June, 19 10 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



XI 



CORRESPONDENCE 



The Editor of American Homes a.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 



A DINING-ROOM FLOOR COVERING 



FROjNI Tennessee comes a description 

 of a dining-room floor for which it 

 is difificult to find a rug in the ready- 

 made article. "This room is very long and 

 very narrow, with a hearth that adds still 

 further to its peculiar spaces. In the win- 

 ter we wall use the narrow end farthest 

 from the windows, and in the summer 

 move the table into the wide space. Would 

 you use several rugs of ordinary size in 

 this room? Or can you suggest some- 

 thing better ?"^G. D. D. 



From the diagram inclosed, this dining- 

 room would require a rug about eight feet 

 wide by twenty-three feet long. The best 

 plan would be to have a rug made from 

 carpet of as good a quality as can be af- 

 forded. Three widths and the border on 

 each side would make a rug eight feet three 

 inches wide, and the length could be what- 

 ever gives the same margin of floor at the 

 ends as the width allows at the sides. In 

 Brussels, such a rug could be made for 

 about fifty dollars. With the floor covered 

 in this way, the dining table may be used 

 in either part of the room, and moved 

 whenever desired, without disturbing the 

 rug. 



SLIP COVERS FOR PORTIERES 



'T have heard of a new way of cover- 

 ing handsome portieres in the summer 

 months with cretonne to match the slip 

 covers on the furniture. How is this done ? 

 I have no available place to pack away my 

 winter over-curtains and portieres, and as 

 we use our home during most of the sum- 

 mer, it would be an advantage to keep up 

 some kind of door curtain. I have never 

 cared for the striped linen covers that are 

 usually put over chairs to protect them 

 from the dust." — F. E. 



The curtain and portiere bags are used 

 particularly in apartments where there is 

 no place for packing away furnishings of 

 this kind, and also give some decoration 

 during the summer months, instead of 

 showing bare-looking spaces. A pretty 

 cretonne that harmonizes with the wall- 

 paper is selected, and the width used on 

 either side of the curtain, with the bottom 

 sewed together and the tops hemmed and 

 one buttoned over the other. The curtain 

 rings keep their usual place, and the por- 

 tiere is pushed to one side when incased in 

 the basr. Heavy winter curtains are treated 

 in the same way. If the material is too 

 light-colored for the chair and sofa covers, 

 a darker pattern may be chosen for the 

 latter. For the tops of the tables there is 

 a cotton damask with a swansdown back- 

 ing that can be made into a cover with a 

 six-inch valance all around. Sofa pillows 

 are also covered for summer use in a wash- 

 able fabric, and muslin or fish-net curtains 

 take the place of the lace. The enjoyment 

 of a home during the hot weather is so 

 much greater with some attention paid to 

 beautifying it, while still taking care to 

 protect it from the pervading dust that the 

 trouble and expense are well worth while. 



FOR A BRIDE'S PRESENT 



Some suggestion for a wedding gift is 

 asked for from a reader who lives at some 

 distance from any large city. As the bride 

 is to begin to make a home, there will be 

 no difficulty in finding something really 

 useful and acceptable. In furniture, there 

 are small occasional tables, muffin stands, 

 sewing stands, card tables, sewing rockers, 

 reading chairs, benches, plant stands and 

 taborets. In lamps, there are various kinds 

 for reading, decoration and general use. 

 An attractive pillow cover can always be 

 made available. Also, small covers and 

 mats for tables, linens for bureaus and 

 dressing tables. A water set for a guest- 

 room is more novel than the usual selec- 

 tion in silver. Pieces of copper and brass 

 fit into almost any home nowadays. Hold- 

 ers for cut flowers and plants are especi- 

 ally helpful in a country or suburban home. 

 A sun dial was lately chosen for a wed- 

 ding gift, and garden pottery will probably 

 be the next thought. 



OLD DOOR-KNOCKER AND LATCH 



"In buying a little old farmhouse in Con- 

 necticut," writes Mrs. J. I. R., "we are 

 disappointed to find that the original door 

 latch and knocker have been removed. We 

 have scoured the country around, but can- 

 not find one that suits us. Would it cost 

 very much to have these articles made to 

 order? Someway, the modern door knob 

 does not satisfy us." 



