Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-02-09

means more TO the family than
for years past And just as a
simple, restful "tied-together"
house makes for ease and grac-
ious living, SO, on the other hand.
cluttered, over-decorated. or
non-matching home gives out a
feeling of unrest, confusion, and
tawdriness.
Any piece of furniture Tor
furnishings must not only be
inherently good. genuine. and
artistic in its own style. but. even
more important. 1t must conform
to family tastes. and above all
TO both the social and space re-
quirements of the present day
In this connection, the writer
recalls bedroom suite of beauti-
full grained mahogany which con-
stituted the furnishings of the
room of her grandmother. The
bed. built to measure to accom-
modate her g. 2" grandfather,
had a double headboard embel-
lished with funereal mahogany
urns which just touched the
rooms picture holding; the
wardrobe, opening outward into
two doors unlocked by a massive
brass key. had a compartment
for clothing ample enough to
hide three children and often
did; dresser and commode. each
with its solid grey marble slab
top. were carved to outlast the
century.
Magnificent it was, and loved
by the writer because of it's
childhood associations yet its
ownership was refused. for what
simple suburban home of today
on a modest scale, could accom-
modate furniture of such huge
proportions
This point of size and scale IN
furniture is dwelt on here, be-
cause the first factor in wise
furniture selection is to choose
pieces in scale with the house.
apartment or room in which they
will be placed. In other words.
If you occupy a moderate size
living room, don't purchase an
"over-stuffed suite" Of sofa or
divan, and OUTSIDE afmehaifs
otherwise the room. too, will
seem 'overstuffed," and the
pieces will offer an unpleasing
lack Of flexibility in creating new
furniture groupings az new hv
ing or social needs may ARISE.
Again. many examples of fine
furniture are copies of pieces in
some past or period" design in
other countries. And. although
designed and executed by
master craftsmen" in those
countries, the chances are that
such pieces were adapted par
ticularly to those days. those
countries and their manners and
modes
Thus. the heavy "sideboard. or
the almost oppressive dresser. or
ffoor-to-ceiiing bookcase OF the
type called a "breakfront." were
made when house servants were
cheap and plentiful when time
spent in polishing. waxing or
other care was never considered.
and when all the upheavals of a
modern and annual moving day"
were undreamed of
In short, the second factor in
good furniture selection is TO
choose, pieces which are func-
tional with this present age. place
or social setting whatever yours
may be. This means furniture
that you, as a maidless hostess.
can still find time to care for.
even with demands of club. civic
and other interests. 1t means you
Will not select furniture with
finish so exquisite that you will
be constantly frantic lest chill
dren mar and scratch it and that
you are awed with dressers with
deep "boxy" drawers more useful
when women's clothing was
bulky and required more space
than today's thin silk apparel
The third. and perhaps the
most important caution in buying
furniture or furnishings. is to
purchase harmonious, ensembled
pieces which express American
tastes. colors, designs and native
backgrounds and native mate
rails. The relation or harmony
may be achieved both by design
and by color rather than by an
arbitrary matching of exact
period" or design types.
For example. under the conven-
tionar or older method of furni-
ture selection. all the pieces, the
table and its six chairs. or the
sofa and several large easy
chairs, the bed and the dresser,
must be of the identical de-
sign and Of the identical wood or
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