The Ladies Book of Useful Information Part 26

If you wish to make a small quant.i.ty of any of the above perfumes, use small quant.i.ties of the ingredients, preserving the same proportions.

TO WRITE SECRET LETTERS.

Put five cents' worth of citrate of pota.s.sa in an ounce vial of clear cold water. This forms an invisible fluid. Let it dissolve, and you can use on paper of any color. Use goose quill in writing. When you wish the writing to become visible, hold it to a red-hot stove.

TO PRESERVE FLOWERS SO THAT THEIR BEAUTY WILL LAST FOR YEARS.

Make a strong solution of gum arabic, two ounces of the gum to one pint of boiling water; shake until dissolved; then take your flowers and immerse in the solution, taking care that every part is well wet with the solution. When dry, repeat the operation. Do this three times. Flowers treated thus will last for years.

CHAPTER XIII.

HOME DECORATION.

The chief features to be observed in house furnis.h.i.+ng are color, form, and proportion. All stiffness of design in furniture should be avoided. Do not attempt to match articles, but rather carry out the same idea as to color and form in the whole. It is not _en regle_ to have decorations in sets or pairs; the arrangements should all be done with odd pieces. Every room in the house should be arranged for occupancy, having nothing too good for use, and the judicious housewife will follow a medium course and adopt no extreme of fas.h.i.+on.

The style and arrangement of the furniture should correspond with the size of the room, with a due regard to the place a piece of furniture or ornament will occupy. The order of arrangement in furnis.h.i.+ng is subject to individual taste, but the following suggestions may not be inappropriate:-

In decorating a dining-room, deep, rich tones should be used; a drawingroom or parlor should have bright, cheerful shades; in a library use deep, rich colors, which give a sense of worth; a sleeping-room should have light, pleasing tints, which give a feeling of repose.

THE HALL.

The hall being the index to the whole house, due care should therefore be given to its furnis.h.i.+ng. Light colors and gilding should be avoided. The wall and ceiling decorations now mostly used are in dark, rich colors, shaded in maroons or deep reds. Plain tinted walls and ceilings in fresco or wainscot are also frequently used. The latest shades of wall paper come in wood colors, dark olive-greens, stone color, and grays, in tile, arabesque and landscape designs, and with these are used a corresponding dado and frieze.

A tile or inlaid floor is the most appropriate, but if circ.u.mstances do not admit of one of these, a floor stained a deep wood-brown, base board and moldings to correspond, may be subst.i.tuted; when India mattings and rugs may be used.

The colors now in vogue for hall carpets are crimson or Pompeiian reds, with small figures of moss-green or peac.o.c.k-blue. The prevailing shades of the walls and floor should be incorporated in the stair carpet.

If the hall is narrow, none but the most essential pieces of furniture should be used; but if wide enough, there may be a lounge placed against one of the walls, an old-fas.h.i.+oned clock of the cuckoo style set in a quiet corner, two high-backed chairs upholstered in leather, a table, an umbrella-stand placed near the door, a jardiniere filled with tropical plants set near the foot of the stairway, and a hall mirror with a deer's head and antlers placed above it and a wooden or marble slab underneath. The slab should be covered with a Roman scarf, allowing a fall of twelve inches at each end. The hatrack must also find a place. Family portraits or a few well-selected pictures are appropriate for these walls.

If the door-lights are not stained gla.s.s, lace shades in designs of birds, cupids, and garlands of flowers are used; also, etchings in various colors and designs are worked on different fabrics. Crimson silk shades lined with black netting are very desirable, as the light penetrating through them fills the hall with a rich, subdued glow.

THE PARLOR.

The furnis.h.i.+ng of the parlor should be subject to its architectural finish. The first things to be considered are the walls and floor. The former may be decorated in fresco or papered, according to individual taste and means. The prettiest styles of parlor paper are light tints of gray, olive, pearl, and lavender grounds, and in small scroll patterns, panels, birds, and vines, finished in heavy gold traceries, with dado and frieze to correspond.

The styles of carpet mostly used are Brussels, Wilton, tapestry, and Axminster. A tapestry carpet in light canary ground, with cl.u.s.ters of lotus, or begonia leaves, makes a charming background to almost all the colors generally used in upholstery.

