Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-01-20
In the Morning Room.

In the Morning Room,
A morning room has become now a
necessary part of every well-appointed
house. 1t is very English, of course,
but then Americans have found many
excellent things to copy from their Brit
ish cousins, and this is by no means the
least of them.
New York houses, even the newest,
have generally a comfortable second
story front room, which is taken for this
purpose. Here the formal guests are
not admitted. and it is a general living
room for the family in the evening.
Here the society woman receives her
most intimate friends and hears the last
bit of gossip or scandal, gives her or
ders to her household, writes her letters
and reyises her lists.
An open fireplace is a necessary feat
ure of a morning room, and wood, not
coal, must be burned. The fire need
not burn all day if economy has to be
consulted, but until IL o'clock it must
be kept going.
A large rug that viii cover nearly the
entire room is preferred to a carpet
This will be expensive, for ones dearest
friends are apt to be critical, and it will
never do to have a cheap rug where it
will show so prominently, but expensive
rugs wear we'll, so there is some comfort
in the expenditure after all.
Bookcases, center table and writing
desk, lounge and plenty of comfortable
chairs are necessary furnishings of a
room in constant use. No fixed law as
to every piece of furniture matching need
: prevail, but the bookcases and a table
look better if of the same wood Inside
sash curtains are now a law, and as all
the windows in a house are draped the
same, the morning room must needs
match.
The inner curtains or portieres will look
best if of material to match the cover
ing of the lounge and chairs. Red or
green corduroy is capital material and
color for this purpose. The lighter color
ingS soil all too quickly Tor a room so
constantly used. Denim even can be
utilized for this purpose and an exceed
ingly pretty room just finished has even
the walls hung in bright red denim to
match
If the room has a sunny exposure it
will be possible to use black paint and
have bookcases of ebOnized wood. This
would be gloomy without sunlight, so
that point must be well considered.
A table in the center of a room has
long been considered questionable. but in
this room is quite the correct thing, and
a great comfort it is to be able to get
around a table and find ones favOrite
books and papers.
Bric-a-brac is not necessary to the
furnishing of a morning room, but there
will be found space for some nice bits
on top of the book shelves. Engravings,
etchings and photographs should be used
in preference to paintings, although a
water color is not out of place. The idea
of the room is q place where are collect
ed together things of all sorts that are
not too bright nor good" for daily use.
A tea table within reach, but not
prominent, gives an added look of COM
fort, and a chat with just one person,
over cup of tea, is never more enjoya-
BILE than under such circumstances.
1t is complained that New Workers are
growing more and more formal all the
time, and the stiff drawing rooms are
pointed out in evidence of how little home
life and home look there is in these days.
Society grows apace, and an ordinary
visiting list numbers over 1900 names.
so is cannot be wondered at if there
must be room set apart for the enter
tanning of formal acquaintance, while
the inner circle of friends and relatives
are received on more familiar footing,
and do not find the formality and stiff
ness which outsiders carp at and wonder
about.
A morning room and boudoir are not
the same thing at ALL although they pos
Sess many points in common, for bou-
doir generally opens off bedroom, and
u.s. indeed, a sort of glorifed dressing
room, while morning room partakes
more of the nature of library. The
larger houses admit of both the latter,
but as the larger houses are still in the
minority, the morning room prevails
New York Herald.