Any kitchen that is to give full satisfaction must be sound in arrangement, sightly in appearance, and smooth in operation. Within reasonable limits, anything that can be devised to enforce this triple standard, must be considered worthy of trial. The demands of convenience will of course always come first, thereby deciding matters of arrangement and of management; but the less insistent needs for a work place that shall be a fit and lovely spot, must also be met. A clean, level floor, walls and furniture with smooth washable surfaces, and a pleasing color scheme are elements that eliminate mental friction and that add the touch of refinement which makes of any work a joy.

Up to the present time, no perfect flooring that is cheap enough for use in private homes has been evolved. The materials most available are wood and linoleum. Of the two, linoleum is thought to be preferable, because it can be cemented tight to the under floor, it is practically crackless, and it is quiet and easy to walk on. Plain brown "battleship" linoleum is a reliable, standard product, or a modest inlaid pattern may be used instead. Experienced housekeepers claim that linoleum with a pattern is both more attractive and easier to keep clean than is the plain color. Although good linoleum is not a cheap floor covering, its satisfactory and lasting nature commends it in spite of its cost.

A maple or a beech floor of narrow boards is the next best material. Yellow pine and oak are too open grained to make a satisfactory floor for kitchen use. Maple and beech are both light in color and do not make a very attractive floor under hard use, but they can be scrubbed and kept clean. A maple floor should be finished by saturating it with hot linseed oil for a number of hours; then all the extra oil should be thoroughly wiped up. In this way, the wood is practically impregnated against the absorption of grease.

Kitchen woodwork should be plain, with as few grooves and moldings as possible. Wooden wainscotings in kitchen and bathroom should never be used.

For the interior finish of the kitchen, nothing is comparable to clean, light-colored paint for walls and woodwork. Warm grays, buffs, and other soft, neutral tints may be used. Sometimes walls, woodwork, and furniture are all painted the same color, thereby uniting the whole effect. Even ready-made cabinets, tables, and refrigerators are far more attractive if painted a light color.

A kitchen finished in stained oak or varnished pine, like the remainder of the house, is unnecessarily monotonous. It should be differentiated from the other rooms in color scheme and general atmosphere. Light colors, mixed on a basis of white, are not only cheering and restful to look at, but have the further advantage of reflecting and distributing the light so that there are no dark corners.

Such a room becomes also an easy and economical one to light well at night. When gas or oil lamps are used, light colors are positively invaluable in the kitchen. Each wall then becomes in reality a huge reflecting surface, so that a given amount of light is virtually used several times over. If an electric fixture for indirect lighting-an inverted metal bowl-is placed centrally on a white ceiling, the entire kitchen is evenly lighted so that there are neither heavy shadows nor dark corners to impede the work. Naturally, the lighter the general color scheme, the less the current that will be needed. Light colors may, therefore, be considered as having a practical, as well as an aesthetic, value.

References

Child, Georgie Boynton. The Efficient Kitchen. 1914.

Frederick, Christine. The New Housekeeping. 1913.

Goodnow, Ruby Ross, and Adams, Rayne. The Honest House. 1914.

White, Charles E., Jr. Successful Houses and How to Build Them. 1912.