September, 1920 
j. 
57 
FURNISHING YOUR KITCHEN 
The ' Tables, Cabinets , Shelving Units, Chairs and Stools All Have Requirements 
That the Housewife Will Understand and Appreciate 
ETHEL R. PEYSER 
F urnishing the kitchen 
sounds simple enough. But it 
is not. Everything put into the 
kitchen must have not only beauty 
and uniformity, but also utility, dur¬ 
ability, tool shop convenience, and 
the maximum hygienic attributes. 
In one word, the furnishings must 
have absolute utensibility. 
In the other rooms (save the bath¬ 
room) you can humorously tell your 
decorator to do it in early Pullman 
or seriously in Louis Quinze—and 
all will be well. Your furniture in 
these rooms must be passably dur¬ 
able, consistent, and beautiful, but 
it need not be unstainable, wash¬ 
able, non-absorbent, rigid, non- 
corrosive, etc., etc. Equipping a 
kitchen is like equipping a medical 
laboratory—skilled thought must be 
employed. 
The Table 
Chief among the furnishings of 
the kitchen are the table and its 
relatives. They have to be rigid, en¬ 
during, and must be the correct size 
for the job and the correct kind for 
the work they are meant to assist in. 
The table has been the storm 
centre of discussion for years. The 
problem is this:—to find a table 
top that is non-absorbent, easily 
cleaned (not holding stains like an 
artist’s palette), not brittle, not 
cracking under changes of tempera¬ 
ture or when utensils are dropped 
upon it. 
This is a big or¬ 
der. Teachers, scien¬ 
tific experts, and 
manufacturers of 
laboratory conven¬ 
iences (they are 
never called kitchen 
conveniences in 
these circles! Would 
this nomenclature 
help the servant 
problem?) have 
massed their find¬ 
ings and the results 
of the world-wide 
demand for a prac¬ 
tical kitchen table 
top are the follow- 
Enamel tops. 
These (and their 
confreres vitrolite, 
etc.) are excellent if 
you know that the 
manufacturer is 
good. They do not 
crack or erase (fall 
into multitudinous 
vein-like cracks) 
and break with or¬ 
dinary usage. The 
enamel is baked 
In designing a pantry, space must be afforded for everything 
that is to be put away, as, for example, the rack for the 
table leaves in this pantry 
Here is a kitchen that is very much “tabled”—a butcher’s block, a pantry table, and 
top tables opposite the range. Note the rubber mats and the interesting shelving. 
Duparquet, Monet & Huot 
over steel or iron and should be at 
least three coats thick. 
Glass tops. Not for general util¬ 
ity, but well adapted for the pastry 
table since with this top no special 
pastry board is needed. Glass tops 
are really very beautiful and have 
every qualification but unbreakable¬ 
ness. 
Marble tops. Excellent for the 
pastry table, and if one can afford 
them, fine for most things. There 
is only the remotest chance that they 
may break and only when they are 
less than 2" thick. 
White metal tops. Excellent, 
non-corrosive, flat coverings. They 
are expensive but do not need any 
nursing to keep them in order. 
Zinc tops. Very much used, but 
these tops buckle and puff and are 
very much affected by acids and 
alkalis. 
Wood tops. Far better than zinc 
for the householder who cannot af¬ 
ford the other tops. The wood can 
be treated with non-staining var¬ 
nish, or a varnish that can stand 
heat without being annihilated, and 
you will have a fine table. If this 
* is not possible, the ordinary wooden 
table, fresh from the shop, if cov¬ 
ered with linoleum or oil cloth, is 
very useful and durable, especially 
since the linoleum can be changed 
inexpensively and often. There may 
be a metal binder around the wooden 
table top if desired. 
Composition cops. 
N These need a guar- 
*§| antee as they are 
often of glass or 
some mixture unde- 
| fined. 
Tin tops. These 
are not used any 
more, as far as Ave 
know. 
Special Tables 
The ordinary 
table length is from 
3' to 7', depending 
upon the size of the 
kitchen. There are 
usually from one to 
:;| three tables in use, 
: —more often two. 
The ordinary heights 
are from 32" to 28”. 
Get the height that 
fits your workers. 
Be sure to find this 
out if possible; oth¬ 
erwise you will have 
to make a later re¬ 
arrangement. 
Maple is a satis¬ 
factory wood for 
strong tables; ash, 
( Con’t on page 76) 
composition 
Courtesy of 
