Kitchen: Front or Back of House?
I visited two relatively well off professional contacts of mine at their homes recently and I noticed that the kitchens, where we sat and had a coffee & a chat, were located at opposite sides of the house in each.
The first was a smaller more recently built property and the other was a good deal larger and was at least 100 year plus construction on decent sized grounds. Surely we have the kitchen set at the back of the house facing the gardens on most occasions?
As I write this article I actually report a difference again to the location of a kitchen, ours being centrally located and to the side. I managed to find the original plans (our design of house appears relatively frequently where we live, many were used as guest houses due to their proximity to the sea front). I can see that the kitchen was once facing the garden ,since then several extensions have taken place that now sees a utility room and a garden room between the original kitchen and back end of the property.
"It is useful to remember that your kitchen may have once started at the back side of the house and due to extensions / relocations it could be that today it is located somewhere else."
Why is my kitchen at the front of the house?
As we spoke of, it could be that it was relocated in the past or extensions have been added. Another reason for kitchens being located at the front is if it is a larger property from the past where it might have originally been a guest house / hotel so that there was a front of house operation in place so kitchens were conveniently places for deliveries (front and side entrances). The back of house would likely contain the better garden views so offered to guests as dinning / sitting rooms / bar area.
Many new builds today see kitchens (and bathrooms) towards the front of house, this can be once again, especially for smaller property, to have better views on to garden from the front room. Also it is easier to locate all plumbing services towards the front (depending on waste pipe location) which will be more economical for house builder.
Slightly older property 1900 - 1980's will likely to have had kitchens towards the back of the property.
The location of the kitchen will not overly effect the value of a property, only a bad layout will do that. Most people would prefer to have an external door within the kitchen area either to side passage / back garden rather than an enclosed kitchen area - Ideal for getting rid of waste easier (to bins / recycle bins). Most people will prefer a kitchen located towards the back of a property with easy access to the back gardens as during the warmer weather easy access to food and drinks rather than having to pass through dividing rooms is appreciated.
Title image: Pixabay