1936 KITCHEN

Evening Star, Issue 22414, 11 August 1936, Page 2

1936 KITCHEN

EFFICIENCY AND BEAUTY PLANNING BY YOUNG WIFE BATHROOMS MORE ATTRACTIVE NOW Kitchens, in recent years, have gone up in- the world. No longer does the young wife, planning her first home, begin with the drawing room and end with the kitchen. The bathroom has become a much more attractive place, and has taken to itself something of the character of a dressing room. The bride of to-day, planning her home, begins probably with a list of kitchen equipment, having already had it impressed upon her by all her friends who have bad the experience, that “ feeding the brute ” adequately is a main high road to success in married life. She cannot fail to be aware as well that she will probably have to spend a good deal of her own time in the kitchen, because of the scarcity of competent servants. So it has happened that architects have come to devote a good deal of attention to kitchen planning, and some of them have almost achieved the ideal kitchen.

If they usually overdo the cupboard plan, u is in any case better to have too many than too few cupboards; and if they make too much of the iprinciule of economy cf space and economy of effort, that is wiser than attaching too little importance to it. AVith fewer cupboards and more open shelves and hanging hooks, and with a little more elbow room, many of the modern kitchens would be ideal for cooks to work in. LIGHT AND VENTILATION. The two most important considerations in a kitchen are light and vend lation. The narrow ship’s galley type of kitchen has usually too little light, the window being placed in a narrow end. It is impossible to have too much light in a kitchen, though one can easily have too much sun. It is v\ise, therefore, to have the main windows with a south outlook, and, if possible, one window in the east to give a cheerful aspect '.n the early morning. Such an arrangement woidd make it possible to have a strong light wherever it is needed—on the stove, on the working table, and on the sink. The stove should be provided with a hood and tine to carry off steam and fumes, but it should never be set in a recess, whgre it is impossible to clean behind it satisfactorily, and difficult to arrange saucepans in full view, and with their handles turned away from

the heat. If a working bench takes the place of a table it should be under a window, or placed with a window at one end, and it should be not less than 20in in widtli and 4ft in length. The housewife who is a real cook demands adequate space for such processes as cake and biscuit baking and jam making: for she needs all her utensils ready to hand, within arms’ reach. Sinks should, whenever possible, be of metal. It seems impossible to set an enamelled sink without leaving recesses which in the course of time become very dirty, however scrupulously one may try to keep them clean. The metal sink, with its draining boards and splashboard all in one, can be kept ip perfect order with very little trouble, and will harbour no germs. Taps should come out well clear of the wall, to prevent splashing and permit vessels to be held under them. But the new type, which swings back against the wall when not in use, is ideal. The space under the sink should be completely open, so that there is light enough 'to make it possible to keep it perfectly clean. SHELVES ARE IMPORTANT. For the same reason it is better to have shelves than cupboards under the draining boards. Such things as preserving pans, weights and scales, and heavy saucepans can be kept on these shelves. For saucepans in frequent use, a narrow shelf to hold the lids, with hooks below from which to suspend the saucepans, is an excellent plan It takes less space than a pot-stand, and one can see at a glance the saucepan one needs. It is an inducement, too, to keep the saucepans shining clean. All such utensils as strainers, egg-whips, cooking spoons, egg-slices, nutmeg graters, scissors, and tin-openers, which are in constant use, should also be hung in full view close to the work table and to the stove.

Such a plan as this will greatly reduce the need for cupboards and drawers. Kitchen cutlery and spoons, dusters and oven cloths will need drawers, and there might well be a drawer also for string and corks and other such requisites. China and glass must be kept in cupboards, and all the cupboards should have glass doors so that there need be no hunting insido for the pieces that are needed. Sliding doors are preferable to doors that open out, provided that they do really s'ids Very often the finish of the sliding grooves is such that the doors aro apt to stick.

Ilvcry cupboard shelf should be well withhi arm’s ic-ch. H-glt cupboards shonV be avoided, except for the storage cl such t'-in-'s -s suit cases, wh’ch are r r’y re-fed. An ir.'p~rtant paint, too, s to !"'ve the ten of then;-' ’s well within reach and free iiom r:-.'srd-e; J ;e finishes.* The ' :st o!an would he to .slone it f.’Vv sieep'v up to Me hr-!:, so that it is entirely within view’, lly this means it could be kept clean without trouble. Usually being too high to be seen, and completed with a raised edge, it becomes a veritable dust-trap. Storage cupboards Cor supu'ies should not bs too deep and should have the spaces between shelves graded so that there is little waste space. All shelves, inside or outside cupboards, should be covered with a strong, clean-looking, washable material. Linoleum is the best covering; failing that, oilcloth or sanitas. VVAGHABLE PAINT. AAbills, cupboard fronts, and woodwork should bo painted with washable paint. Inlaid linoleum is the best lloor covering. White and green, white and blue, and white and grey are all good combinations of colour for the kitchen, but if it has no oast window and seems cheerless, a soft primrose yellow paint will do wonders in brightening it. Associated with the kitchen should be a pantry storeroom, which might communicate also with the dining room. This should have a draught-cooled cupboard. With a draught-cooled ■unbon'd in a satisfactory place 'b should be possih'e to dispense with a nfe or ice chest Whether or not there 's a c-mmunicating pantry it is a good -'an. if the arrangement of the house lermits. to have the set of kitchen ■upboards and drawers for silver, ■utlery, glass, and china extending hrough to the dining room, with a ’resser or sideboard front in the din'■ig room. This saves the carriage of •bin a and silver from one room to the other.

Among the features of an ultra-mod-ern flat on the top of a residential block in Paris is a roof garden, with a carpet of real grass, in which there 's a sprinkling of real field daisies. And magnificent views may he obtained aver the French capital by sliding back a real hedge.