I placed my dishwasher to the left because I am left handed. :-). In terms of loading you will load dishes with whatever hand is closest to the dishwasher because you wouldn't typically cross your hand over your body to load.

Most dishwashers are placed to the right unless there are structural considerations.

I am extremely left handed but like most left handed people am more ambidextrous than a typical right handed person would be just because there are certain things like door knobs that are always going to be for right handed people just as car controls (for the most part at least in the US) are set up for the right handed.

I loaded a dishwasher to the right for years without giving it much consideration :-) but my current configuration is one strike against a right handed world :-).

Mine is to the left, but only because the cupboards in that area are where the dishes and cutlery go. Otherwise it wouldn't matter to me.

Where will your dishes be? Here are your activities:

• Stand at sink- load DW.
• Stand at DW - unload dishes.

Your goal should be to be able to unload most of the DW with 0 steps.

Mine is to the right. If it was on the left it would block the way towards the kitchen table. If someone is clearing the table, an open DW drawer would block your path.

It's weird, I'm a righty and mine is to the left of the sink where I am now (was the only option). In the new build we are going through now, I've kept it that way because it is what I am used to, and it could have worked on either side. I feel as though I hold the plates, glasses, whatever, in my left hand and rinse, wipe, spray (whatever) with my right and place in the DW with my left. Unloading I usually just stand to the left of it and unload.

Although, I must admit, I will probably change my mind a couple of times before I finalize my plan ;-) Will be following!

Just preference, usually influenced by the rest of the layout... sometimes you have more space for a dishwasher on one side rather than the other.

Doesn't matter. I've had a DW on the right and one on the left. Either side is equally OK.

One puts it where it fits best! If it was possible in both locations (in my kitchen, it is NOT), then I prefer it on the right as I am right-handed.

I have had on both sides and I like it on the right since I am right handed.

If I had my druthers, it would always be to the right as I'm right handed. However it will likely be to my left in the new kitchen so it won't clash with the range across the isle. I think you'd get used to whichever way it was pretty fast. Another thing to consider in placement is where you'll be keeping your dishes. It would be nice to have the DW as close to where you'll put them up as possible.

I have one on each side, it does not matter much if at all. Your layout may favor one side or the other though.

Right or left handedness is the absolute very LAST consideration in determining dishwasher placement (and even then, I don't believe it matters).

DW location priorities:
1. keep it out of the prep zone
2. put it near dish storage, without blocking dish cabinets/drawers
3. keep it a comfortable distance from the sink
4. make sure the open door doesn't interfere with opening a different appliance
5. make sure the open door doesn't block a main traffic path

If all of these criteria (and any others I didn't think of) are met on either side of the sink, then perhaps you should consider handedness. I doubt this will be the case in very many kitchens.

i planned ours based on which way dirty plates arrive after dinner.... i want trash then sink then dishwasher, without anyone having to cross paths. bonus points for having the cabinets where the clean dishes go above the dishwasher, but that matters less to me than smooth traffic flow during dinner clean up.

You don't want the DW between the sink and range, because that is your prep zone. You need to separate prep and cleanup tasks so there is no interference and backtracking.

Trash-sink-dishwasher... Ideally the trash is at the end of the run as you enter the clean up zone, followed by sink and then dishwasher. This makes clean up easiest and the trash can can be used by someone coming in from outside the clean up zone.

So, this is the original kitchen layout. It sounds like based on most of the suggestions the dishwasher would work best on the right side of the sink out of the way of the range. Agreed?

Kitchen!!! · More Info

Yes, move the DW to the right. (I'm assuming that MW is hanging from upper cabinets and not under the counter.)

[Just so you know, your aisles are around 3" narrower than your layout shows. Aisles are measured to/from the items sticking out in the aisle the farthest (counter edges, appliance handles, etc.), not cabinet-to-cabinet! I just wanted you to be aware of that.]

@Buehl Thanks for the detailed look at the plan! I was not aware of how the aisles were measured. This plan was drawn for us 10 years ago and due to a renovation nightmare, the space the kitchen will go in is slightly different now. I am planning on using this same basic plan but dimensions will be slightly different.

House my parents built in 1964 had a U-shaped kitchen. On the left leg: door to the garage, wall oven with cabinet above and below, cooktop, cabinet/counter space. Middle of the U, sink and a window with a small cabinet and counter space on left, slightly larger cabinet and counter space on the right. Right leg: cabinets and counter space with a large pass-through to the family room, refrigerator. There was originally no dishwasher. Added one in 1975 in place of the cabinet beneath the wall oven (the water and drain lines ran all the way around to beneath the sink). The location of the dishwasher didn't cause a workflow issue.

i don't know your kitchen layout. you provided the hand drawing, but it's going to come down to personal preference. my vote is always to the right. when you wash something in your sink, you always go to the right to put something in the dishwasher. unless like another person mentioned you are left-handed. if you aren't, on the right. it is going to aggravate you