Jane Southland Says

Southland Times, Issue 20523, 27 June 1928, Page 3

Jane Southland Says

BRIGHTER KITCHENS. No wonder tired housewives feel gloomy and depressed, when faced every day by the monotony of several hours in a dull kitchen. Kitchens, in many instances .are not the places they used to be, but there are still quite a number bristling with a multitude of utensils, considered indispensable, and as ugly as they are useful. Most people, either consciously or unconsciously are susceptible to colour, and if housewives considered introducing a little brightness into their kitchens they would discover that the gloom had completely vanished and that they could go about their accustomed tasks with lighter hearts. Just think the effect of white and buttercup curtains hanging at the window, where potted yellow or misty blue flowers nod from the sill; a table spread with a white and yellow checked cloth and standing in a cupboard with giass doors, the breakfast tea-cups and plates of pale buttercup china. Blue is a good colour to combine with yellow, but discrimination is required when introducing it, so that the shade is not too strong for the clear golden tints. One has also to remember that a combination of two contrasting colours, especially in the kitchen, is apt to become tiring unless several shades of one colour predominate in the general scheme. For instance, one’s eyes cannot weary of the shade of yellow when they are • graded from palest primrose to deep, tawny I hues. The warmer tones of honey and deep amber are softening and a step further on the colour scale would be a squat milk jug of rich chocolate glazed pottery, which blends admirably. The ease with which modern kitchens are kept clean has successfully banished, the old dark culinary departments, but if some of the houses at present being renovated had their kitchens and sculleries altered to form dining room and kitchenette, they would be welcomed by many house hunters who have a few cherished pieces of furniture and accessories to retain the homely environment they desire.