EQUIPPING THE BREAKFAST ROOM AND KITCHEN
The breakfast room has no fixed position or character. It may be a nook or small alcove, equipped with built-in table and settles, and decoratively a part of the kitchen; an important room of fair size and pronounced individuality; or—as is often the case—a room so small as to be pretty well crowded by a small table, four chairs and their occupants, and connected with the dining room by a cased opening or French doors.
The proper aims of breakfast room decoration are (a) to make it as comfortable, spacious, and uncrowded as possible; (b) to give it a sunny, inspiring quality; and (c) to emphasize its individuality while linking it harmoniously with the more important room, if any, into which it opens.
WOODWORK AND WALLS IN THE BREAKFAST ROOM
Since the breakfast room is a gay informal room it should be cheerful, light, and colorful. Walls may be tinted, painted, or papered. If tinted, light pastels should be used. If painted, colored decalcomanias may be used to add a decorative note. Fruit and flower prints in gay colors on a light pastel or white background, gay stripes, or colorful figured wallpaper may be used. Woodwork, if possible, should be white or the pastel color of the walls. Since most of the furnishings for the breakfast room are light in color, gay, colorful accents should be used both in the wall decoration and in the pictures and accessories.
FLOOR COVERINGS, DRAPERIES, FURNITURE
Here—as in the hall and the sunroom—imagination, familiarity with good current work, and energy will sell more goods in less time than the stodgy, conventional, lackadaisical methods which so many buyers meet when they undertake the furnishing of a breakfast room. In this field it is easier for a good man to trade up than down, no matter what class of customers he works with. In the comment, "This would be a delightful place in which to start the day," we have the starting point for all good work in furnishing the breakfast room.
THE KITCHEN
Within the last few years, more money has been spent by the consumer on the kitchen and laundry than on any other rooms in the house. Mrs. America today is kitchen conscious and is ready for a thorough modernization job on her kitchen. Kitchen planning as an important phase of selling should be carefully studied. Kitchens should be planned to be efficient and should be laid out carefully, preferably by an architect, for the installation of sink bases, extra built-in cabinets, and other features. However, the kitchen also offers unlimited opportunities for the sale of portable cabinets, kitchen tables and chairs, cabinet bases, work tables, curtains, linoleum, pots, pans, and accessories.
The modern kitchen had its beginning in the United States, less than 25 years ago. The rise in the general standard of living in our country, rather than the increasing scarcity of domestic help, has been greatly responsible for the development of modern kitchen equipment and the innumerable mechanized aids now available to the housewife.
As usual, beauty at first lagged behind invention. Indeed the early cabinets, refrigerators, and ranges differed as sharply in appearance from the beautifully proportioned and smartly colorful models found in the shops today as the automobile of 20 years ago differed from the streamlined aristocrats of today.
In the beginning, convenience and the elimination of drudgery seemed enough, and drab ugliness was accepted as an inescapable part of kitchen work. Later, in a sort of blind devotion to cleanliness and sanitation, kitchens were done like hospitals in hard and shiny white tile, white walls, white curtains, white range, cabinet and refrigerator, white utensils and dishes. From this intolerable tyranny of white we have at last been delivered. The door has been thrown open; color has entered the kitchen. The American homemaker of today, whether her room be large or small, asks for a kitchen which not only is a convenient and pleasant place in which to work but a source of pride and a delight to the eye.
Courtesy American Furniture Mart.
Figure 47.—Chrome adds sparkle and verve to this attractive kitchen ensemble made with flared hairpin-curved legs and enamel and natural-wood top.
Color and convenience in the kitchen.—And truly, the best of modern kitchens are charming places. Seeing them, one wonders how further improvement can be possible. Vibrantly light, yet without glare; cozily warm without excessive heat; tranquil with the tranquility of perfect adaptation of parts to function; unbelievably convenient; and bathed in the glow of soft harmonious-color, they are immensely more pleasant and distinguished than the shops and offices where men must spend their working days. Among all the professions, homemaking has been outstanding in creating an attractive and satisfying environment.
Of course this does not mean that all kitchens are attractive and satisfying. That unhappily is still far from true. Yet beyond doubt, the desire for them is widespread and growing. Yearly, and with accelerating speed, the processes of modernization are going forward.
Floor coverings for the kitchen.—First comes the floor. There was a time when linoleum was regarded purely as a utility, but that time has passed. The new linoleums are handsome in appearance, pleasant to work on, and easy to care for; hence they are almost universally employed in the modern kitchen.
The walls.—The walls may be done in enamel paint, or papered with the new washable fabrics, which offer a wide range of choice in pattern and texture. Never use really dark color on the walls, and remember that the lighter you make the wall color, the larger the room will appear. As to hue, yellow tones, from pale cream to maize, will help to make the room sunny and cheerful; light gray-green will make it cool and restful; apple, or any yellow-green, will make it restful but sunny; and such yellow reds as peach, apricot, or pale salmon will make it warm and cheerful.
The trim.—In very small kitchens the woodwork often is painted to match the walls, either exactly, or in a slightly lighter or darker shade. In rooms which are larger, or where more decorative "snap" is desired, the woodwork may be done in a contrasting color, as apple green with cream walls, or a soft green-blue with apricot.
Kitchen curtains and accessories.—Kitchen curtains may be used as an opening wedge in kitchen sales. Interest in a pair of curtains has been known to start a complete remodeling job. On the market today are innumerable curtains in a variety of colors and designs. Since much originality and ingenuity is used in making attractive kitchen curtains, many women are attracted to these inexpensive items, to "pep up" their kitchens. Often they lead to the sale of a cabinet, table, or new linoleum. Kitchen furniture should be shown with dummy windows on which crisp, attractive curtains are hung. Decorative towels add to the gayety of the kitchen and are helpful in setting up a kitchen display.
Accessories for the kitchen are colorful and decorative and a little ingenuity and suggestion will get a woman interested in the kitchen. National magazines and the women's section of newspapers are constantly giving suggestions for fixing the kitchen. Cookie cutters with colorful handles nailed to the walls, kitchen implements with colored handles hung on attractive racks; wooden bowls cut in half and nailed to the wall, then planted with ivy—all are unusual suggestions appreciated by women. The endless variety of new things which may be suggested for the kitchen is a veritable gold mine for the salesman who takes the opportunity to investigate the possibilities.
Many interesting and delightful things go into the modern kitchen which were unknown in those of 20 years ago. One sees a colorful pad for the work chair, a hanging bookshelf for cookbooks and accessories, an ornamental wall clock, colored prints, and plants. And of course in many a kitchen there is the breakfast nook, with its decorative furniture and its colored linen, glass, and china.
Some breakfast nooks are just sufficiently shut-off from the kitchen by a buttress or low partition to tempt the housewife to make a sharp difference in their decorative treatment. Usually this is a mistake, particularly if it results in a large or striking paper on the walls. It is better to carry the same wall color throughout, and to depend upon small things to lend the desired individuality to the alcove. There is no danger of monotony in this practice; while a sharp change impairs the spaciousness of both rooms, and robs them alike of serenity and beauty.
Study of the above will enable you to offer definite advice to women who want to modernize their kitchens. Even though some of the details may not deal with merchandise you sell, all this knowledge will prove valuable in winning the customer's confidence.