In modern homes a kitchen cupboard extending from floor to ceiling often is built along one entire wall. If you live in a house without this convenience, you can construct a suitable cabinet yourself without much difficulty or great expense (Fig. 10).

Measure exactly the space the cabinet is to occupy and make a drawing to aid you in both ordering the material and constructing the case.

The lower part of the cabinet with the table or work shelf should be of a height to suit the housewife and in no case too low. For a large and elaborate cupboard, the lower part can be as deep as 2 ft., but a toe space should be left at the bottom as shown. This space extends 4 in. under the cabinet and is 2½ in. high.

The upper part can be relatively shallow and entirely separated from the lower part. Screw ½ by 2 in. strips to the ceiling joists to serve for hanging the upper section and, of course, also fasten it to the wall.

The doors can be made with white pine frames and either plywood or pressed wood panels, the latter being thinner and cheaper, yet strong and durable.

A good way to make the table top is to cleat together 1 by 12 in. white pine boards and then cement floor linoleum on top. To lay the linoleum cement easily, make a trowel or paddle with a chisel edge from a thin board about 4 in. wide and notch the edge in saw-tooth fashion. Apply the cement and scrape' the surface with the trowel, leaving only small ridges, not too close together. On this lay linoleum felt, heavy building felt, or even building paper.

Cut the linoleum to fit snugly and lay it on the felt, after applying the cement in the same way. Roll it down well and apply a small hardwood binding strip along the front edge of the top. At the back, along the wall and resting on top of the linoleum, a wooden strip 3 in. or more in width should be placed, to protect the plaster. Three coats of spar varnish will give the linoleum a durable surface.

Fig. 10. - .A home made built-in kin-ben Clipboard with linoleum covered working top. At the bottom is a recess to provide too space.

How attractive the cupboard looks depends mainly upon the good taste and care with which it is painted. A study of modern commercial kitchen cabinets will suggest color schemes. The door panels can be decorated, if desired, with transfer (decalcomania) designs.

A bread board can be made of ¾-in. plywood. If the plywood is not of the so-called waterproof variety, put together with casein glue, it should be liberally treated with linseed oil.