Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: kitchen on public side

[Fred H Olson (fholson]

Dyan Wiley <dyanwiley [at] comcast.net>
is the author of the message below.  It was posted by
Fred, the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
after deleting quoted digest.
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I don't agree with the notion that kitchens need to be visually
connected to the community path and it isn't even practical in many
cases.  There are several other considerations to arranging a floor plan
than just facing the "public" part of your home to community path.  In
my case, I put a bedroom and bathroom (it has no windows) on the
"community side" of my house and the kitchen and living room on the side
facing out to the woods which is also the side facing south..  That's
because I wanted solar gain in the daytime spaces of my small unit.
Also my entrance is actually on the side of the house - not directly on
the community path.  If I had to switch the floor plan, my bedroom and
bathroom, would get the solar gain, the living room and kitchen would be
on the cold side of the house and the entrance would still  be on the
side of the house.

My porch is where I choose to interact with my neighbors.  I get plenty
of community in other activities and I deal with lots of people every
day through my work and volunteer activities so I enjoy the bit of
privacy my arrangement gives me.    I didn't feel the need to orient my
house to get even more interaction.  That's what community meals, work
days, committee assignments, and giving and receiving favors/help
to/from my neighbors are for - to have community a heartbeat away.
Dyan
Pioneer Valley Cohousing
Amherst