Planning the Kitchen

When Grandpa wanted a chicken dinner, he "ran down" a likely looking young

rooster, "wrung" its neck, and brought it in for Grandma to "draw," to dress, and to

roast. Meat used to be killed right on the farm, and all canning was done at home.

This required a kitchen that at best was something less than a show place, especially

when it was necessary to use a smoking old coal-burning cookstove, and all water

had to be carried from the spring in a wooden bucket, and a kitchen sink was yet in

the future. Yet these old kitchens were very comfortable as the center of family life.

When the neighbours came over to visit, they usually "set" in the kitchen, the parlour

being used on very special occasions only.

Photo owned by Gnangarra

In many places in the world, even today, a kitchen is not permitted in a house. As an

Englishman said to me in Singapore, "I want a kitchen to be just as far away from

the house as I can get it." A glimpse of some of the nearby kitchens explained why.

If you cook with charcoal under the kettles, with no flue, and no attempt ever to

wash the outside of the kettles, just the inside being kept clean, and if you throw the

cabbage leaves and potato peelings to the waiting pigs and chickens, and if you

have only an earth floor, and no screens, you can easily see why kitchens are not too

desirable in the house.

When I built a modern American kitchen, complete with sink, electric stove and

refrigerator, the building inspector said, after looking it over carefully, "Why can't we

do it this way?"

Those of you who have visited George Washington’s home at Mt. Vernon will recall

that the kitchen is a long way from the house. Modern food processing plants and

the super-market have taken much of the messiness out of the kitchen, so that now

the kitchen can be one of the most beautiful and attractive rooms in the house.

The kitchen is a place to work, but why not make it also a pleasant place to be? Give

the best view to the kitchen. A kitchen would preferably be on a corner, where it can

get light from two sides and where you can see in more than one direction. Many

mothers like to have a kitchen window overlooking the play yard, so they can

supervise the children's activities while continuing with their work. It is also desirable

to be able to see who is coming to the door.

Although when you drive up with the groceries you should have easy access to the

back door of the kitchen, I do not favour the door that opens directly from the

garage into the kitchen.

The area for the pleasant activity of eating includes not only a place for the table

and chairs, but also a place to store and prepare food, and a place to clean up

things after meals, and room to store the dishes and utensils. We often speak of

kitchens, pantries, breakfast rooms, and dining rooms. Why are so many rooms

necessary?

Try to make the most of your space. Space has to be counted only once in figuring

the cost of a building and the valuation for tax purposes, but it may serve several

purposes and thus result in real economies not only of building, but what may be

more important, of housekeeping effort. One can't help wondering if it is

economical to provide two areas for exactly the same function, one a little larger

than the other, to be sure, but otherwise the same.

Is it wise to build an elaborate breakfast nook and build a dining room besides?

Maybe it would be wiser to make the breakfast nook a little larger and omit the

dining room, or build the dining room and then reduce the breakfast nook to a

mere bar or shelf. Much depends on the way the family wants to live.

A breakfast bar can be used to save many steps, if the family is not large, or if all

members of the family do not eat breakfast at the same time. Working couples

will most certainly eat most of their meals at some place other than the dining

table. The breakfast bar can also be used as a part of the working area when

getting a large meal or when serving guests, buffet style, or for setting up salads,

pies, desserts, etc.

If you entertain a great deal with elaborate meals served at the dining table, by all

means build a fine dining room, large enough to do the job right. Then maybe you

can let it double for a family room when it is not being used as a dining room. A

better and more spacious room, used a larger share of the time, is much better

than two smaller rooms, each used only occasionally. Make the floors and walls of

durable and beautiful materials that can "take it" and then use the room to the

fullest extent of its capacity.

Planning a kitchen so that it will be efficient, beautiful, and adequate takes time

and imagination.

More work is done in the kitchen than in any other room in the house. It should

be efficiently arranged so that the work can be done easily and quickly, without

wasting too much effort. Time and energy are the things that must be conserved

nowadays; they seem to be the things that run out first, after money. Money, time,

and energy are the three prime requisites to living in these rushing modern times,

when it is hard to run fast enough just to keep your relative position in space, to say

nothing of getting ahead.

