CONVENIENT KITCHENS

Evening Star, Issue 22953, 10 May 1938, Page 3

CONVENIENT KITCHENS

ELABORATE SCHEME NOT ESSENTIAL To equip and modernise a kitchen with built-in cabinets extending from floor to ceiling involves heavy expenditure, but because an elaborate scheme may be out of the question, there is no need to content oneself with old-fashioned and inconvefiient fittings and furniture. . For instance, a kitchen cabinet, provided with a draw-out table for cooking preparations and covered with porcelain enamel, a cupboard above for holding dry stores, and another underneath for baking tins, cooking utensils, etc., may bo fitted at a comparatively low cost. Rubbed down and enamelled to tone with the colourscheme of the kitchen by the housewife herself or by a local handy man, this would be found an invaluable acqnisition in the kitchen of a. small house, flat, or bungalow. In the past, a cooking cabinet was looked upon as somewhat of a luxury, but the luxuries of yesterday are apt to become the necessities of to-day, and so it is with that useful article,- the cooking cabinet. By making a - wise choice of furniture, a small kitchen can be completely and conveniently furnished for about £lO or £l2 upwards, not, of course, including the cost of cooking stove, sink, etc., in this estimate. The needs of every kitchen and every household vary to some extent, and in many cases there may be _ a fitted dresser, thus making a china cupboard unnecessary; In any case, however, beware of purchasing cupboards and cabinets indiscriminately, for this will never result in an ordered, well-planned, and labour-saving kitchen. The general layout must first of all be' carefully considered, measurements taken, and requirements thought out before visiting a showroom or finally ordering from a catalogue. When planning a kitchen, it is important to bear in mind that the sink,

cooking stove, and kitchen cabinet should be within reasonable distance of one another. Spacing these important fixtures as far apart as possible is too often the unfortunate result when the kitchen and its furnishings are assembled without forethought and intelligence. Even although it may not be possible to spend a great deal there is still no excuse for bad planning, for it is largely the placing of the different pieces of furniture with relation to one another, and to the sink and stove in particular, which makes a kitchen labour-saving or the reverse. Easily cleaned finishes are. of course, almost equally important, but glossy paint or enamel for walls or furniture is inexpensive. and table tops, larder shelves, and other surfaces can bo covered cither with .sheets of porcelainenamelled iron obtainable inexpensively

to one’s own measurements, or. more cheaply still, with linoleum. If linoleum is selected, a jasue or mottled inlaid one is suitable for the purpose, and should be neatly tacked in position. Another point conducive to a convenient and labour-saving- kitchen, and not always given the importance it deserves, is the correct adjustment of height of tables, sink, etc., so that faultv and awkward postures are avoided as far as oossiblo.