188 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
HELPS TO Tie 
a esl 
ESOS 
TABLE AND HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS OF INTER- 
EST TO EVERY HOUSEKEEPER AND HOUSEWIFE 
May, 1912 
SS 
FIXING UP A SMALL HOUSE 
By Elizabeth Atwood 
spirit, there is great pleasure and unlimited 
satisfaction in fixing up a small house and 
making it harmonious and beautiful, in spite 
of the fact that there is little money to spend. 
Any one with money can buy artistic ability 
and good taste, even if he does not possess those qualities; 
but the individual of limited means must study out what to 
do to make his small home beautiful, even if he has not 
much artistic skill to begin with. 
This study is a development in other ways than in the 
dressing of his house, if he will allow it to be. If he is just 
a business man, connected only with the sordid side of 
money-making and money-getting, he will, in his spare 
moments, be lifted out of the soul-wearing atmosphere, 
if, with his sweetheart or his young wife he takes up the 
study of making his little home a 
thing of beauty. ‘They will read 
together the magazines which are 
fairly brimming with suggestions 
for decoration. They may follow 
them, or through these suggestions 
evolve the scheme of home deco- 
ration best suited to their needs— 
and their pocketbook. When they 
have done this, I think they are far 
ahead of the man, who, with plenty 
of money, has bought his scheme 
outright. 
To me, good taste in home deco- 
ration represents good judgment 
combined with practical common 
sense. To seek this earn- 
estly is what I mean by hav- 
ing the right spirit. In 
some, this wonderful thing, 
good taste, is inherent, but, 
alas, in others it is not. 
It does not seem _ har- 
monious, for instance, to 
put a large sum of money 
into one or two articles of fur- 
niture, and then have them § 
grin at the rest of the house — 
which could not be fur- 
nished according to their 
standard, for lack of funds. 
The teachings of simplic- 
ity set forth by William 
Morris have done much for 
The old house presented many problems to the young couple who set 
about to transform it 
us all, but there are many still who have not been reached. 
He has banished the old ‘‘what-not,” so well-named, with its 
dust-collecting contents, the massive carved furniture, and 
all the horrors of forty years ago. Now we have the simple 
lines, the quiet tones, all tending toward a restful and har- 
monious style of house furnishing and decoration. 
This is a boon to the man and woman of moderate means, 
who do wish to have their children grow up with surround- 
ings calculated to develop in them a love of the beautiful 
in the world. Say what you will, children do reflect 
in after life the effect of their early home. The little home, 
very simple because of stern need, may and should develop 
the best ideals in the minds of growing children. What 
kind of an ideal can a room too good for actual use, kept 
only to impress a caller, develop in the boy or girl living 
in the dining-room—or with friends who may have them 
in their home at any time? Parents should think out all these 
things when making the atmosphere of their small home. I 
have in mind a home, made on this principle: ‘‘What is here 
is for us, and this is good, too, for 
our friends.” They live in every 
inch of the house. Having this idea 
in mind when they began, everything 
has developed along these lines, and 
now, although children have come, 
everything remains harmonious, for 
the home was prepared for their re- 
ception and future care. 
This young couple, when they 
started out, had no money to spend 
in decorating the home. They had 
bought a piano and a sewing ma- 
chine when they were first house- 
keeping in the old house which they 
had bought. ‘They had a few things 
which “‘mother” gave them, 
and had been compelled to 
buy a few necessary things 
like stoves, tables and chairs. 
They had no debts but 
neither did they have any 
money. But they had the 
aforesaid good taste, un- 
limited perseverance and 
good health. 
But what a proposition 
the old home was! They 
even had to tear down par- 
titions to make the rooms 
the right size. A bedroom 
was in this way added to 
what used to be the most 
sacred “‘best room,” and the 