Too many doors in a kitchen are to be avoided, as they cut up the space and make

for inefficiency. Many authorities say that three doors are the absolute maximum that

should be permitted in any kitchen. Two doors would be better. Perhaps it is

impractical to try to get along with only one door, although it might be managed

with a little ingenuity.

The kitchen should be so arranged that the food can be taken to the place where it

is to be served without too many steps.

Kitchens are of three general shapes: the "U" shaped kitchen, the "L" shaped kitchen,

and the parallel kitchen. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages. How many

people will be working in the kitchen at one time also has a bearing on its design.

The "U" shaped kitchen is convenient for one person to work in, but two or three

young daughters trying to help might be in the way in this type of kitchen, unless

the "U" is rather wide and not too deep.

Although the parallel kitchen is perhaps the most efficient, it is subject to the same

limitations as the "U" shaped one. This consists of a rather long room, with cabinets

and equipment on both sides, and usually a door in each end. This type of kitchen

must be at least 8' wide to give enough working space in the center of the room.

The "L" shape is good when it can be arranged in conjunction with the breakfast

nook or the so-called "living kitchen" in which the kitchen is large and doubles for

the family room, the dining room, and a general purpose room, with the kitchen

really occupying only one corner of it. This is very good for informal entertaining, as

the person preparing the sandwiches, instead of being off in another room, can do

her work and still not miss out on any of the fun.

Wherever the kitchen is placed, or whatever shape it may have, certain working areas

and pieces of equipment are a necessity. These might include drain boards, baking

area, sink, refrigerator, dish washer, stove top, oven, mixer, blender, toaster, waffle

iron, silverware, kitchen hardware, kettles, lids, dishes, paper towels, waxed paper,

garbage disposal, storage for package foods and for tin canned goods, and for home

canned fruits and vegetables, and perhaps room for a deep freeze unit.

Perhaps the sink should first be considered. Many women seem to prefer the sink on

an outside wall, under a window. Better still, let the window overlook a good view.

When a sink must be on an inside wall, it is often a good idea to place a window-

sized mirror over the sink to give the illusion of a little more space.

The sink should be of a good size. The old standard sink was a single compartment

one, 30" x 20" in size. The double sink which has come to stay, varies in length from

32" to 38" and from 18" to 22" in width from front to back, and is from 6" to 8"

deep. Some sinks with drainboards in one piece with the sink are made from 60"to

72" in total length. The large basket strainers are a great convenience, for they aid in

keeping the sink and the drains in good condition. If you want a garbage disposal

unit, it is easy to install as it fits the sink with the large openings.

The sinks with the drainboards made integral with them make an ideal combination.

These sinks can also be bought with a complete cabinet under them, which is often

the best way to get the most efficient set-up. A dish washer can be bought that will

fit under the work area at one side of the sink, and it will be found to be a great

convenience if one entertains with large dinner parties frequently, or if there is a

large family. With only two or three people in a family, there is the probability that it

is easier to wash up the dishes in the regular way than it is to bother with the

dishwasher. There are good arguments on both sides, the deciding factor being the

personal opinion of the person doing the work.

Photo owned by Chris McKenna

Sinks are made of several kinds of material. The cast iron sinks covered with white or

coloured enamel are the most popular. A cheaper model is made of pressed sheet

metal, also enamelled. You can tell the difference by pressing hard on the bottom; if

it springs a little, it is of sheet metal. Cast iron is more durable and the enamel stays

on much better. A sink, which must take a lot of hard usage, should be of the best.

Some people prefer a sink made of stainless steel, because with any amount of use it

will still retain its good appearance. It is also easy on the dishes. Where the water is

hard it seems to spot easily. Even if this can readily be scrubbed off, some

housekeepers think that a stainless steel sink is hard to keep looking presentable. In

hotel and institutional kitchens, where the wear and tear is many times as much as it

is in a home kitchen, stainless steel is used almost exclusively, but this rugged

dependability is not essential in your home although it has many things in its favour.

Some sinks are made of burned clay or china. Although these are very easy to clean

and to keep in first class shape, if you drop something too heavy into them there is

danger of breaking the sink.

A sink should have a mixing faucet so the water can come out at just the right

temperature. Often a spray will be found useful.

