The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1885-11-12
DooRs AND wnDows.
The BeautifyinR Craze that at Pres.
ent AMeces Householders ana
lEakes Decorators RauHv.

II
.sThe city Shows many interesting.
and occasionally pathetic, instances Of
the efforts of women, and sometimes
men, to beautify their. homes. This is
particularly noticeable In the tene-
ment-house districts where row Of
gaunt and bare-looking windows is
Sometimes enliyened by easement
about which some climbing plant is
guided" said dealer in stained glass
Saturday. On the east and west side
one occasionally sees windows that
have plain muslin curtains prettily
looped back with ribbons, and once in
Q while rough lace curtains are visible.
This sort of decoration Is not confined
to the tenement wards by any means,
however. Passing over the other ex-
treme. that is, the very rich people
who have their windows on Fifth
avenue decorated by highly finished
boxes Of plants, take the street. on
either side Of Fifth avenue, and within
block or two of that thoroughfare.
A great many Of the houses so located
are devoted to boerders. aud it is the
boarder who usually decorates his
room. Nearly opposite me on Thirty
eighth street. there Is young couple
they have been married about two
years, belieYe-who have made their
windows as attractive as any have
seen. The wife has q natural liking
for flowers, and she knows how to Gull
tiYate them. Boxes are made so that
they can be put on the sill in the sum-
mer and inside in winter, and the flow-
ers are nearly always in bloom. Bird
cages hang in the two windows, over
| the flowers, but the birds have been so
I kHof w
put into their cages. They fly about
/ In the room, and sing SO that they can
be heard across the street Idon't see
prettier sight all day than that which
greets me every morning when look
across the street. The wife is q plump
little creature of the blonde type, and
she wears tight fitting robe that looks
| as though it might be made of Turkish
toweling. For two hours every morn
ing she is busy with her birds and
flowers.
"About two years ago. when was
| inhabiting a bare hall bedroom in
Twentieth street, became interested
1 in two young women who lived in the
rear of the house on the street behind
mine. They were working girls, and
IL suppose they didn't make much
money, as they were on the top floor
of the house. But they had a parrot
that was endowed with much intelli-
gence, although it couldn't talk.
When first noticed them they were
devoting most of their time to this
parrot Subsequently they got a little
/ canary in a cage, and finally q few
flowers. Then they introduced kitten
one day, and in order that the bird
should not be harmed they made lit
tie kennel for the kitten, and put it
outside the window. The kitten SEEM
ed happy enough, and frisked around
the window sill for a week or two, I'M
til the girls had succeeded in making
1t acquainted with the birds. Then
the birds, and the kitten, and the two
shop girls dwelt harmoniously together.
''It was observing such things as
these that set me to thinking about
window decoration, and so went into
this business. ColOred paper OF GER
tain designs is now sold at very low
price, and can be placed on the glass
so deity and securely that when the
light shines through it it has precisely
!. the same effect as stained glass. a
great many of the .highly-decorateC
saloons that you see along the streets
owe the variegated appearance o.
their windows to this paper. OF late
it has been taken up somewhat in pri
vate houses, and many a solitary
dweller in single room in big city
house pastes paper on the window
panes and gets a gorgeous effect, a.
though it shone through the most ex
pensiVe of colored glass. There i
what might be called a craze for ar
tistic doorways and windows now.
| A few years ago. when a man bull
house on Fifth or Madison avenue
he was content to have the regulation
vestibule doorway of hard wood pol
ished and decorated with mouldings.
Nothing of that sort will do nowadays.
As much money is now often spent or
doorways as was formerly spent on
the windows of a whole house, and
there is apparently no limit to the ex-
pense to which house building will go
in the matter of doorway decorations.
The whole mo -ement is the result oil
an effort to ct rid of the tiresome
similarity and everlasting sameness OF
the houses in New York. ''-Nea0 York
Sun.