May, 1 910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



XI 



CORRESPONDENCE 



The Editor of America.n Homes and 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 

 OLD-FASHIONED WALL-PAPERS 



A READER who has bought an old 

 farmhouse writes : "In remodehng 

 this cottage for a summer house, 

 our idea is to make it as complete in itself 

 as possible, so that we need not buy nor 

 have the care of a multiplicity of furnish- 

 ings. Also, we would like to make it a 

 contrast to our winter house, which is of 

 the conventional type, and be able to lead 

 'the simple life' so far as the interior con- 

 tents will allow us. Some one has sug- 

 gested the use of old-fashioned papers. 

 Would these be appropriate in the living- 

 room, dining-room, and entrance hall?"- — 

 C. E., Conn. 



Quite a distinctive character may be 

 given a summer house by a careful selec- 

 tion of old-fashioned wall-papers, and the 

 patterns may be more decorative than those 

 usually applied to the city dwellings. In 

 the entrance hall, for instance, a landscape 

 or picture paper printed in gray will make 

 an avenue of neutral tone, into which the 

 various rooms will open harmoniously. In 

 the living-room, with its southerly expo- 

 sure, a green foliage paper will decorate the 

 walls without the addition of pictures. The 

 east dining-room may be made cheerful 

 with a wide scenic border (illustrated in 

 the Alarch number of this magazine, page 

 112) printed in yellow and orange. If 

 hardwood floors are not laid in these rooms, 

 a yellow floor paint may be applied, with a 

 gray paint for the bedrooms. For the 

 sleeping-rooms there are attractive wall- 

 papers in chintz effect with cretonne to 

 match. The latter may be used for a bed 

 coyer, for draping a dressing stand, and 

 for covering a shirtwaist box. Glazed 

 chintz may be made up into window shades, 

 if a plain or two-toned paper is chosen for 

 the walls. 



If there are any small "jogs" or recesses 

 in the house there may be shelves or seats 

 built in to take the place of movable pieces 

 of furniture. A high-backed settle may be 

 designed for the hall, and a mirror fitted 

 into a convenient panel. The corners of 

 the dining-room may have cupboards built 

 in with latticed doors, and the living-room 

 may have low bookcases against the wall. 

 The following of this plan would do away 

 with quite a number of the furnishings or- 

 dinarily required in a summer dwelling 

 place. 



STAIR CARPET FOR YELLOW 

 WALL-PAPER 



From Mrs. W. F. D. of Virginia comes 

 an inquiry about stair and hall carpet : 

 "Please suggest coloring and kind of car- 

 pet for my hall. The woodwork is painted 

 white with the rail of walnut. The wall- 

 paper is a deep yellow in small, set pattern 

 of two tones. What is the best carpet for 

 durability and general appearance and its 



cost? Give, also, some substitute at less 

 cost." 



For this special hall a Wilton carpet in 

 olive green with a touch of brown or yel- 

 low in the design would cost $2.75 a yard. 

 The stair carpet is made to match with the 

 edges finished with a narrow border. A 

 velvet carpet at $1.75 a yard would give 

 almost the same coloring, but with less re- 

 sistance for hard wear. At $1.50 a yard 

 a body Brussels carpet in dark red mixed 

 with green and tan would be attractive. If 

 a smaller amount must be paid, a tapestry 

 Brussels at $1.10 a yard, without stair car- 

 pet to match, in a mottled green would look 

 well. In choosing a hall carpet, not only 

 the happy combination with the wall-paper 

 must be sought for, but a color that will 

 not be too light for service nor too dark for 

 the Hmited light that is usually allowed this 

 part of the house. 



DYEING RUGS 



In re-adjusting the furnishings of a 

 house, one may often improve upon a previ- 

 ous arrangement, and oftentimes a definite 

 color scheme worked out without buying 

 anything new. A New Jersey subscriber 

 writes of her success in this line and asks 

 if it would be possible to have an old Ori- 

 ental rug that is soiled and faded, dyed a 

 dark brown. 



A sample of the desired color would need 

 to be submitted to the dyeing company with 

 a description of the colors in the rug. The 

 success of any piece of dyeing is problemat- 

 ical, but if one is willing to take the risk 

 the result is often more than satisfactory. 

