I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and say perhaps it’s a deep freezer that is only opened occasionally, and I guess is pretty well sealed as long as it’s closed.
The kitchen appears to have one of those built-in fridges that matches the cabinets:
Is this that much weirder than the widespread British practice of putting washing machines in kitchens?
Yes, putting an electrical appliance in the bathroom is weirder than putting an appliance that requires both power and plumbing in the room that always has both power and plumbing.
deleted by creator
Kinda have to, if the building is older than widespread home washing machines.
Where else would you put it? Might as well just place it next to all the other appliances. We do it in Germany too, pretty sure it’s just a European thing.
At least in Finland the washing machine (for washing clothes) is usually in the bathroom/shower room, like in the photo in this post.
Finns also have saunas in their home, which is awesome but not really standard anywhere else.
Never seen a wasing machine outside a bathroom or a washing room if your house is big enough here in sweden
My family/me (in and around berlin):
Me: WM in the kitchen
Parents: WM in the bathroom
Brother: WM in a little nook on the corridor(? Flurnische)
Another Brother: WM in the basement (benefits of a house)