-09
Solver enforcement
The constraint solver runs check function sty-kitchen-min-01 as a soft constraint with weight 5.
Related directives
- Kitchen sizing · KITCHEN-SIZE
- Kitchen near mudroom + garage · KITCHEN-NEAR-MUDROOM
- Kitchen adjacent to dining · KITCHEN-NEAR-DINING
- Kitchen east-facing for breakfast · KITCHEN-EAST-FACING
- Pantry adjacent to kitchen · PANTRY-ADJACENT-KITCHEN
Last reviewed 2026-05-09.