66 9 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
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CONCERNING DRAPERIES 
By Harry Martin Yeomans 
| N common with a great many other things 
ij|| relative to interior decoration, draperies 
have passed through so many vicissitudes 
since first coming into use that one is apt to 
forget that theirs was in the beginning a 
utilitarian purpose. Like the chimney-seat, 
the high-b backed settle and the winged chair, which kept off 
the cold and conserved the heat from the open fire, so, too, 
during the old days the rather heavy arras hangings were 
drawn entirely across the windows and the high- post 
beds to afford the necessary protection from the cold 
and from draughts which penetrated the badly heated 
and poorly ventilated houses of those times. They were 
useful, and not merely decorative. The heavy over-drap- 
eries, ornamented with an abundance of fringe, cord and 
tassels, looped up in festoons and falling in cascades, were 
an invention of the upholsterer of a later period, who 
swathed the structural woodwork of doors, windows and 
mantels in dust-catching and insanitary draperies, regardless 
of any real purpose which they might serve. 
A few years ago it was considered necessary to have three 
sets of curtains at each window, the combined efforts of 
which were quite successful in excluding the light and sun- 
shine. But fortunately they are a thing of the past, and the 
purely ornamental draperies 
are passing out, due to an 
awakened interest in the why 
and wherefore of things 
decorative and a realization 
that draperies should justify 
their existence by adding 
their quota of utility as well 
as beauty to the house. Win- 
dow treatments should be 
both sane and simple, and 
the hangings should be so 
arranged as to give a pleas- 
ing and uniform appearance 
to the exterior of the house, 
to exclude the glare of too 
much light, and to be drawn 
in the evening when the 
lamps are lighted and privacy 
is desired within the room. 
Pane curtains of a light material with over-curtains of a 
heavier fabric are all that should be required for the win- 
dows of the small house. Diaphanous sash or pane curtains 
of écru net, point d’esprit, scrim or China silk, run on small 
brass rods, are in good taste and appropriate for every room 
in the house. It is a good idea to have them of the same 
ron vt 
AL MANN DNs \ 
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. 
should be enclosed when a direct personal reply is desired 
Wintioo treatment eg Be Boe sane ae ener in ne 
matter of draperies 
Stamps 
material throughout, which will give unity to your decora- 
tive scheme. If further curtains are required, they should 
be in the form of over-curtains of a more substantial textile, 
this depending on the texture and furnishings of the room. 
These curtains should be either sill length or come all the 
way to the floor, and hang in straight folds from brass rods, 
and arranged so that they can be easily drawn. 
Elaborately draped valances are a thing of the past, but 
one laid in box or side plaits is simple and effective when 
made of a light material, such as cretonne or chintz. If the 
curtains should be of a heavy fabric, like velour, a plain 
valance should be used, decorated with a band of gold 
galloon near the edge. A valance will have the effect of 
reducing the apparent height of a window, and should not 
be used over low windows. If one does not wish to have the 
rod and rings show, a heading at the top of the curtains will 
cover them effectively. : 
Long curtains coming to the floor should be lined, as this 
will give them more body; but when they are only sill length 
this is not necessary, especially with such fabrics as rajah 
silk, pongee or other rough materials of the same texture. 
A tiny hem at the bottom of such curtains, filled with shot, 
will make them hang better. 
As far as it is practical to do so, curtains should be hung 
in the windows, or in such a way as not to cover up all of 
the standing woodwork, which adds to the constructive 
quality of a room. Portiéres should be used in doorways 
only when there is some rea- 
son for their being there, and 
openings that are supplied 
with doors should not be cur- 
tained, unless the design of 
the door is so poor that it 
must be completely hidden. 
TRYING OUT A COLOR 
SCHEME. 
HEN decorating a 
house, or even a single 
room, we can save ourselves 
from exasperation and dis- 
appointment with the final 
results if we will only give a 
little forethought to our task 
and take the precaution of 
trying out our color scheme. 
Wall-papers and fabrics for 
hangings and wall covering 
frequently have the bad habit of not coming up to one’s ex- 
pectations when placed in a room, and still they seemed to 
be just the right thing when seen in the shop. 
The effect of wall-papers that are to be used in various 
rooms which get their light from different directions cannot 
be accurately judged in the light of a shop. Some colors 
