ABSTRACT
The standard spatial layout of houses, kitchens, and even of closets does indeed reflect the dominant, long-standing roles for women, men, and children in our society. The uses and psychological associations and the architectural details themselves are not necessarily immutable. American women learned about potential models for their houses through several often opposing traditions of architectural advice. The two central ideas towards which changes in the design of the house are gravitating are providing a private space outside the kitchen for women, and facilitating the equitable sharing of domestic labor. An enclosed room lined with cabinets whose real function, besides the most obvious of storage, is to conceal objects whose correct placement only the wife knows. High visibility and accessibility of all the tools and the means for shopping, planning, preparing, eating, cleaning up, and storing after meals promotes participation in demeaning tasks by all members of the household.
