Service Rooms of Modern Homes 
By ERIE L. PRESTON 
I T is a singular and lamentable fact that the service 
rooms of the modern house have received so 
little serious thought and study from the archi¬ 
tect. True, the esthetic possibilities are not so 
plentifully present as in the master’s portion of the 
house, but the opportunities for making life more 
worth the living for all who may dwell within its 
walls, be it master, mistress or servant, are so numer¬ 
ous that it is difficult to understand why they have 
not long since been more extensively exploited and 
considered from every possible point of view as 
among the absolute necessities. 
Strange as it may seem, this branch of home-build¬ 
ing has been the last to feel the effects of the wave of 
terror that bacteriologists have set in motion, and 
none too soon either, against the too unsanitary condi¬ 
tions which were wont to surround the kitchens, 
pantries and laundries of our houses. 
The very places in the establishment where it was 
easiest for germs to lodge and thrive, owing to the 
prevalence of dampness, heat and in many cases lack 
of sunshine, seem to have been the ones last consid¬ 
ered in the great movement towards more perfect 
hygienic and sanitary surroundings, in every depart¬ 
ment of our domestic life. While great progress has 
been made in the modern sanitary bath-room, there is 
yet much to be desired in the planning and equipment 
of the kitchen and pantries. The progress so marked 
in the one has been conspicuous by its absence in the 
other. Open plumbing and modern labor saving 
and hygienic devices should be installed in every 
kitchen, pantry and laundry, of any home that is to 
house a family which 
lays claim to keep¬ 
ing abreast o f the 
times or to be “ up ” 
in topics of current 
thought or scientific 
discoveries. 
In planning the 
service department it 
should be borne in 
mind that an easy 
access to this por¬ 
tion of the home 
should be had by 
tradesmen without 
interference with the 
approach to the 
main entrance of the 
house. The deliv¬ 
ery of supplies can 
thus be made without 
inconvenience at any hour of the day. In the two 
illustrations depicting this point it will be found that 
provision has also been made for a generous breathing 
space for the servants where they can en)oy as much 
privacy as desired, and yet get the full benefit of 
the refreshing atmosphere that flowers, green grass, 
shrubbery and trees always give. 
The Servants’ Hall. — Convenient to this rear 
entrance should be the servants’ hall -a room devoted 
to the use of the help, in which their meals are served 
and where in their leisure hours or minutes an oppor¬ 
tunity for rest is given among surroundings more 
pleasant than those afforded by pots and kettles or 
sinks and ranges. A few books or magazines, an 
easy chair or two will well repay the investment. 
The size of the “establishment” will in a measure 
govern the general arrangement of the service depart¬ 
ment. Where a retinue of servants are employed 
a very different lay-out will be required than where 
the menage is conducted on more simple lines. 
The Kitchen. —Conditions governing in the kit¬ 
chen of to-day are vastly different from those of our 
forefathers. The old brick oven and wood stove 
have been supplanted by the coal and gas range or by 
the electric current. The gas range, owing to its 
great convenience, should be installed wherever gas 
is available. It consumes fuel only when in actual 
use. It is easy to regulate the amount of heat inde¬ 
pendently in any of the several parts—the oven, the 
broiler or the top plates. The same is true of elec¬ 
trical cooking apparatus. 
In the kitchen much heat and many odors orig¬ 
inate. To prevent 
these passing into 
other parts of the 
house, ample and 
positive ventilating 
facilities must b e 
provided. I his may 
be accomplished 
by having the smoke 
flue large enough 
to contain within 
it the ventilating 
Hue with which the 
range hood is con¬ 
nected—the heat of 
the smoke in case a 
coal range is used w ill 
insure a very perfect 
“pull” of the hot air 
and odors through 
the ventilating flue. 
SERVICE ENTRANCE OF A CITY RESIDENCE—LARGE GROUNDS 
l8 5 
