Kitchen on the front of the house?

[MapleLeaff]

What do you think of houses where the kitchen is at the front of the house?

Is there anyone who has a kitchen at the front of the house and can outline pos and negs of it please?

Is this is modern house thing?

I'm viewing houses and just wanted to know. Thanks in advance

I love our kitchen at the front.

I think open plan kitchen-family room at the back is the modern thing. Personally, I could see myself having a kitchen at the front as I don’t spend much time in the kitchen. It would leave loads of space for living areas at the back overlooking the garden.

I love having a kitchen at the front. I like being nosey at what’s going outside whilst I get on with stuff.

I've had both. I prefer it at the front tbh. I feel a bit cut off in the back of my current house whilst cooking etc.
Much prefer my living room at the back.

Mine is at the front. Perfect for rubber necking. Most of the houses I've lived in have had kitchens either at the front or actually side by side, with a window to the front and the back. Tiny little house.

Personally, I love having my kitchen at the front of the house, closed off, and then have the living spaces at the back with much more privacy and overlooking my garden.
I'm just not happy with the size of my current kitchen (3x3.20), and am dreading when my little one goes to school that I'll be separated whilst he's in the living room and I prep dinner etc. It's the only reason why I'm considering doing an extension.
Even so, we would look into extending into the side return to ensure the kitchen would have views (and light) from the garden, and leave the part of the new extension to the front as bike store, cloackroom, etc. I.e. a space which is not used much.

One thing to consider if you will have an open plan style kitchen/diner-cum-family room is how tidy your folk are and how much laundry you'll be doing (we only have 1 child). Personally, I would hate to have an open plan kitchen and then not be able to have a proper conversation because the washing machine is on all the time, or put my feet up on a Saturday evening and see the kitchen untidy... But that depends on personality.

Just to add, most new builds seem to have tiny tiny kitchens. When they're empty they look OK, but soon they become impractical when you can't make a big weekly or biweekly shop... My brother lives in a new build and it drives him insane. No kids either... Just keep your practical hat on when visiting houses. Good luck!

I’m very surprised at that Bookishkitten I’ve noticed over the past few years how big the kitchens have now become in new builds compared to say ten years ago, and they often have a family room attached as well, look at any of the big name building companies and that is what they are building, it’s what today’s customer expects and wants. However unless you have the budget of the bigger new builds you will probably get a smaller kitchen, you get what you pay for I guess.

Personally, I love having my kitchen at the front of the house, closed off, and then have the living spaces at the back with much more privacy and overlooking my garden.

^Me too

I've had both but much prefer the kitchen in the back. It's so easy when children are playing in the garden and you can see what they are up to. Also when having BBQs in the summer, it's nice that the kitchen is next to the patio for doing the salads bits and when the evening gets cooler and darker, people start moving half inside and half outside. I find it much more social, especially for the person who might otherwise be stuck in the kitchen in another part of the house and separated from all the guests.

Pros:
*Lovely for the living room to look onto the garden, dc playing etc.
*Privacy - when relaxing in pjs you don’t need to worry about the posties head bobbing past the window
*Proper neighbour watching opportunities when busy in the kitchen

Cons:
Every house on my street, both sides, is built the same way with the kitchen at the back. In the evening in winter the street looks pitch black and deserted as everyone’s in their back-living areas with all the front lights off.
It sounds like a stupid issue but I love living in a community...and I really hate driving home when dark and I miss seeing houses lit up at the front, it feels kind of lonely!