VIII. The Kitchen and Offices

The planning of the kitchen premises, especially in small houses, is a subject which does not always receive the attention it deserves, lln the early part of the nineteenth century the kitchen premises, even in country houses, were commonly placed in an ill-liglhted basement, and the house was planned with a callous indifference to the2 great question of labour saving.

But the growing scarcity of servants, as well as the growth of democratic ideas, have led in recent years to a more careful consideration of the working of the house. It is now usual too place the kitchen premises on the ground-floor level, and where this is difficult, as in town houses, the basement is better lighted and provided with a lift. For the house of average size it is not desirable either to cramp cor to unduly extend the kitchen premises. They should be the best size for their purpose, and the multiplication of offices, apart from the question cof expense in building, means so much the more to clean and keep in order.. The fittings of a first-class yacht might well be studied to show what cam be done in a limited space; and although a more liberal space may be allowed in the house, all contrivances which make for compactness and simplicity are worthy of study.

In the smallest houses in this country it is usual to provide a kitchen which is the cooking-room and sitting-room for its one or two servants, adjoining which is the scullery; and these two apartments, often both very small, form the main portion of the kitchen premises. In modern American plans for small houses it is quite i usual to combine kitchen and scullery into one apartment. The English tradition in this respect dates from the period of insanitary sinks, and the scullery was justly regarded as a place to be severely isolated on account of its offensive odours. But fitted with its white-glazed sink, its white-tiled dado, and its pipes properly disconnected and exposed, the well-ventilated and well-lighted modern scullery may in the small house at least, form a recess in the kitchen, and thus add to the simplicity of the plan. Besides Kitchen and scullery, the small house should contain at least a good pantry, larder, coal store, and servants’ w.c, all compactly and conveniently arranged—the pantry, with its shelving of scrubbed deal—the larder, with is slate shelves and ventilation of wire gaze, the coal store, large enough to contain a winter supply of coals if possible, and the w.c, with its door opening into the open air. While the kitchen proper, which is not also a sittirng-room, should generally have a northern exposure, in the small house its? uses suggest a compromise, and a more cheerful aspect is desirable. Soutth-east may be recommended, and, assuming that it is not over-windowed, its temperature will not be unduly influenced by exterior conditions. The larder’ should face north, and not open off the kitchen, and the kitchen premises as a whole should be placed near enough to the living-room for convenience of service, and yet be completely isolated, so that even in the small house the noise and smell from the kitchen should not penetrate to the sitting-rooms. Although thin partitions may be used between certain rooms, the division between the sitting-rooms and kitchen premises should be at least of nine-inch brickwork. In the internal finishing of the kitchen premises, that structural finish which has been suggested for certain portions of the living-rooms will be specially appropriate. Such superficial finishings as varnished sanitary wall papers and linoleums may be suitable for the house built in the usual modern way, but tiles and the liberal use of whitewash are better. It may be desirable in the sitting-room-kitchen that the floor should be of wood. If so, the boards should be laid on concrete with no spaces for insects. Red tiles or stone are, however, better materials for the floor, and with a few rugs or mats will not have a cold appearance.

For the walls there is nothing quite so cleanly as white-glazed Dutch tiles. The harsh glaring tiles made by English firms have the same forbidding glare which sheet glass has, while the Dutch, with their soft uneven glaze, have an inviting and homely appearance. When means will allow, the lower part of the walls at least should be finished in this way, with whitewash above. For the woodwork green paint varnished and flatted is recommended. White paint shows marks too readily to be quite suitable for kitchen premises, or the woodwork may be in white wood specially selected and left unpainted. The tiled treatment of the walls should be extended as far as possible in the kitchen premises; but, where it is unadvisable, whitewashed brickwork will form the best finish for larders, pantries, &c., although, if the house is of stone, it will be desirable to plaster or cement the walls. For the ceilings whitewashed plaster or, where the joists are shown, whitewashed woodwork left rough from the saw will be the best finish. All pipes in the kitchen premises should be left exposed, and neither buried in plaster or concealed in casings. Everything should be capable of easy cleansing, and there should be as few corners as possible to collect dust and dirt. Without mentioning any special make of kitchen range, I should recommend that this important apparatus should be of a type which admits the use of the open or closed fire, and which has an arrangement for raising or lowering the fire as required.