The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Kitchens & Kitchen Remodeling

The Convenient Kitchen

WE HAVE stated in the previous chapter that the kitchen should not be too large to care for or work in with comfort, nor so small as to be inconvenient; yet size is not the only consideration. Arrangement of the various working units, so that every step possible may be saved, is of prime importance. This means that work tables, refrigerator, cupboards, stove, and sink must be placed in such relation to one another that there will be no lost motion. Take, for example, the baking of a cake: How far do you walk to get your pans and ingredients to place on your table? How far is it to the sink in which to place the used dishes? How many feet do you walk to and from the stove as you watch the cake while baking? How many steps do you take, anyway? And that is but one of the countless cooking operations in the day's work! The working units must be drawn together if you would save yourself unnecessary labor.

In the kitchen planned for convenience, the matter of doors is considered. There should not be too many, the average room needing but two, an outside door and one leading to the dining room. In the larger kitchen, there may be a door opening into the cellar or onto the rear stairway, but there should be no more than this. Doors take up too much valuable wall space. The dining-room door should be a swinging one, fitted with hardware that permits it to swing both ways and to remain fastened back in either dining room or kitchen, as serving makes this necessary. Moreover, this door should be so placed as to prevent a direct view of the pantry or kitchen by those sitting at the dining table. If this be impossible, a tall, three-leaf screen can be so placed in even the small dining room as to conceal the pantry, while at the same time not interfering with serving operations.