Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-03
FALL HOUSE FIXING
Freshening Up Touches for
This Time of Year.
- III
MAKING WINDOW SEAT
TT
HINTS FOR ARRANGING COSY
CORNERS. 70
VII
Foundation May Be Humble but Must
be Strong - Pretty -
Cushions.
MAKING WINDOW SEAT
Written for The Evening Star.

Now that the summer has come to an
end and our friends are returning to their
homes it is time to think of Strengthening
up things and putting the house in order
for the cold weather. The general free and
easy living of the summer allows a few
flies to get in: the furniture and picture
frames need little attention. There is
sand in the carpets and there are finger
marks the doors. Our plants which
have been summering outside must be re-
ported and got ready for the winter. The
bedrooms must be put in order, and the
| winter furnishings. which have been BAN
ished during the warm weather, must be
returned to their places and our winter
comfort must be provided for.
Gilt picture frames are easily cleaned and
made bright and fresh by going over them
| with water in which onions have been boil
ed. Dip a soft rag in the onion water and
clean them carefully, Wping them dry aft
erward. cleaning with crude petroleum
| will benefit the polished furniture, which
should not be washed with soap and water
| unless absolutely necessary to remove some
| sticky substance, and then 1t. should be
wiped quite dry and polished with Oil after
ward. An excellent furniture polish is
| made with equal parts OF llnseed oil and
kerosene, to which a little turpentine may
be added. This should be well rubbed in
and polished Off linseed oil if allowed to
| remain on furniture becomes gummy and
catches the dust, thereby spelling its APP
pearance.
The Carpet Cleaning.
Carpets need to be cleaned as carefully
at this time of the year as at the spring
housekeeping The gravel and sand which
have been brought in on the feet during the
summer time, while there is much run
ming in and out, If allowed to remain will
destroy the carpets. They should be thor
oughly swept to remove all gritty sub
stances, and if they are spotted and dinsy
they can be made to look like new by going
over them with the following mixture:
Shave up two and half bars of best laun-
dry soap and dissolve over the stove in one
gallon of water; boil quarter of pound
of soap bark in two quarts of water, strain
and add to the other mixture. together with
four ounces of boraX. Stir four ounces of
ammonia in one gallon of water and mix
| all together on the stove; heat it. but do
not allow 1T to boil When thoroughly dis
solved and mixed remove from the fire and
allow it to remain in a cool place all night.
By morning it will have th1ckened to the
| right consistency.
| Now put some of the mixture in a pan
| and, with this one side of you and a
| pail of clear water and big sponge on the
| other side, go to work. Apply the mixture
with a scrubbing brush as you would scrub
| the floor. piece at a time. Rub it well into
| the carpet and then scrape it off with
| piece of tin or metal the shape of large
carving knife blade with which you must
| provide yourself for the purpose After
| this sponge it off with the clean water
When the whole carpet has been gone
! over in this way let it dry thoroughly be-
| fore treading over it, and you will find that
every trace of dirt has disappeared. and the
| carpet looks like This mixture will
| not fade or destroy any fabric. On the con-
| trary, the colors will be brighter for such a
cleaning. Chairs and other upholstered
| furniture may be renewed by dipping a soft
| brush (such as may be purchased at any
| store for or 10 cents, into the mixture
! and cleaning the upholstery, sponging off
with clear water afterward and wiping with
| q clean, dry cloth.
| Keep It on Hand.
| This preparation may be kept in a jar or
crock for any length of time and will be
| found very useful for cleaning rugs, etc.
For those who do not live within reach Of
| a professional carpet cleaner it is invalua-
BILE. and 1t Is a matter of economy even to
| those who do, for many light carpets soil
| so quickly that 1t Is impossible to have
| them cleaned as often as seems to be neces-
| sary, and when once shown how any scrub
| woman can clean the carpet with this mix
| ture to look like new. This process is only
| for carpets like Brussels, velvet, moquette,
| tapestry and such others as may have a
| thick back. Japanese and grass mattingS,
| after a thorough sweeping, may be made to
| look bright by washing off with salt and
| water. If they are much soiled it is a good
plan to go over them first with a soft scrub
| bling brush and soap and water, rinSing Off
| with the salt and water The furniture
polish before mentioned will renovate hard
wood floors. and a cleaning with kerosene
| about once a week will keep them in eX-
| cellent condition.
The judcious use of a little paint and
| gliding will go a long way toward covering
up, scratches and renovating shabby ar
| ticles, but care must be employed, for the
| indiscriminate use of these materials is
| worse than nothing. l knew a woman who
| got such a fever for painting and gliding
| that almost every object in the house got a
coat of somethng-even the marble mantel-
| pieces and old walnut chairs, in place of
| proper renovation, were treated to daubs of
| paint. But am assuming that my readers
have better taste than this and know where
| to put either one or the other of these help
| full auXiiarieS.
That Useful Knack.
| If one has the knack of fixing up things
many inexpensive, useful and ornamental
| objects can be manufactured at home with
a little aid from the carpenter, the glue pot
| and the tack hammer. Corner and window
seats those old yet always delightful con-
| trivances. are very easily made, and origt-
nality. can always be used to give them
riety. model corner is covered with a
| Qellcate leaf-green cflntZ with trailing
flower pattern. Printed velveteen IS a pref
| ty material for corner, especially the art
velveteens in large designs. Art silks and
sateens, too lend themselves to this purpose
| charmingly. Care should be taken, how
| ever, that, no matter what material is
| chosen. it should harmonic with the wall
| paper and the rest of the furnishings. Neu
| trail tints are the safest and most pleasing,
| as the cushions and china may add a
| brightness to the effect. A drapery of the
material selected is tackled from the top
| piece to the seat.
Care is Needed. ..
| The upholstery is made in one piece stuff
ed tightly with flock and covered with the
material. If it is made in two sections be
very careful to have them fit nicely, other
wise the effect will be bunglyo and home
| made. A valance from the seat to the floor
| completes the corner, which may be fur
nished with any number of lovelyzsoft cush-
! ions covered with art silks and embroid-
cred designs. Pretty painted cushion covers
| or canvas and sateen make a nice variation.
| The plate rail at the top will hold decora
| tive plates, plaques and vases and NAV be