Household Furnishing 1071 



should be provided with a screen for the sake of privacy. After the fur- 

 niture is in place, the clear area in the room should be rectangular, leaving 

 plenty of space for dressing. 



All articles of wearing apparel should be kept in places where they will 

 be out of sight. A closet or a wardrobe will be needed for every bedroom. 

 If a room is not provided with this convenience, a wardrobe may be built 

 of matched boarding and finished to correspond with the woodwork of 

 the room; or it may be made of burlap or of denim stretched tightly over 

 a wooden framework, with a curtain at the opening. An ingenious home- 

 made device can always be fitted up for a closet, care being taken to make 

 it as dustproof as possible. A closet should be at least two feet deep 

 and should be provided with a rod supplied with coat and skirt hangers 

 for the various garments. Clothing may thus be kept in shape and free 

 from wrinkles, and more articles can be hung in a given space than by 

 any other arrangement. A long, narrow closet prepared in this way will 

 furnish more hanging space than will a square closet of greater size. A 

 shelf above for hats and another below for shoes will complete the outfit. 

 A closet that one reaches rather than steps into may be provided with a 

 strip at the threshold to keep out the dust. The closet should be finished 

 white or very light inside, so that garments may be easily seen and selected 

 and moths may be detected. Closet space may be supplemented with 

 boxes of any desired size, covered with cretonne or matting, fitted with 

 hinged lids and made the height of a seat, thus answering two purposes. 



Metal beds are to be preferred to those of wood. Of course, when a 

 home is stocked with wooden beds these must be retained; but it is safe 

 to say that wood will never again be largely used in the manufacture of 

 beds, as the fact that vermin will not hatch on metal has given the latter 

 material an indisputable advantage. For the average home, nothing can 

 be more sanitary and more inviting in appearance than a plain white iron 

 bed with or without brass cappings. The most recent designs in metal 

 beds show plain, square posts and railings of low or moderate height at 

 head and foot, with only as much framework as is necessary for security 

 and strength. Brass beds are more showy than are painted iron ones, 

 and for this reason they do not appeal strongly to persons of modest 

 taste. Springs should be built on an iron framework. Beds should be 

 provided with somewhat low pillows and firm, rather than soft, mattresses. 

 This arrangement promotes more complete rest for the body. 



If a bedroom is used merely for dressing and for sleeping, it will be found 

 most restful without pictures or ornaments; but if it is used also as a sit- 

 ting-room or a sewing-room and is one's special sanctum, photographs of 

 friends and other personal decorations, if not used to excess, will have 

 their place and meaning. These ornaments should be arranged as neatly as 



