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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



March, 1910 



CORRESPONDENCE 



The Editor of America.n Homes s.nd Gardens desires to extend an invitation to all its readers to send to the Correspondence Department inquiries on any matter 

 pertaining to the decorating and furnishing of the home and to the developing of the home grounds. 



All letters accompanied by return postage will be answered promptly by mail. Replies that are of general benefit will be published in this Department. 



Problems in Home Furnishing 



FRAMING AN OLD PICTURE 



^^'f ATELY, I have come into posses- 



I sion of an oil painting that is 



■^■^^ three feet high and nearly six feet 

 long. The frame is broken in places and 

 badly discolored. The canvas is dull-look- 

 ing. Yet the subject is interesting to me if 

 I knew v^here to place it. Would it be 

 appropriate above the mantel in my library? 

 What would a frame cost? What style of 

 frame would be the best?"- — C. J. C. 



A picture of this size would make an 

 excellent over-mantel decoration and would 

 be appropriate in a library. (In fact, much 

 more suitable than a mirror.) One of the 

 modern frames with heavy ribs gilded with 

 a flat gilded molding attached close to the 

 canvas, the whole measuring about five 

 inches in width, would cost from twenty- 

 five to thirty dollars. At an extra cost of 

 a few dollars the canvas could be restored, 

 which would increase the value of the 

 decoration. 



LINING FOR VELVET WINDOW CURTAINS 



"Will you kindly tell me through the 

 magazine what is best to use for lining 

 velour window curtains? I would prefer 

 a tan color as there are no lace draperies 

 next to the glass." — A Boston Reader. 



If the expense need not be considered 

 very much the best lining for a velvet cur- 

 tain is a soft silk that is made especially 

 for this use at two dollars and a half a 

 yard. This is fifty inches wide. There are 

 also lining materials from sixty cents a 

 yard (fine curtain sateen) upwards. The 

 color should be selected to look well against 

 the pane of the window sash, both outside 

 and in. 



PLACING A GRAND PIANO 



A request from a subscriber in New 

 York City as to the placing of a grand 

 piano, can only be answered in a general 

 way, as there is no diagram of the room 

 given. Usually a piano shows to the best 

 advantage when its keyboard is seen when 

 one enters the room. This rule cannot 

 always be followed, however, as the curved 

 side of the piano must be considered. The 

 left side of the piano should be placed along 

 the wall. The light, both in the day-time 

 and at night, is another factor to be con- 

 sidered in this problem. 



CURTAINS FOR PLANT ROOM 



"I am sending you floor plans of our new 

 house and would greatly appreciate any 

 help you can give me with the different 

 problems that have come up. Especially I 

 would like to know how to curtain the 

 windows in the small conservatory or plant 

 room that opens from the dining room. 

 My first thought was to hang lace curtains 



like those I shall use in the dining room, 

 but since the plants have been put in this 

 room this does not seem very practical. 

 Would the ordinary shades be better?" — 

 C. E. S., Nebraska. 



The treatment of the windows in a plant 

 room would, of necessity, be different from 

 that given to a room used in other ways. 

 The lace or net curtains are unpractical ; 

 the ordinary linen shade could be used, but 

 the Japanese rattan shade that is rolled by 

 pulleys and cord would better suit the idea 

 of the room if they can be obtained. These 

 are in the natural color and diminish the 

 light if necessary, and afford protection to 

 the plants when drawn at night. Another 

 suggestion is to have some glazed chintz 

 made up into shades, selecting colors that 

 harmonize with the wall paper of the dining 

 room. The ground work of the chintz is 

 usually white and for this reason the shades 

 would look better with white-painted wood- 

 work. 



COVER FOR A CARD TABLE 



A suggestion for making a folding card 

 table now covered with bright green felt 

 more in keeping with the quieter tones of 

 a parlor where it is brought into use has 

 been asked for. If the top of the table can 

 be lifted from the felt (as is sometimes 

 possible), a piece of brocade, silk armure or 

 velvet could be attached in its place. Or, 

 the finer material could be fastened over 

 the felt and edged with gimp. 



