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.

Also, you can get exterior blinds that come down the outside which will help A LOT. Don’t let the heat in.

I’ve got a large parasol that tilts so that the canopy is vertical rather than horizontal. It has a rectangular canopy. It stands in front of my window and makes it shady indoors. I bought it on Amazon.

My kitchen faces west.

When it is hot I have a lot of take aways.

The other thing is to prep early morning, so if you are having salad with ham etc prep it, plate it up and put in the fridge.

I also use my slow cooker.

An old-fashioned solution that hasn’t yet been mentioned is the type of curtain that is made of thousands of strings. They come in modern colours and textures these days, but would allow you to keep the door open if essential.

On a larger level, if anyone is thinking of building work it is so much better to consider these factors at design stage, rather than trying to rig something up later. For example, integrating an overhang or a brise soleil, integrated blinds or having several narrow windows that are angled away from the sun rather than a big expanse of glass.

Oh yes. Wash up at dawn if you don’t have a dishwasher.

I don’t know what’s available in the UK but I live in a Mediterranean region and here we have roller blinds on the outside (aluminium blinds). The situation you describe happens every day in my place so I just put the blind down a corresponding amount. Having the blinds on the outside means the sun can’t get to the window so it heats up much less than if the blinds or curtains are on the inside. Also a pergola outside reduces how much sun gets to the windows.

We had ac installed (around £2k per room)

You need to black the sun out with some external barrier such as shutters or even just blankets taped outside of your window.

can't plant anything outside to provide shade as it's a concrete patio.
that does sound horrible! I would get some big pots and planters with tall plants.

We have a huge parasol
on our patio outside our bi folding glass doors. We tilt it to shade the kitchen when the sun’s on that side. And have a big fan on. It helps.

Your husband can presumably do some of the tasks. Do you not have a dishwasher?

The electric awning suggested sounds good but a couple of efficient air con units would help too.

Windows open for ventilation with blinds down still allows some air in whilst shielding you from the sun.

A concrete patio isn't helping either, they heat up and throw it out like a space heater for ages after. If I were you I'd embrace the Mediterranean heat you've got with a glass door and concrete patio facing west and put some tall potted cypress or topiary type plants outside in pots, this would also provide shade on the concrete so wouldn't heat up as much.

Or a nice Japanese style patio with potted bamboo. It really takes the edge off having plants shading and respiring away.

I have the same problem. Massive south west facing windows upstairs and down. Great in the winter.

For a short term fix, until you get some decent air con, you need to be much more open to being adaptable with the times you actually cook in your kitchen. And be creative with what you cook - quick cooking only. ÀaCook or have the oven on only when it’s cooler….early mornings. Or put the slow cooker on overnight. Eat salad type meals. If possible, place a simple bbq in a shady spot at the side of the house for quick grilling meat, fish and sausages. Grill or oven cook enough for two or more meals in one go if possible.
I have even set up the slow cooker in my north facing spare bedroom on occasions ..is any of that possible in your house as a temporary fix ?

Get some solar protection window adhesive film or panels for the outside of your windows - there are loads to choose from to suit any budget.
You also need blinds on the inside so that you don’t need sunglasses.
Tall pots with leafy shrubs on castors to move around as the sun goes round and down. Or fix up a washing line and hang dark coloured fabric to block the glare. Hose down the patio paving and glass with cold water.

You should never be tempted to open the windows for air flow on that side of the house when the outside temp is that high. Get some air flow going from the north and east windows and doors if you possibly can

Finally and crucially I bought myself a neck fan …£20 from John Lewis. It really helps. Good luck !

Has someone suggested the white stuff you paint on green houses. apparently they use that in France. In my green house I have the white fleece you put over veg, to keep insects off, hanging on a light rope to keep the sun off plants on v hot days. It’s v lightweight you could peg it to a string hung from the gutter to screen the windows. Though not wind proof.

Plantation style bifold or sliding louvered interior shutters - you will still be able to access your door and tilt to allow ventilation plus a/c.

Get a pop up gazebo with sides and stand it on patio next/covering window

Could you build a pergola out the back to add some shade/provide a nice seating area. Something a bit like this?

You don't have to have such a formal roof, it could be bamboo screening for now, grow vines etc in pots up the sides and they be covering the roof in a year or two once the bamboo is perished. You can even have curtains on the pergola itself, so you can make the area fully shaded at times

it would be cheaper than moving to look at an awning or canopy, get a bespoke company around for ideas?

https://regalawnings.co.uk/awnings/residential-awnings?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Awnings_-_Surrey&utm_term=awnings%20for%20houses&utm_content=746711815193&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvf_B1qzClQMVmpRQBh05fynpEAAYASAAEgL69fD_BwE&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1370699212&gbraid=0AAAAADAXPlZknXd4LU2WK-FtVHLj6rLn1

have you got neighbowith a similar layout? What do they do?

Keep the windows closed and covered throughout the heat of the day, makes a huge difference, let cool air in at night.

A gazebo with curtain sides. I’ve got one up behind my conservatory at the moment. It’s a decent one with thick green fabric cover. I can draw the curtain sides to one side if needed. Its making a difference of 5 degrees in the conservatory

ive also got one curtain side pegged to the conservatory guttering.

Right now, you buy the cheapest super king flat white sheets you can find and fix them above your windows / doors from the outside. You will still get light through buy you will cut the sun.

We have a south west facing kitchen with wall to wall glass across the back and had exactly the same problem. It was easily reaching mid 30s in there when it wasn’t even particularly hot outside. We had air conditioning installed about two months ago. It’s a game changer. I love being in the kitchen now. (We also have curtains that retract into the ceiling and they cut out the glare but don’t do enough to block out the heat).

We've got south West facing garden and a large window and glass door. We open doors and window in early morning and keep them open for a while. Then close the windows and blinds and do not open them again. Even if you think it feels stuffy don't open the window while it is hotter outside, you'll just heat the house up.

And then eat salads or use the air fryer. Not a chance I'm using the oven etc

Have solar tint installed on all the glass, don’t do some hack diy job but get professionals in to do it with top notch film.

Then look at other stuff such as really large plots and put clumping bamboo in them, that grows several meters high, providing pots are big enough.

I would put up 2 washing line poles, buy sone of the study aluminium stuff that you use for car windows and on the days when it's sunny, suspend them from the line. Ugly, but only when used and can be folded away easily.

Out door blinds.
Long tubs of plants against wall growing hops on lines that attach above eaves. Or non clumping bamboo or tall shade climbing plants lkke Morning Glory. Seek advice from a plant nusery and awning shop.