The Penn's Grove record., 1893-09-01
LITTLE PRETTIES FOR HOME
DECORATION.
MARION MCBRIDE.

| Cottage MONIES sHOulu We eimP'0 ~
| treatment, because in small houses all
attempts at decoration should be con
! fined to useful articles, as large rooms
| are imperative if one desires to pro-
duce artistic groups and pretty effects
by the use OF bric-a- brac. FIRST OF all,
choose good lasting colors for wall sur
| tace; let the floor treatment follow the
same scale OF color, but in deeper tone.
! Choose all furniture with a view to
comfort and durability; chairs of bent
wood, rattan, or plain wood can be
| chosen OF good form, then frightened
by cushions of chintz, silk or plush.
! AM article which is thoroughly
comfortable will look pretty if can be
placed with other comfortable articles.
| 10 be a homekeeLer is fully as desir-
able as to be a housekeeper. One
takes care Of the physical needs, the
| other the mental, moral AMI spiritual,
the harmony Of life in which one can
develop the best Of character, and
comfortable furniture is related to
good morals just as much as good food
is. Do not shut out the sunshine; it is
not necessary, for u American home
decorations are better suited to bright
lights, to floods Of sunshine, than
many foreign goods Of dull tone,
which are made in places where the
sun is not allowed to penetrate. If the
interior finish is Of wood In natural
color, pretty ornamentat1on can be Sc
cured for doors by using the upper
panels for designs in birds and flowers,
fruit or grasses. Young women who
find it hard to sell the pretty tribes
they delight to paint could be proitably
employed in work OF this kind, for
panels OF linen or silk could be made
to fit the door frame and painted at
home if the worker desired. A pretty
design for the dining-room would be
found in punches of German millet,
arranged to stand up in o natural
fashion from the casing or base of
panel. Ears of corn with the husks
turned back, branches from the apple,
cherry or plum tree, bearing fruit or
flowers, hop vines, grape or gourd,
would be picturesque, odd and grace
full, with q natural beauty. For other
rooms, the graceful vines of New Eng
land, dropping In a wealth OF bloom, just
supported by a long gnarled stem, with a
profusion of leaves, or a tangle OF
morning glory vines, with the tender
flowers peeping out from the leafy
screen, tropical plants, q bit Of gray
mons, cotton balls, ferns, mountain
climbers, and an endless variety of
such designs. The effect of such work
is fine, and the work is not hard. but
the results are admirable.
For holding ~draperies back from the
window, q very odd but pretty fancy
has been revived, by using the small
round knobs of porcelain bordered by
line of color, with q centre of pure
white, on which is the classic head of o
beautiful dimpled baby. or coy maiden.
These knobs are used to hold draperies
or to rest large mirrors on, after the
fashion of our ancestors.
Dimity curtains are fashionable also,
and they are put up in the old-time
way, and finished with a knotted bor-
der of cord.
Very pretty borders or over.draper-
les are made Of the Bargarren netting
in white or color, all the leading colors
of the season being easily procured.
White linen is used for all toilette pur-
poses, for draperies in bedrooms, for
couch cushions, and for bags, baskets,
and trays; these latter articles being
atlrched, cut in fancy forms, the Dor
ders bound with white linen braid, and
the whole affair drawn into any desired
shape by the use OF ribbon.
Linen sheets and piIlow-cases are
fashionable and supremely COM
in summer, and linen can be
Kept much softer and winter than cot
ton. If any decoration is needed, use
white linen floss.
Pretty table covers are made of satin
sheeting with a conventional design
appliqued in plush.
A very unique wall banner is painted
on curtain canvas, the subject being /
1.-THE Fisherman's Daughter" The
boat is drawn up on the rock lined
shore; there is n tiny stretch of beach
in the foreground, a touch of deepen
Ing color in t Re sunset sky. The nets
over the bow of the boat, falling /
in tangled meshes of dull, artistic color /
against the boat.
The effect is good, and this material
con!d be used for screens with good
results. Covers of fine felting have |
elaborate designs in autumn leaves or
along the borders. This is not
a novelty, of course, bat the fine treat
ment given renders these articles &C |
ceptable in many places. The fine, :!
soft, firm feitIng only shonld be used
for this work, and the brand known as
Huddersield draping cloth will give
the best satisfaction.
Bolton sheeting is used for scarf
drapery and for bed spreads and pillow !
spreads, but the fine texture renders 1
these articles difficult to handle, al |
though their beauty is extreme.
photograph cases of Bolton sheeting 1
over colored silk are made in square
form, folded like a sheet of note paper. |
The brightest of lamp shades are
still popular, yellow, red, and green, |
laden with a garnlture Of lace in white
or block.
White linen Colonial mats are
wrought in antique design with heavy I
linen floss. These mats are used for
the table. the dressing-room, or for
afternoon tea.
The newer fashions in china bear in
golden relief q touch of the owners
individuality, the most charming speci-
mems having been introduced by Miss
Charlotte Halves, Of Boston, the music
al composer, who has a few bars of
musi; on her dainty china, the music
being outlined in gold.-Cottoge
Hearth.