Search

Search this blog:

« A Cabinet Refrigerator. | Main | Plank Walls for Cottages. »

A Woman's Idea of what a Kitchen should be.

To begin with, I would have a kitchen well lighted; yes a great deal of the broad, expansive sunlight soming in boldly, as if it had a perfect right to be there. That would, of course, necessitate large windows. And then I would give as much attention to the ventilation of a kitchen as I would to a sleeping-room. I would have a large circular device suspended over the cooking stove, with a hole In the centre, and a tube leading to the top of the house, to carry off? the savory smells which the process of cooking generates, and prevent them from permeating the whole house.
For these smells, however savory and agreeable, are apt to take away something from the keenness of our appetite; or, at least, cause us to anticipate something better than the reality. Then I would have a large sink, with a permanent soapstone or marble wash-bowl for washing the dishes, and another for draining. I would have also have an adjustable pipe, leading from the hot water tank to either of these basins. Besides this, I would have sundry cupboards and closets arranged upon the wall, so as to be tasteful and decorative as well as convenient.
Then I would have a space devoted to tiny drawers, such as one sees in a drug store, and labeled in this manner: soda, allspice, nutmegs, cream of tartar, etc., so that at a single glance I could discover just what I wanted, without rummaging to find these things in some out-of-the-way corner, placed there by some careless, untidy Bridget. This would save one a world of care now devoted to instructing every new servant as to all the places of things. Cooking is becoming so complicated nowadays, that one needs all the arrangements, and as many utensils, as a chemical laboratory; and the good architect should give the mater familias ?a place for every thing.??Ex.
- Taken from Manufacturer and Builder May 1870

Found in 1870 | Victorian Living 1840-1900 | Browse By Era | Browse By Subject | Interior Design | Kitchen

Disclaimer - All which is found on this website: http://www.victorianpassage.com is meant only for research and/or entertainment purposes. If you use any of the information or try any of the "recipes", or follow any of the antiquated advice on this website, then you do so at your own risk. We shall not be held liable for any damages or anything of the sort that may incur if you use any of the information from this website. Please use caution and safety measures, since our ancestors did not know a lot of the hidden dangers with chemicals and the like. Thank you!