The Virginia star., 1882-11-11
0uF Houses.


IT your windows laye not inside shut /
ters get plain grayshades-a warm gray, |
rot pearl color, and by no means white
or red, which are equally unsuitable. /
Then rs to the curtains. The modern
inventions OF coarse muslin and cheap
lace, recommended by the ''art" writer's.
are abominable. For the thin curtains
of bed room of the parlor OF small
house there is nothing now to be had
as good as plain or dotted muslin. Fine
lace is only for fine houses and Not
tingham for steamboats, and inns. For
the heavy curtains you cala spend any
thing from five or ten to hundred dol
lars a window, but you are still to bear
in mind that the curtains must accord
with the character of your room, and
whatever material you select, getit good.
The books recomend homemade
curtains of canton flannel, with stripes
of plush, but the trouble with canton
flannel is that it has to be lined, and,
then. both the stuff itself and the lining
fade. The dull-color stripes OF coarse
raw silk, the same on both sides, are
the best curtain material to be had for
a moderate cost.
The raw silks that are made for furniture
covering are seldom fit for curtains.
Some of the so-called jute velours COM
mon in the shops this season are very
splendid, but they are better suited Tor
hanging against wall in large apart
ment. Printed stuffs are always disap-
pointing when you see the wrong side.
Whatever curtains you have hang them
from poles so that they will move freely.
A curtain is to exclude the light and
air. and therefore it should be so hung
that it can either be drawn close when
wanted OF drawn altogether back, clear
of the windows, when not in use. The
loops and festoons that the upholsterers
make show that the curtain Is not fol
use but for ornament, and very mean
sort of ornament it makes compared
with the freely flowing vertical folds oi
a curtain allowed to hang without any
, upholsterer's nonsense.
In small houses the doors are often a
great perplexity unless they slide into
the wall, as all doors should. In nine
cases out of ten curtains will take the
place of the wooden doors, which car
be taken off their hinges and put away
in the cellar. 1t will be surprising how
much room is gained aud trouble saved
il this way. The great folding doors
so common iu Philadelphia may be thus
banished with the greatest advantage
and ten dollars will provide a portiere
, that will keep out cold and noise just a:
we'll. and at the same time make th'
doors all ornement instead of au incum
+ brance.
As to your furniture. don't buy Sc
= if you can help it. Go to good uphol
sterer and get good sofa and buy some
"a good stuff for him to cover it with
Then go down in Second street and buy
+ an old solid table and set remnant o.
+ some rich stuff and thow over it, with
! out any tomfoolery of ball fringe Youl
. chairs you Can buy one at time, as you
can pick them up, and cover them will
scraps of rich material that you cal
] find at any large shop. CD on in this
way, adding one thing after another
, and you will find that housefurnishine
t is a continual pleasure that will last yor
e your life through. You will learn a.
you go along. You will feel that you
taste and Judgment improve with expert
ence, and you will gradually replac
your early purchases with something
better.