In selecting the furniture, the first thought should be given to its true worth. Chairs and couches should be chosen for comfort rather than for style. They should be of solid make, easy, graceful, and of good, serviceable colors and materials. The most serviceable woods to select in frames are ebony, oak, walnut, cherry, and mahogany. These frames are finished in different styles-plain, carved, inlaid, and gilt-and are upholstered in all shades of satin, plush, rep, silk, and damask. These come at prices within the means of a slender purse.

That slippery abomination in the shape of haircloth furniture should be avoided. The latest design in parlor furniture is in the Turkish style, the upholstery being made to cover the frame. Rich Oriental colors in woolen and silk brocades are mostly used, and the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs are cord and ta.s.sels or heavy fringe.

Formerly the parlor appointments were all in sets or pairs, but this fas.h.i.+on is no longer observed, as the most tastefully arranged parlor has now no two pieces of furniture alike; but two easy-chairs placed opposite each other are never out of place. Here may stand an embroidered ottoman, there a quaint little chair, a divan can take some central position; a cottage piano, covered with some embroidered drapery, may stand at one end of the room, while an ebony or mahogany cabinet, with its panel mirrors and quaint bra.s.ses, may be placed at the other end, its racks and shelves affording an elegant display for pretty pieces of bric-a-brac.

Marble-topped center-tables are no longer in use. Tables in inlaid woods, or hand-painted, are used for placing books or alb.u.ms on. A small, airy-looking table, elaborately mounted in gilt, may stand near a window or wall. The mantel mirror, with its beveled edges and small racks arranged on each side, looks very effective when decorated with pretty oddities-ferns, gra.s.ses, and pieces of old china. A jardiniere filled with living plants and placed near a bay window makes an elegant ornament. Care should be taken in arranging that the room be not over-crowded. There should be a few good pictures or painted plaques mounted in plush hung on the walls; a portrait may be placed on a common easel and draped with a scarf in old gold or peac.o.c.k-blue, and tiny lambrequins, painted or embroidered, may hang beneath a bracket supporting a bust or flower-vase.

An embroidered scarf with fringed ends may be placed on the back of a chair or sofa in place of the old lace tidy. A sack made of small pieces of bright-colored plush or silk in crazy work may be flung across the table, the ends drooping very low. The mantelpiece may be covered with a corresponding sash, over which place a small clock as centerpiece and arrange ornaments on each side-statuettes, bannerets, flower-holders, small j.a.panese fans, pieces of odd china, painted candles in small scenes, may all find a place on the mantel.

Window curtains of heavy fabric, hung from bra.s.s or plush mounted poles, may be gracefully draped to the sides, while the inner lace ones should be hung straight and be fastened in the center with some ornament or bow of ribbon corresponding in shade to the general tone of the room. The straight shades next to the gla.s.s may correspond in tone to the outside walls or window-facings; but this is a mere matter of taste. White or light-tinted shades, finished in etching or narrow lace, are always in vogue.

The dado shades are the latest innovation in window decoration. These come in all colors, from the lightest to the darkest shades, with dado in tile, arabesque and fresco patterns, finished in lace, fringe, and bra.s.ses.

Portieres (curtain doors) have superseded folding doors. These should be in shades to contrast with the general blending of the colors in the room. The fabrics mostly used are India goods, but they may be of any material, from expensive tapestries, satins, and plushes, to ten-cent factory cottons. The curtains, if made from striped tapestry and Turcoman, will give the finis.h.i.+ng artistic touches to almost any room, but the last softening polish comes only from the genial presence of trailing and climbing vines.

THE SITTING-ROOM.

The sitting or everyday room should be the brightest and most attractive room in the house. Its beauty of decoration should not be so much in the richness and variety of material as in its comfort, simplicity, and the harmony of its tints-the main features being the fitness of each article to the needs of the room. In these days of so many advantages much can be done in adornment by simple means.

The wall papers mostly used come in grounds of cream, amber, rose, pale olive, fawn, ceil blue and light gray, with designs and traceries of contrasting hues.

The carpet, if in tapestry, looks more effective if in grounds of pale canary or light gray, with designs in bright-colored woodland flowers and borders to match. The new ingrain carpets, with their pretty designs and bright colors, are very fas.h.i.+onable for rooms that are much used.

