Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-11-02
mansion TYPE OF HOUSE
(. HAS Gone into DISCARD
ServantIeSs Dwelling Requires Study
and Care and Plans That
Save steps
WOMEN ARCHITECTS FACTORS
Reason Kitchens Have Been Incon-
venient Heretofore Is Because
They Have Been Built by NJ. n
Who Drew Them on Paper.
ny MRS. CHRISTIE FREDERICK.

r.. The recent increase lin rents. owing
TO scarcity OF dwellings,, has aroused
serious interest in building plans. Dur
ing the war nearly nil building was
stopped. hut now more families :han
ever are demanding the opportunity 10
build and own their homes.
Passing through a New York street
the other day the author saw last
forlorn house between two stores. /;
was of red brick and four stories high.
with n wide veranda, many bay win
dows and high ceilings. of the type
Familiarity recognized a mansion"
This house is a good example OF how
not to build today. The conditions
which made this house SO desirable
forty years ago have totally changed.
FOR we are now facing the era of the
servantless house.
y Considcr Cost of Upkecp.
a. In building we must think not only
sof the cost OF producing the house. but
Sof the cost of upkcep. 1t is not so
amount of money it axes to heat H..
ITO NOW its lawn. 10 clean its hocrs
wash it's windows and serve its meals
The most economical house is the one
which reduces the need of servants to
a m ini1n um. For however we may try,
we cannot refu,e the fact that only
the very rich today can afford servants
Plain Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Brown will
either have TO do their own work or
rely on occasional day labor.
1t is fortunate that women are com
ing into the architectural field, for
surely women who live in home 90
per cent OF the time must know its
who is home only at breakfast and
dinner. AS / have often laughinsly
said. no architect who ever planned a
Kitchen would ever wash dishes in i
himself for a single week without
going on strike! The reason our
Kitchens and other parts of the house
=. iy.-0 ,iar, l,n rnf Nf.Nr
who drew them on paper. but never
worked in them in daily life.
- Must "Route" Good Work.
The efficiency experts tell us that
good work must be routed" This
means that we must pass from one
step to another. with the least pos
siblc waste motion and effort. Whole
material entering at one end goes
straight through. coming out finished
product at the other
y But take the average kitchen and
see how the woman must dance back
ward and forward, across and about
before she can serve meal. In sweep
closet to door. through hall and across
and back. wasting effort and time.
1t is Impossible in SO short an article
but it suftices to say that the servant
less house OF, the future must be built
along the following lines:
Main equipment OF sink, stove, table
so arranged 10 permit routed work.
Exits and entrances of rooms with
least waste space and opportunity for
dust catching.
Composition Flooring Desired.
Composition flooring. with two-foot
baseboards, 10 make easy mopping,
prevent cracks, etc.
No waste space In high, closets no
useless shelves or cubby holes.
Sanitary coverings, washable and
easy to keep clean, such as painted
walls. metal top TABLES, etc.
=. Chutes, ash traps, incinerators, etc,
for easy disposal OF dust, waste and
garbage.
Community heating plants to obviate
, the necessity of individual furnaces
or stoves.
The smaller, the more compact and
the better arranged the space the
easier work In the house will be. The
more built-n furniture the better.
This means fewer movables TO clean
under and fewer furnishings TO move
from place. as we'll as a more Artistic
whole.
, MANY families will soon be forced to
choose between having small, easily
operated home and hotel life What
way of living?
y. I'VE need architectural and house