How important is a kitchen at the back of a house?

[mumma24]

woukd you consider a kitchen at the front with the lounge at the back over looking the garden?
or do the majority prefer the other way. Looking at a house to buy but thinking of resale going forward in 5 years time

This is where im lucky, both my living room and kitchen run parallel to each other longways and are dual aspect so have windows both out the front and patio doors out the back. And I reckon its a complete 50/50 split on which one I'm watching the kids from when they're in the garden... plus mine sometimes play out in the street with their friends and I can keep an eye on them there from both rooms. My house is tiny and we could probably do with upsizing, but I love the layout of this house so much, when I went to view others, even though they were bigger and beautiful houses, I couldn't invision how they'd work for me.

Our last house had a kitchen at the front, but it also had a side door so you could go down the path to the garden directly from the kitchen. We had a dog flap and could keep the dog shut in the kitchen with access to garden.

I have never thought about this even for a second, nor have I ever noted which room is where in relation to front and back 🤔 and now that I am, and relating it to my own life, I find I still have no idea. I would be looking at the layout of the whole house and garden, not individual rooms. I live in a terrace and my kitchen and living room go the whole length of the house 😆

My friend live in a house like this
you spend far more time in the living room rather than the kitchen

So your kitchen is at both the front and the back? Bonus! That's totally winning.

My kitchen is at the back and faces east so hardly any sun except in early spring and autumn - it is very cold in the winter but lovely and cool in the summer. I'd like a kitchen facing the road so I could see what's going on all the time! I'd rather have a living room with large doors onto the terrace and garden for what they call indoor/outdoor living.

Mine is at the front. Lounge at the back, with a conservatory covering half of that. Bathroom is also at the front, for context. It has never once occurred to me that this is bad?

Yes. Why waste a lovely outlook. Several houses near me have such a layout. As long as the house has a logical flow to it, ie hall to all rooms, kitchen to utility, kitchen to dining room, living/dining to garden or conservatory, why not? More privacy as well, without people seeing into your living room.

My kitchen is at the front my kitchen dinner open plan is all down the left side of the house with big patio doors at the back. Sun rises in the morning at the side of the kitchen and sets right at the back, so always have sun and the patio gets all the sun in evening - great in the summer
My living room is too the right of the house, so you walk in the front door turn right for living room - Living room is north side of the house amd is a nice warm cosy living room
My friend has a terraced house and you have to walk through the living room to get to the kitchen at the back, i always felt that her house would wok better if kitchen was at the front , it would be a better flow of the house
Some houses it works, as people say all depends on how you live, how the sun sets and rises etc. A good architect will design correctly

Living room at the back going out into the garden would be a huge plus for me.

I prefer the main living area at the back - it feels more private. I agree with pp about views down the street when washing up being nice.

I prefer the kitchen at the front because I love the idea of the lounge at the back and more private.

My friend has this and has put in French doors ands it’s lovely sitting on the sofa and looking out.

Ive always had the kitchen at the back though and it doesn’t bother me, so I wouldn’t base my decision on buying a home on it.

This thread has made me realise I have strong feelings about this! I live in a house that faces onto a road that gets a lot of through-traffic and I would HATE to be banging around in my kitchen with people walking past, cars passing, vans pulling up - I’d feel on display. The house is slightly raised as there is a basement so nobody sees you sitting down in the lounge (and you’d have to stand up to see them) but you’d be very visible cooking, washing pans and so on.

We toyed with this as we are in a listed building with single glazed windows, and moving the kitchen anyway.

Front room - big windows close to a pavement and street, feels quite public, but not overlooked by other buildings. Open views. DP wanted the kitchen here.

Back room - overlooking the garden, quieter, more private. Also more built-up but buildings are quite far away.

DP thought having a quieter living room at the back would be good for watching films etc without traffic noise. Which did makes sense.

But ultimately the thought of being on display from the street in the mornings before I had coffee lead us to the kitchen at the back! Also vents for extracts etc don’t spoil the look of the front but in our case don’t matter do much at the back.

We are in the kitchen more during the day and living room in the evenings too so daylight /better light in the back south facing room was a factor.

First house we purchased had kitchen at the front, decent size utility room on the side of that. We removed the living room window, added french doors then a conservatory. It was south facing, beware what you wish for. It was quarter of an acre. Chicken and rabbits right down the bottom under oak trees,as we're we. Watering it was an absolute nightmare.

I presume you mean sink facing a internal wall here ? in the bathroom would you not be facing the mirror when standing at the sink ? How would you cope with a little toilet built in under the stairs ?
Do you stand for hours at the sink ?

I wish my living room was at the back overlooking my garden. I don’t want to sit on my sofa looking at cars drive passed, I want to see the song birds on the feeders and look at the plants I’ve spent time growing.

To me it depends on the relative size of the kitchen:living room. Our current house has an 8’ x 8’ kitchen on the front, and I spend as little time in there as possible, as there’s no room to just hang out in there. The living room/diner is at the back and where we spend our time.

The house we’re moving to has an extended 17’ x 10’ kitchen/diner at the back with patio doors. There’s room for a sofa and I imagine we will spend most of our time in there, rather than the much smaller living room.

I always think the resale thing is a bit of a pointless worry; you want to buy it, so someone else will.

Wouldn't bother me

You could just as easily watch children…from the living room though if it was at the back (and comfortably, from your sofa 😀). That’s the point I’m making. This fact alone wouldn’t sway me either way when buying a house.

My lounge is at the front (with a tiny front garden and hedge between the house and the pavement), kitchen at the back with double doors onto the garden.
I really wish it was the other way around, lounge open onto the garden. I love to have the doors open and let some air flow through and potter in and out.
Also, the front out of my house gets the sun, which means when it's really hot and I keep the blinds closed, it's a bit soul destroying in a living space.
However I will say, my kitchen is small and although there is a 'dining area', you'd fit a table for two in at best.
In a family home with an area to eat it would be nicer having the kitchen open onto the garden. Plus if you (or future residents) like to entertain, it's probably easier to have the kitchen opening onto the garden for summer drinks/BBQ.

How your home flows is more important than front or back. How it sits in its environment too. How you personally use each space is also relevant. Each property is different.

It isn't something I'd ever considered to be important tbh. Our kitchen is at the front but it's open plan with a reception area at the back (currently a playroom), which leads to the garden. Most houses around here are similar so there's no issue with keeping an eye on dcs in the garden. The sun direction doesn't affect us at all because we keep blinds down at the front all day for privacy. Our main living room is on another floor but at the front. We tend to keep the shutters closed for privacy, I'd never keep windows uncovered if they face the street. We're in London where it's so hard finding the right size property at the right price and location, so factors like whether the kitchen is at the front or back just isn't going to be a deal breaker.

Kitchen has always been at the back whatever house, with young children it was absolutely important. Double doors to the garden from the kitchen was the best set up. We’ve moved now and rural so it doesn’t much matter but when my kids were young I definitely enjoyed having at the back.