Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1869-10-29
HOW TO FURNISH A COUNTRY
HOME,
Miss S. C, Dunning contributes the
following suggestions on this subject
to the Hearth and Home
THE FARMHOUSE.


THE FARMHOUSE.
The central idea of a country home
should be comfort The interior
sh 0uld be plain but agreeable, and
abundant in all it's furnishings. Moth
ing should be admitted merely for or
nament but care should be taken to
have ali necessary appliances fresh in
color and not uEgraceful in form. This
does not exclude pictures and works
Of art. These are not so much Orna-
ments as educators, and their place is
indisputable.
Snowy carpets, rich furniture, and
the expensive but graceful frivoliries
which make a toWn-house charming
are entirely out of place on farm, no
matter how wealthy its owner may be.
The first thing wanted in a farm
house is abundance of linen stores,
and eonveniences for work aud person
al use. A farm amily demands an
overhoWing supply of these things
much more than a town one, and yet
is almost invariably deficient Farm
work is dirty work, though not by any
means necessarily foul work, and it
demands an unlimited supply of sthe
conditions for keeping clean. Before
she buys yard Of carpet or cane
seat chair, farm house keeper ought
to furnish her linen closet so abund-
antly that soiled towel or pillow case
should be thing unknown in her
household. a.-
So we begin at the heart Of neeessi-
ty for a country home-the kitchen,
the pantry, the linen room. More at
tention should be given to make these
parts of the house pleasant. The
wall of the kitchen should be more
nicely finished than that of the parlor,
because it is subject to more trying at
mosphere, and needs to be made fresh
oftener. Some kind of hard finish
that can be washed like glass is the
desired object | hope to see the time
when cheap porcelain tiles will be at
tainable for common houses, as they
are used in the Queens dairy-house
and aud on many of the best farms in
England. For the present, however,
the best thing is to paint the walls in
shaded white. No clay or drab tinges
for room from whose surroundings
many a life takes its color. A sunny
tinge, or the pale absinthe color, blue
white or greenish-white, are cheerful
and cool. Don't speak of colors not
not showing dirt, pray. We want
those which will show dirt, so that it
can be instantly got rid of, and we can
be always sure of being clean.
Kitchen floors should be bare, of
maple or white wood, oiled every
spring. There Is no reason why the
fashion of inlaid woods should not be
applied to work rooms, and the maple
laid in narrow planks, with alternate
strips of thin walnut or cherry, like
the hard floors in many hotels and Of
fees. It gives an air of tase and con-
sideration to a room, and wears twice
as long as a pine floor. The better
kind Of wood for this inIaying comes
In half-ineh thickness, to be laid over
a common floor. Oil-cloth is very nice,
but its freshness is not immortal, and
it costs nearly if not quite as much as
the inlaid floor
Next, the windows. If the house
has strong shutters-as every house
should have-I would dispense with
sashes from June till October, secur-
ing free air through the house, and
dispensing with the trouble of wash
ing windows In 'fy-months" Stout,
locked shutters would protect the
rooms at night or in storms as well as
glass; hut as faW people are read Yft0
see the benefits of this plan -Wbi13l
should never have suggested if / had
not seen it tried-suppose the windows
swing inward like a door then
through summer they can stand open,
both sides covered with cheap muslin
30 keep flies off. You see I do believe
in saving work wherever it can legtim-
ately be DONE No objection could be
made to taking out the sashes in warm
weather, and filing their place with
light diamond lattices of wood, with
interstices six inches wide, which
would admit light and yet prove sure
protection.
The shades should be not yellow or
gray Hollands, nor paper, but cambria
in fresh, solid color, light green or
pink, with striped border. These give
less glare than the buff or white blinds.
See that the cord-Wheel has a deep
fange, with a cover, so that the cord
will not slip of, and don't have any
tassels, but a large curtain ring, cover
ed with crochet in scarlet thread, sew
ed to the curtain to pull it down by.
This keeps clean longer. If any room
deserves striped awnings without for
the summer. it is the kitchen of all
others. When sbade-tre and vines
have not had time to grow, these strip.
ed awnings should be found Women
who are capable Of making canvas hay
saps can make these awnings. Gas
colors, red aid yellow, are now min.
gled with the blue in broken stripes
giving very pretty appearance. A
country house looks especially temp
ting when these gay awnings blossom
| from its windows between Wreaths o
ivy and climbing ros es.
Have stone hearth if possible, O
one laid In cement, before the range
Danish all washing appliances to
! closet or sink-room where they belong
A clock is Indispensable let it be a
| plan porcelain one, or with square
chestnut case.
The next attention is due to the sit
! ting-rOom also. IF so, put down, t,
resist the tramp of many feet, one O
the all wool Dutch carpets in cross
bars of dark green or brown, eulivenet
by thread of yellow. These are tn,
strongest carpets woven, are neat anC
CO6CEluls auQ no luGaue COdIeb lu0.
never fade. and are easily swept; on
yard wide, the price is $3.50 a yard
These are much preferable on thu
score of looks, even TO a cheap ingram
If you have a few pictures or leaf de
signs TO relieve the walls, give them
hard wash Ofsome light, neutral tint
IF there are wide. fre spaces likely t.
be left uubrOken by windows or furBa
ture, pat up a cheerful paper, with
spray of harebelis, or cluster of rose
buds. not over three inches long. Avoi,
scrolls, oak leaf patterns, urns, ant
designs which introduce living figures
When there is no other ornament, tn
paper may be as pretty in itself as yor
choose otherwise l should reoommen,
indefinite pattegns, such IS diamond
OF lines altogether. Avoid strong con
trasts of color In paper and sombr
shades. Choose the narrowest border
Of a deeper shade like the paper.
Make the room home-like with cur
tains Of glazed ohiutz, lined with blu
or pink silesia, sold for the purpos,
1t is not difficult to find dark antidu
chiufW kh ot anita a Dla5n oorpok ~ a 0w