Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-04-12
THE RUNNER ON YOUR
LIVING ROOM TABLE

"Show me persons livingroom table
cover" says friend Of mine (shc -
professional interior decorator) 'and ]
can instantly gauge the degree TO which
that persons artistic taste has been
developed"
There il no doubt about it, the cover
on our lvingroom table il n bit OF
evidence which may either condemn or
acqut us Of the charge Of decorative
crime. II, for instance, this cover rs
OF bright red plush with golden birds
hnnd-embroidered upon it (tbis de-
scribes q cover | have actually seenD
then the possessor is uDdeniably" guilty"
II, however, her living-room table cover
is of some dark, good-looking tapestry,
velour, or brocade, she is mot guilty"
1t would be interesting to collect, in
one room, all the table covers Of my
Column Readers and compare them,
wouldn't It? Ask yourself il your
table cover would stand this test. II
your answer 20 yourself is in the mega
tive then, by all means, set about making
Yourself new and more tasteful one.
II is not necessary TO go TO great
expense in acquiring an artistic table
cover We all have some suitable mater
ial on hand which may be put to this
use. A piece Of Oriental embroidery
would, for instance, make lovely
cover; il il is not large enough in itself,
IL NAV be used as the center OF a runner
of plain-colored dark silk, the entire
runner being then edged with guimpe
the same dark shade as the silk.
Scraps Of Oriental silk may be used in
the same way. II these scraps happen
To be oblong in shape, they may be
eppliu1ed on either end Of the plain
six runner. rs bands, then the entire
runner edged with glimpe
Cloth:of-silver and cloth-Of-gold,
backed by more solid material make
most attractive runners. These arc
especially effective in livingroom
where there is mahogany furniture or
furniture which is upholstered in tap
estry or velvet.
Plain dark col0red velvets and
velo,Irs lined with sateen and bound
with gold galoon are also much IN
favor, as are the heavy satin finished
about the four edges with long stitches
Of self-color wool.
Sunfast chenille il another fabric
worthy OF consderatIon-especially II
the housewife buys guimpe Of the same
color TO run around the four extreme
edges
When poplin, damask, China silk or
raiah silk in some dark color have been
used for over-drapes at the windows
any of these materials may be used,
with excellent taste, for table runners.
And now comes the question OF shape
and size. do liwngroom table runners
hang over the ends of the table any
more?" asked a Column Reader IN
personal letter to me, not long ago
Yes, they do but not az deeply as used
to be- the fashion. They need not
necessarily hang over the table-ends
they may be quite narrow and come
only 10 the edge Of the table at eacl
end. Or they may exactly tlt the surface
OF the table--an excellent shape t.
choose in cases where the polished
surface of the table has been married
Again, the cloth may he little more
than a mat, not reaching to the edge
of the table on any side.
Above all remember that the table
runner or mat should never be 81
conspicuous as TO signal the eye OF
person entering the room; nor so IN
harmonious with the other colors IN TIT
room, that it jars on the nerves OF tn
beholder
Tomorrow-An Old-fashioned 'Boile'
Dinner"