The Arrangkment ov Househot-I) Fi'rnisiiings 



1 5 So 



ordinarily if a number of articles arc arranged in the most attractive 

 way, they will be found to be arranged at the same time in the most con- 

 venient way. Thus the neatest looking arrangement of a closetful of 

 clothes results from hanging garments on a row of hangers suspended 

 from a single rod. This is, at the same time, the most sensible arrange- 

 ment, since it not only keeps the clothes in shape but displays the contents 

 of the closet without search. 



Althovigh the fiiiit closet and the clothespress represent the idea of 

 arrangement in condensed form, they illustrate the fact that the basis of 

 both convenient and effective arrangement is system, order, classification, 

 and common sense, and that the arrangement in any case will depend on 

 the needs of the problem and the space at one's disposal. 



If such familiar ideas of arrangement are applied to the larger problem 

 of furnishing, a similar solution is possible. The exact use of the room is, 



B- -C- 



Fig. 5. — Three furnishing arrangements worked out on plan 



or should be, definitely settled in order that the furnishings may be so 

 selected and arranged as to fit it for its use. The spaces in which the 

 furnishings may be disposed are determined by the size of the room, 

 the location and the size of the various windows and doors, and the size 

 and the shape of the resulting wall spaces. In brief, the problem is to 

 arrange the necessary furniture within a given space, in a way that will 

 be reasonable for use and pleasant to see. 



The plan of a living room fourteen feet wide and twenty feet long is 

 shown in figure 5. This room has four openings, two windows (one of 

 them double) and two doors; each of these openings is located in the 

 middle of a wall, thus leaving large equal spaces to right and to left. As a 

 result, each wall of the room is symmetrical and is therefore balanced 

 and dignified in appearance. Diagrams A, B, and C represent three 

 possible arrangements of the same furnishings, with the exception of rugs. 

 The instant impression given by diagram A is one of confusion and unrest; 

 by diagrams B and C, one of order and repose. 



