Did you ever stop to think about that room in your house or apartment where you prepare your daily pot of coffee? You know...the kitchen. Maybe the most important room in your home.
It is a mistake to suppose that any room, however small and unpleasantly situated, is "good enough" for a kitchen. This is the room where you spend a great deal of your time, and it should be one of the brightest and most convenient rooms in the house. After all, this is the "household workshop".
Every kitchen should have windows on two sides of the room. If possible, the sun should have free entrance through them. The windows should allow a complete change of air since light and fresh air are among the most important factors throughout the house, including the kitchen. Drainage and ventilation is important as well. The ventilation of the kitchen should be so ample as to thoroughly remove all gases and odors, which, together with steam from boiling and other cooking processes, can and does invade the other rooms of the home.
Correct size is very important: there should be ample space for tables, chairs, range, sink, and cupboards, yet the room should not be so large as to necessitate too many steps. Undoubtedly much of the distaste for, and neglect of, "housework," so often avoided, arises from unpleasant surroundings. If the kitchen is light, airy, and tidy, and the utensils bright and clean, the work of cooking the family meal and the subsequent clean-up will be less unpleasant.
From a sanitary standpoint, it is important that the kitchen floor be made impervious to moisture. Concrete or tile floors are better than wooden floors. Cleanliness is the main goal, and this can be best attained by having all woodwork in and about the kitchen coated with polish so that substances which cause stains and grease spots do not penetrate the wood. Then they can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth.
Finally, don't overlook the elements of beauty in your kitchen. Pictures or fancy articles are probably better for another room. Instead, put a few pots of easily cultivated flowers on the window ledge or arranged with brackets around the window in winter, and a window box arranged as a jardiniere, with vines and blooming plants in summer. These will greatly brighten the kitchen, and will serve to lighten the task of those whose daily labor includes the task of preparing food and drink for family and friends.
Do all this planning make you tired? Then take a coffee break!
About the Author:
Yvonne Volante, the author, is a big fan of home planning and writes for fmcoffee.com, which is the premier coffee resource on the internet. You can see all of the articles over at http://www.fmcoffee.com