I guess it depends.I am putting in a new window, but dutchwood has told me to have them off center it with the wall by 1 1/2 inch, because he would rather me have the exact size cabinets flanking the window, and the sink be lined up with the window. I think I would notice the cabinets being diff. sizes since they are both hutches.

My kitchen window was initially off-center and it was recommended to me by this forum to have it centered. I think that a kitchen window that was off-center would have bothered me so I'm really glad that the point was raised.

I would center it on whatever gives you the best cabinet arrangement, not the room. Is there a window on the upper floor that this would affect?

My KD wrote to me:
"I don't think that the window should be centered in the space because that puts it to close to the refrigerator area."

Which I suppose also means it wouldn't make for the best cabinet arrangement.

Thanks!

Ditto Palimp...I would do something to get more dish cabinet on wall between window and frig-not enough,currently. Either move whole window,sink set up to the left and take out the 18 in cabinet there. Or, do 2 larger windows and sink rests under the left one-this would move left a bit and be slightly less wide than the 3 now...aim to grow some wall space off to the right. You have space to shift all to the left and still not be over in that corner. The centering of the window isn't critical...especially if you keep 3 windows with the sink centered.....that will be a visual "unit" wherever you end up placing it.

I think it looks fine. The edge of the sink lines up with the island, you can have dishes in upper cabinets on each side of the sink...and if you move it too close to the left, you lose prep space between the sink and range. The sink is centered under the window and as long as it is, I think it will be beautiful :)

As you have a choice "place" the window wherever it makes the most sense for cabinet arrangements.

Depends on how you define centered. In your drawing, the fridge is acting like a wall and ending your cabinet run, so the window is centered in the cabinet run rather than the entire wall when bare. I agree with your KD that centering it on the blank wall when the fridge will be there will throw the balance off.

Don't forget to consider how the window looks within the context of that elevation of the building as seen from the outside. Too many houses these days have windows simply slapped up willy-nilly on their walls. A distinct, harmonious pattern of window openings can make, or break, the appeal of a house.

People spend a lot of attention and express concern over appearing dated, or not, in their kitchen renos. IMO, window placement driven only by considering interior placement which leads to unbalanced facades will date the building to this particular period more strongly than any OTK with all its appurtenances intact. What people intuitely love about older buildings is the strong, intuitive and visually satisfying rhythym of their elevations. Mess with that only at your (design) peril.

HTH,

L.

What's the reason for having it centered? So when you're standing on the opposite aisle in the exact center of the room, you can appreciate the architectural symmetry? NOT a good enough reason! Your doorways to the kitchen are way on one side or the other, so there's no 'default sightline' that argues for it. In short, a total NON-issue.

(I wrestled with the same question in my kitchen, plus whether to align the window with the island range hood with the support column. In the end, none of these things is centered, and it doesn't bother me in the least.)

Liriodendron brings up a really good point also -- Do consider the exterior view.

Yes, these are all very helpful! I don't even know why but this morning I was looking at the window and wondered if it was in the right spot! Thanks for making me feel better. And, yes, from the outside it looks perfectly aligned with the upstairs windows so I guess the architect placed it there for a reason!

: ) Thanks again!

One of my pet peeves is how little builders today seem to care about window placement. I consider it a fairly complex optimization exercise to put windows where they belong in the room, and yet have a cohesive, logical, pleasing look from the exterior.

So I say you have the right spot!

I agree with the others who say: Center it on the sink, and make it align with the other exterior elements. No reason to have a window in the middle of an interior wall for its own sake. In our remodel, we'll have one window on the left third of a full wall, but it's centered on the sink and anchored by cabs on either side, so will look great. It actually will look a bit odd from the outside because it's on a 40-year-old addition that was not well-thought out back then, but it's not visible from any of our outdoor living space or the street, so we don't care.