Cohousing-L Mailing List: kitchen views/priority views

[HeidiNYS (HeidiNYS]

> Hi,   
> this is a matter of very personal prefernce, as you see. 

I built with my desk facing the commons, because I have to coax myself to sit 
at the desk; 
 don't have to coax myself to spend time in kitchen.

It's a combination of factors important to you.    It's a question of looking 
at factors such as   privacy,   need for quiet,   wanting 
distractions/tempatations to leave, or not......   Also, in our case, the view 
out back , ie from 
kitchen windows, was beautiful.   

And there's no way to know the preference of a future buyer.   
best,
ruth
Hirsch, Cantines Island, Saugerties, NY


> The past few years, I've repeatedly heard people recommend designing units 
> with the kitchens in the front, the point being that the room(s) where people 
> spend most of their time should be placed where the connection to the 
> community is strongest.
> 
> I agree that locating the main "active room" in the front of the house is a 
> great idea, but wonder what percentage of households (that don't already have 
> the kitchen in front) actually spend more time in the kitchen than in any 
> other one room. Are we talking a huge majority, like 80%, or is it more like 
> 40% with the other households split among the living room, the den, the 
> bedrooms, the garden, etc.? Anybody know?
> 
> I currently live by myself (not in a cohousing community yet) and work at 
> home five days a week. It would be easy to go stir crazy, but fortunately my 
> front room has a big picture window that looks out into the neighborhood -- I 
> love it, it helps me feel like I'm part of the world. I spend most of my 
> waking hours there as it's my combination living room/dining room/office. And 
> even 
> when chopping vegetables, why stand at a counter when I can sit at a desk or 
> table in my living room? I'm not big on standing. :-)
> 
> Anyway, it would be depressing to move someplace where I still spent most of 
> my time in my living room/dining room/office, but said room was now tucked 
> away in the back somewhere. And it would be rough to pay a customization fee 
> to get my living room up front where I want it, and then not be able to find 
> a 
> buyer when/if I needed to move. Thus my interest in knowing exactly how 
> common the phenomenon is.
> 
> (Part of the issue may be the distinction between where people spend their 
> time, period, and where people spend their "active" time or "social" time.)
> 
> Thanks,
> Fillard
> 503-777-0117
> http://www.fillard.com
>