April, 1 910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



147 



Fig. 4 — A convenient way by which a lavatory is enclosed in a room 



and the panelled seat in front of the window provides 



a place for boot shelves. 



lack. It is of a French design and painted gray-white like 

 the master's furniture, and trimmed to match the curtains. 

 The shelf below, concealed by the flounce which also pro- 

 tects it from the dust, is large enough to hold a dozen pairs 

 of shoes. Above the shelf are two drawers for use for 

 hair pins and handkerchiefs. Now the flounce, though 

 seemingly made to run around the table, is really divided 

 in front and on the sides, into three parts, the openings be- 

 ing concealed by the fullness. Two of these parts are 

 tacked separately on to the drawers, either one of which 

 can therefore be easily opened without disturbing the other. 

 The top of the table is covered with the white dimity and 

 has a very narrow strip of the chintz running around the 

 edge, giving not only a finish to the whole, but relieving the 

 sense of bareness. Over this in obedience to an ever-grow- 

 ing fashion, there is a large piece of thick plate glass fitting 

 perfectly. This protects the top from dust. These glass covers 

 can be obtained from shops devoted to surgical supplies. 



Over the table, in obedience also to the best prevailing 

 fashion of the day, an electric light is suspended — an or- 

 dinary bulb like those seen everywhere hanging from the 

 ceiling by a wire. That which lends it distinction is a 

 charming shade, soft-toned, edged with a fringe and 

 trimmed with a garland of tiny pink rosebuds. As a study 

 of the accompanying illustrations will show, nothing is per- 

 mitted about the room which is ugly. Thus there are 

 none of those embroidered horrors destined for loose hair, 

 no fluggy pin cushions are visible, and the whisk broom is 

 not considered sufficiently beautiful to be hung in a con- 

 spicuous place, even when it is encased in a silver or em- 

 broidered token. 



A bedroom of more modest proportions in another flat 

 has on the walls and at the windows a cretonne of stripes 

 in soft green tones relieved by a line of roses. This costs 

 but nineteen cents a yard. As new designs appear every 



year, its exact duplicate may not exist, but in any large es- 

 tablishment one may find a great variety for the same 

 price. The expense lies in putting it up, since two wooden 

 strips are required, one at the base board, the other under 

 the ceiling. The gimp which finishes the edge is inexpen- 

 sive. This covering can be kept clean by frequent brush- 

 ings, and where there are no children and a room is easily 

 aired, it is to be more highly recommended than a paper 

 and stuff which, though sold as matching, represent dif- 

 ferences of shades always apparent to the sensitive eye. 



In choosing any wall covering, samples should first be 

 tried, a yard or two obtained to be lived with for a day 

 or two before the purchase is made. The lights of a room 

 may throw out of key that which looked well in a shop, de- 

 signs may over-accentuate themselves and a color may be- 

 come offensive. 



In the bedroom just mentioned special attention is drawn 

 to the valance, often a most expensive article when made, 

 and always difficult to wash. This one is made after a new 

 and original design. An ordinary dimity spread costing 

 $1.38 for single beds and $1.88 for double beds, is used 

 and trimmed with a crocheted lace bought on the street any- 

 where from 25 to 75 cents a yard. This cover is basted on 

 to the top of the box spring, and always remains stationary 

 when the upper mattress is turned, the only fitting required 

 being about the legs of the bed where a triangular piece 

 must be cut out. It relieves the bed of the look of a hos- 

 pital ward, as a bed without a valance is apt to look, be- 

 sides making the bed itself pretty when the coverlid is re- 

 moved, and one is forced to spend a day on one's pillows. 

 The coverlid of course must be of dimity like the valance. 

 Thus the two bedspreads, one smaller than the other, may 

 be had for $3.26, which is much less than the cost of mak- 

 ing the ordinary valance with its necessary gathers and 

 strings and buttonholes and wooden sticks. The crinklet 

 dimity is cheapest and very pretty, costing 95 cents or 

 $1.25, according to the size. 



Fig. 5 — The walls and curtains of this bedroom are of cretonne with 

 stripes in soft green tones relieved by a line of roses. 



