Free kitchen planner: draw your kitchen layout online

No sign-up · free · in your browser

ApaPlan is a free kitchen layout planner that runs in your browser: draw the kitchen floor plan with exact dimensions, place base and wall cabinets, a sink, cooker and fridge, and check work zones in 2D and 3D. You can start without signing up.

The work triangle and work zones

The classic test for a kitchen layout is the work triangle between sink, cooktop and fridge. Each side should be roughly 1.2–2.7 m (4–9 ft), and the three sides together no more than about 8 m (26 ft). Too short and the cook has no worktop between them; too long and every meal turns into a walk.

Modern kitchens are often planned by zones instead — storage, preparation, cooking, cleaning — laid out in that order along the worktop. Both approaches lead to the same practical rule: keep a continuous run of worktop between the sink and the hob, ideally 90 cm (3 ft) and at least 60 cm (2 ft).

Standard kitchen dimensions

Cabinet modules are usually 15–100 cm wide in standard steps, which is why planning in real product sizes saves time later. The ApaPlan catalog includes cabinets and appliances from real brands, many IKEA among them, with their actual dimensions.

Kitchen layouts and when to use them

Single wall

Everything on one wall: good for studios and narrow rooms. Needs about 2.4–3.6 m (8–12 ft) of wall for sink, hob, fridge and some worktop. The triangle becomes a line, so keep the sink in the middle.

Galley

Two parallel runs with an aisle of 100–120 cm (3 ft 3 in–4 ft). Efficient for one cook; with less than about 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) total room width it becomes cramped.

L-shaped

The most flexible layout for a room like the 3.0 × 3.3 m example: units on two adjacent walls leave space for a small table. Use a corner carousel or blind-corner unit so the corner storage is not wasted.

U-shaped

Three walls of units, maximum storage. Leave at least 120 cm (4 ft) between the opposite runs, otherwise doors and the dishwasher clash.

Island or peninsula

An island needs a room roughly 3.6 m (12 ft) wide or more to keep clearances on both sides. A peninsula attached to one run gives a similar breakfast bar in a smaller kitchen.

Measuring before you plan

• Measure every wall at worktop height and at the floor — walls are rarely perfectly straight.
• Mark the window position, its sill height and how the window opens.
• Locate the water supply, drain, gas pipe, extractor duct and sockets: moving them is the most expensive part of a kitchen.
• Note radiators, boxed pipes and the door swing.
• Write down the ceiling height to decide between standard and tall wall cabinets.

The floor plan guide explains how to measure a room and enter it with dimensions.

Kitchen planning mistakes

• Placing the hob in a corner or right next to a wall or tall unit, with no landing space on one side.
• Putting the dishwasher far from the sink, or where its open door blocks a corner drawer.
• Fridge door opening against a wall so it cannot open fully and the drawers cannot be pulled out.
• Forgetting space for a bin, a microwave and small appliances.
• An island squeezed into a room without 100 cm (3 ft 3 in) around it.

Small kitchen design ideas

• Take wall cabinets to the ceiling. The top row holds rarely used items and removes the dust shelf above standard cabinets.
• Use a 45 cm (18 in) dishwasher and a two-zone hob if a full-size appliance would eat too much worktop.
• Choose drawers instead of doors in base units: they use the full depth and need less space in front.
• Fit a fold-down or extendable table on the free wall rather than a fixed dining set.
• Keep the fridge at the end of a run, not in the middle, so it does not split the worktop into two short pieces.
• Light the worktop with under-cabinet lights; a single ceiling light leaves you working in your own shadow.

In a 3.0 × 3.3 m room, an L-shaped run of about 3.0 + 2.0 m (10 + 6 ft 6 in) usually leaves space for a table for two by the window. Drawing it to scale is the quickest way to see whether a table for four fits as well.

How to design your kitchen online in ApaPlan

Start with “Open this plan in the editor” or draw the kitchen floor plan yourself: set wall lengths and thickness, add the door, window and any openings to the dining or living area. Then add cabinets, the sink, cooker, fridge, dishwasher and lighting from more than 2,500 3D models. Adjust width and depth to fit your modules exactly; objects snap to walls and to each other.

Check the result in 3D and in first-person mode, try worktop, splashback and floor finishes from the material library, and download a renovation PDF with plans, room areas and a finish schedule to discuss with a kitchen fitter. ApaPlan is a planning tool: final cabinet orders, gas and electrical work should be confirmed by the supplier and a qualified installer. For an open-plan space, continue with the living room layout planner; for a compact flat see the studio apartment page.

How to do it in ApaPlan

1. Open the kitchen example. Open the example kitchen in the editor or start a new project; no sign-up needed.
2. Draw the kitchen floor plan. Enter the exact wall lengths and add the door, window and openings.
3. Place sink, hob and fridge. Position the three main points first and check the work triangle and the worktop between them.
4. Fill in cabinets and appliances. Add base and wall cabinets, dishwasher and oven, resizing modules to your real widths.
5. Review in 3D and export. Try finishes in 3D, walk through the kitchen and download the PDF for your fitter.

Open this plan in the editor

Frequently asked questions

See also