Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-25
EXPERT PRAISES
D. c. HOME OWNER
Finds Furnishing of Local
Dwellings Reveals High
Cultural Level.

w WASHINGTON homes reveal a
M higher level of good taste
than those in most cities of
the country, in the opinion
Of q nationally known authority on
furniture and decoration.
Because of the high cultural level
OF the average Government worker, and
because of the many surrounding
sources of inspiration, such as Mount
Vernon and the Lee Mansion at Arling-
ton. Washingtonians have surprisingly
attractive homes" he said during q
trip to this city last week.
1.-THE homes I have visited here in
dicate that good taste predominates
throughout the city. Attractive fur
nishings are not so much q matter of
the amount of money expended on
them as they are Of the intelligent
thought put into them"
ID. c. Heritage Cited.
Even the row houses here are far
superior to the group houses of other
cities, he pointed out. Instead Of
monotonous rows of brownstone or
brick-front homes, there is a refresh
ing and intelligent variation.
1T is Washington'S heritage to choose
attractive furnishings" he continued
1T was in this section of the country
that the finest of Georgian styles first
appeared. American Chippendale bios
somed into its full glory here. The
vast estates In the surrounding COM
1%4faY4iffn< hVyY uhn n
preciated gracious backgrounds. The
Colonial styles here have a charm and
dignity which were impossible of
achievement in the first New England
settlements. Those early American
creations. simple and sturdy as they
are, lack the distinction of the de-
signs of the Federal era in and about
Washington.
"A score or so Of years ago, am told,
1t was necessary for Washingtor1ians
to send out of the city for furniture
which met their requirements. This
situation has been changed entirely to-
day. The stores of the Capital contain
the choicest pieces made by American
manufacturers, and the decoration adj
vice obtainable at these places is not
to be improved upon elsewhere"
Room for Improvement.
while Washington does surpass
other cities, there Is still a great op-
portunity for its population to improve
itself" it was pointed out. In nearly
every home I have seen the doors of
certain rooms were closed. am Ger.
tain that this was because the home
makers felt that these rooms, fur
nished with relics of by-gone days, did
not measure up TO other furniture in
other rooms.
Recent surveys made by the Ma
tional Retail Furniture Association and
the National Association of Furniture
Manufacturers show that retail furni-
ture prices have hit rock bottom. They
are st the lowest level since 1915. IN
eSD,lch as manufacturers have cut their
ISIS 20 the bone, there is little chance
they will 60 lower. The last three
-----ee'n1aS II 1880 will offer the consumer
sns greatest number of cents worth
of furniture for the dollar that Peter
=. Public has had since the war;"
Dignity Is Returning.
There Is a return to dienified for
nnality today, which will please those
who have decried the Jazz age. the ex-
pert said The return Of the full eve.
ming dress instead Of the dinner suit,
the becoming long coiffures instead Of
the hoydenish bob and the passing Of
grotesque and freakish furniture styles
are evidences Of the return of Ameri-
can taste from the radical byways, TO
the sane American traditions.
ighteenth-century styles are the
most popular in period furniture. The
eighteenth century saw the golden age
of furniture design. Chippendale, Hep
plewhite, Sheraton and the brothers
Adam created their immortal furniture
in that time. The Louis XIV and Louis
XVI styles in France appeared at the
same time. American designs adapted
the European forms, and since that
era nearly 10 per cent of all formal
designs NAV he traced Ia that are