CHAPTER EIGHT 



THE KITCHEN AND OFFICES 



"HE planning of the kitchen premises, especially in small 

 houses, is a subject which does not always receive the atten- 

 tion it deserves. In the early part of the nineteenth century 

 the kitchen premises, even in country houses, were commonly 

 placed in an ill-lighted basement, and the house was planned 

 with a callous indifference to the great question of labour saving. 



But the growing scarcity of servants, as well as the growth of democratic 

 ideas, have led in recent years to a more careful consideration of the working 

 of the house. It is now usual to place the kitchen premises on the ground- 

 floor level, and where this is difficult, as in town houses, the basement is 

 better lighted and provided with a lift. For the house of average size it is 

 not desirable either to cramp or to unduly extend the kitchen premises. 

 They should be the best size for their purpose, and the multiplication of 

 offices, apart from the question of expense in building, means so much the 

 more to clean and keep in order. The fittings of a first-class yacht might 

 well be studied to show what can be done in a limited space ; and although a 

 more liberal space may be allowed in the house, all contrivances which make 

 for compactness and simplicity are worthy of study. 



In the smallest houses in this country it is usual to provide a kitchen 

 which is the cooking-room and sitting-room for its one or two servants, 

 adjoining which is the scullery ; and these two apartments, often both very 

 small, form the main portion of the kitchen premises. In modern American 

 plans for small houses it is quite usual to combine kitchen and scullery into 

 one apartment. The English tradition in this respect dates from the period 

 of insanitary sinks, and the scullery was justly regarded as a place to be 

 severely isolated on account of its offensive odours. But fitted with its 

 white-glazed sink, its white-tiled dado, and its pipes properly disconnected 

 and exposed, the well-ventilated and well-lighted modern scullery may in the 

 small house at least, form a recess in the kitchen, and thus add to the 

 simplicity of the plan. Besides kitchen and scullery, the small house should 

 contain at least a good pantry, larder, coal store, and servants' w.c., all 

 compactly and conveniently arranged the pantry, with its shelving of 

 scrubbed deal the larder, with its slate shelves and ventilation of wire gauze, 

 the coal store, large enough to contain a winter supply of coals if possible, 

 and the w.c., with its door opening into the open air. While the kitchen 

 proper, which is not also a sitting-room, should generally have a northern 

 exposure, in the small house its uses suggest a compromise, and a more 

 cheerful aspect is desirable. South-east may be recommended, and, assuming 

 that it is not over-windowed, its temperature will not be unduly influenced by 

 exterior conditions. The larder should face north, and not open ofF the 

 kitchen, and the kitchen premises as a whole should be placed near enough to 

 the living-room for convenience of service, and yet be completely isolated, 

 so that even in the small house the noise and smell from the kitchen should 



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