The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-08-08
THE MODEL FLAT.
The Difficulties of Housekeeping are
Lessened by Its Conveniences.

Lessened by Its Conveniences.
In these days of the vexatious.. ser
want girl problem, the idea of mode
fat is hailed by many woman as
heaven-sent boon. 1t is delightful
compromise between the burdensom,
housekeeping of an establishment ant
that home-destroyer, the boarding
house. 1t supplies on the one hand
sgeesble society of neighbors and OF
the other privacy and seclusion wher
desired. There is no running up and
down stairs, no troublesome problem
of heating and ventilating. In short,
despite some obvious drawbacks, fol-
which time, no doubt, will find a
remedy, the modern apartment sshouse
will appeal to most people of compare
lively limited means as the solution
of most of their difficulties
Of course the very first lesson to be
learned by the woman who first begins
life in fat is how to economize
space. She has been used to many
rooms; the number at her disposal is
now reduced by at least two or three.
She has been accustomed to rooms of
large size, where her effort has been
to prevent the bare and cherries look
which is SO likely to be troublesome
factor in the furnishing of a large
room; now her study must be to pre-
vent crowded appearance There
are no superhuous apartments in a
fiat; economy Is the keynote through
out, economy of time, of space. of
money and of strength. To this end a
multitude Of labor-saving and space
economizing devices have come into
being.
In the first place. the average
modern fiat does away entirely with
the expensive and wholly useless par
Tor, upon which the housewife of
former days spent so much of the time
and energy which should have been
devoted to a better cause. In more
ways than one Is the drawing room an
expensive luxury, and the wise wo-
man will set herself resolutely to do
without it. Instead, let her have a
living room comfortable. cosy and as
beautiful as her taste and means will
allow. Comfort, next to economy, is
the watchword for the mistress of a
model fat. And there is a beauty
in utility. "Have nothing in your
house," was the dictum of.that master
craftsman, William Morris. (which
you do not know to be useful or be-
lieve to be beautiful 1t was upon
this principle that he built his entire
system of interior decoration.
In charming fiat. which the writer
saw recently. the book in the
living room had been built in the wall
on either side Of the fireplace. Fire
place, I say, for no living room can
afford to dispense with the cheerful
open fire in the long winter evenings
or damp rainy afternoons of other
seasons. Let the grim scientist croak
as he will about ninety-five per cent
of the heat going up the chimney the
wise house wife knows that more
than ninety6ve per cent of the glow
and the home-like warmth comes out
into the room, and she laughs at the
scientist.
In the living room, stoo, the archi
tect often reserves a nook for the
piano, although many women prefer
to have that essential we'll out in the
room, instead of pushing against the
wall. A pretty screen covers the back
Of the piano and. the squsreness of a
square room is sgreesbly broken by
the arrangement. Indeed, as general
rule, the more hooks and corners there
are in the living room the more
pronounced its home-like appearance.
If the room is small, as cit Is likely. to
be, let the curtains come only to the
stills. Pretty ornamental chests and
boxes, which the dealers sare showing
in great numbers, constitute useful
window seats and serve as convenient
receptacles for clusters, whisk brooms,
etc. Closets, as rule, ..do not abound
in flats.
The average apartment CONTAINS q
small room just off the iving-room
and opening upon the hall, which the
selfish woman reserves for a reception
room, gwhile her ssfar-sighted sister
hands 1t over to the man of the house
for "den." At the end of the hall
there Is often little jog or widening,
which is just large enough for a cozy
corner. A couch, which may be also
used as q receptacle. for clothes or
linen, covered with one of those
bright Oriental wesves and piled
high with pillows; an Oriental lamp
suspended above, and pretty India
print gathered along the molding at
the back and allowed to hang full just
to the couch-surely that is an attrsc-
tive picture, especially if one adds
Oriental bric-a-brac to the walls.
Tapestry paper Is also rich in effect
for the dining room, and an effective
background for the plates, or fine por-
celain upon the plate rail. Curtains
of Adrian net of deep ecru, and
reaching just to the stills, go we'll with
this. The buffet is usually built in
wall and, with, perhaps, an en-
pire china closet. constitutes the prin-
cipal article of furniture, besides the
table and chairs. In the bedrooms
upholstered boxes are useful, at once