Kitchen Layout Planner

Design kitchen layouts for both residential and commercial spaces

The Easiest Kitchen Design Tool

Easy to Use

You don't need to be an interior designer or an architect to master kitchen planning. Start with a template and drag and drop components. SmartDraw helps you align and arrange everything perfectly. Plus, it includes beautiful textures for countertops, flooring, and more.

Easy to Find the Symbols You Need

You can drag-and-drop kitchen appliances, fixtures, faucets, cabinets and more. Then just add texture or color in a single click!

Design Your Kitchen with AI

SmartDraw works hand in glove with your existing AI workflow whether you prefer ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or something else. Use AI to generate ideas for your kitchen layout and create mood boards. Next, easily add any generated images to SmartDraw to enhance your kitchen design.

Export your kitchen plan and ask AI to offer suggestions for improved space utilization and flow you can easily implement in SmartDraw.

Easy to Work With Other Apps

SmartDraw is easy to work with no matter what other apps you use. You can add kitchen plans to:

Microsoft Office^®
- Word^®
- PowerPoint^®
- Excel^®
Microsoft Teams^®
Google Workspace^™
- Google Docs
- Google Sheets
Atlassian^™ apps
- Confluence
- Jira

Easy to Save to Your Existing Storage Solution

SmartDraw works hand in glove with most file storage systems. You can save your kitchen designs directly to:

SharePoint^®
OneDrive^®
Google Drive^™
Dropbox^®
Box^®

There is no need to create a parallel set of common folders and permissions, SmartDraw can just save files directly into your existing set up.

Easy to Share

Share your kitchen design with anyone, even if they don't own a copy of SmartDraw, with a link. You can also easily export any diagram as a PDF or common image formats like PNG or SVG.

Easy to Get Help

Have a question? Chat or email us. SmartDraw support is in-house and free!

Easy Collaboration

You and your team can work on the same kitchen plan in real time. Your team can make edits or leave comments and feedback. You can also share your kitchen design with clients who are non SmartDraw users by simply emailing them a link.

SmartDraw also works where you already communicate with your team. You can collaborate on kitchen plans in Microsoft Teams^®, Slack or Confluence.

Our Kitchen Layout and Design Tool Features

Professional kitchen layout templates
Symbols for cabinets and appliances
Built-in common scales
Ability to define a custom scale
Change scale at any time
Ability to add layers for HVAC, and more
Scale independent annotation layer
Shape data for measurements and budget

Export a manifest
Import a PDF
Resize items by typing
Measure distance and area easily
Works with the tools you use
Collaborate with anyone in real-time
Export as PDF, PNG, or SVG
Works with 3rd party storage providers

Kitchen Layout and Design Examples

Design kitchen layouts for your home or commercial space. SmartDraw's kitchen design software has plenty of examples to help you get started.

Country Kitchen Floor Plan

Island Kitchen Plan

Galley Kitchen Plan h

How to Design a Kitchen

Step 1

Define Your Goals and Lifestyle Needs

Decide the priorities for your kitchen design. Will you use your kitchen just for everyday cooking or do you want it to also function as an entertaining space or a family hub? Think about your storage needs and existing appliances. Do you want double ovens? A wine fridge? An island?

Step 2

Take Measurements

If you're remodeling an existing kitchen, measure the space you'll be designing. Write down not just the length of wall segments, but make note of your ceiling heights. Measure where existing windows and doors are.

Step 3

Decide on Your Preferred Layout Style

Choose a layout based on your space and needs: u-shaped, l-shaped, galley, or island.

Step 4

Create a Kitchen Work Triangle

Position the sink, stove, and refrigerator in a triangle for efficient movement when cooking and prepping. Consider adding a baking station or coffee bar.

Step 5

Create a Kitchen Work Triangle

Position the sink, stove, and refrigerator in a triangle for efficient movement when cooking and prepping. Consider adding a baking station or coffee bar.

Step 6

Create a Kitchen Layout Plan

Use SmartDraw to design a new layout for your kitchen. SmartDraw has kitchen layout templates and symbols to help your visualize your space. Start with a Kitchen Design template located under Floor Plans - Residential.

Step 7

Draw Walls

Create an outline of your existing kitchen plan using the wall tool. Simply click Add Wall and drag your cursor to draw walls.

SmartDraw makes it easy to drag walls to adjust them or just type the length directly into walls to modify them. Once you've created an outline for your room or house, click on a wall and you'll see two types of growth handles appear. The handle with an up and down or right to left arrow will allow you to move your wall inward or outward vertically or horizontally. The handle at the corners where walls meet will help you adjust your wall diagonally by letting you move the placement of the corner.

Step 8

Add Cabinets and Appliances

Drag and drop cabinetry, appliances, a sink, or even an island to design your kitchen.

