Most kitchens have three major areas where most things happen: the sink, the stove, and the refrigerator. The “work triangle” is set up between these three areas. According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the sum of the three sides of the triangle between those areas should not exceed 26 feet, and each side needs to be between 4 and 9 feet long. You don’t want the three so close together that your kitchen feels cramped as you prepare food. On the other hand, you don’t want them so far apart that it makes any task that takes you from one point to another needlessly taxing.

Another important guideline is that there should not be any major traffic patterns through the triangle. Imagine yourself working in the kitchen and having to weave around people as they walk through your work area.

The biggest key when considering your kitchen, particularly if you are planning an upgrade, is how it works with your lifestyle. According to kitchens.com, the triangle is generally built around the idea of one person and three major areas for preparing food.

Note that if you share cooking duties with someone, you will need to change things up to accommodate that. Also, if you add more workspaces to your kitchen, there may need to be more than three points to consider.

The bottom line is that you consider function in the kitchen the main driving force. Making a kitchen look great is easy enough with so many options in appliances, countertops, and sinks. However, your kitchen could be beyond stunning and still impossible to deal with if it isn’t designed with practical function in mind.

It would be best to strike the right balance between function and beauty, which will give you a kitchen that you will enjoy for years.