HOUSE AND GARDEN 
April, 1911 
that are to be kept within reach. A high 
shelf, six inches wide, is filled with pre¬ 
serve jars containing dry provisions, such 
as cereals, tea, coffee and dried vegetables. 
Below a wider shelf holds the cannisters 
containing flour and sugar. A home¬ 
made set of shelves occupies the end of 
the table; this is for dishes frequently 
used. The neat appearance of the table 
is assured by means of the little curtain 
attached to the lower shelf. This can be 
drawn aside when the entire space is need¬ 
ed, or can be closed to screen dishes that 
are waiting to be washed, bottles or other 
odds and ends that must be temporarily 
set aside till a more convenient time for 
cleaning. 
Next to the table is a convenient closet, 
measuring two by three feet and running 
from floor to ceiling. A unique feature is 
the double door. The lower closet, six 
feet in height, is built for the ordinary 
kitchen utensils that are not to be kept 
exposed to view. The upper part, with a 
separate door, is built for utensils that 
are seldom wanted, this arrangement pro¬ 
tecting them from exposure to dust by 
the constant opening and shutting of the 
door. 
Closet and table cupboard, together, oc¬ 
cupying as they do the north side of the 
room, form an air cushion to keep out the 
cold, the house being simply a shingled 
bungalow with no cellar under this part. 
The remainder of the north wall is oc¬ 
cupied by the door, leading to the porch 
and the refrigerator closet. The east 
wall accommodates the door into the cel¬ 
lar, a high chest of drawers, containing 
many necessary odds and ends, such as 
hardware and small gardening articles. 
Next to this are the openings into the din¬ 
ing-room built-in sideboard. In addition 
to the usual door for the passing of food 
and dishes to the sideboard shelf, is an¬ 
other door, measuring twenty by twenty- 
five inches, just below, providing a most 
convenient method of reaching the con¬ 
tents of the lower part of the sideboard, 
which has, also, the usual low doors on the 
dining-room side. 
Following next, the first thing on the 
south side of the kitchen, is the door that 
opens into the other part of the house. 
The adjoining room being somewhat 
dark, light was admitted by a novel meth¬ 
od. The door is of the type that contains 
five horizontal panels. The three upper 
panels were removed and replaced by 
glass, at a cost of about two dollars. 
These glass panels, with a thin curtain, 
add very much to the attractiveness, from 
both sides of the door. A point was made 
of hanging the door on the side that made 
it a screen for the kitchen, instead of ex¬ 
posing all kitchen operations to anyone 
in the next room, every time the door was 
opened. This point was found to be 
worthy of notice in other parts of the 
bungalow, in spite of established custom, 
from the builder’s point of view, as to the 
side for the hinges and the swing of the 
doors. 
A high warming closet for the range 
cost an additional twelve dollars, but was 
well worth it in drying utensils and warm¬ 
ing food. 
A space to the right of the range was 
reserved for fuel, next to this are the 
porcelain wash tub and the enameled iron 
sink, with no woodwork near either to 
become unsanitary. Above these runs 
another six-inch shelf, with more glass 
jars of provision 1 ; underneath are hooks 
to hang small utensils, hidden from view 
and protected from dust by a wide piece 
of bordered shelf oil cloth. A large win¬ 
dow on the west, completes the circuit of 
this eight by thirteen kitchen. A passage 
about four feet wide runs through the 
center of the room, so that it is not neces¬ 
sary to take more than a few steps to 
reach any article wanted. A larger or 
differently shaped room would cause more 
waste of energy. 
The House Telephone 
r I ''HE intercommunicating telephone is 
proving quite a factor today in 
household economics, and rapidly doing 
away with the necessity of call buttons and 
speaking tubes. In business houses and 
hotels, we have long been familiar with 
the system which put us in personal touch 
with different sections of the building; but 
many of us have not thought of the possi¬ 
bility of utilizing this very sensible plan 
right in our own houses. 
With the old-time speaking tube, which 
is still a feature in many houses, there is 
always dissatisfaction, and the tube con¬ 
nection is with only one place — usually the 
kitchen ; and most often out of commis¬ 
sion. With the call button, while it serves 
the purpose of summoning help, it wastes 
much time and energy on the part of the 
servants who must travel up and down 
stairs at every call, whether service is re¬ 
quired or only an order to be given. 
An intercommunicating telephone es¬ 
tablished in a home puts every important 
room in connection with the other, if de¬ 
sired, and also connects the garage or 
stable with the house — an important item 
thoroughly realized by those who enjoy it. 
In a house where only one maid is em¬ 
ployed, or where there is none, a telephone 
communication between the front and back 
door and the upstairs hall (where the 
matron of the house is) will save many 
fruitless journeys up and down when she 
is alone. Another convenience of an in¬ 
tercommunicating telephone is its use as 
a fire-alarm, which may be quickly rung 
in every connected room, without loss of 
valuable time. A station in the hall near 
the maid’s room is a necessity when one 
maid is kept, so she may be called at any 
moment. 
An interior house system is in continual 
use ; and instruments are apt to be installed 
in places where they are subject to sudden 
changes of temperature; therefore it is ad¬ 
visable in installing to select a high grade 
system—not necessarily the most expen¬ 
sive, but the best. There are several good 
systems which are inexpensive, and when 
once installed they work satisfactorily 
without the necessity of constant repair. 
A service to connect two rooms may be in¬ 
stalled as readily as one which connects a 
dozen. The cheaper method is to have all 
instruments connected with the same cir¬ 
cuit ; but this is not quite as satisfactory 
as being able to call without a signal code. 
The cost of installing an intercommuni¬ 
cating system varies from $6.00 to $20.00 
per station, depending upon the size of the 
installation, and the quality of equipment 
selected. The fixtures may be secured to 
match the finish of other fixtures in the 
room. Two rooms only may be connected 
or two dozen. 
The cost of maintenance of the auto¬ 
matic telephone is practically nothing, if 
good instruments are installed. 
The two doors between, the stove and chest of 
drawers, give access to the built-in side¬ 
board in the dining-room 
The kitchen table is placed in one corner and 
made a fixture by building cupboards in the 
waste space beneath it 