Whatever may be the prevailing tint of the carpet, the window curtains should follow it up in lighter tones or contrast with it. The curtains may correspond with the coverings of the chairs, sofa, mantel and table draperies in color and fabric. If the furniture is of wicker, bamboo or rattan, the curtains should be of j.a.panese or any kind of Oriental goods. Curtains of muslin (either white or tinted), gay-colored chintzes, lace or dotted Swiss muslin, looped back with bright-toned ribbons, look very pretty and are appropriate for the sitting-room at almost any season. That clumsy structure called the cornice, for putting up curtains on, has happily given place to the more light and graceful curtain pole.

One large table, covered with a pretty embroidered cloth, should be placed in some central location for a catch-all. A low divan, with a pair of square, soft pillows, may stand in some quiet nook; a rocker, handsomely upholstered, with a pretty tidy pinned to its back; a large, soft easy-chair; a small sewing-chair placed near a table; and a bamboo chair, trimmed with ribbons, will be tastefully arranged in the room. Window stands and gypsy tables may be draped with some rich fabric, the surrounding valance being caught up in small festoons and fastened with bows or ta.s.sels, finished around the edge of the table with cord or quilted ribbon.

If the furniture is old or in sets it can be covered with different patterns in cretonne or chintz, which not only protects the furniture but breaks up the monotony and lends a pleasing variety to the room. A Turkish chair is a grand accessory to the family room. This may be made by buying the frame and having it upholstered in white cotton cloth and covering it with a rich shade of cretonne, finis.h.i.+ng it with cord and fringe.

A foot-rest frame can be made in the same way and covered with a piece of homemade embroidery, finis.h.i.+ng it off with a cord or narrow gimp around the edge. Homemade easels, screens, and pedestals may be made out of black walnut, and when stained and draped look exceedingly pretty. An old second-hand cabinet may be bought at a trifle, and when polished up may be set in a corner on which to display some pieces of bric-a-brac.

If the house has no library, the sitting-room is just the place for the bookcase.

With house plants in the windows, a room of this character, with floods of suns.h.i.+ne, makes a most attractive and comfortable living-room.

THE LIBRARY.

The walls of the library should be hung with rich, dark colors, the latest style in wall paper being a black ground with old gold and olive-green designs.

The carpet comes in Pompeiian red, with moss-green and peac.o.c.k-blue patterns. Statuary and the best pictures should find a place in the library. The library table should be ma.s.sive and the top laid with crimson baize. There should be a few high-backed chairs, upholstered in leather, a reading-chair, soft rugs, foot-rests, a mantel mirror, a few mantel ornaments, and the _piece de resistance_-the bookcase. In large libraries the bookcases are built in the wall. It is quite in vogue to hang curtains on rods in front of bookcases instead of doors, but we think the old style is the best, inasmuch as the books may be seen and the gla.s.s doors exclude the dust.

Heavy curtains of raw silk, Turcoman, and canton flannel, with a full valance at the top, are used for the window drapery.

CHAMBERS.

The walls of bedrooms should be decorated in light tints and shadings, with a narrow rail and deep frieze. Most housekeepers prefer rugs and oiled floors to carpets, but this is a matter of individual taste.

Rugs are as fas.h.i.+onable as they are wholesome and tidy. These floor-coverings should be darker than the furniture, yet blending in shade. If carpets are chosen they should be the lightest shades and in bright field-flower patterns. Avoid anything dark and somber for the sleeping-room. Pink and ceil blue combined are very pretty, scarlet and gray, deep red and very light blue. Dark blue with sprays of lily of the valley running through it is exceedingly pretty for bedrooms.

Dark furniture will harmonize with all these colors, but the lighter shades are preferable. Cretonnes in pale tints and chintzes in harmonizing colors are used for light woods. Square pillows of cretonne on a bamboo or wicker lounge are very pretty. Canton matting is often used, either plain or in colored patterns.

Formerly the bed-coverings were spotlessly white, but the profluent tide of color has included these also. The coverings now in vogue are: Nottingham lace, darned net, applique, antique lace, and Swiss muslin.