The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-04-21
How To Arrange The Living
 Room
By ELAINE MASON

The most important room in the whole home is really the living room, az more time is spent by the majority of the family in this room than in any other one room. There is so much that can be done in living room, too, and no matter how hopeless it becomes, there are millions of small things to do that will freshen it up. As it con- tains almost every sort of furniture, there is just so much possibility for odd and unusual articles and colors. No set and planned scheme can ever be worked out very successfully in 1iv- ing room because there is a continual change and addition that might distract from the original idea, so it is best to arrange the room carefully. Each cor ner should be considered separately, and then the wall spaces in between should carry the idea of harmony from one group of furniture to another.
 For the color of the flat walls take into thought the light and sunshine that enters the room and make your colors cool or warm in proportion. For q north room or one that has only small amount of light, use cream color, pale yellow, and warm tans or browns Hxet have a good amount of yellow in Sem. Never use blue or gray or green in a dark room, but these colors are fine where there is plenty of sunshine.
 Gray greens, mottled effects and even dark colors are fine backgrounds in a room where you have lots of natural hehtness. The floor does not depend 50 much on the sunshine and light as it does on the area of the floor space, as dark colors tend to make things much smaller than light ones do, and inlaid hnoleums in patterns often have the same effect. Patterns that initiate large, plain-colored tiles and the always smart black and white checks are very good in small spaces. Rugs or carpets must be considered in the same way as colors, and if you have real Oriental rugs they are better when laid on very dark floors, as this shows off the de- signs and colors better.
 So much for walls and floors. The next important item is the way you place the furniture. Keep in groups those articles which harmonize well or are of the same style or period. Never mix lockwood tables and wind sor chairs, for instance. These can be used in the same room, to be sure, but not In the same group. Also see that the sizes of the different articles bal anc eeach other, and are not all of ap- proximately the same height.
 In the accompanying illustration this type of arrangement is shown. Here we have a corner of a living room with gray stucco walls and deeper gray floor. Beneath the win dowsills are built bookcases painted grass-green, as is the floor board and woodwork of the room. The windows and doorway are so decorated that they seem arched. This is accomplished by making curved valances and mounting the cretonne on light wood before hanging. The same sort of cretonne is used all through the room-that which has a large pattern and a great many bright colors. The low table beside the window is gray with red trimmings and dull shade of red makes the glazed ehintz cover for the chair, which has the legs sawed off to make it very low. The chest is even higher than the top of the chair, and this is gray with sten- ciled flowers, and the mirror has a green frame.