In cases where a water softener is used, it may be desirable to put three valves on a

sink—one for hot water, one for softened water, and one for cold water that has not

been through the softener. This latter is useful for washing vegetables, in operating

the garbage disposal system, and for the many other uses where softened water is

not necessary.

With a garbage disposal unit in the sink, you can put down the drain all the fruit

peelings, vegetable trimmings, and miscellaneous garbage that otherwise

accumulates and has to be hauled away or taken out and buried. This way you just

wash everything but peach pits, nut shells, and large bones down the drain and

forget all about the smelly garbage cans. If you are not connected to a regular

sewer, you will have to make the septic tank about three hundred cubic feet larger

to allow for the extra load. Recent studies have shown that instead of the garbage

disposal system causing trouble in the sewer lines, it actually has a scouring action

that improves their efficiency.

An area next to the sink should be provided to stack the dishes as they come from

the table and a space on the opposite side where the dishes can be placed as they

are washed. About 30" of space on each side of the sink should be adequate for

most kitchens. Be sure these drain boards actually drain into the sink; the slope

should not be so steep that the dishes will slide, but should definitely drain toward

the sink.

The refrigerator is currently considered a necessity, and care should be used in

locating it for the greatest convenience. The combination units with a deep freeze

either above or below the regular refrigerator in a kitchen are very useful. It might be

possible to get a large deep-freeze refrigerator in a kitchen, but it might crowd out

other more essential things. If it can be in an anteroom or utility room, perhaps

greater efficiency would result. If you have a large pantry adjacent to the kitchen, it

might also contain the deep-freeze.

A working area next to the refrigerator and not far from the oven or sink adds

greatly to the efficiency of a kitchen.

The stove should be near enough to the sink so that when water is put into a kettle,

it is just a step to set the kettle on the stove.

When wood or coal was the fuel, of course, since the oven and the cooking top were

both heated from the same firebox, they were necessarily together. The electric and

gas stoves have liberated the two units so that they can now be placed anywhere

without reference to each other, but that does not mean that they must necessarily

be separated. If the oven is under the cooking top, space is saved, but one must

stoop to see into the oven. Even if this stooping is good exercise for the abdominal

and back muscles, it can get tiresome. It isn't necessary, however, to feel that the

stove is out of date. In a small kitchen it is sometimes actually more convenient to

have a regular stove than it is to have the separate units. If the arrangement of the

working areas is made better by separating the two, well and good, but if not, do

not feel old-fashioned with a good stove.

Some of these new kettles, which when plugged in, start cooking and maintain a

uniform temperature are worth considering. It might be possible to eliminate the

stove top entirely by having three or four of these automatic kettles and a frying pan

or two. Then a small oven could be placed somewhere and the cooking service

would be complete.

Working Surfaces

A working area from 31/2' to 5' in length, and 2' wide should be provided, preferably

between the refrigerator and the oven, and within reach of the sink, where most of

the baking and cooking can be prepared, where the bread can be mixed (Oh, yes,

some people still make bread at home, and may their tribe increase), the cakes

stirred up, the pies made, salads and sauces can be prepared, where food is made

ready for cooking or baking, and most of the kitchen work can be done. One

continuous area is greatly to be preferred to the same space cut up into two or

three small pieces.

The average height of kitchen working surface seems to be about 35" or 36". If you

are tall, you may want them an inch or two higher, and if shorter, you may need

them somewhat lower. But the best planned kitchens have working areas of different

heights for different kinds of work. You can wash and dry dishes on a higher working

surface than you would want for rolling out a pie crust, or mixing a cake. A height of

32" will be found about right for the working surface of the baking area.

A lap board will be found very useful for many jobs done around the kitchen. A lap

board is one that pulls out at just the right height, usually about 25", to fit over your

lap as you sit down to do some kinds of work, as you give your poor feet a break.

Many people who have trouble with their feet getting tired would do well to study

how they can do part of their work sitting down, instead of standing all the time.

The type of working surfaces in a kitchen are subject to much personal preference.

There is considerable disagreement among housekeepers as to whether ceramic tile

or plastic laminate is better for kitchen working surfaces. Glazed tiles, which are hard,

impervious, and will withstand considerable hard wear, can sometimes be knocked

loose at the edges if used too roughly. Hot pans, though, can be set on them

without injury to the surface, as the tile has been burned and has already been much

hotter than any frying pan can possibly be heated.

