October, 1905 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



259 



The Household 



Furniture for Men 



N the face of it there would appear to be no 

 especial reason why furniture for men 

 should differ in any essential way from fur- 

 niture for women or from furniture used by 

 both sexes. Sex in furniture is, in truth, a 

 new idea. Furniture for children we all 

 know, since it must be of smaller size than that suited to the 

 grown-ups, and, in addition, includes some special articles, 

 such as desks and play furniture, which are only available 

 for childhood. With the exception of the shaving stand, 

 and that weird thing called the cellarette, the whole range 

 of furniture would seem to offer little enough which might 

 be termed essentially masculine. 



A furniture dealer has, however, gotten together a list of 

 furniture for men, and the catalogue is an interesting one, as 

 indicating exactly what a specialist in furniture regards as 

 especially men's furniture. The shaving stand naturally 

 heads the list, but it is hard pressed with the chafing dish 

 cabinet and the cellarette. Then come lounging chairs, club 

 chairs and all sorts of comfortable seats, which, we may be 

 sure, the women will value as highly as any man, but which 

 have a very high place in any scheme devised for masculine 

 comfort. Settles, lounges, davenports and couches come 

 next, and as being closely related to the comfort-giving 

 qualities of lounging chairs. Bachelor chiffoniers, auto 

 valets and wardrobes, together with bachelor dressers, form 

 another notable group which have masculine significance, 

 and which are more or less directly designed for men and in- 

 tended for them. 



As for beds, no man arranging living quarters could well 

 get along without one, and they are necessarily included in 



the category, as are floor coverings of all sorts — rugs, carpets 

 and mats. As for tables, there is absolutely no limit, from 

 the exclusively masculine card table to the dining or break- 

 fast table and tables for every possible use. If the bachelor 

 — for men's furniture seems to be rather specially intended 

 for this unfortunate class of human beings — keeps house and 

 has a dining-room, he will need a host of things — buffets, 

 sideboards, dinner gongs, serving trays, wine coolers, muffin 

 stands; doubtless there are other articles which come in the 

 same list, but this is sufficient indication that the man house- 

 keeper must equip himself with articles of furniture many of 

 which he never before knew the use of, much less appreciated 

 the necessity for. 



For his bedroom he will need, beside the articles already 

 named, costumers and clothes trees, cedar chests and clothes 

 presses. For his hall and for other rooms he will require 

 clocks, lamps, electroliers, desk lights and reading lamps, all 

 of infinite shape and size, and all requiring more or less 

 constant care. For his library he will need bookcases, revolv- 

 ing bookcases, book shelves, cabinets, book blocks, tables, 

 desks and chairs. A screen may be needed before the fire- 

 place, or to hide the litter of papers which almost every one 

 accumulates. 



Of minor articles there will be a host of things, such as 

 pedestals and desk sets, foot stool and shoe boxes, wood boxes 

 and fireplace sets, and perhaps a padded fireplace foot rail, 

 while the humidor, cigar boxes and smoking sets will be the 

 very first things thought of. Obviously a very pretty man's 

 apartment could be furnished from such a list, an apartment 

 thoroughly masculine in effect, even though many of the 

 articles would be equally available for women. 



Cheap Baths 



There are two impediments to the general use of baths 

 in houses of low cost — the recognition of their value and 

 the cost of installation. The value of a bath in a private 

 house is so very obvious that no argument for its utility 

 would be needed were it not for the astounding observations 

 made on the use of baths by investigation into tenement house 

 conditions in New York and elsewhere. These inquiries 

 have demonstrated that a regular system of education in the 

 use of baths is urgently needed among the foreign-born popu- 

 lation of the United States, and until the manifest prejudice 

 against baths and their proper use by such peoples is over- 

 come a recognition of their value will be delayed. 



The question of cost is another important matter, since the 

 installation of the most moderate bathroom in a city house 

 is a matter of considerable expense. Municipal laws and 

 regulations govern this subject in all cities, and these can not 

 be departed from ; but the installation of a bath in buildings 

 erected outside city limits, or even in an old house within 

 municipal limits in which no provision for such necessities 

 was originally made, can sometimes be accomplished in a 

 comparatively inexpensive manner. 



Several devices to this end have been proposed from time 

 to time. A bath sunk in the kitchen floor, or, if the building 

 contains a pantry, in that space, has been suggested; but its 

 disadvantages are so obvious that the proposal needs hardly 

 to be made to be rejected. Unless the usual elaborate 

 plumbing fittings are used it is apparent that the bath must 

 be near the water supply or directly under it, and that proper 

 provision be made for getting rid of the water. If there 



is no escape pipe, and the water must be baled out, almost 

 any sort of a bath will be objectionable; in any event, such 

 a bath must be immediately adjoining a waste outlet. 



Another suggestion is that the bath be placed so that 

 water, both hot and cold, be brought into it immediately 

 from the sources of supply, the regular pipe for the cold 

 water and the heater for the hot, while the end may be placed 

 under the sink. The water supply is thus easily obtained, 

 and the sink is close at hand for baling out the water after 

 the bath has been used. This method is not open to the 

 objection of placing the bath in the floor, where it must be 

 immediately covered lest some other person step into it, where 

 it is difficult to empty it, and where it is quite impossible to 

 get below it. A bath stood on the floor is at least accessible. 



Still another suggestion is a swinging bath, that folds up 

 and may be incased within a wardrobe-like inclosure or 

 cabinet. This brings the bath directly into the room, where 

 it may be reached on all sides, and hence it is very available 

 for sick-rooms and other places where it may be desirable to 

 approach the bath from more than one side. It saves space 

 and practically takes the bath out of the room when not 

 in use. 



For limited quarters the spray bath is often found the 

 most available. It involves only a spray circlet, a cistern 

 for a moderate amount of water, and a waterproof sheet as 

 an inclosure. In houses of very moderate cost it must nec- 

 essarily be a cold water bath only, as an expensive installation 

 is needed for hot water. All of these methods are make- 

 shifts, and are only available for houses of the lowest cost. 



