Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-01-20
WOMAN AND HOME.
HOW OLD ARTICLES OF FURNITURE
MAY BE RE-FAsHloNED.

The ChiIdren's Party-sitting Posture OF
Tnfants-A Philosophical View-hIar-
riage as a Partnership-Nan's Downfall.
For the Baby.
1t is very fortunate for people in medium
circumstances that odd furniture is now
in vogue, for many articles that would
in former years be relegated to the attic,
as untitled for sight or use, may, with
q little ingenuity and TASTE be converted into
!. handsome and artistic articles of furniture.
No matter how old fashioned chair or table
may be- in fact the older it is the better; as
long as it holds together. it can be used in
some way to help furnish the home.
An old fashioned washstand can be con-
verified into beautiful table for the parlor,
and if it is put together carefully, will never
give hint of home manufacture. Remove
the back and rungs used for towels, and over
the hole in the top, intended for the bowl
fassen thin pine board so as to cover the
whole top. With soap and water and brush
sccur off the old varnish and paint. Wipe
and when thoroughly dry go over the whole
with sandpaper until it is as smooth as you
can get it. Then it is ready for the stain,
which must be ebony. To make this stain
get at the druggists a small piece of
asphaltum gum and break it up fine. Into
an old pint tin half filled with turpentine,
put two heaping tablespoonfuls of the as
phaltum. Set it where it will be warm, never
hot, let it stand four days, stirring it fire.
quently, and it will be ready for use. With
a brush an inch wide spread the stain over
every part of the stand and set to dry. In
half an hour, when it is dry, give it another
coat. Three coats are sufficient to make it a
some pressed ferns and with mucilage paste
them neatly the stand. Arrange two
groups of large ferns, two or three in each
group, and paste in the center of the top and
bottom shelf. Around these paste small
ferns in any design liked. Two or three small
ones grouped in each corner Of the shelves,
look pretty with tiny single ones scattered
carelessly about the sides and legs of the
stand
When the mucilage is thoroughly dry gid
the fern with gold paint, using fine camel's
hair brush, and going over each fern very
carefully, so as to get as little as possible of
the gliding outside of the fern. Use the
finest grade of ferns you can possibly get,
for, although it is more troublesome to gid
them, yet they look so much nicer that they
repay fully the labor spent on them. When
the ferns are dry give the whole stand a coat
Ol COpdl FafulSil, leu anu III Is UOue. 10
be sure, it will take time to make a table of
this kind, but it need not all be done at once.
The arrangement and gliding of tae ferns is
the most tedious part of the work, and how
many of these shall be used depends wholly
upon the maker. A group of large gilded
ferns in the centre of each shelf and the rest
OF the stand left plain is a simple and artistic
way of ornamenting This is a good imita-
ton of Japanese ware, and can be used for
cabinets, plaques, panels, etc, and answer
the purpose for which it is intended every
bit as well as the real, more expensive arti-
Gle A simpler and easier way of doing the
work, which may be liked by some, as it
does away with washing or sand papefing
the article to be decorated, is to paint it
black, instead of staining it, and proceed as
though stained. 70 be sure, it will not in
any way be as smooth and nice as if done in
the first way, but where time is scarce it will
in most cases do as well.
A pretty and inexpensive and easily made
table is one made of the cover of a small but
ter lirkin and three broom handles or round
sticks as thick as broom handles Cut the
sticks the length desired, and crossing them
in the center get the exact angle wanted
then with q long screw attach them firmly
together. Fasten the top securely to the
sticks, and gid the legs Cover the top with
garnet plush or felt, and around the edge at
tach garnet and gold chenille ball fringe.
Tie a bow of broad garnet satin ribbon
around where the sticks are fastened to-
gether, to conceal the screw Another way
is to take off the rim of the cover, after glue
ing firmly narrow piece of wood across the
inside of the cover to keep it together, and
fasten the cover to the top of the or ssed
sticks Ebonize the whole, and tie bright
rla II, riI
of the sticks, or paint the table white, with a
narrow stripe of gold running around the
edge and down the outside of each leg;
varnish with white yarnish, and tie whege
the sticks cross a bright gold bow of br
satin ribbon. ~.
White furniture is so much sought alles$
that to be up to the times some one article,
at the very least of white and gold should lie
found in all homes White paint white
varnish and gold paint are all that are re-
quired to transform any article of furniture
into the fashionable shade. An old mirror
that has been set aside on account of its
frame being worn and old may, with white
paint, va1nish, and one Or two stripes of gold
be converted into a handsome piece OF
furniture, for, of all the furnishings of the
home, the mirror stands at the head as the
most beautiful when framed in white and
gold. An old fashioned light stand painted
white, with bands of gold, with a white felt
scarf thrown over it, the ends embroidered
with golden rods or daisies, is a
pretty addition to any room. willow
chair or rocker that has grown
dark may be made beautiful by
painting in white and gold, upholstering the
seat and arms in myrtle green plush running
myrtle green satin ribbon through the space
around or across the back, and fastening at
the right hand corner in a broad bow. The
back may have round or square cushion of
the same shade of plush, or need not have
any. A common cane seat chair, painted in
white and gold upholstered in peacock blue,
with a bow of the same shade of ribbon tied
at the upper right hand corner of the back,
is very pretty. 1t does not matter what
color the article is that is to be decorated, it
can he painted white 1t is advisable to have
but q few articles of white in a room, for one
or two give much better appearance to the
room, where it is a small one, than a larger
number. Too many are apt to give it mo-
notonous look.-Boston Budget.