Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-03-26
On House Furnishing.

What would Diogenes in his tub have
thought of q modern drawing-room,
with its luxurious carpet into which
the foot sinks ss into softest moss or
yielding mountain heather, it, cleaning
mirrors in their elaborate frames, its
exquisite colorinG, and the hundred
and one knick knacks that meet the eye
on every side? But without going 90
far back as Diogenes, we can meet with
many people who, though they do not
live in . tub, despise all attempts to
make use Of the beautiful thin GO with
which We are surrounded, and scorn
every effort of man to copy from Ma
ture her soft yet brilliant coloring, or
her inimitsble grace of outline, ever
varying and ever beautiful. These are
the people who, if they must have a
couch, indulge in one of horsehair.
which, while it afaicts the eye, is not
conducive to repose. Their chairs,
also, are to match, and the wretched
occupant alternates between slipping
off and pushing himself back again to
safer position. These are the people
who buy unwieldy wooden four-posters,
when they might have dainty bed
steadss, light, elegant, and, above all,
clearly.
Not that word can be said impeach-
ing the cleanliness of the class Of per.
sons alluded to. They are very clean,
in fact, if possible, too clean. They
shine with cleanliness. Have you not
all met them? People who never buy
aowers-never even want to pluck them
when they see them growing. Worse
than Peter Bell, to them yellow prim-
rose is not even q yellow primrose, for
the chances are that they do not see it
when they walk by the rivers brim.
They are too busy specializing whether
the cold meat left from dinner to-day
| will hash up for tomorrow. Never a
thought of beauty nor dream of ro-
nance glances across the gray sky of
their life, and this want shows itself,
not only in their manner and converse
ton, but in all their surroundings. To
have things pretty about them is wish
that never occurred to them, and one
they cannot understand in other people,
They dress their bodies in strict accord
with their inner selves, not Directing
to colors indeed, but mixing them up
in such way that all their beauty dis
appears. They furnish their houses
with 30 much carpet, SO many chairs,
so many tables, at so much outlay. And
the result? Well, the result is simply
painful to the cultivated eye, though
to the owner nothing seems amiss.
At the same time it must be confessed
that furnishing at the present time,
having become one of the arts almost,
is sometimes carried to pitch of ex-
travagance. Soft cashmeres and other
expensive materials fit to Grape the
"human form divine" are used for
covering chairs and couches. and for
window-curtains, and in the supple.
mentary arrangements of q modern
house immense sums of money are Of
ten spent with what would seem to the
inexperienced eye an inadequate 70.
| suit.
eought to be as careful to have our
houses pretty and bright as We are to
make ourselves look our best in the
eyes of our fellow creatures. Those of
| us who are not disciples of Diogenes
on small scale find that We not only
enjoy life more with pretty, bright
things about US, but that we can do our
work better too under these circum-
stances. ~ .... ,i- .a-
We would advise middle course be-
tween these two extremes, and hope to
assist those who wish to furnish their
houses with few practical hints on the
best modes of uniting economy with
taste.
But we must not forget the famous
injunction, First catch your hare.
First find your house.
But we will suppose that q young
couple has q nice small house with the
morning sun on the front windows, and
those ut the back facing west. Moth
ing is more conducive to health than
the morning sunshine. How the sight
of il at once brightens and invigorates
US, and creates an answering brightness
in the faces of all but the sad, the aged,
and the dull Even the sick are
cheered by the brightness. So, young
bride, in choosing your home, don't
forget the sunshine.
The first consideration in furnishing
q new house is naturally the papers to
be used ON the walls, and though the
| colors of these must depend greatly on
the furniture, yet there are certain gem
eral rules which may serve to guide
those who fear to rely entirely on their
own taste or judgment. For instance,
q small room appears still smaller when
papered with large pattern. For this
purpose q paper should be chosen with
either . small pattern or one family de-
fined, the outlines of which do not
stand out with sufficient distinctness to
facilitate counting the pattern or even
unconsciously noting it with the eye.
In very large room marked patterns
may be used, and in these the coloring
may be more pronounce than may be ven
tured on in small room.
For bedrooms small. neat patterns
should be chosen, avoiding in this case
also those that tempt the eye to count
them. Any one who has been ill, or
suffered from headache. in q room
with one of these marked patterns. must
remember how perpetually and despite
ones will the eye counted the number
from floor to ceiling, and closed in very
WEAKNESS only to see these same pat
terms dancing airily before the inner