The star. (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1874-1875, 1875-02-22
THE ARTS-..HOUSEHOLD DECORATION.

THE RTS-"HUUSEhOLD DECOkATlUN.
Tfe decoration of houses and OF special
(. .partments is the object at present OF a
great deal of attention, and set Of art
| ist-tradesmen have arisen, who usually,
at heavy charge and at fancy rates,
| furnish wares Of nearly every sort to
carry out the wishes of amateur patrons.
But it is not in what Narcotic and his
brethren produce, nor even what East
| lake and Cole recommend, that we are
inst now interested, much as they de-
serve attention, but rather with certain
little odds and ends, without pecuniary
value, that seem nearly as purely spun
| from the spirit of some refined men and
women, as the web Of spider Is drawn
from its body.
Nearly everybody who is interested in
such things Is aware of the great artistic
beauty of Chinese Grape; and, in the
pictures of Armstrong, Cabanel, and
other eminent English and French paint
ers, we are constantly called upon to ad-
mire the olinging folds of this material,
that resemble the drapery of Greek stat
ues. Besides the natural grace Of this
material, there is something very exqui-
Site in the way in which, when hung
against the light, its crumpled surface
transmits the sunshine, speckled and
streaked into q surface as charming as
the broad petals of the poppy or the hol-
Unlock. But India Grape is costly, and,
while its delicate tissue makes 1t fit for
elegant garments, it is too fragile in
appearance for the coarser decoration
OF a room. But we saw lately in New
England city cheap and satisfactory
substitute for Grape, in the shape Of cur
tains suspended on big rings and wing
a.. hft,n In hnir .i,1.
ard heavy folds as Grape, and as pleas
antly streaked and clouded in transmit
ting light. These curtains, of texture
absolutely artistic, were made of strips
of Russia-crash toweling, costing few
cents o yard. Yet nobody, we fancy,
comparing these cheap decorations with
the most expensive German, French, or
English fabrics, could fail to perceive
the absolute charm they possessed over
commonplace though costly draperies.
Ono of the most agreeable mate
rials for curtaining windows is
coarse, unbleached cotton. The irreg-
ularity of the thread and the roughness
of the surface, give its soft folds much
yellowish hue warns the light of cool,
north windows almost to the glow OF
sunshine. On the other hand, the tints
of daylight, passing through the gray of
crash, subdue the glare of the room, and
harmonize green or blue and pale walls
and furniture into a refreshing, general
tone. Mrs. Skewton, in "Dombey and
Son." always appeared under the glow
of rose-colored hangings, and every wo-
man knows that pink globes to gas-burn-
ers enhance beauty. This matter Of cool
or warm daylight is great adjunct to
the charm OF sitting-room or library.
l.. II fo ID TxI -
screens, curiously lackered, and covered
with every queer beast, bird, and flower.
One of the pleasantest of these articles
we have ever seen was an ordinary fire.
fame, of two OF three leaves, over which
was nailed covering of unbleaohed
muslin, and upon which the owner, who
was an artist, had chalked out In black
crayon Haunting sunflowers, cat-o'-nine.
tails, and other coarse, strongly-marked
plants, that seemed to wave as in a sum.
mer wind.
TO be sure, every one Is not an artist,
but nearly every tolerably-educated
woman nowadays is capable Of copying
and enlarging some natural object, such
as flowers or leaves, and then, with a
little sstixatiye" of gum or varntsh, she
can make for dollar or two screen as
pleasant in its way as the excessively
costly French or Indian ones, which only
vary in degree not in kind from such a
homemade one as we have described,
and which is true bit of household art,
Great use is made at present Of au-
tumn leaves, and, as one OF the means to
simple elegance, they seem to us next
in value to growing plants. In Europe,
the simple window of the poor, curtained
with netted lace, the handiwork Of the
inmates, is nearly always crowded with
| the blossoming plants. The dark, dreary
| houses of the lower classes in the neigh.
borhood of London have this ornament;
and in the high passes Of Switzerland
the little wooden chalets also blossom
| cheerfully. Hampton Court, with Its
exquisite gardens, presents another
phase of the same life, and the banks o1
| flower-pots in the vestibules of the no.
tells and houses of Paris and in Italy
| show the same feeling and the same
taste everywhere.
This cultivation of flowers is obviously
! becoming more common in this country
| but there are sunless rooms where plants
can not thrive, or apartments so occu
pied that the doubt of the healtbfulness
of plants renders their cultivation unde'
sirable; and in such rooms, without pic
lures to cheer the walls, autumn leaves
may be made valuable accessory.
The joyousness of American woods in
autumn is well known throughout the
! civilized world, and we remember moth
ing more delightful as a specimen Of full
intense color than the woods we saw
during q walk In one Of the forest-paths
! of Bartlett Mountain, in North Conway
New Hampshire, on clear day in Octo
Der. The trees were almost solely naples
and were deeply yellow, with scarcely
q flaw to. mar the perfection of the
leaves. Looking up into the fringe which
they made against an intense blue SKY
above our path, it seemed to US then, ans