It is not necessary to have a special 

 latch and knocker made (which would be 

 quite expensive), as the reproductions can 

 be had at a comparatively small cost — 

 about five dollars for the latch and three 

 for the knocker. 



FURNISHINGS FOR A GIRLS' CLUB ROOM 



"Is it within your province to suggest 

 some attractive furnishings for a room in 

 a private house that will be used quite ex- 

 clusively by a club of young girls? The 

 club colors are pink, white and blue, but 

 it is not essential to have these appear. The 

 floor is covered with a Japanese matting, 

 and there is a round table for tea things 

 and a writing de.sk. This is all that is 

 ready at present. There are three small 

 windows close together, with a deep win- 

 dow sill, and a small fireplace. What can 

 be added to make the room really cosy 

 and home-like?" — The Committee on Fur- 

 nishing. 



The open fireplace may be the starting 

 point for achieving the attractive interior 

 desired in this club room. A set of brass 

 andirons, with shovel, tongs, poker and fire 

 screen may claim the first outlay. Some 

 receptacle for wood — a willow basket or 

 chest — is also needed. A hearth rug and 

 some small rugs may be laid over the mat- 

 ting in front of the larger pieces of furni- 

 ture. A willow settle with cretonne 

 cushions and pillows may be drawn near 

 the fireplace with the tea table near. Some 

 reproductions of the old rush-seated chairs 

 may be had now for five dollars each, and 

 these will give character to the room. 



Garden^^Work About the Home 



TEMPORARY VINES FOR THE PERGOLA 



R. L. S. asks what can be done to cover 

 a pergola with vines in one season? 



THE difficulty is a puzzling one, because 

 to plant annual vines with the per- 

 manent ones is likely to be an in- 

 jury to the latter, and annual vines any- 

 way are unsatisfactory. You had better 

 plant the permanent vines at once, and 

 give them the best care. While they are 

 small, for the first season, at any rate, 

 you can grow gourds, hop vines or any 

 rapid growing things in boxes, and direct 

 their growth away from the permanent 

 vines and to the highest parts of the per- 

 gola. In this way you will get a good 

 cover which will not retard the final result. 

 TURF TENNIS COURTS 



"What must we do to have a good turf 

 court? The only place where we can have 

 it is the most prominent in the landscape, 

 and the young people want a dirt court 

 there ; but now that turf courts are be- 

 coming more fashionable, we have com- 

 promised and agreed to build one." — H. P. 

 W. 



As perfect turf is only to be had on a 

 deep, rich soil, the whole success of your 

 court depends upon thorough trenching, 

 and, if necessary, adding soil until it is at 

 least two feet deep. In the May number 

 of American Homes and Garden- there 

 was a description of the best processes for 

 making a good lawn, and the operations 

 described there should be followed, except 

 that the quantity of seed should be in- 

 creased. 



Another factor in makine a perfect court 

 is abundant water. Our long droughts are 

 the only reason why we cannot have as 

 perfect tennis lawns in this country a? they 

 have in England. 



The court should be arranged so that it 

 can be flooded with water two or three 

 inches deep, or, even better, it should be 

 underlain by irrigating tile, 3 inches in dia- 

 meter, 18 inches deep, and 6 feet apart, 

 laid crosswise of the court. The ends of 

 these tiles should be connected with a line 

 of 6 inch tile, with an opening at the middle 

 where a 2 inch hose can be connected. The 

 cross drains should slope only a little from 

 this side to the connecting drain on the 

 other side, which must have a gate valve 

 which can be closed. In a dry time, fill the 

 pipes rapidly with water which will gradu- 

 ally seep through the joints and water the 

 lawn more eflfectively than it could be done 

 from the surface. 



In a wet season these same tiles will act 

 as drains if the gate is opened. 



A GOOD COMBINATION 

 Planting yucca filamentosa and red-hot 

 poker together is an excellent plan, because 

 they bloom at dift'erent seasons, the yucca 

 in July and the red-hot poker from Sep- 

 tember on. The yucca takes up much room 

 in the garden beds, whereas the Tritoma 

 needs very little. Both are tall, and both 

 are hard to arrange in tlie garden sclieme, 

 jmd both are indispensible. 



