Omaha daily bee., 1911-06-04
WOMEN And THEIR HOMES,
Beauty and Individuality May Be Ex-
pressed Simply.
PROBLEM OF KNOWING HOW
Money = Convenience, Not an Essen
tiaI in Making the Home Beau-
tifuI - Personal Tastes
Preferable 70 Copies.

Preferable 20 Copies.
Women who have succeeded in making
their homes not only beautiful. but livabIe.
and in so doing have stamped upon them
the marks OF their personality, have at
tained the ideal in use-furnishing and
home-making Not to achieve that re-
suit is to fail dismally, no matter how
perfect the harmony of the effect
II our homes welcome our friends with
an indefinable sense of our presence, in
wiling them to enter and llnger comfort
ably by the open fire, with a favorite book,
whether we are present or not, then our
object has been attained, althouh Il may
have been done so unconsciously. II their
inclination, when we are not at home
is to retire precipitately, from a too-cold
and well ordered house, or II they enter II
with the feeling that II may as well be
the house of Mrs. Dean or Mrs. Clark
then II is time for us to realize that II Is
furnished house rather than a home and
1t is time for us to try and give It a soul
individuality is by no means sufficient
by Itself. Many very unattractive homes
express that without any accompanying
feeling for the beautiful Beauty is as
essential as individuality. All women, un-
fortunately, are not born with the ability
to make their homes beautiful. They need
assistance and training; moreover, to &C
cept assistance and take a training need
not by any means endanger their indi-
viduality Of expression. as 80 many seem
TO fear.
Furnishing n House.
Furnishing houses is artistic work. and
all women, alas, are not artists They re-
quire training in the technique Of their art
as much as the man who wants to paint
pictures requires training in the technique
OF his art. Moreover. while he is supposed
to have been born with the sense of color
end beauty as an inspiration for his work.
she may not even have that essential
quality to start with. She may be Obliged
TO learn to recognize the beautiful by see
ing It over and over. Fortunately very few
women fail to appreciate II when they do
see 1t, but, alas, examples of beautiful
housefurnishing are not scattered broadcast
for them to observe. Nature spreads It's
lessons on all sides for the painter, but
although it has much to teach the house
furnisher, the adaptation of its lesson to
stuffs, wall-coverings, rugs, etc, is by no
means easy. One Of the most serious mis-
takes that can be made Is to COPY nature
unintelligently, using it's strongest colors
inside house where there is no kind
atmosphere to soften and blend them as in
the great out-of-doors. Color harmony and
adaptability 10 furnishing is a science all
by itself; the peculiarities of textiles, wall
coverings etc, can be had only by expert
ence The great popular mistake lies in the
belief that any woman can do 1t success
fully, II she has money enough. Money is
a convenience, but not the great essential
Any woman can do It IL she has brains
enough TO appreciate the difficulty of the
problems confronting her. IL she knows
what she can do and what she cannot do
without assistance. Most women have
brains enough. when they are once aroused,
but many Of them lack either the incentive
Of observing successful use-furnishing or
the opportunity for attaining the materials
Personal Taste shoIId Govern. d.
Their great danger. when they have been
aroused and have admired the efforts of
others, is to copy those efforts. without
allowing their own preferences and tastes
to govern them at all. The result is that
their homes have either no individuality
or are q mere shadow OF the individuality
OF the person whose work they have
copied. The pupil OF a great master in
painting is inclined to Yield to that same
weakness, but II he has any strength of
his own, he will work away from II in
time. Women will do that, too, in their
houses, after they have grasped the prfnci-
Piles of the successes they have observed.
II they dare to let themselves CO. to follow
their own natural preferences. and develop
some ideas OF their own. They must not
be afraid after they have mastered their
technique.
One of the secrets OF showing individual
ity in house 10 TO give II the appearance
Of being lived in.
The sitting room or living room, usually
expresses more individuality than any
other room for this very reason. because
the family life is lived there. II an over
jealous housekeeper, valuing order above
all things persists in banishing from this
room, as well as from the more formal
drawing ROOM all evidence of a busy,
happy family life with its different distinct
personalities and their several intefests,
she is cutting the heart out OF her house,
as she is out of her family. These signs
of personality give soul to the house They
make 1t live. 1t is a serious mistake to
permit any room in the house to lack
them.
LifeIess Rooms.
ola g..