1498 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



Kitchen finish. — Up to the present time no perfect flooring has been 

 invented that is cheap enough to be used in private homes. For ordinary- 

 use, however, a kitchen floor of maple or a floor covered with linoleum 

 will be found satisfactory. These should never be varnished; in fact, 

 no floors should be varnished, as this finish is not permanent under hard 

 usage. It water-marks, wears off in the traveled area, and continually 

 needs renewal. A maple floor of narrow boards filled with hot linseed 

 oil will prove grease-resisting and cleanly. Linoleum also may be oiled 

 and, if desired, waxed very thinly. 



Kitchen woodwork should be kept plain, without grooves or moldings, 

 and should be painted a light, pleasing color rather than stained or var- 

 nished. Wooden wainscotings in a kitchen or bath are an abomination 

 from every viewpoint. They are not used in sanitary, up-to-date 

 work. 



Every available means should be employed to make the kitchen an 

 attractive workshop. So surely are we all creatures of environment that 

 there is no estimating the relief from tedium that would result if all 

 cooking were done in truly beautiful kitchens. Because of its influence 

 on the worker, a pleasing color effect is just as vital in the kitchen as 

 in the living-room. Yellow, varnished woodwork and drab paint spread 

 a drab feeling over the work and are no more practical than light painted 

 surfaces. Light colors, such as cream, buff, or gray, which are mixed 

 on a basis of white, are cheering, restful, and good to look at. Moreover, 

 they reflect light and create a sense of space. 



Many ways of improving kitchen conditions will develop as each person 

 studies her problem. If the room needs fundamental rearranging, a com- 

 bination of an accurately drawn plan and movable bits of cardboard to 

 represent the furnishings will provide a helpful way of determining good 

 results. Every woman should have access to a few views of attractive 

 kitchens and to a few good house plans in order to stimulate her imagi- 

 nation and to redirect her housekeeping into fresh channels. 



MODERN IMPROVEMENTS 



The class of conveniences known as modern improvements — meaning 

 thereby plumbing, heating, and lighting systems, the installation of 

 mechanical power to be used for pumps, washing machines, mangles, 

 vacuum cleaners, and the like — may properly be discussed only by experts 

 who have special knowledge of them. The practical aspect of most of 

 these improvements has been widely discussed in books and pamphlets, 

 so that any householder may become informed before installing such 

 improvements in the home. 