COLOR SCHEME FOR A LONG ISLAND 

 COTTAGE 



"We are making over rather an ordinary 

 cottage for our summer use by tearing out 

 partitions and making one large living- 

 room, a small reception hall and a dining- 

 room on the first floor. Upstairs, there 

 are two family rooms and two guest rooms. 

 Our plan is to have as little furnishing done 

 as possible, and for this reason we want to 

 have the wall papers as attractive as pos- 

 sible. Please send me samples of papers 

 for these rooms with this need in mind. 

 Could a gray paper be used in the hall? 

 We shall add a high wainscot of wood in 

 the dining-room and a shelf to hold some 

 old blue china." — P. B. 



The gray paper could be used in the hall 

 if a foliage or landscape effect were chosen. 

 There are several designs of this kind on 

 the market. The living-room opening from 

 reception hall could be papered with a 

 green-and-white foliage paper showing a 

 squirrel's head peeping through the leaves. 

 In the dining-room as a background for the 

 blue china a two-toned buff or yellow paper 

 could be used above the plate shelf. 



The two family bed rooms could have 

 chintz papers with a broken stripe. The two 

 guest rooms could be papered with a lattice 

 design and a blossom paper with birds in 

 the border. 



Garden Work About the Home 



4 4"1Y/E MEAN to follow the good 

 ^^y suggestion in 'Garden Notes' 

 for April, 1909, and have a gar- 

 den just for roses. We have selected the 

 site and built the fence around it and now 

 we are trying to decide on the kinds of 

 roses to grow. Can you help us in this?" 



Without knowing the size of your gar- 

 den it is hard to say just how many va- 

 rieties of roses you should grow, but the 

 following list of the best roses will prob- 

 ably be long enough. 



There are hundreds of named varieties 

 of roses and the number is increasing every 

 day. Many of them are not distinct 

 enough to be told apart by an unpractised 

 eye, and many of them are good in only 

 one characteristic and mediocre in the 

 others, so the rose lover should grow only 

 the best varieties : best because they have 

 proved themselves, in years of observation, 

 to be reliable and wholly satisfactory. 



It would be a mistake to plant too many 

 varieties. A dozen plants of one variety 

 in a mass will give a better effect than 

 twelve all different. 



The tea roses, which are distinguished 

 by their tea-like fragrance, and shades of 

 yellow, which are lacking in the hybrid 

 perpetuals, are the best garden roses. They 

 bloom more constantly than the hybrid per- 

 petuals (which are really June roses) and 

 they suffer less from our droughts. They 

 are not absolutely hardy but need some 

 protection in winter north of New York ; 

 protection which should take the form of 

 earth thrown up about the crown (or per- 

 haps even covering the bent over branches) 

 rather than the familiar straw overcoats. 



TEA ROSES 



Adrienne Christophe, flower large, full 

 coppery apricot yellow. 



Anna Olivier, rosy flesh, shaded with 

 salmon pink. 



Catherine Mcrmet, light rosy flesh. 



Devonensis, creamy white, blush center. 



Hon. Edith Gift'ord, white flesh, suf- 

 fused with yellow. 



Perle des Jardins, deep straw yellow. 



Princesse de Sagan, velvety crimson. 



The Bride, pure white. 



PERPETUAL MOSS ROSES 



These, too, bloom in the autumn and are 

 besides indispensable because of their 

 beautiful buds. They are fragrant and 

 hardy. 



Blanche Mireau, pure white. 



James Weitch, deep ocolet crimson. 



Salet, bright rose. 



There are climbing teas which are 

 scarcely to be attempted north of New 

 York, and a few climbing hybrid per- 

 petuals which should be hardy. Among 

 the latter, Climbing Fran Karl Druschke 

 is perhaps the best. 



