The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-04
Individuality and the
Home

- FOUR house is yourself. If you N are & true housekeeper, 1t grows, slowly. toward your
 likeness and changes ana changes. till at last, there you areI On the wall, on the hoor. in the furni- ture in the ornaments. in the very folds of the curtains, your visitor sees vour outlines. Her approval she mas n.rhsns uttered loud enough for you to hear. her criticism she has imparteo to your neighbor as she saio Ah' 'es' but look at her house!
 Her keen. feminine eyes began in. snectinr at the doorstep. caught .,,,,n.s of the area windows. on the vav and having measured the door Lrnh and knocker, passed on to the hall and the parlor. Alas! How often th. evil genius has lurked. and still lurks in those same cramped, crowded ..,,rv unnatural parlors! It Is time Sor ms to realize that quantity plays . noor second to beauty. Nothing is heautiful for which there Is no reason and no use. Let us learn tnat' anu "e will begin to avoid much that we have heretofore sought We will have done forever with the junk shop parlor when we realize what moral and edu- cational value parlor or sitting room or living room that is truly ours. can have for us.
 AVOID SEAMS
 It is of primal importance that the surroundings for which you are re- sponsible should reflect you; any thing else is immoral is sham and humbug. Why should your wall look like a wilderness of gaudy colors' a medley of gay chromos ana silt frames? You are not a tropical agress. Why affect Q junglef
 You are probably a gentle spirlt' loving fresh air and sunshine. why not reflect these in your house? Cover your walls, by preference. with plain' soft paper; if you cannot anord Una! then. next best. use cheap. hsht- figured one. against which you can hang a few pictures with good ehect' Do not let these be the "oil' portraits. 50 called. framed in red plush ana hronze. that many of us know so we'll put those in the waste box. If you are unfortunate enough to own them end keen tho dear old "daguerreo- &vnes" in their quaint. closed cases instead. They are full of memories .ssociations and charm; they are part of you. . Let the pictures you buy become vours. either because they have some real artistic value. which, having per ce,ved. you mean to grow by. or. De cause before you purchase them. the! have become elevating influences Il your life. They may be only carooi nrints. or something even ICE costly of great pictures. There ar few of us who can afford handsom oil paintings. engravings or etchihs' hut sttn less can we afford to ham on our walls what will lower our o~' standards or misrepresenf us 10 'hos whom 1t is our duty and privilege ' influence. l.,
 ~whatsoeyer a man thinketh in hi h.ert so is he" Your pictures ar mart of your mental food, they repre .ent one form of mental fare' there fore they should be lifting, not 10" ering. Remember. they express yo
 USE cHAsTE ORNAMENTS
 This Is also true of the ornamen in your room. They should be chol' and chaste, but not necessarily e' pensive. If the half dozen little chli dogs that sit, catching dust on u bookcase, recall little boy wno
 gone; if he had joy in keeping the there, out. of reach and safe'
 mothers parlor," leave them, tn are you; if they represent bric-a-br only, throw them on the dust hea Yney are not beautiful. nor high. a they are not you.
 l-ave you imitation lace Tor Ct tatns? Well, are you sham yourse or are you genuine? Then. why T replace the would-be lace with cleI simple. dainty. rufied muslin. It
 better for your morals-it is me nearly you.
 Let your house be you, all throui if not you as you are. then what y wish to be. 1t will help you in
 small degree to be strong. and W lift you higher mentally. moral spiritually; it will help you on tows that other mansion where there can
 no shamss