276 AMERICAN 
ing-seats can be used in any 
part of the house or the 
home grounds. 
he Fire Island Light 
electric lamp has a little door 
in the base, making a little 
closet where the electric cord 
and plug can be tucked away, 
when the lamp is not con- 
nected for use. The shade 
is lined with Priscilla silk of 
any desired shade, but cream 
or yellow makes the best lin- 
ing and gives an agreeable 
light. 
One objection to willow 
tables and desks has been 
that they were not practical 
owing to the weaving of the 
willow, resulting in an un- 
even top. Tables and desks 
are now being made with 
wooden tops, which over- 
comes. this objectionable 
feature. 
The Japanese baskets of 
split bamboo are imported in 
an endless variety of shapes 
and sizes and naturally sug- 
gest themselves when one is 
discussing woven furniture. 
The low, flat baskets—you 
might almost call them trays 
—are just the thing for hold- 
ing fruit in the country dining-room, while others have 
metal linings and make attractive flower-holders and fern- 
eries. In the illustration may be seen a charming little 
Japanese basket which has been transformed into a beauti- 
ful lamp, and a metal-lined umbrella stand of heavy, split 
bamboo is also shown, which would fit admirably into a 
hallway having a brown stained wood trim. 
Willow furniture can be used in its natural or white state 
on porches or in outdoor living-rooms, where it will gradu- 
ally weather and lose its newness, but it is perferable to 
hurry the process by having it treated to a coat of good 
brown stain, which will tone down the willow so as to produce 
-color scheme is desirable, 
the willow should be 
stained, painted or enam- 
eled to blend harmoniously 
A novelty in woven furniture 
HOMES AND GARDENS 
These woven chairs, imported from Asia, are cheap and wear well 
the desired effectiveness. ° 
Tiny ithe: Slittle’ = country 
house where a consistent 
August, 1912 
with the dominant color in 
-the room; enameled willow 
being very pleasing in a 
dainty bedroom. 
Willow furniture and the 
flower-bedecked _—_ cretonnes 
and chintzes seem by right to 
have been made for each 
other and enable one to 
transform any room into a 
veritable flower garden. 
With plain walls, flowered 
chintz hangings at the win- 
dows, cushions of the same 
material, and the furniture 
toned to harmonize, one will 
nave a bright, cheerful and 
refreshing room. 
The painting of the furni- 
ture is so cleverly done that 
it is an art in itself. Two or 
more tones of the same color 
are usually employed. The 
paint is thinned and the fur- 
niture treated to two coats 
of the lighter color. When 
this is dry a coat of the 
darker color is brushed over, 
= .and when nearly dry it is 
“wiped off with a cloth. This 
allows the lighter color to 
show through while the 
darker color forms deep 
shadows in the crevices. In 
this manner one gets interesting highlights, a result which 
is much more beautiful than when only one color is used. 
Paint that has a dull, flat surface when dry is best for this 
purpose. 
Sometimes two different colors are used on the same piece 
of furniture. This effect was noticed in some willow furni- 
ture which was to be used in conjunction with an English 
cretonne having peacocks on a dark écru background. The 
walls of the room were to be covered with an écru oatmeal 
paper, ivory-white woodwork, the peacock cretonne to be 
hung at the windows and used for chair cushions, while the 
willow chairs and settee had been painted, first, a dark 
green and then a wonderful 
shade of peacock blue,’ | 
which had been wiped off © 
when partly dry and al- | 
lowed the green underneath 
to show through. By car- 
(Continued on page 295) 
Lea aN TENE LGN AGE LORE Bi ERGOT RR IE BS 
ome 
EERO MELTS 
