The Farmhouse 1493 



After the size and location of the kitchen have been decided, the placing 

 of the openings is the next step to be considered; the location of doors 

 especially should be given the most deliberate attention. Two explana- 

 tions will clarify the door problem: First, in a small kitchen wall space 

 is valuable for fixtures; every door cuts out three feet of wall space, so 

 that the more doors there are, the less wall space there will be. Many 

 old kitchens have seven or eight doors. Ordinarily four at least will be 

 required — an outside door, a pantry door, a cellar door, and a dining-room 

 door. By so adjusting the plan that two doors serve one purpose this 

 number may be reduced to two or three. Second, by the placing of doors, 

 lines of travel are established. In order to be kept clean and to be worked 

 in economically, kitchens should be so arranged as to avoid passage across 

 the working center. Too often the location of an outside door creates 

 a line of travel that interferes with the business of the kitchen. In 

 general, then, the number of doors in a kitchen should be reduced to a 

 minimum, and the doors should be arranged, if possible, on adjacent 

 walls, leaving two sides of uninterrupted wall space for the necessary 

 furnishings. 



Windows should be placed at least three and one half feet from the 

 floor, thus allowing table space beneath. Range, table, and sink should 

 be well lighted both by day and by night. 



The working area of a farmhouse is represented in Fig. 70, in which 

 the principles of kitchen-planning are clearly expressed. The relation 

 of the kitchen to dining-room, porch, pantry, and washroom should 

 first be noted, after which the size, location, openings, and general equip- 

 ment may be studied. 



This kitchen has a corner location on the plan, with the food pantry 

 and one wall exposed in a northerly direction. The kitchen proper 

 represents an area of one hundred and thirty square feet and the pantry 

 an area of forty-five square feet. The number of doors has been reduced 

 to two, which are placed adjacent so that travel from the perch occurs 

 around a corner and not across the working center. The most direct 

 passage from the barns lies through the washroom, as should be the case. 

 The windows of the kitchen, which are placed high, light the working 

 area sufficiently and provide good ventilation. Moreover, if it is needed, 

 a complete sweep of air may be obtained from end to end by opening the 

 two pantry doors, over either of which a transom may be built. Both 

 these doors are glazed, in order to afford light and view. A fuel compart- 

 ment is conveniently located for either kitchen or washroom. An eating 

 porch, looking toward the garden and the sunset, occupies the corner angle 

 between kitchen and dining-room. Kitchen and porch connect with a 

 Dutch door, so that outdoor meals are easily served. Extra food and 

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