Please tell me how to survive in a West facing kitchen

[Sunsetsarehellinmyhouse]

I'm losing the plot.
It's actual torture.
Every time it's time to cook dinner from June to early Sept I am on the brink of a meltdown after an hour in my west facing kitchen. The back wall that faces the sun is 8 foot wide and all glass. Glass back door. Glass big window. No actual wall.
The sink is underneath the window, facing the setting sun.
The length of my kitchen is 10 foot and there's nowhere I can stand to escape the sheer intense heat burning into my kitchen from 5pm onwards as the sun lowers until it is directly opposite my kitchen.
I sweat. I wince. I wear sunglasses inside. My legs get sunburn from standing at the hob or worktops as the sun penetrates in to the room.
I can't cope.
I can't cook and wash up earlier in the day cos I'm at work.
I can't cook later at 8pm once the torture is over because my young DC need dinner at 5 or 6 pm latest.
If I leave all the washing up till 8pm by then I'm doing bedtime with DC and don't get back downstairs till gone 9pm and by then I'm knackered with a headache due to the intense heat torture of the kitchen earlier on.
HTF does anyone cope with a tiny box sized west facing kitchen with a glass back wall?
Blinds don't make it any better because I need the glass door and window open for ventilation otherwise I can't even stand in there.
I feel like crying.
Never thought about this when we viewed the house in November.

Would a retractable French Curved Awning be low enough?

I walked past a house with koalashade greenhouse netting pegged up outside the front bay windows. You could do something similar if you ran ran a wire along outside above the glass.

Perfect fit blinds that clip onto your window frame that you slide horizontally down the window - sure you can get the insulated ones for hot summer/cold winters

Get a dishwasher and a barbecue

I raise you south facing conservatory which spans the whole house and gets sun all day as the landlord decided to rip out the only shady trees next to it after our first year here our cat almost died on the peak day of the heatwave thanks to the damn thing and his own stupidity, he wasn’t trapped in there it was a choice

Shade sail inside and reflective sticky window covers have helped (the ones that block people seeing in). There is a reflective bubble wrap you can get for the mega hot days to cover all windows with, but it must go outside or it will form a heat bubble and crack the window.

A big bit of white camo netting to attach on the outside. Cheap as chips so you could cut it as required to let the doors open. It would give some relief while you work out other solutions.

I have the same issue. I have two shade sails, they’re triangular and each one is opposite to the other to form a square. I’ve angled them downwards so I don’t get much of a view but they do block the sun. You could also string a washing line left to right across your garden with big sheets on - you’ll have to play around with the ideal height but once you’ve worked it out you can just peg up the sheets on hot days and hoist the line to the right height.

AC will only work in conjunction with blinds and awning

I’m assuming it is the back of your house as you mention a patio.

One option is solar film - applied on the outside so reduces the energy coming into the house and will reduce glare. You can still see out but it is silvered on the outside. https://www.windowfilm.co.uk/collections/solar-control-window-film-by-the-metre-window-film

Probably blinds the neighbours?

And if you're sitting outside yourself do you get the reflection of the sun and be blinded yourself?

You can have potted plants and bushes.

A awning absolutely creates shade not sure why you'd dismiss that. A sail could be fixed anywhere you want it to create shade for the sun low in the sky or high.

Blinds are basic and easily achievable.

But hey, dismiss everyone's ideas.....

What about roll down electric shutters on the outside? A house we rented on holiday once had them and they made a huge difference.

Solar film on the windows. Lets light in but massively reduces the heat.

I have a double aspect west facing kitchen which is like a greenhouse

However, I:

• Planted an olive tree in a galvanised water tank in front of the window and tall tomato plants in pots in front of the sliding doors
• Open the windows and doors early in the morning and late in the evening but keep them shut with blinds down all day
• Refuse to turn the oven on in this weather and clear up the kitchen last thing at night

I’m also trying to persuade DH to build a pagoda/brise soleil in front of our glass wall that I can cover with climbing roses and clematis Montana. There are plenty of solutions OP, you are just too hot to think straight!

We have a west facing kitchen with full length bifold glass doors across the back of it. We have blinds inside the doors, and they’re kept shut all day. It minimises the temperature somewhat. Plus, air con. We’ve just had it installed. Our living room is the same, glass doors, hot as the pits of hell. The blinds being closed all day do help.

What about some trellis planters? You can get them on wheels so you could move them around as necessary. For this year you could just drape them with fake ivy / camo netting but then next year you could have some quick growing climbers in them.

https://outsunny.com/en-gb/collections/trellis-planters

You sounded so desperate I thought you would try everything and anything suggested.

Why don’t you just close blinds/curtains?

I get that won’t totally help heat during heatwaves but till mean you can see!!

For gods sake get a grip and just buy an extending sun blind, or install electric shutters, job done.

And you don’t need ventilation. Do you open the back door when you cook in winter or make do with the extractor fan?

Also. Who’s spending hours cooking in this heat? Salad, chicken in air fryer. Done.

I agree- thinking long tern you need really big planters with trees, or break up squares of the concrete and sink slabs in vertically to make 'fig pits' and plant a fig tree in each.

Grass and climbers outside too instead of blank fences and concrete would be even better as plants don't reflect the glare and heat, and plants cool the air too.

Deciduous trees are going to be like gold dust on the west sides of houses. Shade in summer, let the sun in in winter. Our neighbours used to complain about one of ours shading their conservatory, now they've admitted its the only thing that makes it habitable in summer.

Would a gazebo fit outside? Or a pergola? And having it right up against the window, I'm thinking a gazebo with the ceiling/side panels or voiles on a pergola, then that would act as a barrier for the direct sun?

Photina/red robin aren't popular on here because they shed leaves like crazy but mine are growing great in those big, rectangle, plastic pots from B&Q. They're about 6ft tall, grow fast and quite bushy, they could definitely work as a sun block. I've got them against trellis and use twine to give them the pleached look (cutting any stragglers that grow wayward!)
I love the idea of having them on wheels and putting them Infront of my south facing, kitchen window but it's a shared access path and not wide enough 😑

Why did you ask if you turn down all suggestions without trying them?

air fryer

So glad it's not jist me who hates sunshine in my face! We have a South facing garden (supposed to be a bonus?) and this big ball of fire follows us round the kitchen with a lot of glass, torture! We have blinds and i pull them down, DH will come in and put them up because he loves sunshine 🌞

Sometimes I think I would be happier in a dark cave...