Others prefer the plastic laminates, as Formica, Micarta, or other similar materials. In

large pieces, these do not have the joints to clean that tiles have, and since the

surface is not quite so hard it will be less liable to chip the dishes if they are brought

too suddenly in contact with the surface. Some say that tile drain boards seem to

result in chipped dishes. Although the plastic surfaces cannot stand quite so much

heat as the tile, otherwise they are almost as durable. Which to use is largely a

matter of taste.

A planning desk is a very essential part of any kitchen scheme. Of course it can be

combined with the breakfast bar, or some other area, but it must be thought of in

any good kitchen planning. This desk should contain drawers or shelves for recipe

books, space for stationery, and possibly a typewriter, as the lady may find an odd

moment now and then when she can catch up on her correspondence while she is

waiting for something to come to a boil, or for the bread to get ready to be put into

the oven.

A small kitchen radio is almost necessary, and a place should be provided for it near

enough to the work center so that the cigarette ads can be tuned out and the soap

operas adjusted without too many steps.

Nothing makes a kitchen more satisfactory than a good installation of adequate

cabinets.

The upper cupboards in the kitchen must have space for dishes, dry package foods,

cake mixes, bisquick mixes, corn flakes, and a host of bottles, cans, and packages.

Spices and flavouring bottles deserve a little cupboard all their own, with shelves

spaced to fit the small cans and bottles. The shelves should be narrow, so that one

can does not hide behind another when you want it in a hurry. This should be

convenient to the baking or cooking center, or wherever you use them most. They

should be readily available, but not in the way.

A small shelf for cups, midway between the large dish shelves, will help make better

use of the available space and will keep the cups in good condition.

The space below the working surfaces can be used for storage of larger and heavier

things, and for kettles and other cooking utensils.

If the shelves for kettles can be made to slide out, it will save the trouble of getting

down and peering into the dark places to see what is in the back of the shelves.

Photo owned by Kotivalo

A few drawers are very useful in a kitchen, but many things are better placed on

shelves. Drawers for silverware do not need to be very deep; an inside depth of two

or three inches would be adequate. Perhaps the "best" silver plate or sterling will be

kept in a different place, maybe in the buffet or china cupboard. A drawer should be

provided for what we shall call kitchen hardware: knives, large spoons, spatulas,

potato masher, measuring spoons, and all the other small gadgets that make work

easier. Perhaps two drawers for these things would be more convenient, as the

knives should be kept in separate compartments to keep other metal implements

from dulling the cutting edges.

The items of kitchen hardware should not be piled in drawers as this makes it too

difficult to get them quickly when they are needed.

Metal-lined drawers are best for flour or sugar. The swing out bins we used to make

are not so popular any more, although rotating cupboards to make difficult corners

more useful add a considerable amount of valuable space to a small kitchen.

Do not overlook the toe space in building your cupboards. This small space permits

a person to stand properly at a work area without leaning forward in a tiring

position, and puts the bottom shelf of a cupboard at the right height off the floor.

Storage of Equipment

The electric mixer, the blender, and the waffle iron will be used more often and with

greater ease if they can be located at the work level and do not have to be lifted out

of some cupboard every time you want them. The same could be said for the orange

juicer, the toaster, the electric kettle, and the electric frying pan. If there is space on

the opposite side of the kitchen wall, as in a closet or pantry, a small cupboard can

be made for these things, recessed and covered with a sliding door, where they can

be entirely out of sight and out of the way when not in use, but instantly available

when needed. Be sure they can slide right out on the working surface without having

to be lifted.

Hand towels and dish towels can often best be hung from towel racks in the inside

of a closet door or some such place. Do not make a small closed space to hang dish

towels, as they need a good circulation of air to let them dry out so they will not

become musty. I have seen some dish towel racks built in the cupboards, but the

effect was not good, and not worth the trouble, as the housekeepers would not use

them after the first few weeks.

