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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



September, 19 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 



THE DECORATIVE VALUE OF GLASS 



By George Crane 



UCH is the title of this article, and how often 

 does one give it the thought that is its due? 

 It seems curious that when the word "deco- 

 rative" is used, it is almost always associated 

 with other bits of the interior love of the 

 home, and we accept the accumulation neces- 

 sary to the decorative growth and so often leave out the 

 glass simply where it forms an absolute necessity to fill the 

 household demand. 



In our grandmothers' days, glass was cherished as we to- 

 day cherish the bits of antiques that have come to us through 

 years of care and proud endeavor. The mahogany furniture 

 is sought for and always finds a warm welcome by those 

 enough appreciative of the workmanship and craft, and old 

 or new, graces the house with due dignity. 



It seems that we might go further and carry with this love 

 for furniture the love and appreciation of glass also, and try 

 to convince ourselves of its decorative quality. What is 

 more charming than the beautiful old Irish glass, with its 

 graceful shape and delicate cutting? Surely nothing could 

 be more decorative, and yet one sees but little of it in homes. 

 It seems to find a resting place in the antique shops and 

 there remains until taken out by some glass loving admirer. 

 Glass, like the delicate-hued soap bubble, must be han- 

 dled with care, for it will break, and perhaps that is why it is 

 not used more as a decorative unit. After all, care should 

 be shown everything that we cherish, whether it be glass or 

 a fine piece of silver. It is due it, and if neglected, sooner 

 or later we shall lose it; nothing will be left but a memory. 

 Perhaps the dining-room at once suggests the most pos- 

 sible place where glass can be shown to advantage, but there 

 are numerous other rooms that offer their possibilities, so 

 that the dining-room must be simply one in line and not the 

 leading one. We naturally think of the dining-room as the 

 most suitable place for glass, 

 because it is there the most 

 useful pieces are found, and 

 we at once accept this idea, 

 and it is put down and 

 stamped with the approval 

 of nine out of ten house- 

 wives. Every room in the 

 house gives glass a warm 

 welcome, if we did but re- 

 alize it. To neglect it seems 

 a bit lacking in a finer per- 

 ception of what can be done 

 with this fragile bit of deco- 

 rative charm. 



Elaborately cut glass 



Early engraved and cut glass decanters 



seems a waste of time. It is neither artistic nor does it 

 leave any room for imagination, and that, after all, must 

 be a part of one's scheme in the placing of decorative glass. 

 Cut glass immediately suggests a big shop, where long 

 tables filled with it invite the passer-by to pause and look 

 at some fearful piece that at one time was expensive, but 

 has since been cut down so as to be most tempting in price. 

 The unwary passer-by falls, the piece is purchased, and a 

 fine cut glass punch bowl, with all the little punch glasses 

 hanging by hooks, graces the highly polished golden oak 

 sideboard! Plain glass, with its graceful form, is so much 

 better that one often wonders why one does not see it more. 

 And there is plenty, if one 'has the courage to look beyond 

 the glitter and glare of the cut glass counter. 



Let your mantel shelf hold two old pieces of Irish glass. 

 Their beautiful shape and simple cutting will add charm to 

 any room. On your table, in Summer and in Winter, fill 

 the simple glass bowl with blossoms. The flowers are 

 lovely in themselves, and the simplicity of the bowl adds to 

 their beauty and dignity. In a dark corner what could be 

 more decorative than a large piece of pure white glass re- 

 flecting the rays of a candle and simply setting the dark 

 corner aglow with its sparkling reflection in the glass? In a 

 cabinet or corner cupboard, let glass of dignity attract the 

 eye and do not place odds and ends there, for, after all, the 

 corner cupboard is suggestive of a hiding place for pieces, 

 fearful of an accident if left alone on a table or a shelf. 

 For a dinner table the glass should be of the simplest 

 crystal, with little or no decoration. Refinement of line and 

 quality add the necessary dignity that a dinner table de- 

 mands. The moment one loads the table with elaborately 

 cut glass the dignity is destroyed, and, again, one must un- 

 consciously be reminded of a shop. 



How very charming are the plainly cut crystal pendants 

 that hang from some of the old candelabra, their prismatic 

 coloring a-glitter as they are swayed by the slightest breeze. 

 Then, too, the many little fire-fly spots that dance about the 



room as the light strikes them 

 — these bits of glow and a 

 hundred other decorative 

 qualities make them a de- 

 lightful possession. On the 

 sideboard let your glass be 

 simple and dignified. Per- 

 haps two large Irish glass 

 compotes at either end, with 

 smaller ones on either side 

 of a bowl of crystal — these 

 with several pieces of old 

 silver, will be most pleasing 

 and quite sufficient. 



The delight in glass is its 

 reflecting power, and, like a. 