 A plain red rug can be first bleached and 

 afterward dyed any color, and light green 

 can be dyed a deeper shade. 



GOLOR SGHEME FOR DARK ROOM 



"Is there any color we can introduce in 

 our upstairs sitting-room which has a north 

 exposure to make it more cheerful? Three 

 years ago we had a bright red paper put 

 on the wall, hoping to make a pretty even- 

 ing effect. We have since added red-and- 

 gold draperies and a plain red Axminster 

 rug, but without reaching what we so much 

 desired — a livable, pleasing atmosphere. 

 We can dispose of the present furnishings 

 into other parts of the house if you will 

 give some treatment that will be sure to be 

 satisfactory." — A. H., Albany, N. Y. 



The woodwork of the room is not men- 

 tioned by the correspondent, but if it can be 

 painted a cream white in an egg-shell fin- 

 ish it will be a help. A pumpkin-colored 

 paper for the walls in a small, set pattern, 

 rug of dark blue, mahogany and gold, cur- 

 tains of yellow and white madras and the 

 furniture covered with gold and brown ma- 

 terial will make a color scheme suggestive 

 of sunlight. If an open fire can be added, 

 even with a small Franklin stove, it will 

 make another element of cheer, and lamps 

 with light-colored shades will be a help in 

 the evenings. 



Garden Work About the Home 

 PLANTS FOR THE ROGK GARDEN 



APROPOS of the paper on Rock Gar- 

 dens in last issue of American 

 Homes and Gardens, we have been 

 asked to give a list of plants to be grown 

 in the rock garden. 



The Prickly Pear (Opuntia in many 

 varieties) is the best plant for the dry top 

 of a sunny rock. An inch or two of soil 

 is enough for it, and no drought can do it 

 harm. Such a dry place is desirable be- 

 cause no grass can grow there, and sorrel, 

 which is the only weed that bothers, is easy 

 to pull up. It is not good fun to weed a 

 mass of prickly pears, as anyone who tries 

 will discover. 



The flowers of the prickly pear are large 

 — three to five inches across — clear yellow, 

 and beautiful in form and texture. They 

 are open only a day, but a bed three feet 

 in diameter will bear more than one hun- 

 dred and fifty blossoms. It is in bloom 

 about the fourth of July. The fruits, 

 which ripen in September, are deep red 

 and purple, and can be eaten if they are 

 first peeled. 



The stone crop {Sediim acre) will grow 

 anywhere, and is always pleasing, whether 

 showing its yellow flowers or its cheerful 

 winter green. Other Sedums are good, 

 except some of the tall kinds, like 5". Tele- 

 pliium, which is a difficult weed to eradi- 

 cate if it once takes hold. The small 

 Sedums spread over the rock and cover 

 much more space than the earth they are 

 planted in. 



Semperivivunis, the house leeks, or hen 

 and chickens, are pretty rosettes for use in 

 the small crevices of the rocks, and, so 

 planted, they are nicer than one could 

 imagine who had only seen them used in 

 carpet bedding on the showy lawns of a 

 rural cemetery. 



Any of the small irises are good. /. rec- 

 ticulata and /. histrioides bloom very early. 

 Iris purnila will stand much dryness, though 

 not so much as /. cristata, which spreads 

 rapidly in shallow soil. 



Phlox subulata sometimes dries out in an 

 exposed situation, but will often grow again 

 from the roots. It forms a closely matted 

 carpet on the rock. Its roots will go great 

 distances in a crack of the rock, and in 

 such a place it will not dry up. The vari- 

 eties alba and bridesmaid are better in color 

 than the type. 



Phlox repens is good, but must have deep 

 soil. Its foliage is of little value. 



Silene Pennsylvanicuvi will grow in dry 

 soil, and has pink or white star-like flowers 

 in May. 



Iheris Tenorcana and I. Scinpervirens do 

 very well in dry places, and will endure 

 some shade. The white flowers in 2\Iay are 

 very good, and the leaves are evergreen. 



The rock cress Arabis Alpina has white 

 flowers in early spring. Planted at the top 

 of a low wall, it trails down for a foot or 

 more. 