Step 9

Collaborate with Others

Invite clients or team members to give you feedback and work on your kitchen design in real-time. Make notes or even make changes on the fly as a group. SmartDraw is so easy to use, you can make changes in real-time.

Step 10

Print or Share Your Kitchen Plan

Once your kitchen layout is complete you can insert it directly to any Microsoft Office app like Microsoft Word^® or PowerPoint^®, or add it to Google Docs^™ or Google Slides^™.

You can also easily export your kitchen design as a PDF or print it.

Common Kitchen Layouts

There are 5 main types of kitchen layouts:

One-wall - All appliances and cabinets are along a single wall. This is a simple and affordable layout perfect for a small home or apartment.
Galley - Two parallel counters with a path between them. This type of kitchen layout makes it easy to set up a kitchen work triangle. It is efficient for cooking in small, narrow spaces.
L-shaped - Cabinets and counters run along two adjoining walls often seen in open-concept layouts.
U-shaped - Cabinets and counters wrap around three walls for maximum storage.
Island - A kitchen with a freestanding structure in the center that adds prep area, storage, and seating. It's great for entertaining.

Kitchen Design Tips

When designing a kitchen, here are some tips to help guide you to get the most of your new layout:

Workflow

Arrange sink, stove, and fridge in an efficient triangle if possible. Think about creating zones for prep, cooking, cleaning, and serving. If possible, reserve counter space near the stove and sink as work areas. When creating your design consider placing your sink first, then add the stove and refrigerator if utility hook ups allow you to move them.

Storage

Maximize your space by going vertical with tall cabinets. You can also consider adding organizers for your drawers as well as pull-outs and lazy Susans for your cabinets. Take inventory of all your items from small appliances to plates, pots, and spices and create organization zones. Put frequently used items in easily accessibly areas. Keep appliances and spices near food prep areas.

Lighting

Layer ambient (overhead), task (under cabinets), and accent (pendants) lighting. If your design allows it, add a window for natural light.

Materials

Choose durable and easy-to-clean surfaces for counters (quartz, granite), flooring (water-resistant), and cabinets (paint or laminates).

Safety and Traffic Flow

Makes sure that when appliances have their doors open they don't block walkways or cabinets. Leave enough room around dishwashers, ovens, and fridges for their doors. The general rule is you'll need 42–48" aisles for smooth movement and accessibility. Make sure your design also allows for a vent hood for good for ventilation.

Partial kitchen layout with dimension lines for spacing

Outlets

Add enough outlets to charge small appliances.

Appliances

Pick sizes and locations early for a cohesive fit. Consider adding modern touches like ice makers, beverage coolers, wine fridges, water filtering, and more.

Combine 2D Kitchen Design with an Elevation Plan

When designing your kitchen, a 2D overhead layout gives you a complete picture of the workflow and traffic paths with appliance placement and cabinet configurations. SmartDraw also lets you create an elevation plan for your kitchen so you can consider vertical details like cabinet heights, shelving, lighting, and even backsplash design.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Kitchen Design Tools

Can I use AI to generate a kitchen layout?

AI tools and LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude are great for generating designs in the early stages of planning for inspiration. However, the images they produce are not editable and not to scale. We recommend using LLMs alongside a tool like SmartDraw's kitchen layout planner. This gives you the best of both worlds. You can translate a text prompt into an inspirational image and use SmartDraw to create a precise scaled drawing you can hand off to a contractor.

What is the 3x4 kitchen rule?

This refers to having three work zones in your kitchen for prep, cooking and cleaning. Each zone should be four feet long.

Can I import a PDF?

SmartDraw lets you import a PDF and make it a background image you can sketch over. This is a great way to markup a layout for collaboration.

Can I import images?

You can easily import photos to create texture or add more detail to any design. You can even import an image of an existing kitchen layout if you want to draw over it in more detail or make notes to share with your team.

What to consider in a kitchen layout design app?

Look for an app that matches your needs and skill level and provides a good balance between easy-of-use and functionality. SmartDraw makes it easy to draw to scale even if you're not a professional architect or contractor. You get easy-to-use kitchen layout templates and drag-and-drop symbols. You can design both 2D kitchens and elevation plans.

How to budget for a kitchen design?

Before starting a kitchen design, it's natural to wonder how much to budget: is $10,000 enough? $20,000? What about $40,000? In many ways, only you can answer this question. Your budget should depend on your own personal financial situation, your home value, and your goals. A good rule of thumb is to invest about 5 to 15% of your home value in your kitchen design. Create a budget by allocating money to categories like appliances, cabinets, countertops, flooring, and so on. Identify must-have items and nice-to-have items. Always get multiple estimates from different contractors and plan to have a contingency fund for unexpected expenses.