Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-25
SHORT TALKS ON
HOME FURNISHINGS
BY KATE GREENLEAF LOCKE.
The Dining Room.

Placing dress as the hrst and most
important medium with which to charm
the world individually and collectively,
1 would say that the fittings ana fur-
nishings of her house afford woman
her second opportunity. The response
bility for the architecture of his home
is usually accredited to the man, but
on the woman falls the onus of sue
cessful or unsuccessful. an effective or
an ineffective interior.
Her house, we may say, stands as a
background against which she shows to
her world: if it is refined, If its coloring
is soft and harmonious and II it is I'M
worried by useless and superfluous dec
orations, she is correspondingly attractive
to her friends.
Assuming that the woman is aware
of the fact 1t often happens that she
Is uncertain what to do to attain this
result, though she may covet 1T. 1t is
nv purpose in these articles on the ethics
of house furnishing to practically DEM
onstrate the simplest ways in which: It
may be accomplished. The idea which
obtains with many that money Is the
one necessary requisite to beautiiul
house is a fallacy. The woman who
makes this excuse for an unattractive
home is utterly in the wrong, and hope
through the medium of these talks to be
able to make it clear to her.
One of the first things that she must
realize is that there is as much beauty
in certain simple schemes of furnishing
and decorating as In the most elaborate
French style of rocco art
The real satisfaction to critical art1s-
tic sense is not SO much in the quality
of the thing used as its peculiar fitness
for the place assigned it and its har-
mony in color and design with it's sur
roundings. In treating of dining rooms
there are certain general rules. to be
observed in them decoration that 1t would
be well to speak of before going into de-
tailed schemes.
In even the most unassuming house
the dignity Of this room should be pre-
served. At the same time We should be
expensive one not to have it overawing
in the magnif1cence of its decorations or
severe in It's elegance. for then psyche
logically the dining room is ruined. 1t
should be SO designed as to promote to
the uttermost the feeling of geniality and
good cheer, and the decoration can ac-
tually go far toward furthering this most
desirable result.
The colonial dining room is APT to be
cold in its suggestion, and l have often
corrected this fault by a discreet use
Of potted plants, inside window boxes,
ETC.. The Dutch dining room sometimes
degenerates into a bromidial use of stems
and platters, and l have seen a French
room that was wearisonle in its tapes
tries gildings and rocco effects. The
corrective for all of these faillngs, 1t
goes without saying. is good taste.
The dining room in a moderately ex-
pensive house may be quiet yet cheerful
IL the walls have plain paper used with
wood paneling.v A small room should
never have tapestry above the wAinscot-
ing. as this effect is to lessen the size
Of the room and render it stuffy.
Figured goods are seldom as effective
for window draperies as plain material,
and chintz dining room Is an offense
against good taste.
With such suitable decorations as blue
and white china, pewter, silver or brass
there is always a possibility of brighten
ing the most neutral background, and a
clever decorator is apt to select for her
dining room scheme, a clear gray tan,
sage green. golden brown or cream color.
because all of these colors show UP the
aforesaid decorations.
A crimson scheme calls for greater
elaboration and n richer setting than the
others, while dull blue or "old blue" may
be used with good effect in the simplest
as well as the most expensive type of
dining room.