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House and home

Where is your kitchen situated?

(122 Posts)
annsixty Wed 05-Feb-20 16:01:14

I have been looking at my house with jaundiced eyes this morning having no energy to do much else.
My friends are downsizing, hugely, and say it is giving them a new lease of life.
This is not possible for me but I am tired of this one.

In our last home the kitchen was at the front of the house with an archway to the dining room.
I didn't have time then to "stand and stare" but now I do and I would love it.

Any of you have one and do you like it?

Nannan2 Thu 06-Feb-20 12:50:01

My kitchen is at front of house but not an awful lot to see,except the birds and the occasional squirrel,and people passing on the pathway,as my row runs opposite another row,which runs sideways on so not overlooking mine..but the front doors nxt to kitchen and the back door opens into living room which is at back of house which is very 'back to front' if you ask megrin

Nannan2 Thu 06-Feb-20 12:55:02

My daughters in a town house so her kitchens at back but on ground level,plus a loo,and their living room & some bedrooms & shower are upstairs,then more bedrooms& a bathroom further upstairs.i very rarely get beyond their kitchen as i cant do stairs well with my osteoarthritis hmm

Leah50 Thu 06-Feb-20 12:56:22

We need to think about downsizing soon as our end of terrace 3 bedroom Edwardian cottage is getting a bit too much for me to manage. DH is frail & we've quite a large garden. However I do love having a big kitchen/dining room, a shelved pantry, - & a scullery. They all face South onto our flower & herb filled patio & I dread having to get used to a small modern kitchen. In summer we can eat outside & enjoy family parties Mediterranean style.

Mercedes55 Thu 06-Feb-20 13:03:29

My kitchen is at the back of the house and overlooks the garden. Can't say I spend much time looking out of the window as OH does the cooking and most of the dishes go in the dishwasher.
Our living room is also at the back of the house and we live on a busy main road and it can be nice to sometimes just stand in the dining room and see what is going on.
Last year we installed a security camera on the front of the house and I can just ask Alexa to open it and there is the view from the front of the house on my Echo, or I can also look from any of my computers. Comes in handy when someone rings the doorbell and I want to see who it is before I get off the sofa wink

Nannan2 Thu 06-Feb-20 13:09:17

Yes Bikergran,i lived in old back to back housing when i was a kid for a bit,(but im only 56) before they pulled them down in the 70s & rehoused us.we had a cellar but it was very damp so couldnt use it and one big room with a kitchen 'corner' downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs. No bathroom so we went to local swimming baths for a slipper bath and there was outside toilets.some of the 'front' houses had had a toilet or bathroom installed, there was a 'ginnel' (alley) between some of houses leading from front to back rows.grin

Nannan2 Thu 06-Feb-20 13:25:34

Yes the back door leading into living room is only a good idea when i leave it open in the summer for air to come in & cat comes in & out as he wants.

Shandy3 Thu 06-Feb-20 13:33:08

I do have a kitchen on the front of the house, and know exactly what you mean! ?
However I also have lots of different bird feeders in my back garden, I love watching the commings and goings in the back too!

Sussexborn Thu 06-Feb-20 13:45:55

Our kitchen overlooks the back garden and beyond that is the turning point of a cul de sac. I usually make sure there are colourful pots with flowers and herbs that I can look out on but last year was a wash out health wise so hoping to get back to normal in 2020.

When OH was driving for a living he used to clean the car several times a week and “observed” all of the comings and goings. I called him Ena Sharples!

Although the Crescent we live in is quiet it forms part of a circular walk so we do see a procession of dog walkers. A lot of the neighbours were elderly but now there are more young people moving in. They don’t really talk to us or even to each other.

Tedd1 Thu 06-Feb-20 14:16:48

I would like to grow some herbs in a pot. Can you recommend, thanks

grannybuy Thu 06-Feb-20 14:48:56

I live in a new build bungalow. The kitchen is part of a large open living area. None of the Windows face the front of the house, but the three panel bifold doors face the rear garden, and woodland beyond. The kitchen window, and two floor to ceiling windows face the south facing side of the living area. The whole room is light and bright. While waiting for the house to be finished, we lived in a rented, ground floor flat with a kitchen facing the street. I admit I enjoyed the buses stopping on the road (narrow strip of garden and hedge between house and road ) and seeing the comings and goings of the occupants of the bungalows opposite. I had my own version of what was happening! I do miss them! However, I don't give too much thought to not seeing out front at this house.

