Kitchen-table polyamory

Also: KTP

A polyamory style in which the people across a polycule — partners and metamours — can comfortably hang out together, share meals, and share friendships.

1 min read · Reviewed 2026-05-20

Kitchen-table polyamory (KTP) describes a network style in which the people across a polycule are integrated into each other's social lives. The kitchen-table image is literal: at a KTP gathering, your partner, their other partner, your partner's other partner's partner, the kids, and a friend or two can all sit around the table together. The vibe is family. Holiday meals are shared. Group chats exist.

KTP is not a separate structure from polyamory; it is a description of how a polycule socially integrates. It is contrasted most often with parallel polyamory, where partners and metamours intentionally do not socialise; and garden-party polyamory, where they are cordial at shared events but do not become close friends.

KTP is appealing because it produces a network of mutual support and reduces compartmentalisation. It is hard to maintain because it requires that everyone in the network actually likes each other enough to spend time together — and that takes work to negotiate when feelings shift, when partners cycle in and out, and when the network includes children who navigate the structure as part of their family.

The KTP label is sometimes overused. A network can be partially KTP — close among some members, parallel among others. People sometimes mean 'I want my partner's partners to be willing to be in the same room as me' rather than the deeper integration the term implies; if so, garden-party is the more accurate label.

Where this term fits in the wider picture

Ethical non-monogamy is a network of overlapping practices, identities, and structures — and Kitchen-table polyamory connects to several of them. The neighbouring terms below show how this one sits alongside the rest of the vocabulary practitioners actually use; the guide at the end is the longer-form treatment of the same territory.

Closely-related vocabulary

Parallel polyamory
A polyamory style in which partners and metamours intentionally do not socialise — each relationship runs on its own track without intersection.
Polycule
The web of romantic connections between a group of people — the network you would draw if you sketched everyone's relationships as nodes and edges.
Metamour
Your partner's other partner. Your partner-in-law, in a sense — a person you are connected to through a shared partner but are not themselves partnered with.
Polyamory
The practice of, or willingness to engage in, multiple loving romantic relationships, with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.

Continue reading

The longer treatment of this territory is in the guide What is ethical non-monogamy? A clear primer for adults thinking it through — An honest, plain-language introduction to ethical non-monogamy — what it is, what it isn't, the configurations it covers, and the questions it asks of you.

New to ethical non-monogamy? Start with the glossary for vocabulary, the structures index for the named relationship configurations practitioners actually use, and the guides for longer-form treatment of the common questions.