Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-25
THE MODERN KITCHEN
Is a Thing of Beauty in the
Up-to-Date House.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
HAS AS MUCH ATTENTION AS
THE DRAWING ROOM.
Architects No Longer Choose Obscure
Corner for This Important
Department.

Department.
Telfoil
In the twentieth century march of I'M
provement in housing, furnishing, sanitary
| cleanliness and labor-saving appliances the
kitchen has come in for it's full measure of
attention.
Time was In the years following the
regime of our great grandmothers when the
kitchen was the heart of the house-full of
sunshine, cheer and homely comfort. Then
the swing of the pendulum took it in just
the other direction.
Tucked away in the bowels of the earth
or lodged in the extreme rear of tele
scope-shaped building, where no ray of
sunshine ever can be found" with nothing
more cheerful to look at than a line Of
tapping household linen or the high board
fence of a much-restricted area. 1t was
gloomy in the extreme and sitting with the
commingled odors and fumes of cooking
and laundering
Black beetles and reaches throve and
multiplied in it's dark recesses, despite the
best efforts of the housewife. No atten
| ton paid to the Improvement of uten-
sis, and the same pOnderOuS iron pots and
| spiders that swung on the crane Of the
! open fireplace or rested on the Goals taxed
| the cooks best endeavors to manipulate
them on the top Of the high stove.
The Up-to-Date Kitchen.
But today thanks largely to the in
creased interest taken in domestic science
by classes established In schools and col
| leges. the modern kitchen stands forth
bright, thoroughly inflated, germ proof,
and furnished with enamel marble or
| 1ata hat hoy iS 1p1nS ~ for
the absorption of odors moisture.
The arrangements of the new kitchen
tend to compactneSS. This is especially
true in the large cities, where every foot
of land Is at premium. A few years ago
some architects in building a number of
fine residences placed the kitchen at the
top of the house to allow the odors from
the cooking to pass away without permeat-
! ing the other apartments. This WAS usual
~ judged mistake, as the passage of sup
plies in through the house and the kitchen
refuse out proved almost as unpleasant
the nuisance 1t planned to eliminate.
Then new plans were made for ventila-
ton, which. according to the architects who
are authorities kitchens, is the first
thing to be considered In some of the
most up-to-date houses this was attained
by keeping the air of the entire house UNI
der constant pressure by means of electric
fans Air WAS brought in, rendered dust
! less by contact with water, heated by pas
sage through coils of steam and carried
through the house This pushed out all
odors and gases at the nearest exit. 1t
proved too expensive, however. tor the Or
binary house builder.
\ satisfactory plan employed in many
of the newer houses is to build the range
in the remote corner of the room near the
main Ventilating shaft. a large hood over
the range placed as low as is convenient
for the cook to work under, COLLECTS all the
steam and odors and passes them out of
| the house.
Electric Ranges in High Favor.
! The best ranges are now made Of sheet
steel and mallea BILE iron, with asbestos lin
ing for the fues and ovens. No frebricks
are used and much less fuel is required
than In the old ones. These ranges are
made with combination coal and gas appa-
ratus so that either may be used.
| The electric range is making its way in
| some of the homes of milliOnaireS, when
/ the chefs have to be electricians well as
! masters of cookery. II is also used in many
I of the most exclusive small apartments in
! New York and Chicago.
| In the latter case the range is made of
/ heavy earthenware or soapstone. solid or
built Of tiles 1t consists simply of series
of shelves with points Of attachment to let
/ the current into the back.
In elaborate kitchens the buffers pantry
/ has plate warmer also heated by cleo
/ tricity where the temperature can be kept
/ at exactly the right point by means of an
{ automatic switch.
| a charcoal broiler for steaks and chops
and bain-marie for keeping foods hot
| while waiting for their service are also
! considered necessities in large modern
kitchens, while an Aladdin oven for long
| slow cooking appeals to the housewife who
| has sat as a disciple at the feet of BOS-
| tons noted dieticians.
How Walls and Floors Are Treated
The walls of the kitchens in the new
dwelling and apartment houses are tiled
cemented, made of vitritied brick, lined
! ;tI 10
scoted as high desired, then furnished
like the ceiling with enamel paint
The tile in mosaic effects or in white and
the delft blue makes a beautiful finish but
cement is equally sanitary, vastly cheaper
and when thoroughly enameled is both
water and Vermin proof
There are differences of opinion regarding
the treatment of the floor. While vitrifed
| tiling laid on in hydraulic cement or mo-
safes are ideal as far as cleanliness is CON
cerned, both are hard on the feet of the
workers and cold in winter. In many of
me fnest houses hardwood floors are pre-
1erfed, and these are frequently covered
| W-,n linoleum Rubber rugs are used in
| places where much standing is required
| In many kitchens the solid porcelain sink
| stands out from the wall. thus allowing
all sides to be thoroughly cleaned. The
| pipes are nickel plated and fully exposed
In one well ordered kitchen walls floors
| ceilings, sinks and mortars are all of white
| marble. but the cooks table is of white
| Inches
thick The beauty of this is that 1t is
practically noiseless. and the cook can bea t
and pound away without awakening the
| household.
| The dressers are usually of hardwood
| though in some of the model kitchens thew
| have shelves, sides and doors of Italian
| marble with hinges and fastenings of
| bronze.
Electric lights arranged that a
| flood of light can be turned on every pa rt
of the kitchen.
Above and back of the cooks table are
heavy brass or nickel rods. upon which are
hung an orderly row of shining saucepans
and utensils to be used in the prepare ton
of the coming meal
Up-to-Date and Novel Fittings
The fittings deserve chapter to them
| selves When there men cooks taste
runs to copper, Its FURNISHED surface lend
ing charming coloring to the room In a
New York millionaire's kitchen the copper
utensils have wrought iron handles with
ornamentations copied from special pieces
In the Cluny and other museums In a
Chicago kitchen the pots and saucepans
are of copper lined with silver while a
| noted Phlladelphian, resident in Paris