The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1928-09-27


towels which are manifestly made to
be used.
That is the keynote of the whole
place. Everything is genuine, COM
Portable, livable.
Everyone knows, nowadays, that
| Mrs. Hoover planned the house her
self and superintended the building of
| it, so that it is a definite expression
of her ideals Of home making. and
| that she said she had walls only
where it was absolutely necessary to
keep books and papers and clothing
in, or the amiable California weather
out, and for the rest, roofs, in true
pueblo fashion, fiat roofs on differ
ent levels, where they read and rest
and meet their friends, day dream or
doze or dine! For practically all the
year they use the roofs for sitting
rooms. There are cushions on the
! stone copings and hammocks and
swings and reed and wicker chairs
| and everything is comfortable and
well used, and just a little worn
shabby here and there-the sort of
things which are reluctantly discard
ed because they are so deeply en-
trenched in the life of the household.
No Ultra Modern Ideas
Mrs. Hoover manages the very
rare and satisfying effect of an alb
solutely unstudied ensemble. Her
things seem to belong together by
| r;obt 90 nd
harmony. 1t is cheerfully evident
that no ultra modern decorator has
been given a free hand to experiment
with bizarre combinations: Mrs. Hoov.
ers house is as clearly her own, and
an echo of her own personality, as
her clothes are.
There is just one picture in the
large, finely proportioned indoor liv-
ing room, a painting by the Califor-
MIA artist, Francis McComas, Of an
ancient Indian pueblo dwelling, the
motif for the whole thing.
Mr.. Hoover, standing before it with
friends one day, said, well, give US
a couple of hundred years and this
house will look as mellow and inter-
esting as that does!"
In the dining room there is a sim
gle picture, likewise California des-
magic in it, by A. l.. Groll. Mrs. Hoo
yer feels that the walls Of a Califor-
MIA country house do not need much
in the way of decoration when the
windows offer so much!
The whole east end of the dining
room is big rounded window, and
there the Hoovers have breakfast,
looking out on the hearty and high
colored garden, over the red roofs Of
Stanford, down to the bay, and across
the Santa Clara Valley to the Coast
Range Mountains with the Lick OBJ
servatory on Mt. Hamilton shining
sharply in the sun.
Blue for Rugs and Gowns
Mrs. Hoover has a great fondness
for blue, a cool clear blue which, in a
gown, picks UP the color of her eyes,
and in her own room there is a Chi.
nese rug which strongly features it..
Mr.. Hoover's study with French
doors and windows reaching down to
the floor opens out on it. All day
long, when the Hoovers are at home,
as they were in early August, line
of men passes in and out Of his room,
waiting out in the sunny driveway or
strolling in the garden. At four
o'clock old friends and neighbors and
college mates come in to see Mrs.
Hoover and for a couple of hours
there is a quiet, comfortable visit,
with California fruit punch and home
made cookies, and good talk.
Mrs. Hoover, in the quiet combina-
tons of gray and black or black with
white which she has worn since her
fathers death, bare headed, moves
friendliness which is delightful. She
has very alert social consciousness,
the more pleasing because it func-
lions silently and unobtrusively. In
the midst of an anecdote of Aus
tralia-and Mrs. Hoover tells story
excellently well-she is aware of a
small, lonesome figure in a corner,
and presently she gathers up one or
two of the chatter callers and moves
casually toward the quiet one and
wonders if she would mind taking
the friends up to the top roof for
the wider view.
Frequently, during this period, they
dine on the roof, in the full glory Of
the sunset
Never In Hurry
The most amazing thing is the feel
ing of leisure which Mrs. Hoover
manages to radiate, in spite of all
that is before her and upon her. There
is no sense of crowding hurry; she
is that rare and blessed person, a
woman who has learned to do the
next thing next-who doesn't wrestle
with tomorrow's problems today. She
has kept the comfortable habit of her
girlhood OF being able to relax In
stantly. Between two important
functions she can drop on the couch
and sleep ten minutes like a well
regulated baby, and that perfect bal
ance and poise is reflected in her ap
pearance and personality.
Mrs. Hoover's clothes are Mrs
Hoover's clothes. Just as her house
is free from the standardizing of the
professional decorator, so her gowns
and wraps are clearly of her own
choosing, stamped by her very def
mite individuality. No one dresses