The layout is the single most important decision in any Edmonton kitchen renovation, more than colour, more than cabinet style, more than countertop choice. A beautiful kitchen with the wrong work triangle will frustrate you every single day. For most Edmonton floor plans, older bungalows with boxed-off kitchens, mid-century four-square models and typical infill builds, the two layouts that come up most often are the L-shape and the U-shape.

An L-shape uses two adjoining walls and leaves the rest of the room open. It works beautifully for open-concept main floors where the kitchen flows into the dining and living area, and for homeowners who want a generous island or breakfast bar. The downside is that you only have two runs of cabinetry, so storage and counter space can feel tight in larger families. A U-shape wraps cabinetry around three walls and gives you much more counter-frontage, more drawer banks and more pantry space, but the room can feel enclosed, so it works best in dedicated kitchen rooms rather than open-concept great rooms. The classic rule is to keep the working leg of a U-shape between 1500 and 2200 millimetres wide so two people can work without bumping elbows.