Evening star., 1922-07-30
OR the person who is fortunate
home, or q very old one. built


|H enough to possess d modern
home, or q very old one. built
/ to conform to a certain definite
style or period, the problem of fur
nishing is comparatively simple. 1t is
we. and we are the great majority
unfortunately, who live in the monde
script. commonplace variety of house,
either in q monotonous city row. or
The almost equally uninteresting tyre
SO common in our small towns and
countrysides. who have the really diff
fcult problem Of infusing character
and personality into a house that
primarily can lay no claim whatever
i to distinction.
When added to that we are sur
rounded with and our spirits warped
and deadened by a miscellaneous lot
Of mediocre furniture collected at
random through the years, and the
amount of money available for refur-
nishing is small. the temptation is to
give up at the beginning the effort to
reach the unattainable. Although the
problem is not easy. it certainly is
hard work, careful planning and
thought a great deal can be accom-
plished.
How many OF us are alive to the
really artistic possibilities of such
homely things as cleanliness. neat
ness, fresh paint and the elimination
Of non n-essentials? Who of us does
a
white cottage with green blinds? In
the last analysis is it not its clean
freshness that appeals SO strongly to
US?
Surely the old New England kitch-
CHS Of which we read. with their spot
less pine floors and tables, their
shining copper kettles. and window
stills filled with towering plants, were
truly artistic and strong and sturdy
Of character. and yet how homely and
simple.
L remember once peeping into the
ed by some Quakers in West Virginia
while was waiting for some one to
answer my knock. There was some
thing impelling about that house that
made me long to see every room in 1t.
quaint old shelf Of books, a dropleaf
table and a couple Of time-worn Wind
sor chairs. No floor coverings Of any
kind were visible, not even any simple
curtains at the windows, but everything
Immaculate and even primly neat.
The whole place. with its beautiful, Well
kept garden and flowers, spoke elo-
quently of the Straightforward honesty.
simplicity and thrift OF its owners. In
other words, it was a home strong in
personality, although the fine old Qua
kers who lived there quite evidently
spent no money in its embellishment:
and 1t is that sort of character that
any ones home can express, no matter
how rich or poor.
A little practice with paint and brush
will do wonders with soiled, dinGy
woodwork. and there is something posi-.
lively uplifting about new wall paper.
no matter how inexpensive. especially II
II IL well chosen. Fortunately. there
are many plain papers in very good
colors on the market now at a price
within the reach Of almost every one
1t is not always easy to throw away
old things. We get accustomed to see
ing them around, and &c our houses get
overcrowded with pieces OF worn-out
furniture, bits Of brtc-a-bra and odds
and ends that have Ions since outlived
their usefulness. A really critical and
conscientious survey of ones possess
s;ons would probably mean the elimina-
ton Of more than one ugly old piece OF
furniture and cheap ornament that