The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-11-18
2. ARTISTIC FURNISHINGS.
(Concluded.O


sary to vary frequently from common
practices. The first effort OF good
housekeeper is TO keep dirt out OF the
house, the second TO get II out. From
either point Of view carpets are unsani-
tary, while they have the additional dis
advantage that they involve the periodic
bugbear. house-cleaning. Good floors are
now to be easily and cheaply obtained: II
properly painted or preferably finished
with oil and wax they form the best foun-
dalton for sanitary and tasteful house
keeping. Even when the floors are old
and rather defective the space around the
edge of the rug may be puttied and paint
ed 30 as to look very well. Often the
price OF handsome carpet would better
be spent In laying a new floor on top OF
the old one. BY rugs do not mean sew
eral little rugs, placed like GASES on
slippery floor or at a doorway TO trip the
unwary, but good. generous-sized rugs
which will just escape the edges OF the
stationary furniture around the sides Of
the room, rugs which are substantial
enough not TO kick up and yet small
and light enough TO be handled by any
person. Rugs OF this sort have the
warmth and stability Of carpets combin-
ed with all the hygienic advantages which
carpets lack. No such terrible upheavai
as the semi-annual housekeeping is nee
essary II now and then the woodwork and
pictures be wiped with a damp cloth, the
windows washed, the floors busted and
the rugs beaten out OF doors. They may
be had in all sorts OF materials ready
made or may be made 10 order from vari-
Gus carpetings. Among the varieties may
be mentioned japanese cotton and tute.
ingram. Brussels, Smyrna, Administer.
Wilton. Moquette and Oriental rugs OF
many kinds. The least expensive. the
japanese rugs. fade rapidly. though they
are substantial and come in charming de-
signs: ingram, though more durable. Is
almost too f1imsy TO be used as rug; but
anything from Brussels up will generally
give satisfaction IN proportion 10 the
amount OF money invested.
II, however, the floor be too old ana
poor TO be made presentable and new
one cannot be laid on top Of II, II must be
wholly covered. II one still wishes 10
use large rugs the floor may be covered
with denim or burlap In neutral tnts, or
with mating or wooden filing. These
should be lined with carpet or building
paper for warmth and softness. II the
rug be of proper size the floor covering
need show only about eighteen inches
around the sides. This device, however.
and regularly laid carpets are only alter
nate evils.
All the furniture that is intended TO be
moved-that is, which Is not actually
built into or fastened TO the walls and
floors-should be easily movable and
easily cleaned. This at once precludes
the purchase OF large upholstered chairs,
heavy sofas and tables. Wicker and rat
tan furniture, though not so artistic, Is
lighter and much less costly than antique
wood. With good removable hair cush-
ions IL can be made quite as comfortable
and far more cleanly than upholstered
plush and damask. The cushions may be
beaten at the same time as the rugs.
and the dust thus taken out OF the house.
For bedrooms white enamel and brass
bedsteads and washstands are rapidly
superseding the old heavy wooden bed
room sets. Curiously enough. many
house furnishers still buy chairs by the
set, without reference TO the fact that
the persons who are 10 sit upon them
are Of various ages and sizes. Fairly
well designed chairs in hardwoods and
rattan are now TO be found in the shops
in great variety. yet the prime test Of a
chair is whether IL is comfortable, not
whether II is ornamental. II is not well
designed unless II be really comfortable
for somebody TO sit upon. Dining rooms
and reception rooms may have rather
formal, straight chairs. The dining
room chairs should have rather high
backs for support, but the tops should
never have any kind OF projecting orna-
mentation which may impede the waiter 5
movements. In providing chairs cush-
Toned window seats and small sofas for
sitting rooms one cannot go amiss in
choosing such designs "a will secure ease.
II furniture be chosen with these simple
principles in mind. e., freedom from
dust. minimum OF labor for the house
wife and ease for those who are 10 use
it-there remains only one other way in
which TO go astray: IL may still be SUI
perlatively ugly. IL should be decorative
by its graceful form, its coloring or by
the charm of the design upon II. Nowhere
is the principle Of subordination more APP
plicable than In decoration; all ornament
must be wholly subordinate to the use OF
the object which it adorns. For instance
windows are for two purposes. 10 light
the house and TO see out Of; II a window
opens on an unpleasant prospect sash
curtains OF muslin or silk are both useful
and decorative, since they shut OF the
view and yet admit light. But IL you wish
to see from the window, sash curtains
are an absurdity rather than a decora-
ton. In the ordinary private house elab-
crate heavy curtain draperies are out OF
place both for artistic and hygienic rea-
sons. Wherever cleanliness Is an i'm
portant requisite draperies should be
easily moved and cleaned. Silk. wool and
velvet hangings are only to be tolerated
when there is ample service to keep them
clean.
The facility and cheapness OF mill work
and lathe work in wood has vitiated the
taste Of Americans TO a terrible degree.
Nearly all ready-made furniture is
grooved. machine-carved and ornamented
In way TO violate not only the principles
of beauty but OF strength and cleanliness
as we'll. Ornament that is meaningless IS
vulgar. In the room where / sit there are
four chairs Of different patterns. costing
from 81 so TO SIS; all OF them have legs.
Now. legs are intended as a support, yet
all OF these are grooved and beaded and
followed out in spots, so that twice as
much material as is necessary TO insure
support has been used. The ornamental
ton is not pretty. the depressons are in
evitably full of dust and the whole de-
sign means absolutely nothing 10 any one
who sees IL. By way OF ornament there is
glued on the front crossplece OF one large
chair a design in oak leaves. IL these
had been carved upon a beautiful strip M
wood by the hand OF a cunning workman
they would have expressed a mans
thought and skill. AS they are, they sug.
gest merely a machine and a glue NOT
Contrast with this gingerbread furniture
the plain substantial colonial chafrs -.