The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Kitchens & Kitchen Remodeling
The Revolution In The Kitchen
TODAY there is no such thing as a kitchen in the old-time sense of he word. That drab, too large, labor-making room has disappeared, and we have instead what is frequently the cheeriest, best planned, most efficient and colorful room in the house. In fact, the kitchen of to-day has changed its identity. No longer is the room concealed out of sight as a necessary evil; rather has it become the room we point to with pride.
The great wide-open spaces that once spread between range and icebox have disappeared. In the modern home of average size the pantry with its myriad shelves has gone, and in its place we have a labor-saving breakfast nook for cozy breakfasts or children's luncheons, or a cool place in which to work in comfort. And we find the necessary shelf room, the place for our pots and pans and mixing bowls in hanging cupboards or built-in closets, compact and convenient to other working units, these ranging in price from small, unpainted wall shelves at one or two dollars up to well built corner cupboards at $45 up.
The pantry too shows changes and improvements. Cupboards have been lowered, gay oilcloths and shelving bring color, and, if there be no sink, one is put in to save steps in both serving and dishwashing, most of the silver and glassware being washed right here in the pantry—a great convenience.
This change is an evolution rather than a revolution. It is a transformation that has kept pace with the changing tempo of life itself. Just as we today ride in high-powered cars instead of driving old Dobbin to town to do our errands, just so we have replaced all the old Dobbins of our kitchens. It is a fascinating story, this of modern kitchen building, a wonder tale of scientific and manufacturing achievement in equipment.
With the passing of the dark, inconvenient kitchens of that other day we demand in our modern household offices the four big C's that make for satisfaction: Compactness, Convenience, Cheer, and Comfort. With the many articles now available to make these four C's possible for any kitchen, no matter how remote the home may be, it might not be amiss right in the beginning of this book to tell of a few of them, so that the housewife may easily see not only what she may have but what she should have if she is to run her major job of home-making with the least wear and tear on herself.
