Practical Suggestions for Mother and Housewife Part 4

Art is free and frolicking. It gambols along the straight path of utility, following the scent of airy suggestion into outlying fields and by-paths, but always keeping the general direction of the path.

The parlor, when this is not combined with the hall, should be furnished and decorated according to the chief use the family intend to make of it. If they are given to formal entertainment, the color scheme may be in "high key," that is, a combination of white with either gold, rose, or green, any of which forms a bright setting for gay evening costumes.

But this decoration is not advisable in the case of the average American home, since it is too fine and frivolous for the reception of neighbors in ordinary dress. A quieter, more dignified color-scheme should be adopted; such as golden brown, with subdued decorations for the wall, and ecru-colored lace curtains for the windows. The floor may be of hardwood, in which case a few medium-sized Oriental rugs should be placed on the floor. It is not essential that these "match" the wallpaper, for they are of the nature of artistic household treasures, and so rise autocratically above the necessity of conformity. Where they are chosen with a view to the color scheme, it is advisable to make them the means of transition from the hall. If this is decorated in dark red, the rugs leading from it into the parlor may shade off from this into more golden tones. The design of the rugs should be un.o.btrusive. The homemaker should not feel that Oriental rugs are too expensive for consideration. Every once in a while their is a glut of them in the market, owing to an extensive importation, when they can be purchased at a price which will always insure the owner getting his money back if at any time he wishes to dispose of them. But the purchaser should be certain that the bargains offered are real ones, for rug-stores, like trunk-stores, always seem to be selling out "at a sacrifice."

All Oriental rugs are well made, and, with proper usage, will last for generations, even enhancing in value. Therefore, they are always safe investments. Oriental rug-dealers repair rugs at a fair price for the time spent in doing so.

Since the floor s.p.a.ce of a room with rugs in it is about two-thirds bare, the rugs will often not exceed the cost of a good carpet.

Hard woods take best a finish in brown or green, that gives an impress of natural texture impossible to secure by paint. Hardwood floors should be polished at least once a week with floor-wax, a simple compound of beeswax and turpentine, which can be made at home, or bought at the stores. This is useful for polis.h.i.+ng any floor or woodwork. When the floor is not of hardwood, it may be stained. All varieties of stains are sold, the most durable, though the most expensive being the old-fas.h.i.+oned oil oak-stain. For the parlor and other floors, and corridors, stairways, etc., that do not get much wear, as well as for hardwood work in general, varnis.h.i.+ng saves time and labor in cleaning.

For proper staining, the wood should be thoroughly scrubbed with soap and water; then, when dry, brushed over with hot size. Use concentrated size, a dry powder, rather than that in jelly form, as it is more convenient. It is dissolved and should be applied with a broad paint-brush. The application should be very rapid to prevent congealing and setting in lumps on the boards; accordingly the bowl containing the size should be set in boiling water until it is thoroughly liquid, and kept in this condition. The number of coats must depend upon the absorbent nature of the boards. One coat must be allowed to dry thoroughly before another is applied. Over night is a sufficient time for this. Varnis.h.i.+ng also should be done rapidly to prevent dust settling on it. It is best done in a warm room, without draughts.

Do not use stains ready-mixed with varnish, as these do not last as long, nor look so well as pure stains varnished after application. When the boards are in bad condition they should be first sandpapered. Cracks should be filled with wedges of wood hammered in and planed smooth.

They can also be filled with thin paper torn up, mixed with hot starch and beaten to a pulp. This can be pressed into the cracks with a glazier's knife. The use of putty or plaster of Paris for this purpose is not so satisfactory as these methods.

For sleeping-rooms and living-rooms, which for sanitary reasons it is advisable to scrub, the stain should be left unvarnished.

CHAPTER VII

FURNITURE AND DECORATION

The Carpet Square--Furniture for the Parlor--Parlor Decoration--The Piano--The Library--Arrangement of Books--The "Den"--The Living-room--The Dining-room--Bedrooms--How to Make a Bed--The Guest Chamber--Window Shades and Blinds.

Housekeepers often prefer carpets to bare floors, and rugs for the reason that they "show the dirt" less. It is for this very reason that bare floors are best. Dirt is something to remove rather than conceal, and bare floors and rugs are more easily cleaned than carpets.

Covering the entire floor with plain filling, as a base for rugs, is an alternative for either hardwood or stained floors. It should be in the deeper tone of the color employed as a main part of the room's decoration.

