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

@CheddarCheeseAndCrispSandwich Yes but the point I’m making is that some people prefer their kitchen at the back & have seating there too 😆.

It would sway me because it’s really uncommon in my part of London so would mean a reduced pool of houses if I wanted a kitchen at the front.

Totally agree!

I love my kitchen at the front! I have a great view up and down the (residential, not very busy) road and can see what’s going on (not much!) while pottering about doing chores or cooking. Keeps cool in summer, as it’s NE facing. I think if there was no outlook, I’d feel differently though.

Wouldn't bother me one way or the other. The size and shape of the kitchen would be the real issue. Front or back not so much.

100% this! Although I can’t be discreet when wearing my marigolds

Where I lived, a lovely estate was built in the 60s and all the 4 bed houses had front facing kitchens. They are still very nice houses and sell well. Front kitchens don’t seem to put anyone off. Many have been extended now but most have retained kitchens at the front. DMs bungalow built a few years earlier, also had a front facing kitchen. She loved it! This layout tends to suit wider properties. Terraces were rarely like this.

I have had 5 houses with the kitchen at the front and 14 with livingrooms at the front and i much prefer the kitchen at the front.

I have a kitchen in the middle, can see out the front through dining room (but not while cooking) and the lounge is at the back. I would prefer a front kitchen to mine as mine is quite dark. But the back would be better so there is a view while cooking and access to patio for eating out in summer. It’s nice to have a garden view from lounge and it’s not overlooked by the street at night, but I am usually only in the lounge after dark so can’t see the garden.

There are quite a few front kitchens here so doesn’t seem to deter people. I don’t have doors out from my lounge and if I was moving again I would want patio or bifold doors in whichever room is at the back, whether kitchen or lounge

To me a kitchen that faces east is great. As you go down 1st thing in the morning for breakfast you have the sun and then west facing lounge is great for the afternoon and evening to relax (after all your jobs done) with a cuppa and later a glass of wine. Absolutely perfect and always my preferred choice.

Exactly. It also means while children are playing, you can sit in the living room and keep an eye on them. I spend a lot more time in the living room than the kitchen. It's also nice in the summer, particularly if you have bifold doors/french doors and can open them and make it all a bit more outdoor-living.

My kitchen is in the middle of the house, with nothing but a fence to look at!

Depends entirely on style of house, other entrances and spaces etc.

I love the modernist houses with the kitchen at the front.

I had no idea this was wven a thing. Most houses round here, including mine, seem to have the kitchen at the front. This seems entirely normal to me. I spend far more time in my living room and dining room which open onto the garden and I much prefer having the evening sun coming in. I guess if you cook a lot it might be better other way round but I wouldn't even register this at a viewing. My kitchen does face out over a window though onto the drive.

General layout would bother me more than absolutes like kitchen at the front/back.

My kitchen is the full depth of my house so I can both keep an eye on the street whilst washing up and keep an eye on the garden, and my lounge is also at the back - #winning

People seem to spend a lot of time washing up on MN! My view while washing up would never factor into a decision, because 99% of my dishes go in the dishwasher!

Uh oh the dishwasher elite have entered the thread, hand washers unite..!

@mumma24 the other thing is you could move the kitchen. Maybe not immediately but it can be done.

My mum and dad moved their kitchen to the lounge (it’s a long room runs front to back) and the sink is now under the long front window. They have blinds and my mum loves her front garden (not massive). They have wisteria growing along the front of the house on a frame about 2ft from window so gives them some privacy.

The old kitchen is now the lounge and has been extended out - but even if they hadn’t done that the view of their back garden and the privacy it gives them is fabulous.

it works both ways it just depends on what you want, where you are in your life, style of house, location, your preferences etc

and what’s the worse that could happen? Does it really matter? How can you make it work for you?

good luck

I prefer kitchen at the back, mainly for the reason that I like to see out of my kitchen window and if it was at the front I think you’d want blinds for privacy. Blinds/shutters in a living room I find more acceptable. I’ve only ever lived in homes where the kitchen is at the back.

Sun is important to me as I want the kitchen to be cool, so north- or east-facing.
The one time I had a south-facing kitchen I had to buy an AC unit - which cost a fortune to run.

Always lounge at the back. Preferably kitchen as well, but if its an either or then I want my leisure time to be overlooking the garden.

I prefer kitchens at the back and wouldn't consider a house with a kitchen in the front. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I feel that way - maybe it's because every house I've ever lived in has had kitchens at the back including all of my grandparents houses. I'm the same with bathrooms too - prefer them at the back.

I like to be able to open and see out of a window in every room though an understairs loo with extractor fan would be ok. Not everyone feels the same obviously.

Sometimes for good flow of the house and good design and to ensure good use of space, you don't or cant have a window. My utility doesn't have a window for example, but its located centre of the house just off the kitchen - its used every single day and works very well. To put it in where a window would be available to it, would take valuable living space which takes preference

I prefer it at the back tbh

Fair enough. I think, looking at the way many houses are converted, that this is a popular choice, though it would put me off!