Cohousing-L Mailing List: kitchen design

[heidinys (heidinys]

Dear Jenny et al,

Our kitchen streams with light every morning, and it is glorious.  It 
faces East;  even if your kitchen won't, face East, I'd agree with Ken 
on windowing the kitchen.

We were able to manage to have only lower cabinets,   allowing for 
maximum 'windowage' [windowization?].  We did this thanks to the 
brilliance of a friend who recommended a pantry.
Pantry is essentially a windowless [in our case] closet with floor to 
ceiling shelves. The pantry  is on interior side of kitchen, allowing 
exterior to have windows.  We love the pantry, as does everyone who 
peeks in.  I recommend it.  Ours holds everything, almost.  In pantry: 
un-refrigerated foodstuffs,  platters, some pots, most small appliances 
[eg, waffle iron]
Stuff we use daily is stored either in a wonderful olde Hoosier or in 
Kitchen cabinets all of them made up of wide drawers, as rec'd by SV.

BTW, while it is a co-ho norm to have kitchen face public area, in our 
earlier home [I married, and built another house within our CoHousing 
community]  in our initial home, I had my desk face out toward public 
area.  I loved to sit at desk and see the kids run.  And I don't much 
like desk work, so it was an inducement to my spending time at desk.  I 
hope I don't stir up a nest o' bees with this unorthodoxy!

Anything else you want to throw 'round, let me know,
all best,
Ruth J. Hirsch

> Steve Faber wrote:
> > I think in an urban cohousing community the kitchens on the "active
> > side"  might mean something different if you are trying to be a
> little
> > village in a bigger village of a neighborhood.  One of the  issues we
> > had with our Michigan, medium density design, was the  compromise of
> > kitchen orientation and getting light into the units.  If your kitchen
> > is on the south side of your home.  Typically, much  of your wall
> space
> > is taken up by cabinets and you can't put in the  larger windows to
> > maximize passive solar.
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >
> > On Feb 24, 2006, at 1:39 PM, Chris ScottHanson wrote:
> >
> > > Rodney,
> > >
> > > My view is the green sustainable community must include, but not be
> > > limited to the following:

> > > All private kitchens and the "active side" of the private dwelling
> > > units on the entry (community) side, toward the pedestrian  walkway.
> > > This allows for "eyes on the street" (pedestrian street,  of course)
> > > and "ownership" of that street.  Safety and a sense of  belonging
> result.