1594 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



In acquiring a sense of arrangement one must keep constantly in mind 

 the purpose for which objects or materials are chosen and used. They 

 must be true to the function for which they stand. Qualities that would 

 be unbearable in a picture can be forgiven in a chair, for, if a chair is 

 comfortable and soundly built, it must be granted a grudging respect 

 even though it be cursed with poor ornament. But a weak or an inane 

 picture has no excuse for being, since its only value is an aesthetic one, 

 and if it fails in this, its very presence gives the lie to its apparent purpose. 



Unless objects that pretend to be artistic are of a superior quality, they 

 are of no use whatever; the space they leave unoccupied is more 

 valuable than their presence. Better an excess of empty space than one 

 article too many, for space is expressive of dignity and repose and acts 

 healingly on the tired mind and body. It has been said that the sculptor 

 is thrilled at the sight of an uncut block of marble because of the enormous 

 possibilities it suggests to his imagination; likewise that the artist is 

 stimulated to great dreams before a stretch of empty canvas. Even so 

 do the free spaces of an uncrowded home react on the minds of the occu- 

 pants. 



THE VALUE OF A PLANNED ARRANGEMENT FOR FURNISHING 



The diagrams in figure 5 are suggestive of the way in which the 

 arrangement of other rooms may be worked out. Not only the living 

 room but also the study, the office, the dining room, the kitchen, and the 

 bedrooms may be completely planned out with pencil and paper. 



The advantages of furnishing or refurnishing according to a definite 

 arrangement are several: 



First, the plan is fixed before it is carried out. In this way every decision 

 can be wisely balanced without the pressure of hurry. 



Second, a plan makes for economy, for it reduces the usual mistakes 

 in purchasing to a minimum, and puts a check on needless and impulsive 

 buying. At the same time it finds a place for and uses to advantage 

 present belongings. 



Third, it eliminates trash and bric-a-brac. No one would seriously 

 include in a furnishing scheme the mass of trifling stuff that is allowed 

 to accvmiulate in the home. 



Fourth, it simplifies the problem of selecting new articles, for the nature 

 and the use of the various things are defined by the plan. 



Fifth, it secures a coherent result. 



Last and best, the planning of the arrangement gives play to the 

 imagination. It becomes, for the time being, a game. It is so easy, 

 so inexpensive, and so delightful after a hard day's work, to sit down in 

 an easy chair and give vent to a dream. Without waste, disorder, or a 



