Evening star., 1925-07-09
Refurnishing the White House.


ings of the White House have dis
| turbed a good many citizens of Wash
ington. Most people had understood
that the White House was we'll fur
niShed, and even "commodiously'
fitted up. Perhaps it was not thought
that the White House was as up-to
date in all its appointments as many
of the new houses and flats in the
southeast sections of the city, but IL
was believed that a family living in
the White House could be quite com
Portable If it were not for the number
of callers. All families in Washington
are annoyed by too many rings at the
doorbell and calls to the telephone
but these evils must be borne with
grace
All persons desire that the White
House shall be fitted up as becomes a
most important home, and that is the
idea of the architects and decorators
but there seems to be some disagree
ment between them as to what is the
best style of furniture. Some hold out
for the American colonial style and
others seem to have a slant toward
the kind of furniture used by certain
kings of France and England. There
are also modernists who feel that the
White House should be fitted up in
accord with the best style of 1925.
The average man cannot give much
help in this matter. He is not inter
ested in whether bed belongs to the
period of Louis XIV, George III
or Patrick Henry. The main thing
with him is that the bed be comfort
able to sleep on. Generally a man
nowadays wants a hair mattress with
springs instead OF a feather bed on
Stats, and he prefers a bed which he
can sit on and take off his shoes and
socks to one which needs a stepladder
to get into. Modern man has had SO
much of the open-window theory talk.
ed into him bv his family doctor that
he can get along without curtains on
four sides of the bed and a blue-and.
gold canopy above it. The up-to-date
man wants clean sheets and pillow
slips and can get along without the
bolster and embroidered pillow shams.
Few up-to-date Washingtonians now
have old Uncle Ned rub the sheets
with a warming pan before they
turn in.
In the matter of wall paper and car
pet the 1925 taste is different from the
taste of the best people when the
White House was built. Some men
prefer rug to the best body Brussels.
and there are men who prefer a gen.
uine machine-made oriental rug to the
best handmade rag rug, as seen in
pictures of ancient homes. In the
matter of light fixtures a man would
now rather shave with the aid of an
electric light than with the flicker of a
candle set in the most artistic candle
stick. There are also modern fellows
who think better of a white-enameled
they do of a tin foot tub and kettle of
hot water brought into their cham
bers by a faithful old family retainer
1t is believed, however, that the au-
thorities have these things in mind
and that they will fit. up the White
House during the Presidents stay at
Swampscott so that when he comes
back the old place will be comfortable.
1t seems surprising that the archi-
tects, furniture men and interior deco
rators in their discussion as to how
the White House should be arranged
have not called to their help a com
mittee of young Washington wives.
Such a committee might bear little
hard on Louis XIV and George
III, but they would give valuable sug-
gestions on sanitary, labor-saving
economical, modern housefurnishings