There’s a feature in almost every house in the UK that very few of us have ever questioned – the windows above the kitchen sink.
It’s not something that’s usually copied in the bathrooms, but kitchen windows almost always live above the faucet.
We always assumed it was a design feature that was commonly added because it meant you can gaze out of the window as you plow through the washing up, but it seems there’s more to this than many of us would’ve guessed.
A homeowner recently posted on Reddit asking whether they should move their kitchen sink away from the window – and it prompted a lot of responses.
The poster said: "Planning a kitchen renovation, and realised we can easily move the kitchen sink away from the window to give us more usable counter space.
"Then I realised, I’ve never seen a kitchen sink that isn’t in front of a window. Is there a reason for that? Is staring out of the window while washing up just a British thing? Or am I crazy in even suggesting a sink with no window?"
And, they were right – there’s a specific reason for this design.
One poster noted that the window site on an outside wall which is often the most useful and effective place for plumbing to be added to the home.
Kitchen design website KDCUK told Tyla : "The simple reason why kitchen sinks have traditionally been placed under the window is that the window is, obviously, on an outside wall.
“In terms of plumbing, using as short a waste pipe as possible from the sink to the drains is not only the most effective but also the cheapest, solution.
"People who have moved their sink further away from the wall have had to lay extra piping under the floor, which means if there’s a problem or a blockage, it is more likely that they’ve had to dig up the floor in order to get to the pipes, which is not only messy and inconvenient, it’s also extremely costly."
Who’d have thought that window gazing wasn’t the reason behind their kitchen design?
Another Reddit user added that it’s also the place in the kitchen that usually has the most natural light which helps us to spot dirty bits on plates and dries hand washed dishes faster.
Handy!
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