Why don't you get kitchens at the front of houses?

[Russinating]

Just struck me whilst thinking of our existing and extension space. As title, why are kitchens normally at the back of 'normal' houses. Ours is a Victorian terrace specifically.

Other than sink outlet it would make a lot more sense; all services come in through the front, it's a less private area and therefore more suited to a street-facing window, the living area would suit opening up into the garden, kitchen flooring better suits an entrance area as opposed to carpet, fireplace recesses are perfect depths for kitchen cupboards. You get the idea!

There must be a big reason, so what is it?

 

[lude1962]

new houses do have them at the front, our lounge opens up onto the garden

 

[sansnom]

new design principles tend to put kitchens at the front of houses now where, as you said, there is less privacy and it's less of a concern. Living rooms are towards the back or even on upper levels

Older designers are just dumb sadly, like 5 metre wide victorian terraces that can barely fit a double bed in a room and which have only a single (100mm) brick wall between each home so you can not only hear your neighbour's bowel movements, you can also see them too! The real travesty is, they're probably still better built than new build!

 

[lude1962]

Remember in olden days you may not have had running water fridges etc, goods were delivered daily, via the back door (where the servants used to congregate).
The front of the house was for show.

 

[arknor]

Where I grew up a lot of houses had the toilet and kitchen at the front.

my parents house didn't even have a front window apart from the bathroom and landing one...

the living room window was on the back of the house... like wtf? they had a new window put in so the living room had one on both sides but the kitchen just faces the back garden.

makes no sense how some houses were designed

 

[M1k3H]

In the new-built we are now in the process of purchasing, both kitchen and lounge go from the front to the back of the property, separated by the "hall" in the middle of the property, which also houses a storage room and a cloakroom.

 

[Maccapacca]

Surface water at the front because it goes into the road drainage and soil at the rear because bathrooms are usually there so they combine with the sink and foul wastes.

That was how it used to be but you had complex wayleaves over someone elses property and access rights.

Now both mostly come to the front then off down the road separate from the surface water drainage.

 

[Uther]

new houses do have them at the front, our lounge opens up onto the garden

Same, house is 16 years old though.

 

[Maccapacca]

Also the thoughts were mum was in the kitchen looking out over the garden and kids. Now the kitchen is a bit part to modern living.

 

[Simps]

My kitchen is at the from of the house. Built in 1963 (ish)
I love washing up and people watching

 

[Yaayuh!]

It's very common/pretty much standard to have kitchens at the front of houses in the past 20 years. However, before then it was usually located at the back. No idea why.

 

[bloodiedathame]

If you have a fire in a kitchen at the front of the house, you might have to escape into the back garden should your path become blocked.

 

[a1ex2001]

It's simply the change in the way we live, when the Victorians were building houses kitchens were for cooking and cleaning not for show so they were generally hidden away at the back and quite small. Front Parlours were when entertaining and showing off was done now we have reversed this trend and it is all about kitchen diner living rooms.

 

[D.P.]

Our kitchen is in the middle of the house against the garage. Front of the house is formal living room and formal dining room with vestibule. Back of the house is open plan from kitchen to family room, breakfast/second dining area with big windows that lead out on to the deck and then garden. This way when you are in the kitchen you can work away while watching the kids play, wife at breakfast table etc, but if you have a formal dining event then the ktichen it slightly ut of sight if need be. Our kitchen is separated form the main open living space by a large granite bar so for casual event everyone just congregates at the bar.

Privacy at the front is only an issue if you have a tiny garden.

 

[WillyNelson]

Remember, traditionally you wouldn't have had a kitchen in a house. There would have been a range in the parlor, usually the rearmost of the two reception rooms in a 2up2down Victorian house. Where your kitchens are now would have been a scullery, maybe with running water.

Many period properties have kitchens that are lower than the rest of the downstairs because they have a solid floor as opposed to a suspended one to enable the scullery to be washed down or so that it didn't matter if it got soaked doing laundry.

Kichens were put in the front of properties for ease of access to utilities, but it seems to have been fashionable for the last 30years or so to put them in the rear.

 

[LeeUK]

My terrace house is different altogether. Kitchen is at the back along with built on bathroom extension (was outside toilet when built) and the back door is classed as the everyday in and out main door. Road access is only at the back of the house. Living room is at the front facing onto a huge long garden which then overlooks onto a park (no road).

People who don't understand will call the back the front and vice versa but that is wrong.

 

[MikeB]

ours is at the back, love it like that, can chill in the kitchen looking out at garden.

The front is facing the close and handy for spying on the neighbours

 

[fastwunz]

mum and dad live in lovely 1940;s built red bricked detached house in Berks with a lovely aspect out of the window onto the front lawn and its bird boxes etc - I'm 33 and miss home despite owning my own place now......

 

[Russinating]

Interesting, thanks guys.

Inlets are fine (gas and water comes in through the front), but what could we do with water outlets? The drain is at the back and everything goes out to that at the moment. There's nothing at the front and we don't have a front garden, so I'm guessing we'd need a pump out to the back. But would that be possible, and I'm assuming it would require some kind of macerator too if pumping water uphill in a relatively slim pipe?

 

[HangTime]

Older designers are just dumb sadly, like 5 metre wide victorian terraces that can barely fit a double bed in a room

You need to bear in mind they were designing for a different market / lifestyle back then. Various reasons have already been mentioned but I'd imagine for example in Victorian times that you'd only require a single double-bed per house (in smaller terraced houses) as you wouldn't get boomerang kids etc or teenagers being allowed overnight guests and suchlike. Probably less clutter in bedrooms too i.e. TV/clothes/cosmetics etc.

As for the kitchen I always thought in recent(ish) times it was done because it means mum can be in the kitchen doing the washing up etc whilst keeping an eye on kids in the garden. That seems to be the lifestyle many have aspired to up until the last 10 years or so when there has been more of a trend towards open plan living with kitchen-diners and suchlike.

My brother in law lives in a new build (~2011 I guess) where the kitchen is at the front, likewise a friend in a 2007 new build although their house layout is kinda weird as it is spread over 4 levels.