54 
Houst & Garden 
THE 
In a certain kitchen in 
Maine the ivalls are dec¬ 
orated with stencil s — 
terra cotta and black on 
a pinkish orange wall. 
This design is above the 
pastry table 
KITCHEN EXALTED 
Make It a Pleasant Place to Work in and See That the 
Servants React to Good Taste 
BIRDALINE BOWDOIN 
I T came about that a “kitchen'’ (please ob¬ 
serve the word) a kitchen was created 
where epicurean dreams became realities under 
most desirable conditions. 
Below is a picture of it. 
You see the walls are painted a warm deep 
cream color and a silly little black fret de¬ 
sign wanders about outlining the structure of 
the room as though to say "here is the door 
and here are the windows.” The curtains are 
bright gav-colored printed linen taffeta and 
the floor is covered with a linoleum of harmon¬ 
izing design. 
When the room was finished the owner 
found it to be the most attractive room in the 
apartment thou gh 
the others boasted 
richer furniture and 
rare and costly 
hanging and rugs, 
so she resolved, 
“I shall put a 
table in here and we 
will dine in the 
kitchen!” And she 
became so emotional 
that she clapped her 
hands, though us¬ 
ually of a restrained 
and reasonable dis¬ 
position. 
China and Chintz 
She bought those 
gay dishes with 
large splashy flow¬ 
ers on them and she 
had chintz table 
cloths (she did 
everything she had 
never heard of oth¬ 
ers doing and she 
was happy because 
she was at last free 
from the burden¬ 
some conventional¬ 
ism she had always 
had forced upon 
her). As a conces¬ 
sion or as an added 
beauty, she placed a screen in front of the 
bashful gas stove that stood decently in its 
own alcove as all retiring gas stoves should, 
instead of flaunting its utilitarian ungainli- 
ness out into the best space in the room as so 
many “cook-stoves” do. Such pop-overs as 
came from that modest little stove to the 
neighborly table, not having time to cool off 
in transit! Such everything! 
First only the family of three dined there, 
till one day came a friend and some others 
and presently it became the desirable thing to 
be invited to dinner in “The Kitchen.” 
Christmas parties were given here, a chande¬ 
lier was added (it is not in the photograph) 
The kitchen in this New York apartment was made so attractive that the family insisted on eating 
in it. Interesting chintz and china and a cream colored painted wall accomplished the trans¬ 
formation 
a circle of wood about a yard in diameter and 
6" from outer to inner rim with places to hold 
a dozen and a half candles. It is painted 
black and the candles are red. 
The sink, always an unsightly affair no 
matter how white enamel it is, hides itself in 
a butler’s pantry, and here the unpretty part 
of the work is done, that aftermath of a good 
dinner—the dish-washing. The ice-chest that 
stands in plain sight by the door of this utility 
place, wears a charming cover of chintz with 
adjustable curtain over the front, and so even 
this necessity is made attractive. 
Not that we are very new or original in this 
matter of the kitchen being the heart of the 
house, for look you, 
how this old kitchen 
from Staples, 
France (where lived 
an old, old woman 
w h o everlastingly 
patched an anti¬ 
quated skirt as she 
sat by the open win¬ 
dow) answers all 
the requirements of 
living. When she 
had used all the 
thread in the needles 
some passerby had 
threaded for her, she 
would fold her skirt 
and “house-clean.” 
A French Example 
The floors were 
red tile and these 
she woul d sweep 
clean with the broom 
of twigs that leans 
near the fireplace. 
Then from a pail 
standing near the 
stove, she would 
bring forth clean, 
yellow sand and 
carefully sprinkle it 
on the floor. Her 
stove stood in a sort 
of alcove as vou s^c 