When carpets are used, those in the hall, parlor, and dining-room should not be fitted into the corners, but a s.p.a.ce should intervene between their edges and the walls. This may be filled with wood-carpetry, which, like all devices which suggest continuation of fine material through unseen parts, gives an air of art and elegance at comparatively little expense. Otherwise the floor, if hardwood, should be finished; if of other wood, stained and varnished. The carpet square is kept in position with bra.s.s-headed pins sold for the purpose.

Articles of furniture which are suitable for a parlor used chiefly as a reception room are light side chairs, and a settee, cane-seated with dark frames, or willow chairs, and settee, stained a dark hue, and brightened up with pretty cus.h.i.+ons. These are not dear, so a little extra expense may be incurred in buying the parlor-table, which should be graceful in design and of rich dark wood, preferably mahogany, or in mahogany finish. A small table, of similar design and finish, should serve for afternoon tea, and a pretty desk stand near a window, with writing materials for the use of guests. There should be a clock upon the mantelpiece, and a few other articles of vertu, such as a vase or so, a bronze statuette, etc., all harmonized by the common possession of artistic elegance.

The pictures in the parlor should possess evident artistic merit. There should be no suggestion of amateurishness. Family attempts at drawing or painting, crayon portraits, etc., all photographs, with the exception of those intended as artistic studies, should be excluded from the walls.

If good originals by capable artists are not obtainable, fine engravings, etchings, and even colored copies of noted pictures may take their place.

A few books, well bound and with contents worthy of the binding, should lie on the parlor table, with a late magazine or so, for the entertainment of the waiting guest. There should be fresh flowers arranged in pretty bowls to add their impress of cheerfulness and beauty to the room.

In most American homes the parlor is also the music room. Since a piano should be chosen for quality rather than appearance, an instrument of any finish is allowable in a room, whatever its decorative scheme.

Except in a family containing an expert performer, a piano should be chosen for softness and richness of tone, instead of brilliancy. For most households the old cottage organ is a more practicable instrument than the "concert grand" often found in a small parlor, where its piercing notes, especially in combination with operatic singing, are so confined that tones and overtones, which should a.s.sist each other, mingle in jarring confusion. Indeed, when the parlor is large and high, a genuine pipe-organ built in a recess and harmonizing in finish with the woodwork of the room is not only the finest decoration possible, but the most appropriate musical instrument. Those families who possess an old-fas.h.i.+oned piano, such as thin and tinkly "square," are advised to have it overhauled and refinished by a competent piano-repairer, and preserved, if only for practice by the children. In case such an instrument has "overstrung" wires, it can be restored to a tone that is better than that of the usual upright piano.

The parlor that is put to family use is usually the best room to fit up for a library. In this case the form-and-color scheme of furnis.h.i.+ng and decoration should differ entirely from that when the room is used only for the reception of guests. The furniture should be heavier and larger, indicating utility, and its finish, as also that of the walls, floor and woodwork, in deep shades of the more restful colors of the spectrum.

Sage-green is a good color for the parlor-library. The furniture may be of this or even darker hue. There is no better style of furniture for the library than the Mission, made comfortable by leather cus.h.i.+ons.

If leather is thought too expensive, there are fair subst.i.tutes for it in such materials as pantasote. But leather should be procured if possible.

It looks better and wears longer, and even when shabby keeps its respectability. With the Mission furniture may be mingled an old-fas.h.i.+oned upholstered chair or so, such as a large "Sleepy Hollow."

A Morris chair is almost as comfortable as this, and perhaps upholds the dignity of the room a little better, though it does not give the same suggestion of "hominess." An old-fas.h.i.+oned sofa, wide-seated, and designed to be lain upon, should be placed in the room with its head toward the light, so that the occupant may read while reclining upon it.

In almost every old house there is a horse-hair sofa, either put away in the attic or even in use, which can be reupholstered to fit the color-scheme of the room.

Books naturally form the chief ornament of the library. It is a mistake to give them an elaborate casing. The simplest form is the best; the shelves should run up evenly from the floor to a more or less ornamental and somewhat projecting top, terminating several feet from the ceiling.

On this top a bust or so of an author may be appropriately placed, or copies of an ancient statue, and on the wall above, between the cases of shelves, may hang a few pictures, not necessarily bookish in suggestion, but reposeful in subject and tone, such as landscapes and marines.