To save steps the utensils used in cooking need to be stored near where they are to

be used. It is well to have a specific place for each piece and to keep it there

whenever it is not in use. Store things near the point of first use. If the first thing you

do with a certain kettle is to hold it under the faucet and put water in it, then store it

near the sink, because the last thing you will do with it is to wash it, so it begins and

ends with the sink. If the first thing you do with another kettle is to empty a can of

soup into it, it should be stored near the can opener. The location of the can opener

is a matter that should be studied carefully. It must be instantly available, and yet not

in the way when not in use. If it sticks out and catches your clothes as you pass, it is

definitely out of place. A pie tin will want to be stored near the baking center, where

pies are made. Kettle lids will be stored near the stove, as the lid is generally put on

after the kettle is on the stove. The same holds for small items: cutlery, kitchen

hardware, strainers, colanders, rolling pins, etc.

Be sure that a thing is not made inaccessible by the activity that calls for its use, as

placing the measuring spoons or cups under the mixing board that is pulled out

when you start to bake.

Some people like to hang up kettles and long-handled pieces of equipment instead

of putting them away in drawers and cupboards. This practice works well for a few

pieces, but too many things exposed tend to make a kitchen look cluttered, and they

also collect dust unless they are used frequently. A few utensils exposed add interest,

whereas too many spoil the effect.

For efficiency it is usually better, instead of having too many pieces of equipment, to

get the best and use them frequently. Every good workman has a few tools that he

uses almost to the exclusion of everything else. The problem of storage is greatly

simplified, if not too many kettles, pans, lids, etc., are used. It might be a good idea

to have good convenient places for the most used items, and to have a general

storage area for the things that are not used so often, the things that well-meaning

friends give for wedding presents, birthday gifts, anniversary acquisitions, and

Christmas gadgets.

Avoid placing things so that three or four have to be moved to get the one that is

needed. That is what I have against these nested mixing bowls and similar gadgets. If

you can reach for the bowl you want and get it in one motion without having to

molest a half dozen others, you will greatly increase the efficiency of the storage

area of your kitchen.

Shelves spaced near together will help you to store more things near where you

want them; if the shelves are too far apart, much valuable storage is wasted. Of

course, somewhere you need one shelf with a wider spacing for tall things. Some

people labour under the mistaken notion that all shelves should be the same

distance apart. Get as wide a variation in the spacing of shelves as you can, as this

will help you to store various sized things more efficiently. The right way is to

measure the things to be stored and make the spaces to fit them, with just enough

extra room to make them handy and readily accessible.

The supermarket has changed the culinary life of the average American housekeeper.

Let the stores store the supplies. We get it when we want it, without having to make

provision for storage of large quantities of food. Many thrifty housekeepers, however,

like to have room for a certain amount of food stocks on hand. Since it is often

cheaper to buy canned goods by the case than to buy a can at a time, plan the

shelves in the store room so that tin cans can be accommodated. It is recommended

by the civil defence that supplies for a few days be kept on hand to tide the family

over an emergency. This is only good sense, for a strike, a natural disaster, or other

unforeseen circumstances might easily cut off supplies for a week or two, and the

family that has a few groceries on hand will be much better off than those who must

run to the market before every meal.

Let us plan on a reasonable amount of storage space for food supplies. Perhaps not

the old smokehouse that grandma was so proud to have well stocked, or the root

house that housed potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, apples, and cabbage, but a small

space somewhere that can hold a few days' supply of food is a necessity. Let us plan

the kitchen for efficiency so that the family can be well fed with a mini-mum of

effort.

With today's modern automatic washers, it is entirely possible and proper to place a

washer with a dryer above it in the kitchen and eliminate the so-called utility room,

thus saving in the total space of the house, or using the space for something else.

Wash day isn't what it used to be. This way, the automatic washer can be doing its

work while other things are going on, and the washing will not seem to amount to a

lot of extra work. The aim is to make housework as easy and simple as it can be and

to get it all done in the least possible time.

An important thing to consider in planning a kitchen is its relation to the other

rooms of the house and to the outdoors. In planning your kitchen, do not neglect

the important item of the floor. The kitchen floor should be easy to clean, colourful,

and cheerful, easy on the feet, resilient, and not hard and cold. It should be

impervious to moisture and should not absorb grease or hold food particles; it

should not have open joints to catch water and dirt.

