156 



The Country House 



use, and it is thus more likely to be comfortable than handsome. The woman, on 

 the other hand, has a fairly good eye for the beautiful, with perhaps less of the 

 practical. Some of the old furniture makes good furnishings for the den the 

 Windsor armchair, the old wing chair, the old English armchair with the high 

 and slightly inclined back, and some models of the Italian chair. Among modem 

 furniture the Morris chair is comfortable, although it is more likely to be of 

 bad than good design, and the so-called "Mission," some of which is excellent, 

 and more of which is unfit to put in the stable. This last-named style has one 

 advantage in being very strong and unlikely to fall apart during its first intro- 

 duction to the master of the house; its disadvantage is its weight, which often 

 makes it an awkward thing to move. 



Outside of comfortable chairs the den usually boasts of one good table and 

 a writing desk. The general furnishings of the den are stronger than those 

 used in the rest of the house, owing to the use to which they are likely to be sub- 

 jected. Their selection depends largely on the individual, and uses to which 

 it is to be put. Unnecessary bric-a-brac should be carefully avoided and the 

 whole be kept simple and comfortable. There are those who lament the intro- 

 duction of the roll-top desk into the house. As a matter of fact, it is not as hand- 

 some as most of the old desks one can mention, but it is surely better for business 

 than anything else we can get. As the den often serves the purpose of a sort of 

 home "office" it can well be used there, although it should only enter the library 

 under protest, and never any other room. Some roll-top desks are fairly cred- 

 itable (the pkiiiKT 

 being better), and 

 more of them are as 

 bad as the mass of 

 modern furniture 

 that we are obliged 

 to contend with. 



The billiard 

 room is probably 

 the invention of a 

 woman, designed to 

 keep her strolling 

 spouse in the house 

 evenings. It is often 

 placed in the attic 

 on account of space, 

 and where one is 

 obliged to climb 

 flights of stairs to 

 get to it. When 



" Den" in house at Salem, Mass. A delightful rendering by the pioneer designer of the , 



Colonial revival. Arthur Little, architect OttCC there One IS 



reluctant to descend, 



and in consequence the guest chamber and nursery say things about it. The best 

 place for the billiard room is on the ground floor, near the den or smoking room. 



