The Farmhouse 1495 



In this room, also, the children may blow soap bubbles, wash dolls' clothes, 

 sail boats, hammer, and play at many games which delight their hearts 

 but which create disorder in the house. Considering the nature of this 

 room and its many uses, it should be made as large as can be afforded, 

 and should be provided, if possible, with a cement floor and a painted 

 wall so that splashing will not injure it. The room shown in Fig. 70 is 

 in reality the old washhouse and woodshed fitted more completely than 

 formerly, and is an important part of the plan. 



Kitchen equipment. — The closets and working-shelf, shown in Fig. 70 

 are built in place. This makes a clean arrangement, as cracks 

 behind and under the furniture are avoided. While built-in fixtures are 

 desirable, they are by no means necessary for a good kitchen equipment. 

 Usually they are more expensive than movable ones, unless there is a 

 carpenter in the family who can build the desired conveniences at odd 

 times. Extensive table space may be gained by providing generous 

 drain boards to right and left of the sink, continuous with the cabinet 

 shelf. A movable table of the same height, mounted on casters or, pre- 

 ferably, on small wheels, will prove a great step-saver and will simplify 

 the serving of meals. A double-deck wheel tray would serve this purpose 

 even better since it is lighter to push about. All floors on a level and all 

 table tops on a level save many an accident in the kitchen. 



A one-piece enameled iron sink, with high back, will prove a satisfac- 

 tory appliance. This sink should be large enough to hold a dishpan con-. 

 veniently . Dishwashing will be more quickly accomplished with the double 

 drain board before mentioned than if a single drain board is used. 

 Enameled iron drain boards are not advisable. They are more showy 

 than serviceable, for, besides being noisy, they are too small to be useful 

 and too hard to be safe for dishes. Suitable drain boards may be 

 made of ash or of maple, or they may be made of some other wood and 

 covered with zinc, like the rest of the table space. For the purpose of 

 shedding water, wooden drain boards should be grooved and zinc-covered 

 boards should be provided with a curbed or raised edge. Furthermore, 

 a drain board should slope slightly toward the sink, on the rim of which 

 it rests. The resulting board level is obviously about two inches above 

 the sink level. 



The construction of sink boards requires the most careful workmanship. 

 It must be remembered that the use of wood for draining purposes subjects 

 it to the severe test of being continually wet on one side only. In order 

 to avoid warping and splitting, therefore, a sink board should be thick, 

 heavy, and well cleated on the underside. A surface finish that will 

 render the boards water-resisting should be applied before they are put 

 into use. Usually sink boards are varnished, but this finish water-marks, 