A good grade of inlaid linoleum is one of the most satisfactory floor coverings for a

kitchen. It is easy on the feet, especially if this new cushioning material is placed

under it. It is easy to clean, and wears well, and it comes in a large enough variety of

colors and patterns to suit almost any taste.

Several other materials are also successfully used. A floor of ceramic tile or quarry tile

is good in a kitchen in that it is easy to keep clean and nothing can hurt it, but some

people find that their feet get weary standing on such a hard floor for long periods

of time.

Asphalt tile is not the best for a kitchen floor because oils and fats will dissolve it, so

that butter or cooking oils or fats spilled on its surface will soften the tile, making it

sticky and otherwise un-desirable.

Although vinyl or asbestos vinyl blocks are considered by some to be excellent for a

kitchen floor, the fact that it is put down in small pieces is objectionable to some, as

they feel that there is dan¬ger that water will get down into the space between the

tiles and soak into the floor below, making an undesirable condition.

Some of the plastic floor coverings that come in large sheets like linoleum, not being

open to the above objection, should be as good as linoleum, perhaps better,

because they may be easier to clean.

Cork is perhaps too absorbent for kitchen floors, although it may have its place in

other rooms in the house where quietness is desired.

Hardwood floors are seldom satisfactory in a kitchen although they could be made

very good by the application of several coats of spar varnish if a person particularly

likes the color and pattern of wood in place of the more monotonous manufactured

floor coverings. Hard pine floors used to be considered very successful kitchen

flooring material before linoleum and the other modern floor coverings came into

such wide use.

The walls of a kitchen may be finished in a large variety of ways. The simplest and

often the most satisfactory is to have the walls and ceiling plastered with a smooth

"putty coat" plaster, troweled to as nearly perfect a surface as possible, then to paint

them with a sealer coat, two flat coats and a coat of semi-gloss enamel. This should

give a surface that can be washed as often as is necessary, that can be kept looking

good for a long time, and that can be renewed merely by the addition of another

coat of enamel when necessary. This is one of the easiest walls to maintain and keep

looking new and fresh. If you want a more interesting room, you can decorate the

painted surface with colourful "decals," or murals, or designs applied with a sponge,

or other art media to suit your taste.

Other possibilities include wood panelling, which is preferred by some because of its

beauty, color, texture, and its informal, warm effect, or wallpaper with a waterproof

surface, which is often printed in an interesting pattern.

Mosaic tile, one of the most durable of wall materials, will stand almost any amount

of rough treatment and never requires more maintenance than an occasional

scrubbing. It is, however, considerably more expensive than most other materials

used for walls.

These beautiful pastel-toned soft flat finishes are better reserved for the bedrooms;

in kitchens they are too easily spotted with grease or young finger marks to be

practical.

Driveways and Garages

Photo owned by Multichill

The nearer the garage can be to the street; the-less room will be taken up by the

driveway. This saving in the driveway, both the land and the pavement, may not be

wise, however, if the garage obstructs the view or is otherwise in the way.

Sometimes a garage may not be necessary, as many families are perfectly happy to

have just a carport to drive the car under during bad weather. Some find a better

solution in placing a carport in front of the garage and using the garage for storage,

a shop, or a family room, or recreation room. Anyway, be sure to make some

solution of the automobile problem that you feel will be satisfactory to your car.

Avoid a driveway that is so steep you have to shift gears in order to drive up into

the garage. An even greater error is to have a driveway where you drive down into a

garage in a cut where snow and frost are sure to collect, making it almost impossible

to get in and out without first shovelling out the snow.

A garage should never have a door leading directly into a bedroom, or to any other

principal room for that matter, but can very well enter a hallway, a utility room, and

possibly a kitchen. This door between the garage and the house should have an

automatic door closer on it and should be a solid core door or a metal-covered door

to make it as fireproof as possible. Also, install safety gadgets that can impede

forceful intrusion into the main house.

Make the garage large enough, allowing about 12' for each car. A 9' door will be

found superior to the average 8' door, as it is much easier for the car to get through

the wider door without scratching the door jambs or the fenders quite so often.

Garage floors are commonly made of concrete about 31/2" thick. This floor is not

usually reinforced. Be sure the earth is solid and well compacted before the floor is

poured.

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