258 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
THE LIVING-ROOM 
By Harry Martin Yeomans 
F recent years the living-room has been grow- 
ing in favor, and it is a good omen of the 
sensible trend and interest which has been 
taken in home building and things artistic 
during the past ten or fifteen years, that 
this serviceable room has been fostered by 
architects until it has grown to be the principal one in 
almost every house, and very few floor plans now appear 
without it. Pretentious houses have the regulation drawing- 
room and reception-room, but they include a large living- 
room as well. It is in the smaller houses, however, that 
the social and economic side of the living-room is most 
manifest, and the space which was once devoted to a formal 
parlor, an upholstered den and a stuffy sitting-room, has 
now been incorporated in a large living room, which fulfills 
all the functions of the three former, and corresponds, in 
a general way, to the social hall of the olden times in Eng- 
land. This room also lends itself more readily to dec- 
orative treatment on account of its larger proportions and 
more ample wallspaces, and there is rejoicing at house- 
cleaning time, when only one room has to be cleaned in- 
stead of several small ones. In small houses which have 
the conventional rooms on the ground floor, the members 
of the family seem to gravitate naturally towards one social 
center and neglect the other rooms, which are only waste 
space as far as their being used to any extent is concerned. 
When a living-room is to be furnished, one is apt to be 
influenced by the idea that, in order to give it an informal 
appearance and keep it from becoming monotonous, a non- 
descript collection of furniture of various styles must be 
brought together and the walls lined with pictures regard- 
less of their merit. This room can be treated in a more or 
less formal way, and at the 
same time be perfectly fitted 
to its uses and embody all 
of the home atmosphere, 
which is indispensable in a 
living-room. 
If the living-room is to be 
decorated in a period style, 
the models and motifs which 
went to make up the princi- 
pal characteristics of that 
style must be adhered to and 
followed. But one can also 
take the furnishings of al- 
most any of the great 
periods of decorative art, 
and by creating a suitable 
background for it, you will 
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 
A living-room for Summer occupation 
July, 1912 
Stamps 
be able to adapt this furniture to the needs of a room in 
a small house. 
Some people possess the faculty of assembling artistic 
furniture, pictures and objects of different styles and 
periods, and seem to have an inborn feeling for just the 
right things which will combine in a harmonious whole. 
Persons endowed with this natural power of selection feel 
instinctively that certain objects will combine well when 
placed in juxtaposition. 
This idea has been visualized in the charming living-room 
and sitting-room shown in the accompanying illustrations, 
one of them having been treated in an informal and the 
other in a formal manner. Both rooms are full of good 
ideas and suggestions for the living-room of the Summer 
house, from a decorative and architectural point of view, 
and have an atmosphere of calm repose. 
The woodwork in the informal living-room is structural- 
ly good and culminates in the architectural treatment of the 
mantelpiece; the pilasters flanking the fireplace and fram- 
ing the wooden panel above, having the effect of supporting 
the ceiling. This is good constructive decoration. The 
wooden panel over the mantelshelf, showing the grain of 
the wood, decorates this space effectively. “The wood trim 
was not partly covered by draperies and pictures but was 
allowed its full value in the decorative scheme. The small 
panes of glass in the windows are more decorative than if 
the large sheets of glass had been used. 
A two-toned gray paper, having a small repeat, covered 
the walls and made a quiet and unobtrusive background for 
the varied collection of furniture which was to be placed in 
this room. Some willow pieces, a mahogany Empire sofa, 
an old tapestry and a Chinese teakwood stand, are only a 
few of the things which were placed side by side, but one 
has only to refer to the illustrations to see the happy result 
that was obtained for features that reflect simplicity of style. 
There was no overcrowd- 
ing, the furniture being ar- 
ranged around the sides of 
the room, leaving the center 
tree, which gave the desired 
‘sense of spaciousness to this 
Summer living-room. 
Everything in the room 
was both useful and beauti- 
ful. Ornaments that do not 
ornament were entirely lack- 
ing. The two pictures are 
large enough to be seen from 
the center of the room and 
are hung on a line with the 
eye. 
The placing of the objects 
in the corner of the room by 