Theoddbird Thu 06-Feb-20 15:18:17

My kitchen...refitted 18 months ago, is halfway along my narrow boat home. Many people have tap envy when they see them. I just had to have them smile

NonnaW Thu 06-Feb-20 16:12:54

Our kitchen is at the front, about 2ft from the pavement. I enjoy looking out and watching the cars passing and the pedestrians. There’s a community centre opposite where they hold indoor or flea markets several times a week. I do a lot of people watching, like to see everyone unloading their cars in the morning, then loading them up again in the afternoon, and wondering if they ever sell anything! The dog has still not adjusted to the move so barks often at vans parking outside or people daring to talk to each other as they pass.

GrandmaMoira Thu 06-Feb-20 16:29:36

My kitchen faces the side passage and I had the same in my previous house so it is years since I had a view from the kitchen. I do have a nice view of the back garden from the sofa in the dining room. The window is too high in the living room to see who is passing but I can see my roses and the tree across the road.

Willow500 Thu 06-Feb-20 17:16:50

My kitchen is at the back and looks out onto the garden which at the moment is a disaster. There is a wall that runs the width of it which has been there since we moved in 33 years ago but is actually the rear wall of an old shed which belonged to a building that burned down a few years ago. Up until last year it had a beautiful wisteria growing over it but we have had drug addicts and vandals in the sheds who have set fire to it several times. The roof was taken off which destabilised the top so we had to pull most of it down. Rows of bricks have subsequently come off so the whole thing looks appalling and we are going to have to now build a fence which will involve removing all the foliage and a summerhouse. Wish we'd moved years ago now sad!

CBBL Thu 06-Feb-20 17:17:47

Our kitchen overlooks the side garden and some of our neighbours garden (but not a great deal) as it is partly hidden by shrubs, both in our garden and theirs. It's a pleasant outlook, but the best garden views are at the back of house , from the sunroom. The front of our house is where the bedrooms are (and a front garden) and this looks onto a road. We live in a small village of only two streets, (and no "through" road) so there is not much "coming and going" other than dog walking and sometimes horse riders passing, once the workers have left for the day!

TrendyNannie6 Thu 06-Feb-20 17:55:28

Our kitchen is at the back of the house with nice views of the garden lounge facing front

squirrel5 Thu 06-Feb-20 18:07:18

My kitchen is at the back of the house,overlooks the garden which has a few trees adorned with fairy lights,and bird feeders,so it is nice to see the birds feeding,and enjoying the birdbath,we also have a pond,which looks lovely in the summer with the lilies,the patio is a sunny spot ,but we have to go through the dining room frenc h doors,or a side door from the kitchen.The lounge faces on to a cul_de_sac, i can sit there and see all sorts of comings and goings,and people taking dogs via the nearby footpath ,a cut through to the park.

crazyH Thu 06-Feb-20 18:17:28

There's nothing to see from my kitchen, except my lovely stone wall and the roofs of my neighbours' houses. But my front room is another matter. Most of the people who live in my culdesac have to pass my house to cut across the lane which takes them to the main road. I could sit by my window and watch the world go by and occasionally run out to chat to friends. Love it !!

Saralou18 Thu 06-Feb-20 18:48:23

My kitchen runs through front to back. The sink is under the window at the front, so I can see the comings and goings of a quite busy road across the front garden with shrubs and beautiful birch trees. The table is at the back in front of a French window opening to the garden. So the best of both worlds I think. I’m very lucky!

Juicylucy Thu 06-Feb-20 18:57:34

My kitchen is open plan with my lounge they both have windows looking out onto lovely tall trees grass and hedges as I’m at the end of a cul de sac. Peaceful where I live, myself and others in cul de sac out at work all day. But weekends I see a lot of comings and going’s.

Callistemon Thu 06-Feb-20 19:32:50

Ours goes through from front to back with the sink overlooking the back garden and table and chairs overlooking the road.
I'd like to change it to the other way round and put patio doors at the back but it would mean moving doors, knocking holes in walls etc so it stays as it is.
Until we win a million or so.

Kartush Thu 06-Feb-20 21:49:24

You people spend an awful lot of time in your kitchens. Mine is in the back of my house, doesn’t lead to anywhere, has a couple of windows and I spend as little time as possible in it

Chewbacca Thu 06-Feb-20 21:52:35

You're not wrong there Kartush; there are some days I feel as though my feet have been nailed to the floor of my kitchen! grin

Shizam Thu 06-Feb-20 22:02:11

KatyK doesn’t Birmingham have more canals than Venice? Or have I imagined that fact??

Nanny41 Thu 06-Feb-20 22:03:13

We live in a bungalow with open plan living so the kitchen is all part of the living space, it is at the side of the house bt has views on three sides we overlook a lake and a stream. I love standing watching things going on in nature.Washing up is a joy,when the dishwasher isnt on,