The Portland daily press., 1883-07-26
Hints for Home furnishing

From Mr.. Maurice B. Adams's Lecture on every
Day Life and Domestic ART
Speaking of floor coverings, he says: The
verge Of the floor round the carpet may be
treated with parquet as the best thing to do,
or be painted with clear stain and vanished,
either in some natural wood color or in
green's or reds suitable to the other colorings
of the room. Cork carpet, as tits called, al
SO makes very good bordering for bed
room.
Curtains should be either of washable
ehintz for summer use, or in a woven fabric
of grass green or brick red. Peacock blue is
more suited to drawing-room. Muslin cur
tains in the summer, and indeeda at all times,
may be used, but in dining-room they are
hardly in keeping. Roller blinds, if of SIM
pie patterned stuff, are by no means so OBJ
jectionable as some people think, and for
utility they are not surpassed. The rods,
either for long or short curtains, should be
honestly shown, and all valances or shaped
cornices in gilt composition carefully avoid
ed. A stout brass rod with plain ball or
terminal at either end to stop the rings from
coming off, is all that is necessary. The ta-
ble-covers in room are of some Importance,
and you cannot do better than obtain qui-
ct green baize, and edge it either with plain
binding to match, or with bobbin fringe.
The panels of the doors may be filled with
leather paper, if the doors are commonplace
and mean in style, or conventional foliage
bo ofGpoillod ho n1o ~ \ o.I-o
tone of the same color as the door. In this
latter case the assistance of an artist, if you
are not one, will be desirable.
The best parlor or drawing-loom should
be bright and airy, as it is associated with
our lighter occupations as well as the amuse-
ment of ourselves an friends. The walls of
the drawlng-room necessarily will be pa
pered. but this is no hardship, for variety
of charming designs are at once at hand.
Beyond the proportions and purposes of
room, other considerations, before determin-
ing its key of decorations, will have to be
made 10 respect to its aspect. For general
purposes, however, good grass green's and
peacock blues, and ochre yelloWs, with q
liberal use of creamy white, will best be de-
termined upon. On the walls are specimens
of some cretonnes and chintzes, which when
lined with plain backings, are very effective
for curtains and for covering easy-chairs and
couches. In the end. if these things will
stand cleaning once or twice, think such
material is to be preferred to more heavy
and costly fabrics. Plush and velvets soon
soil, and are even more liable to fade than a
fast-colored chintz. Short curtains in
cream-coloTed figured muslin or lace give a
draped effect to bay and other windows In
the drawing-room; but Jhould your room
chance to be large and lofty in its proper
tions, larger curtains, the whole height of
the windows will be better.
The chairs, If not old ones, or Of specially,
good design, will, probably, be very shock.
ing in taste and worse in construction. A
very good makeshift for the drawing-room is
obtained by using round-bottomed, rush
seated, black, cheap chairs, which are to be
transformed by the addition of a frilled
hanging some four inches deep, suspended
from the cushion or squad of the chair.
When this is done, the ladies' aversion TO
rush-seated chairs In drawing-room is at
once modified, if not entirely overcome
Chintz will answer every purpose, and
should agree with the coverings of the couch
and easy-chairs. These latter may be had
or a well made rattan chair, partly draped
does very well, and unquestionably is most
comfortable. The more simple and quiet
the lines are in the general outline of ali fur
niture the better, and rounded or curved
forms are preferable to squares and angles.
while honesty of construction is of the first
importance. These rules are worth nam
ing while arranging for the drawing room,
because the side cabinets and what-nots gen
orally sold for use are the embodiment of
frittered twiddlings and theatrical display
For the maDtel-piece in the drawing-room
an old eighteenth century looking glass, di-
vided out in its length into bays, and sur
mounted by an enriched cornce, may be
placed over the mantel-shelf, and two or
three mirrors about the room, If judiciously
arranged, either tilted or level with the eye,
will add very consider ably to the decorative
effect. Cheap convex mirrors, in neat black
frames, can be easily bought, and thus every
one can use them without much expense.
Besides, one or two neat little coffee-tables,
either old ones or eighteenth-century date,
in hard dark mahogany, or new ones Ct
similar character in design, seem to be as
good as anything obtainable.
One or two fire-screens add to the furn-
ishing of the drawing-room; and in respect
to the fender some very artistic brass ones,
curved or plain and simple in detail, can be
obtained readily. A folding screen Is useful
In the drawing-room, but avoid badly-made,
cheap Japanese screens such as are now
sold; they are tawdry and not worth having.
A far better plan is to obtain a light frame
OF honest construction, and cover the upper
portion, say, with needlework, and the low
er half with well set out wood or clear
glass panel, or the whole screen may be cov-
cred with japanese leather paper
With regard TO the bedrooms the first oh
serva.ion to be made is that they should he
healthy, light, and airy; and undoubtedly
more attention should be devoted to their
furnishing than has hitherto distinguished
the modern bedroom. l see no reason why
the air of comfort secured only by the use of
a valance aud curtains over the head of the
bed should not De retained provided an ar
tistic method be taken to suspend and firmly