from subscribers pertaining to 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
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 
should be enclosed when a direct personal reply is desired 
May, 1912 
ome Decoration. Stamps 
TRANSFORMING THE WINTER INTERIOR 
By Harry Martin Yeomans 
Photograph by T. C. Turner 
HE rooms of the all-the-year-round house do 
not have to be made dreary and funereal, 
the pictures shrouded in dust covers that 
make them appear like so many white spots 
on the walls, and te furniture encased in 
drab, somber slips, just because the Summer 
season is at hand, although with some people, this seems 
to be the mistaken idea of what the interior of a house 
should resemble during the outdoor season. ‘There are 
dreary days-in Summer when one cannot be out of doors, 
so the house should always be made as cheerful and livable 
as possible, for this, if for no other reason. It is often dif- 
ficult to choose color schemes and furnishings which will 
adapt themselves successfully to both Summer and Winter 
use, but that should not deter one from transforming the 
Winter house into a Summer retreat when the gratifying 
results that can be obtained with very little trouble and ex- 
pense are realized. 
EAVY draperies and rugs that make a room de- 
lightfully cosy in Winter will have the effect of making 
the atmosphere stuffy and oppressive during the warm 
months. It is better to remove the pictures than to cover 
them up. Heavy draperies should be changed for light 
and airy fabrics and slip covers of bright cheerful colors 
for the sofa and easy chairs, will change the whole at- 
mosphere of a room. In one little house in the country the 
putting on of the Summer garb was accomplished in a simple 
manner. ‘The owner appreciated the decorative value of 
the bright flowered English cretonnes and chintzes as 
Summer draperies, and used them in profusion in dining- 
room, library and living-room. ‘The dining-room had white 
sash-curtains at the window and long over-curtains of rose 
and green cretonne, which harmonized effectively with the 
Colonial spirit of this dining-room. The Chippendale chairs 
had slip-seats which facilitated their being covered with 
the cretonne and also its removal. 
HE living-room had crisp, fresh, sill-length curtains of 
lawn at the windows, over-curtains of cretonne show- 
ing yellow roses and a mass of green foliage. Neatly 
fitted furniture covers of this same material covered the 
sofa and easy chairs, and two yellow enameled chairs of 
willow upholstered in cretonne were added, and also a large 
gray and yellow rag rug. ‘These rugs make the cheapest 
kind of a Summer floor covering, as one measuring about 
eight by ten feet can be obtained for six dollars. ‘The color 
scheme of the library was rather dark in tone with dark 
brown stained woodwork, so the flowered cretonne could 
not be used here. A blue, green and écru Jacobean pattern 
was selected instead, and used for long curtains at the 
windows and made into slip covers for the Davenport and 
other leather upholstered furniture. Vases were kept full 
of flowers, not always from the garden, but Golden Rod, 
Wild Carrot, green foliage and the wild plants helped to 
make this all-the-year-round house a cool and inviting place 
in Summer. 
HE plan of this homemaker is commendable in every 
way, as the draperies and slip-covers were cleaned be- 
fore being put away in the Fall and her house could put 
on its Summer dress at almost a moment’s notice. And the 
furniture covers of cretonne not only protected the furniture 
but were decorative as well. 
T this season the Summer dress for the little house is 
under consideration, when, perhaps, as soiled or faded 
wall-pupers are going to be replaced and the woodwork 
treated to new paint, it is not inappropriate to men- 
tion a few general facts relative to the refurbishing of the 
little house. Interior decoration is something like the 
doctor’s profession, inasmuch as no two cases or problems 
are exactly alike. Each needs individual treatment, so it is 
dificult to formulate any hard and fast rules which will 
exactly meet the individual requirements of all. There are, 
however, several well established principles which it is well 
to bear in mind when planning any new interior work. 
VERY problem of interior decoration should commence 
with the four walls of the room, which are to be the 
background for not only the furniture, pictures and what- 
ever else one may elect to place in a room, but also for 
the individuals who congregate there. So it is always de- 
batable whether plain or figured wall surfaces are the better. 
For all general purposes, plain wall surfaces, or those that 
have the effect of being plain, are preferable to those having 
large repeats. They make a better background for pictures 
and furnishings, especially when a heterogeneous collection 
is used; they do not tire the eye, are restful, and should 
always be used in rooms to be occupied by persons of 
nervous temperaments. If it is feared that a monotonous 
effect will be the result, color and gaiety can be introduced 
in hangings, upholstery, cushions and lampshades, and the 
flowered cretonnes and chintzes immediately suggest them- 
selves for this purpose. 
HE oatmeal papers, Japanese grasscloth, cartridge 
papers and the woven effects all make excellent plain 
wall coverings, but one should not overlook the tinted plaster 
walls, or the walls that have been treated to several coats 
of flat, dull paint. These, besides being both beautiful and 
sanitary, come nearer to being real decoration than wall- 
papers. 
F decorative wall coverings are employed, the problem at 
once becomes more difficult. They preclude almost en- 
tirely the use of pictures and decorative objects, and it 
behooves one to have the furniture match as regards general 
outline, wood, texture and color, or the result will be a 
