May, 1912 
two made a large _living- 
room with five windows, 
two to the south and three 
to the west. The old kitch- 
en was made into a dining- 
room, and a pantry and 
passageway was made into 
a kitchen. These, with one 
large bedroom constituted 
the house, save for one 
finished room in the attic. 
All of these improve- 
ments were slow of comple- 
tion, for the business of liv- 
ing took most of their time. 
Their greatest problem was 
the walls, and next the 
floors. During this period 
they got together enough money to buy for the walls some 
dull red burlap. The walls were too rough to take paper 
unless done over, and they could not afford to do this. 
Neither one of them knew how to “‘hang”’ paper, but both 
could tack on the burlap; so this was used for the dining- 
room and the large living-room. 
The bedroom walls were covered with pale blue building 
paper, which they bought very cheaply. They managed 
to get this on the wall themselves, for it was heavy and had 
no pattern, proving that “where there is a will there is a 
way.’ The young woman said, “What is the use of a 
college education if mere walls are to beat you?” The 
kitchen walls and open shelves were all painted a pale 
chocolate color lined off with red, for the young woman was 
a crank on light, and this color caught all the rays which 
came through the one window. Before the burlap went 
on the walls, the woodwork of the other rooms was painted 
a very light creamy yellow. 
It was not possible for 
them to have hardwood 
floors. They did not be- 
lieve in carpets, and could 
not have them anyway. They 
had a few good rugs, wed- 
ding presents, so they de- 
cided on painted floors. 
They chose a dull shade of 
sage-green, and the Oriental 
rugs look very well upon it, 
I assure you; and, as the lit- 
tle mistress said, ‘‘greenish- 
gray is very pleasant to live 
with.” 
A cot bed was made into 
a couch in one corner, and 
with pillows (filled with the 
excelsior from their moy- 
ing) for “‘backers,’”’ it was 
comfortable and good to 
look at. Another corner 
had two boxes, two feet 
wide and five feet long, cov- 
ered with cushions, and 
made to hold dresses which 
were not in daily use, mak- 
ing a charming corner seat. 
This up-to-date young 
woman also said, “If we had 
fewer and better made 
chairs, and more window 
seats, we and our children 
would be more comfortable. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
The old kitchen was made into a dining-room 
The living-room was made from two bedrooms 
189g 
So choose carefully what 
you put in your living-room. 
Try to put into it a fireplace, 
a few good books, some 
musical instruments, a fine 
picture, or photographs of 
fine ones, a big seat or couch, 
and some comfortable cush- 
ions, a steady table, and a 
good lamp; then, if the room 
is of fair size, it will look 
cheerful and like a living- 
room.” 
These young people had 
books, beautiful bric-a-brac 
and fine china and cut-glass, 
all given them when they 
were married. There was 
not one spot in this new-old house where these could be 
put except upon the floor. They had no money to spend 
on a bookcase and the pantry had been made into a kitchen. 
The young man was handy and very resourceful. He 
bought from time to time a few feet of eight-inch planed 
boards. He designed and made bracket ends for shelves, 
which were placed from a mantel post around the corner to 
the window frame; from window frame to window frame, 
and so on around the room. (The illustration of their fire- 
place shows the effect.) 
All this took time, and many long evenings of w ork, but 
in the end the result was delightful. These shelves were 
stained rather dark, so that they made a fitting home for 
the books. The statuary, brasses and other ornaments 
show well against the dark red wall. Soft, thin yellow 
hangings in the windows make this room one of the most 
attractive rooms I was ever in. Figure for yourself the 
actual cost. It would be im- 
possible to buy the personal 
charm of it, however. 
Then our young man 
turned his attention to the 
dining-room. Again he de- 
signed the shelf spacing and 
bracket ends. Here the ar- 
ticles of china found at last 
aplaceston stay. ldlere;.in 
evidence, they delight the 
eye when not in use. They 
serve to train one’s taste on 
these open shelves far bet- 
ter than they could shut 
away in a cupboard, and only 
seen when used. A sliding 
door opens a space between 
these shelves and the work- 
ing shelf of the kitchen, and 
through this the little 
mother can watch her chil- 
dren at play while she does 
her kitchen work, and also 
can pass the clean dishes, 
saving many steps. 
In the illustration of the 
dining-room please notice 
the little holders for the pew- 
ter platter and the plate. 
Then the cupboards under 
the shelves, which make good 
places for crackers, cake and 
many other articles always 
calling for a dry, cool place. 
