THE PLAN

The kitchen of our grandmothers was a large, rambling affair, with
numerous storerooms, closets, and pantries, the care of which involved
a stupendous outlay of time and strength. But the demands of our
modern and more strenuous life necessitate strict economy of both, and
the result is a kitchen sufficiently large for all practical purposes,
with every space utilized and everything convenient to the hand. The
amount of woodwork is reduced to a minimum, since wood is a harboring
place for insects and germs. Where it must be used it is of hard wood,
or of pine painted and varnished, the varnish destroying those
qualities in paint which are deleterious to health. The plumbing must
be open, with no dark corners in which dust may hide. Odors from
cooking pass out through a register in the chimney, and ventilation is
afforded by transom and window. Blessed indeed is the kitchen with
opposite windows, which insure a perfect circulation of air. So much
for the general working plan.



LOCATION AND FINISH

For some reason best known to themselves architects almost invariably
give to the kitchen the location with the least agreeable outlook, sun
and scenery being seemingly designed for the exclusive use of living
and dining rooms; whereas the housekeeper realizes the great value of
the sun as an aid to sanitation and as a soul strengthener, and wishes
that its beneficent influence might be shed over kitchen, cook, and