Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-06-24
In THE SUMMER HOUSE.
Simplicity in Furnishings Prevails Ac-
cording to Prominent Furni-
ture Dealers.

tuIe Dealers.
The feature of this years trade in fur
nishing summer cottages, say the fur
niture dealers, is the passion for sim
plicity. In the selection of summer fur
nishings of all sorts, the homemaker
seems to aim at primeval simplicity and
sensibeness of living. This may be due
to the fact that city folk live strenuous
winter life and really hunger for quiet
in summer; or II may be due to one of
those unwritten mandates of Dame
Fashion, who invades even the furniture
world.
Be that as it may, the fact remains
that the family which takes possession
of a summer home, whether for three
months or one, no longer drags out fur
nishings from its town house, but buys
inexpensive furniture and household es-
sentials. which are delivered at the ex-
pense of the firm which sells them. thus
saving considerable i'll freight, express
and carriage.
If the country house is taken on a
lease for several seasons-and many are
now rented in this way-the household
goods are not moved back TO town, but
left in charge of some neighborhood care
taker, who goes through the house at
intervals to see that neither thieves nor
rats break in to destroy.
To meet this demand the trade has
supplied all sorts of light furniture, in
expensive hangings and space-saving de-
vices.
For the bedrooms the furnishings are
almost Spartan in their simplicity. The
favorite arrangement shows a rug OF
finely woven mating. to place before
the bed, another for the washstand,
low, iron cot, chest of drawers, an
easy chair, a good-slZed hanging mirror
and a washstand. When the house is
supplied with running water the wash
stand is unnecessary, but as few country
houses. built for summer rental only, are
blessed with this convenience, there is a
brisk trade III light iron washstands.
painted in white enamel, with an enamel
pitcher to set in the stationery basin.
The up-to-date summer housewife de-
votes her energies to making the porch
and the living room attractive, as very
little time is spent in bedrooms. In the
real country home there is no drawing
room, but a big, roomy, delightful living
room, and for this apartment rush furni-
ture is the correct thing. 1t comes in
various colors, but green enjoys the
greatest pOpularity-a green that IS Il
cross between hunters green and olive.
Every piece of furniture imaginable
comes in this make. There are book
cases, low and rOOmy, with a shelf on
top for ornaments, and a finish that sug-
gests a mantel if one be lacking in the
house. There is a lamp pedestal built
from five graduated shelves, each OF
which will hold couple of books. and
the whole brings the lamp just where IT
throws an excellent light on the reader.
An ideal center table for the summer
room in this ware is four feet long by
two wide, with a roomy shelf below
Instead of a woven rush top, pee OF
tapestry in woodland color tones is inset.
Couches. settees, lounging chairs, writ
ing desks, tea carts, tabourettes and
small, straightforward chairs an are
shown.
The prices charged are no higher than
for the mission furniture, and lower than
for ordinary wicker ware. The general
effect is cool ana restfui, and the rush
ware harmonizes with any decorative
scheme.
Mattings in woodland tints, green pre-
dominating, come for use with the rush
furniture, and window draperies are of
madras.
For summer bedrooms there are pretty
urtains of white lawn with borders and
huted rufHes in Dresden patterns, as low
as $3.50 per pair. Cotton madras, at 10
cents a yard and mp, shows delicate color
stripes with dash of gold thread. 1t
makes Il dainty summer portiere. All
summer draperies should be transparent
and simple of design, suggesting a free
passage for every cooling draught.
In the matter of dishes, plain white
and old English blue designs lead in pop
ularity, with plain white perhaps neck
| in the front. Firms making a speciality
of crockery Tor summer homes offer a
| good blue and white set for $3.50, and
plain white in a ware that is not too
suggestive of boarding house life comes
trihe higher.
Fern dishes are of lightest silver eff
fects, and in many country homes a low
cut glass dish, filled with field flowers
or pond lilies takes precedence over the
| fern dish familiar to winter diners.
| For candlesticks the summer taste
runs to colonial patterns in plain glass,
with pure white or pale green candles.
For the summer table the anxiety of
the housewife who watches her linen
with jealous eyes and the strength IF
the maids are materially saved by using
doylies of paper in clever imitation of
Irish lace or Mexican drawnwork. These
can be used on polished table, but they
must not be combined with tablecloth.
Washington Star.