August, 1912 AMERICAN 
ERE TT IT 
ae 
SORTENATE 
China cupboard in the corner of the living-room 
fitted with a damper and a brass pull-chain to close off the 
draft when there is no fire in the fireplace, and to keep out 
the mosquitoes and dust in the Summer time. It is also 
fitted with an ash-drop to the ashpit. The opening is four 
feet long. The low arch is especially handsome and does 
away with the big black hole of the high-arched fireplace and 
throws out more heat. The hearth proper is concrete, cor- 
rectly proportioned in width, and it extends to the wall on 
each end in order to make the fireplace and fireside seat 
one. The mantel-shelf is an example of simplicity and pro- 
portion, being five feet five inches high. Under this simple 
mantel-shelf are groups of raised blue tile which repeat 
themselves in the concrete hearth. Above the mantel-shelf, 
as a part of the architecture, is a handsome mural decora- 
tion done by a noted artist. The seat is a continuation of 
the mantel, the shelf being used for books. A light is 
properly placed over the seat for reading in this cozy 
corner, and a nigh window brightens it through the day. 
The bookcase was de- 
signed by a friend and built 
by a Norwegian carpenter 
who had served his appren- 
ticeship as a cabinet maker 
abroad, but who commanded 
a low wage on account of his 
inability to speak English. 
The mistress of the house 
was his foreman. The 
bookcase carries the height 
of the mantel. It extends 
from the deep-silled window 
to the corner of the room, 
then to the glass doors be- 
tween living-room and din- 
ing-room. The quaint little 
doors close off a space for 
choice books and papers. 
We had the wooden knobs 
made with wooden screw 
dowels for seven cents 
apiece, the ones purchased 
from the large hardware 
stores being impracticable 
and perishable in construc- 
tion. The metal stencil is 
placed over the same blue of 
the mantel. The shelves are 
adjustable and a soft-toned 
silk curtain gives a charming 
color spot to the room. 
The glass doors between 
HOMES AND GARDENS 
Inglenook by the living-room fireplace 
287 
The dining-room is simply and tastefully furnished 
the living-room and the dining-room fold back on each 
other, then against the dining-room wall. Being curtained, 
they give the required privacy at the dining hour. The 
curtains give lots of color and the glass doors give the idea 
of distance that cannot be obtained looking at wooden 
doors, then a charming effect is produced. 
The stairs are remarkable in the small space they occupy, 
the easy mount and the individual balustrade. The space 
under the landing gives a dark fruit closet. I had preserved 
the walnut rail from the old house to be used as the new 
rail, but the workman needed only to hold it in place for 
me to see how hideous it would be running almost straight 
up and down in a few feet space. The present and much 
admired one was inspired by a similar one in an Austrian 
decorative book. The rise and off-set gives the idea of 
distance and open space to this remarkably small stairway. 
From the landing, backstairs run to the kitchen. The fire- 
place, the heart of the living-room, was planned far away 
from the stairway so that one 
may escape from the kitchen 
unseen. 
The dining-room was or- 
iginally three steps down. 
The floor was raised to the 
level of the living-room floor, 
leaving the tops of the old 
stone wall exposed with a 
well-proportioned height. 
This we converted into a 
natural plate rail, which 
made the room heavy on one 
side. We balanced this 
weight by building in a 
roomy and artistic china 
cabinet, projected by the 
friend who designed the 
bookcase and built by the 
Norwegian under my super- 
vision. It is a continuation 
of the plate rail in height 
and an artistic and useful 
treatment of a corner. Its 
long, graceful lines and its 
simplicity are enriched by 
leaded glass doors. One 
only needs to see it to realize 
that a cabinet for the corner, 
giving the balance, roomi- 
ness and charm that this one 
does, could scarcely have 
been bought at any price. 
