The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-12
DOLLY DALRYMPLE
(Continued from Page six1

whims, fances. They will fade. grow old quickly, lose their attractiveness, be- come obsolete, antiquated. Not so with proper furniture, made by honest manu- lecturers, of well chosen woods. designed in period that has long since been ac- cepted and adopted as good NO was to purchasing furniture?' l
 suggested. How would you go about it if you were not especially posted on the subject?"
 First, select a dealer of repute. For tunately, in our city there are several
 with whom you may readily place your confidence" was the answer. "If your furnisher Is reliable, you need not worry about who made the furniture-whetherl the goods are from the shops of Berkey & Gay, or other studios in Grand Rapids that superb mart of good furniture, which has been called the Paris of the furniture industry, from the factory of Limbert that master designer of the original arts and crafts furniture (made in Holland, Mich.); from the manufac- turers of the east, or from the far north western states. Place your confidence in ire merchant. He knows where good fur niture is made, and has been as careful in the selection of his stocks for your
 benefit as you possibly could be in select ing for your home. Gle has made every effort to have furniture built "up to a
 
 Next, I should say" he continued, "se-
 lect pieces from / standpoint of comfort
 and convenience; then for their beauty. It
 need never be art for arts sake in home
 furnishing. Fortunately, you can always apply beauty with comfort. Have some
 definite decorative scheme of arrangement settled in your minds eye for certain
 room or group of rooms matter how few pieces or how simple or inexpensive
 the furnishings will be. Avoid incon- gruous and inconsistent results by plan ming. Decide on some definite color, no matter from what object you will let the beginning of this emanate from your rug, from the covering on your upholstered furniture, the colored vase on the man. tel, from the print that hangs on your wall. Then develop your scheme with the details. I should say it is desirable at first to purchase as little furniture. as few pieces as you can possibly do with, then gradualJy add to them. Remember, furniture need not match exactly In de- sign or coverings. Even period styles may be harmoniously blended likewise woods. If each well chosen object is in itself good and appropriate to it's purpose, there will rarely be a clash Naturally, if one piece is the least bit 'flashy,' if it is hideous, incongruous, visibly forced,
 bizarre, or even inappropriate, you may
 readily expect the entire line of harmon ious arrangement to be broken, or at least unfortunately impaired If you sit
 down to a well cooked meal that is pre- pared of the best edibles cuisined to per
 lection, with one exception a certain
 course or relish tainted, or otherwise
 wrong. what is the result? It disagrees with your system, the entire meal be-
 comes contaminated and it makes you sick Do not take the chances of placing a vulgar chair, or bizarre ornament with your good pieces. If you cannot notice it,
 ;e;@ For or,fx fai1 fc the inharmonious disagreement. it surely
 will make some of your more tasty friends sick! They will be gossipng about your tastelessness in regard to your
 home furnishings, the same as you talk about the unfortunate lack of chicness
 to the tout ensemble of their afternoon
 attire. This thought. should, of course,
 be secondary. Your home is primarily for it's inmates (not to appear inhos- pita ble). Make it so, then. Select your furnishings with the view toward help ing your family. Scientists have long
 since proven the influence of environ ment The character of yourself and
 offspring is seriously influenced by the merit Cor lack of it of your decorative
 schemes, bric-a-brac, furniture, floor cov
 erings; as we'll as by the kind of con versation that goes on at the dinner table,
 the selection of books on your shelves,
 or the style of sheet music or records that might prevail in your musical
 library. Your furniture will influence you like your friend. Indeed, your fur niture should be your friend. You are constantly associated with 1t. It will become companionable, dear to you, if well chosen. Again I suggest. buy few but buy good pieces. one should buy fur niture of as good quality as one can af- ford. Select with careful eye for the future, pieces for your childrens heir
 loom. A piece of furniture of beauty is