A writing desk of comfortable size, with its chair, is essential in every library. It should be as far away as possible from the type of the modern business desk, and therefore an old-fas.h.i.+oned article with a sloping top, which, when let down, serves for the writing board, is an ideal form. Manufacturers continue to make these desks for home purposes.

The library table should be large and simple. One that is oval in shape is the best for the family to gather about, and therefore gives the most homelike appearance. The illumination of the library should center either upon this table, if a lamp is used, or above it, if gas or electric light. The desk should have a side-light of its own.

Modern library conveniences are presented in so handy and presentable shapes that the room may be perfectly equipped as a literary workshop without crowding it, or detracting from its appearance. A dictionary holder (wooden, not wire), a revolving bookcase for other works of reference, and a card index of the library may complete the equipment.

It will be well to utilize one or more of the drawers of the desk as a file for clippings. These should be kept in stout manila envelopes, slightly less in size than the width and height of the drawer, and with the names of subjects contained, and arranged in alphabetical order.

The carpet should be plain in design, and underlaid with padding. The curtains should be of heavier and darker stuff than those in the parlor, and easily adjusted to admit the light.

The library and living room are generally next each other, and so each may and should have a fireplace in the common chimney. That of the library should be of severer design; that of the living-room more homelike. Dutch tiles, with pictures that interest children, are specially appropriate for the latter.

Where the father of the family demands a "den" for reading and smoking, this may be a small room on the same general order as the library, but with an emphasis on comfort. Thus, the sofa should be replaced by a wide divan, which may also serve on occasion as a sleeping-place. The Turkish style of furnis.h.i.+ng is the customary one; the j.a.panese style being a fad that came in with the aesthetic craze, was carried to an uncomfortable excess, and has gone out of fas.h.i.+on. The most appropriate style for an American house is American Indian. The brilliant and strikingly designed Navajo blankets may be used for both rugs and couch covers, or hung up as wall-ornaments. Moqui basketware serves equally well for useful purposes, such as sc.r.a.p-baskets, and for ornamentation. The pottery of the Pueblo Indians, being naive and primitive in design, is much more intimate and therefore appropriate than the j.a.panese bric-a-brac which it replaces.

The living-room is the heart of the house, and everything in it should be of a nature to collect loving a.s.sociations. Almost any style of furniture is admissible into it, if only it is comfortable. There should be rocking-chairs, for the woman and the neighbors who drop in to see her, other chairs stout enough for a man to tip back upon the hind legs, and little chairs, or a little settee by the fireplace, for the children. The mother's desk should stand here, plainer than the one in the library, but of design similar to it; there should be a sofa as comfortable as the library one, to which the mother should have the first right. The paper should be cheerful in its tone and with a definite design. This will become endeared by a.s.sociation with home to the children, and the mother should be slow to replace it. The window draperies may be home-made, such as of rough-finished silk or embroidered canvas, and the floor covered with a thick rag-carpet, preferably of a nondescript or "hit-and-miss" design. If the housekeeper thinks that this is "hominess" carried to excess, she may cover the floor with an ingrain carpet, or better, plain filling of a medium shade, on which a few rag rugs are laid, light in color. Very artistic carpets and rugs are made out of old carpets and sold at reasonable figures, and there still remain in some small towns throughout the country weavers who weave into carpets the carpet-rags sewn together by housewives for the price of their labor alone.

There is a reason additional to its economy why this practice should not die out. The tearing up into strips of old garments, and the tacking of their ends together with needle and thread is work eminently suited for children, and one in which they take great pride, as it gives them a share in the creation of a useful and beautiful household article.

The dining-room should be decorated in accordance with the quant.i.ty of daylight it receives. It should be, if possible, a light room, with preferably the morning sun. In this case, it is properly furnished and decorated in dark tones, on the order of the library; if the room is dark, the furniture, wood-finish, and wall-paper should be warm and light in feeling. The housekeeper has a wide variety of sets of dining table and chairs to choose from. Whatever she selects should be distinguished by the quality of dignity. Here is the one room in the house where formality is thoroughly in place; it is at table where bad manners are wont most to show themselves among children, and laxity in etiquette among their parents. Just as the exclusive use of the room for eating purposes saves labor in housework, so will its dignity in decoration aid in enforcing the mother's teaching of good habits to the children.

