Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-01-13
WOMAN AND HOME.
HOW OLD ARTICLES OF FURNITURE
MAY BE RE-FASHlONED.

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
a little ingenuity and taste, be converted into
handsome and artistic articles of furniture.
No matter how old fashioned chair or table
may be, i'll fact, the older it is the better; as
long rs it holds together it can he used in
some way to help furnish the home
An old fashioned washstand can be con-
verted into a 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
fasten thin pine board so as to cover the
whole top. With soap and water and brush
scour 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 n 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
Jet black with beautiful lustre. Now take
some pressed ferns and with mucilage paste
them neatly on 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 gild
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 coat
of copal varnish let dry, and it is done. To
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 If the 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 good imta-
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 papering
the article to be decorated, is to paint it
black, instead of staining it, and proceed as
though stained. To 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 small but
ter firkin 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 Il long screw attach them firmly
together. FastPn the top securely to the
sticks, and gild 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 crossed
sticks. Ebonize the whole, and tie bright
scarlet satin bow ribbon around the center
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 varnish and tie where
fha uti hrirl of hrnu a
satin ribbon.
White furniture is SO much sought after
that, to be up to the times, some one article
at the very least, Of white and gold should be
found in all homes. White paint white
varnsh and gold paint are all that are re-
Quired to transform any article Of furniture
into the fashionable shade. An old mirror
that HIS been set aside on account of its
frame being worn and old may, with white
paint, varnish, 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
pretty addition 10 any room. A willow
dark may be made beautiful by
painting in white and gold, upholstering tn,
seat and arms in myrtle green plush, running
myrtle green satin ribbon through the space
around or across the back and fastening a
the right hand corner in n broad bow. Tn,
back may have a round or square cushion O
the same shade of plush, or need not have
any. A common cane seat chair, painted il
white and gold upholstered in peacock blue
with bow of the same shade of ribbon tiet
at the upper right hand corner of the back
Is very pretty 1t does not matter wha
color the article is that is to be decorated, i
can be painted white. 1t is advisable to hav,
but n few articles Of white in n room, for or,
or two give a much better appearance to thu
room, where ii is a small one, than n large
number Too many are apt to give it mo
notonouS look. Boston Budget.
Marriage is n Partnership.