42 
House & Garden 
KITCHENS THAT WILL SAVE LABOR 
Because These Two Represent the Most Convenient Arrangement for Expediting 
the Year s Ten Hundred and Ninety-five Meals , They Were Awarded Prizes 
A. LOUISE ANDREA 
r HEN the idea of an Own Your Home Ex¬ 
position was first announced, many wo¬ 
men wrote to the promoters saying that as 
model homes were to be shown, model kitchens 
should be designed for them. Furthermore, that 
women ought to be consulted regarding this im¬ 
portant part of any home. Hence a Kitchen 
Plan Contest, limited to women, was duly 
announced in the newspapers, and plans 
poured in from near and far and from wo¬ 
men in all the walks of life. 
The rules governing the contest were few 
and simple. The floor area could not ex¬ 
ceed 144 square feet, although it might be 
of any shape. Location of doors and win¬ 
dows and all important fixtures had to be 
indicated and contestants were requested 
to give the height of the windows above 
the floor. 
The main idea, of course, was to show a 
kitchen so systematically planned that 
time, steps and work would be saved, an 
important matter when one considers that 
every year ten hundred and ninety-five 
meals are prepared and cleared away in 
each kitchen. 
In addition to the plan, good suggestive 
and explanatory matter accompanied the 
design to which was awarded the First Prize 
and the ideas are so sound and practical 
that I give them 
herewith. 
Sink placed so that dishes can be deposited 
from dining room by shortest route. 
2. Ventilation. Plenty of fresh air assured 
by placing windows so as to obtain cross ven¬ 
tilation. Window sills 3' 6" from floor so as 
to be above working level. Carried close to 
The kitchen awarded Second Prize shows a hinged draining 
board, ice-box filled from outside and convenient pantry 
The First Prize 
“Advantages 
of First Prize 
Arrangement Sub¬ 
mitted with Draw¬ 
ing:— 
1. Dining room 
far enough removed 
from kitchen to 
avoid noise, odors, 
heat and confusing 
sights. 
Circulation: 
Path to travel to 
house proper. Path 
of preparation and 
serving. Path of 
clearing away. 
No travel 
through kitchen 
proper to get to 
other partsof house. 
Equipment 
arranged to give a 
logical sequence of 
operations to prep¬ 
aration, serving and 
clearing up meals. 
Free central 
working space al¬ 
lowing shortest 
route between dif¬ 
ferent pieces of 
equipment. 
All equipment 
within reach of a 
circle of 5 or 6 feet 
radius. 
□ . 
• • 1 . 1 
t:d 
H 
Both floor plan and wall elevations of the First Prise Kitchen show easy circulation, good ventilation, good 
light, ample equipment and a pleasing finish to walls and windows 
ceiling to let out heat. The importance of 
ventilation can hardly be overemphasized. 
3. Lighting. Good light on sink, range and 
work table during daylight hours. When 
artificial light is necessary, there are a central 
ceiling light and side lights at points most 
needed. 
4. Equipment. Ample table working 
area provided. All working levels contin¬ 
uous, and 34" from floor to avoid unneces¬ 
sary backaches and fatigue. (Above term 
working level to mean sink, drain boards, 
dressers, tables, etc.) Built-in equipment 
used where possible to avoid corners and 
cracks. Sink—porcelain if possible, drain 
boards at both sides and continuous back. 
Sink faces window so that worker is re¬ 
lieved of monotony. Range—separated as 
far as practicable from working tables on 
account of heat. Dumb waiter—to relieve 
necessity of carrying supplies from cellar 
and to lessen such trips. Also used for 
bringing up fuel where such conditions re¬ 
quire. Extra equipment—ample storage 
space provided for extra equipment, as 
warmers, fireless cooker, etc. Storage 
space—for closets and drawers. Closets 
are provided with shelves varying from 
those with narrow shelves for small arti¬ 
cles to those with wide shelves for the more 
bulky packages. A 
small high closet is 
provided for mops, 
brooms,etc. Draw¬ 
ers vary in size. 
5. Finish. Color 
—by using tints the 
sense of coolness is 
preserved and yet 
very artistic results 
may be obtained. 
Walls — tile walls 
best but expensive. 
Hard finished walls 
which can be 
washed down are 
next best. Trim— 
no projecting 
mouldings or 
grooves, but flat 
surfaces best. Floor 
—rubber or cork 
tiling with cove 
baseboard best. 
Next, a good lino¬ 
leum glued down.” 
What Not to Do 
A careful scru¬ 
tiny of all the 
plans sent in 
showed that many 
women, while hav¬ 
ing a general idea 
of what to do, failed 
to realize what not 
to do. For example, 
many of the plans 
betrayed very 
vague ideas as to 
{Coni'd on p. 66) 
