Design a kitchen at the front of your home.
In traditional single-family homes, the kitchen is in the center of the household. This placement makes sense, because the kitchen is the focus of the family. But in some situations, it is more sensible to place the kitchen near the front of the house and closer to the front entrance. Here are some ideas to take into consideration if you are designing a front kitchen.
The Welcoming View
When designing a front kitchen, take into consideration what visitors will see when they enter your home. Provide something of a visual buffer between the entry space and the kitchen. A good buffer is a separating hall closet or wall with a drop table and a mirror.
Also think about what the kitchen will look like when it is being used. Find ways to mask a kitchen mess to avoid giving a bad first impression. A semi-open room divider or pocket door can help hide what you don't want visitors to see straight away.
Connections
Make sure the kitchen somehow connects to the main living space of the house. Otherwise you will isolate the cook and cut her out of family activities. Open floor plans feature big kitchens that are part of the main living space. Also make sure that the kitchen is logically located next to the dining room if you have one. A kitchen shouldn't be so far from the dining room that your food is cold by the time it reaches the table.
Window Views
Consider the view from the sidewalk or street. You probably don't want to have copper pots hanging in front of your kitchen window. Situate the major fixtures such as stoves and refrigerators away from the window. Hang neutral drapes to somewhat camouflage the room's purpose from passersby.
Locations of Mechanicals
When you move the kitchen to the front of the house, you will need to shift major mechanicals to the far side of the basement. This may prove costly. Most homes are designed to reduce the need for long water and waste lines by concentrating "wet" rooms such as kitchens and baths in proximity to each other so that they can share mechanicals.
Traffic Patterns
Imagine the traffic pattern created by a large number of guests coming and going. Holiday gatherings are a good example. You want to design an entryway that can accommodate several visitors arriving at the same time with bundles and coats that need to be hung up. Again, buffer walls, closets or dividers can help direct the traffic flow away from the center of the kitchen.
Tags: away from, , designing front kitchen, dining room, front house, front kitchen