296 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1 9 13 



WITHIN THE HOUSE 



SUGGESTIONS ON INTERIOR DECORATING 

 AND NOTES OF INTEREST TO ALL 

 WHO DESIRE TO MAKE THE HOUSE 

 MORE BEAUTIFUL AND MORE HOMELIKE 



The Editor of this Department will be glad to answer all queries 

 from subscribers pertaining to Home Decoration. Stamps 

 should be enclosed when a direct personal reply is desired 



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FURNISHING THE REMODELED FARMHOUSE 



By George Crane 



OTHING is more fascinating than the re- 

 modeling and furnishing of a house and 

 when you have a good, old, dignified farm- 

 house to treat in this way, the joy is doubled 

 for, after all, what is more satisfying than 

 to see things grow and change under your 

 hand and become once more animated with a true livable 

 comfort. One often wonders, when passing through a 

 country-side and sees a little farmhouse with a sign "For 

 Sale" upon it or closed and abandoned, if it could speak 

 would it say "Please, someone, take care of me and restore 

 me to my olden dignity wherein I might enjoy the world 

 once more and the world enjoy me." 



There is something quite pathetic in a farm that has been 

 deserted and left to fall to pieces when the world about is 

 green and bright. There are many such farms that can be 

 had for so small a sum that to pass them by seems indeed 

 unappreciative and neglectful of our duty and yet we go 

 merrily on our way, looking for something a little bit more 

 to our fancy and that is where we sometimes make a mis- 

 take. Take the little deserted farm with its weed-grown 

 garden and the field that was once happily productive, but 

 now nothing more than a barren waste of dirt and a con- 

 fusion of showy weeds. The dilapidated and forlorn 

 condition of the house adds much to the pathos, but let us 

 not dwell too long on things affecting our spirits for, after 

 all, it is possible to build up the past life of the little farm- 

 house and set the blood once more pulsating through its 

 veins. 



How often is our attention attracted to the remodeled 

 house where the lack of taste and appreciation is the first 

 thing one notices and at once wonders if the interior is 

 filled with the same horrors. One cannot do better than to 

 adhere strictly to the good old style in a remodeling, and of 

 course the same is true when it comes to furnishing. Sim- 

 plicity, with all its endless possibilities, should be the inspira- 

 tion and to wander away from this path soon finds one lost 

 and calling for help or resorting to a few new ideas that 

 often prove fatal. 



Now that we have found a little farmhouse remodeled 

 quite to our liking, let us try to do the furnishing within, 

 keeping strictly to the simple necessities of these days when 

 extravagance was a hushed word and the household did with- 

 out rather than confess their guilt to their neighbors. That 

 is, put within its walls all the necessities of the present day, 

 but tone them down with that air in keeping with the mellow 

 days of fifty or a hundred years ago. It can be done and 

 cleverly, and the result will be delightful and tenfold 

 satisfying. 



Antiques or reproductions for the furniture, copies of old 



papers for the walls, old bits of bric-a-brac and personal 

 touches seem to be the things that ought to be most consid- 

 ered, and strictly so, in this delightful undertaking. A pil- 

 grimage to some antique shop will either induce the purchase 

 of some fine old piece or pieces or produce a desire to wait 

 till this or that piece can be purchased for just the suitable 

 place in the house. In other words, go slowly and consider 

 each step before allowing yourself to take it. This is the 

 one rule that will lead to success in the furnishing of a re- 

 modeled farmhouse. 



Simplicity seems essential and should be woven throughout 

 the treatment of the furnishing scheme. Of course 

 mahogany is the first thought and indeed should have first 

 choice, but with this, let the painted furniture with its deco- 

 rations mingle. It will give a note of color and, at the same 

 time, remind one of the days when it was much used and 

 cherished. Paper one of the bedrooms with a dainty old- 

 fashioned paper, a cream, perhaps, with some simple little 

 pattern or flower form. In this room put the painted furni- 

 ture with one or two pieces of mahogany, simple in line. A 

 combination is often pleasing especially one of this character 

 and the housewife of old did it with charming results. 



If possible, the floor should be left with the wide planks, 

 perhaps varying in width which adds a note of interest. 

 This will possibly be a pleasant reminder of the former 

 home. The woodwork, of course, is white so let it remain, 

 but revive it with a thorough rubbing with sandpaper and 

 several fresh coats of white paint. As to rugs, some fancy 

 the rag rugs and one must admit that this variety is quite 

 in keeping with the old air of the home. The Oriental rug, 

 in soft colors and quiet patterns, is not to be cast aside for 

 there is enough of the old time feeling about to quite over- 

 come this bit of the Eastern World. This, in its turn, one 

 should accept with grace and good will. 



The open fireplaces, for there are several in this house, 

 should be treated with the respect due their hospitable posi- 

 tion and kept clean and well rubbed. The soapstone hearth 

 should be oiled and the irons blackened and the brasses 

 kept radiant at all times. This seems, perhaps, a bit of un- 

 necessary advice, and yet how often one sees a neglected 

 hearth that tells the story of neglect elsewhere. Andirons 

 should be simple in their lines, brass tops or center bulges, 

 or all brass as the case demands. 



Brass candlesticks, pewter platters, copper and old blue 

 china are quite as essential in a decorative note of the old 

 house as they are in the window of an antique shop. Four- 

 posted beds are at once suggestive of the good old days and 

 fall into place with the ease and grace due them. Mirrors, 

 of course, should adorn the walls with their all-gilt or gilt 

 and mahogany frames, for these bits of wall decoration give 

 life to a room and, if hung properly, give size and with 

 their reflecting powers add much color and brightness. A 

 mirror vista is oftentimes a complete and delightful surprise. 



