The Colorado statesman., 1912-03-30
Of Interest to Our Women
MAKING THE HOME BEAUTIFUL

While woman's domain is the home.
as every one acknowledges, there is
one part OF her kingdom over which
she holds no sway. This is the den.
Here man comes into his element and
usually enjoys the privilege of "fix.
ing up" one room to suit his own
taste.
While no reflection is cast upon the
masculine idea of beauty, still 1t must
be admitted that the appearance Of
the usual den does not lead one to be-
lieve that his taste is altogether ar
tistic.
A den Is usually a room in which a
heterogeneous collection of furniture
do duty nowhere else in the house.
The men of the family seek comfort
rather than beauty, and with this OBJ
ject in view bring together all their
favorite tables and chairs, regardless
of the fact that they may be artistical-
ly screaming against each other
Now, comfort, of course, is to be
desired-it is the keynote Of the den
but this does not mean that har-
mony need not exist in the same
room. A few suggestions as to how
both may be combined may not come
amiss.
In a room of this kind more elastic
rules for furnishing are permitted
than anywhere else in the house. The
owner must be careful. however, not
to go so far as to render the effect
obnoxious to the eye.
Take for instance, a den seen re-
Gently which was done in mission fur
niture with all sorts Of Egyptian and
East Indian draperies hung about the
walls. Probably the owner, himself,
realized that something was the mat
ter with the room but did not know
where the trouble lay. The mingling
of styles SO extreme as these is sure
to bring about an inharmonious effect
which will CRATE on the good taste of
every beholder. Though there need be
no fixed style preserved throughout
the room, harmony should be pre-
served, nevertheless. In the den, as
in the living rom, in fact, in any
| room which Is in use by every mem
ber of the family, there must be fur
niture suited to the taste of each one,
but care should be exerted to keep
everything in good taste. For instance,
in the room mentioned above, the only
change that need have been made,
was in the draperies. If the hangings
had been in Indian style. they would
have harmonized with the mission
furniture and at the same time have
offered an opposing note of relief from
the severity of this much used fur
niture. The old Navajo blankets make
wonderful wall decorations and are
quite as useful for rugs or sofa cover
| ings Then, the Indian element might
have been continued to good effect in
the knick-knacks. The woven blankets
of the Moki Indians of Arizona and
the Pueblo pottery, both make unique
fittings for the mantelpiece or shelves.
In one den bad light had been
cleverly overcome by repapering and
slight change in decorations. A
north light is always trying, and when
room with northern exposure is
papered in blue or dark brown the ef-
feet is most depressing. A change
from the brown in which this room
was done to a yellow frightened its
aspect The whole appearance was
altered by painting the oak wood
work white, by blue pottery on the
shelves and, by changing dark car
pet to warm rugs, repeating the room
colors An added touch of red was
used besides.