Here, if anywhere in the house, plain wall-paper should be used, since the chief decorations are the china closet, cabinet and sideboard.

The dining-room ought not to have a fire-place or stove if other means of heating it are available, since heat, like food, should be equally distributed to those at table. Preference in seating should be a matter of honor rather than of material advantage.

Comfort and cleanliness are the qualities which condition the equipment and decoration of the bed-room. When one considers that a third of a man's life is spent in bed, it will be seen how exceedingly important is the selection of this article of furniture. The essential parts of a good bed are spring and mattress, and no expense should be spared here in securing the best. The frame, which though the ornamental part is the least essential, is a matter of indifferent consideration. There is no better kind of a bedstead than an iron or bra.s.s one, because of cleanliness and strength and the ease with which it may be taken apart and put together again. The pillows deserve almost equal consideration with the mattress. Since the feathers used in stuffing pillows may be cleaned, it is economical to see that these are of the best quality.

Bed clothing is often selected under the mistaken impression that weight is synonymous with warmth, and heavy quilted comforts are chosen instead of lighter, woolen blankets. The pure woolen blanket is the ideal bed-covering and in various degrees of thickness may serve for all of the bed clothes save the sheets, and the light white coverlet, which is placed over all merely for appearance.

With increasing attention paid to hygiene, single beds rather than double are coming into favor. Even where two people occupy the same room they will be more comfortable in different beds. It is a mistake for young people and infants to sleep with older people, or for those who are well and strong with sickly or delicate persons, as there is apt to be a loss of vitality to the more vigorous party.

Everything connected with the bed should be regularly and thoroughly sunned and aired. The occupant on rising should throw back the bed-clothes over the foot of the bed, or, indeed, take them off and hang them over a chair in the sunlight.

The first thing in making a bed should be to turn the mattress. The lower sheet is then put on right side up and with the large end at the top. This is tucked in carefully all around, then the covering sheet is put on with the large end at the top, but the right side under. This is tucked in only at the foot in order to permit the bed to be easily entered. Over these the blankets are placed and folded back at the head under the fold of the upper sheet. Pillow-shams should never be used, as ornamentation on a bed is not necessary, and if it were a sham is never an ornament.

The walls of bedrooms may very properly be painted, as also the floors, to permit scrubbing, especially after the illness of an occupant.

If papered, a chintz pattern is preferable; cretonne of similar design should then be used for furniture slips, etc. The woodwork may be white, with the chairs to match. There should be washable cotton rag-rugs, loosely woven to be grateful to the bare feet, at the bedside and in front of the bureau, dressing-table and doorway. Where s.p.a.ce is limited, a combined bureau and dressing-table, or even a chiffonier with a mirror, may be used.

A child's bedroom may very appropriately have a wall-paper of a design intended to interest it, such as representations of animals, scenes from Mother Goose, etc. This is also suitable for the nursery.

The guest-room has come to be the _chambre de luxe_ of the house, the place in which every conceivable article is introduced that might be required by the visitor, all being of expensive quality. Probably it is best to conform to this practice, since it is an expected thing, but money spent on the guest-room beyond that necessary to make it simply the best bedroom in the house, brings smaller returns in usage than anywhere else. The average guest is more pleased with a room such as he sleeps in himself at home, than with one where elegance seems too fine for use. It was a plainsman, who, being lodged in such a room on a visit to civilization, slept on the floor rather than touch the immaculate pillow-shams and bed-cover, which he conceived to be parts of the bed clothing not designed for use.

The window-shades of a house, since they show without, should be uniform in color, and no attempt be made to suit the individual decoration of a room to them. The material should be plain Holland, white or buff when there are outside blinds, otherwise green or blue. In recent years shutters, or outside blinds, have come somewhat into disuse. This is, on the whole, perhaps an improvement, for they are rarely manipulated with judgment, being either left open or kept shut for continuous periods.

In the latter case they darken rooms which, though unused, would have been better for the admission of sunlight. The reason for this lack of manipulation is that they are opened and fastened with difficulty from the inside. All the purpose of the outside blinds is served by inside blinds, which are much more easily operated, and lend themselves admirably to decoration. One form of these, known as Venetian blinds, consisting of parallel wooden slats, strung on tapes, is coming again into vogue. They are cheaper than the usual sort of blinds, and are very durable as well as artistic. After all, however, shades are the most practical form of modulating the entrance of light into a house.

CHAPTER VIII

THE MOTHER