Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-05-11
HOME ROOMS.
SARAH HENTON,

What makes the house most charm
ing Is the individuality of the adorn-
ments. Everything about the home
has its meaning, whether for the eye,
the heart or the hand. The sofas and
chairs and tables are so arranged that
they seem to be fulfilling a mission of
life-the chairs are for the weary or
the supple,-perhaps the indolent or
the active. There is a sense of fitness
and harmony that gives everything a
charm. DO you not remember going
into rooms that gave you d sense of
rt STIFFNESS and ease? A happy home is
the single spot of rest which q man has
upon the earth for the cultivation of
his nobler sensibilities.
The rooms OF which I will especially
speak on account of their comfort, are
those In houses where the means are
too moderate to give an order TO an
upholsterer whenever fancy dictates
but where economy, good taste, and
hospitality prevail. The sitting-room
Tor drawing ROOM should essentially
be the "home" room. There should
be a coZy chair for mother, with q
comfortable head-rest, chair for father
to read his evening paper in, with foot
stool to rest his feet upon, while he
listens to daughters music. There
must be book-shelves In this room, even
if the house contains library. The
shelves must be for the late periodicals,
for books to he picked up and laid
down at pleasure. No "centre-tlble"
in this home room of ch er and com
fort, but a table with firm hold upon
itself and with nothing upon it that
cannot be handled and moved readily
In the early evenings an open fire is
the most desirable iOr all luxuries. L
am sure "Reveries of a Bachelor"
would never have been written, but
.or an open fire, with its lights and
shadows, its live Goals and dead en-
bersl Perhaps this room has some old
fashioned portraits, (they seem to be-
long to the room, an upright piano, a
music-rack; everything should declare
itself part of the home and family-no
over -burdening of color or draperyl
Such room IS full of peaceful aud
happy associations for host and host
ess, as we'll as for their friends. Al
ways a few flowers or running-ivy or
growing plants in the room If possible.
l have seen a room, the despair of its
young mistress at first, by tact, indus
try, taste and moderate means, become
a home-roOm such as | describe, fall OF
peaceful and happy associations for all.
Instead of the many homes where dis
order and strife are common, what
changes might be made If woman
would exert her influence for harmony
and restfulness in her home. A man
may travel where he will, home is the
place to which his heart fondly turns.
L have seen many grown man look
perfectly happy to get back to his
mothers room and lay his head upon
her bed and pillow. He may have
crossed the seas aud visited places, but
the old remembered room was dearer
than all else TO him. Girls, instead OF
being first IN the aunts of pleasure,
strive to learn the art of beautifyIng
your homes.
There are so many dainty, pretty and
inexpensive things, for the purpose of
household decoration, that can be
made at home now. The decorative
linen and art work are exquisite. No
one can realize how much the scarfs
and ornaments in a room, beautify 1t,
until it is stripped some day of its ex-
tras, leaving the plain dresser, tables
and chairs, without their adjoining.
When you go away for a visit, you do
this, to save unnecessary work for the
servant, but the husband soon ex-
presses his disapproval of the deserted
room. If you don't exactly know how
to embrolder or hem-stitch, learn right
away and spend some Of the long win
ter evenings in fsshloning some of
the beautiful and dainty things that
can be made at home with so little
cost
In advocating the beauty of adorn-
ment in bedrooms, mean that boys
rooms should be equally as pretty as
their sisters. Nothing refnes boy more
than to surround him with dainty arti-
cles. 1t teaches him to be careful, and
to appreciate delicate things that need
careful handling, and when he has
wife and home of his own, he will en-
joy with her, his beautiful surround
ings and be fitted to appreciate her the
more for his bringing up.-Leisure
Hours.