Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-03-16
HOUSEHOLD DECORATION.

When CIVILIZATION reaches q certain point,
the sentiment of utility begins 10 he modi-
fled by the sentiment of beauty. There IS a
desire for something in the surroundings OF
the people which shall minister to higher than
mere bodily, or strictly utiltaran, needs.
This desire finds expression in all the diifcr-
cnt departments of social life in manners, in
dress, in architecture, in the customs of So
cicty, in literature, in education, and IN ost of
all in the homes of the people. Household
decoration is the direct and natural
result of the demand for beauty in
use, attending the growth of ma
ton in civilization. The present
universal desire, in our own country, to
possess, to produce the house beautiful, is
proper outcome of our advance in the arts
and amenities of modern life. 4Esthc,icism
i. not delicate plant of foreign growth,
transferred to the strong, fresh soil of the
West. The love for the beautiful was not
brought here by cifetc enthusiasts of the
Old World. IL has sprung up OF its own
free nature among us, when the conditions
of growth and development were supplied.
No bitter breath Of mistaken ridcule will
kill it, for it has taken root in the hearts and
homes of the people. 1t is the rightful out
growth OF American civilization.
But the desire for and love Of the beautiful is
still in its infancy among us. There is much
in what may be called the new popular art
movement which is not only out of harmony
with the spirit and the principles of true art,
but essentially absurd. Crude ideas of the
beautiful are particularly prevalent in what
is known as household decoration. This is
the province of art in which all householders
and all wives think themselves appointed
high priests because they own houses
and keep houses. Nothing could be more
absurd. There is no supreme JUNCTION in
ordeal of passing from boarding to
a dwelling house, which constitutes
either man or woman an artist. Mar
riagc certainly does work some miracles,
but it does not make an artist of man who
can not paint picket fence and match the
trimmings, nor a long wasted aesthetic of the
young lady who docs not know the differ
encc between an oil painting and rc.touch-
ed chrome. The great fault with most of
the interiors of our American homes, which
aim to be artistic, is want of appropriateness.
The first requisite of household decoration is
not to get house, or to get n husband, but
| 70 nf tIn Nr;n ni,ln e ri
The ordinary way of furnishing house
in accordance with the modern
ideas of fine art decoration is to
visit the grand Junk shop of some
and oriental panels, and order n few thousand
dollars worth of high art aud straight backed
chairs to be sent to No. - before noon. Then
this decorative kaleidoscope is broken open
and distributed heltcr-skcltcr through half-a-
dozen tiled, frescoed and bare looking rooms,
and the proprietor and his wife sit down to
tea at u round mosaic table IN front of a very
fitful aud unsatisfactory blaze in an old-fash-
Toned fireplace, and catch such colds that
they have 10 hang over the kitchen range
for two days in order to get thawed out.
The true idea OF household decoration
is not beauty for use, but beauty in use. The
nstheticism which does away with comfort
and appropriateness is not genuine art. There
is more uutidiness and boorishness in an ILL
arranged parlor or living-room, even though
| it bristles with Venetian vases, thistles, sum
| flowers and straightforward chairs, than 10
al neatly sanded kitchen with plain deal
chairs and rows of polished pans and kettles
around the wall. And again, in the articles
of furniture which are commonly provided
for the house beautiful, there is much bad
taste displayed. All attempts at household
! decoration which result SIMPLY in the pro-
duction Of articles that must necessarily be
easily defaccd by use or wear or dust are fu-
tile and false in principle. The home Is first
of all for use and comfort. Chairs are made
| to sit in; beds and couches are to rest on /;