September, 1910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



ij 



IX 



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 

 pertzuning 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 



COLORS FOR A DARK BEDROOM 

 4 4 1 N THE apartment into which we are 

 I to move this fall, the room which 

 our guests will occupy opens into 

 a court. There are two windows but no 

 direct light, and as the woodwork is stained 

 a deep brown and the walls are papered 

 in green, you can imagine the general ef- 

 fect is not at all cheerful. Aly general 

 idea for this room is to have it up-to-date 

 in its fittings and attractive in color ef- 

 fect. Can this be accomplished with 

 only $175.00? A bathroom adjoins the 

 room, so there will be no expense incurred 

 for a washstand." — K. H. C, Chicago. 



The proposed outlay will be sufficient if 

 moderate-priced furniture is selected. In 

 a large city there are often opportunities 

 to buy furniture of good make at surpris- 

 ingly low cost. Two single beds of white 

 enameled iron with rounded head and foot 

 and no brass trimmings, may have flat 

 springs and felt mattresses at about fifty 

 dollars. Pillows, sheets, pillow cases, 

 blankets, comfortables and spreads will 

 add thirty dollars. A dresser and somno 

 for thirty dollars, side chairs and cushioned 

 willow armchair for twenty dollars, rugs 

 for twenty dollars, will leave twenty-five 

 dollars for a costumier trunk rest, curtains 

 and pictures. 



If possible to include the repapering of 

 the room in the allotment, it would be the 

 largest element in making an attractive in- 

 terior. Under the conditions of lighting, 

 a yellow or bufif paper would contriljute 

 the best color tone. The curtains may be 

 of yellow and white madras, and the rugs 

 of yellow, green and white. The beds may 

 have covers of cretonne with yellow flow- 

 ers in the design and the blankets may be 

 bordered with yellow stripes. The wil- 

 low chair may be stained brown and the 

 cushions covered with the cretonne. If an 

 electric attachment can be carried to the 

 somno, or night table, a small portable 

 lamp may be mstalled. A tray for holding 

 a glass and pitcher of drinking water 

 should not be forgotten in the smaller ad- 

 juncts for comfort. 



DRAPERIES FOR AN OLD-FASH- 

 IONED BEDROOM 



"I am renewing the bed draperies and 

 window curtains for my bedroom, and 

 write to ask if you can suggest anything 

 that is very quaint and unusual in color- 

 ing? I have used chintz with a bird de- 

 sign for the last five years with wall 

 paper to match, and the combination has 

 not been restful. My bed is of large size 

 with carved posts, but no canopy. There 

 are two windows of ordinary size, and a 

 dressing table requires drapery. I will 

 change the wall paper if you can assure 

 me the result would repay me." — Mrs. C 

 W., Pittsburg, Pa. 



The copies of old Persian prints that 

 arc marie in England would give a quaint 



charm to this bedroom, enhanced by a 

 light-toned, unobtrusively designed wall 

 paper. The cotton prints come in six dif- 

 ferent colorings in sizes adapted for bed 

 spreads, table cover and window curtains. 

 The latter could be used for draping the 

 dressing table, and also as a valance for 

 the bed. The combinations of color in the 

 cotton prints are, in themselves, suggestive 

 for a color scheme for an entire room, and 

 much of their artistic value lies in the soft- 

 ness of their tones. 



With old-fashioned furniture the straight 

 curtains hanging to the floor of the cotton 

 print may be supplemented by short cur- 

 tains to the sill, made of white embroid- 

 ered muslin. The latter may either be 

 caught back at the sides of the casement 

 or allowed to hang across the glass. The 

 top of the dressing table may be covered 

 with the printed material, overlaid with a 

 ])iece of plate glass. The glass is thick and 

 cut to fit the edge or curves of the table. 

 Silver or crystal candlesticks may be kept 

 on the dressing table, with silk shades or 

 shields. 



RECLINING CHAIR FOR A BEDROOM 



A request for information about a loung- 

 ing chair for a bedroom in a summer home 

 comes from a reader in Vermont. The 

 room is described as not being large enough 

 for a lounge, yet requiring some kind of 

 a reclining or resting chair. 



A new design this season in rattan would 

 exactly meet this correspondent's desire. 

 In size, the chair corresponds to the well- 

 known Morris pattern, with a similar ad- 

 justable back. An extension to support 

 the feet slips under the seat when not in 

 use. The chair is light in weight, compact 

 in shape and made on good lines. A pair 

 of down pillows, twenty-two inches square, 

 may be adjusted in the seat or at the back, 

 as preferred. These should not be fas- 

 tened to the frame. The chair costs fif- 

 teen dollars. 



WRITING DESK FOR A PHYSICIAN 



A physician asks if there is a writing 

 desk made in mahogany that will look bet- 

 ter in his office than a roll-top desk. "My 

 bookcases," he writes, "are of the sectional 

 variety, and cover most of the wall space. 

 I would place the desk or table in the mid- 

 dle of the floor if it was of the right style. 

 T would like this room (which is not a 

 private office) to be attractive in the even- 

 ings for small gatherings of medical men." 

 —Dr. B. T. H., Syracuse, N. Y. 



A writing table that is reproduced from 

 the one used by George Washington and 

 was called by the First President's name, 

 would suit the requirements of this phy- 

 sician's room. The drawers may be opened 

 from both sides, and the pigeon-holes for 

 envelopes, paper and magazines are at- 

 tached to the two ends, and not at the back. 



The desk, or table, is made of mahog- 

 any, in sizes from four feet six inclics to 

 six feet. 



Garden Work About the Home 



PLANTING AROUND A BUNGALOW 



TME photographs which R. " .S. sends 

 show an unusually nice bungalow, 

 ratlier unfortunately placed on the 

 highest part of the lot. It seems to be 

 balanced on the ridge like a rocking stone 

 and the west porch, on the side toward the 

 road, is very high, almost six feet above 

 the ground. 



To build a terrace there with a bank wall 

 as R. S. suggests would be very expensive, 

 and it is doubtful if it would look well 

 when done. Instead I should plant a good 

 wide border of shrubs so that the slope of 

 the lawn would be carried up gradually 

 to the level of the piazza. This planting 

 will hide the ugly underpinning of the 

 house, as well as reduce the apparent 

 height of the whole building. 



For this planting you might use a double 

 row of forsythia at the back, then two 

 rows of Van Houttes spiraea with a row 

 of Dentzia grasilis in front. 



At the south of the house, however, you 

 might build a terrace eighteen inches lower 

 than the piazza floor. This would mean 

 scraping off the highest part of the ridge 

 to fill on each side making a convenient 

 level place. This terrace would be nicest 

 if supported by a wall, but a sloping bank 

 planted with shrubs and a hedge of Ibota 

 privet at the top would do very well. 



To give shade on the west side of the 

 house, I should prefer two or three pin- 

 oaks. 



GERANIUMS FROM CUTTINGS 



J. S. B. You will find that it is much 

 better to take slips or cuttings of young 

 geraniums rather than to use the big plants 

 in the house next winter. 



Geraniums are easy to slip (as they say 

 in the country). A branch about six inches 

 long should be cut ofif, the large leaves 

 stripped from it and then stuck in a pot 

 of earth so that there is only four inches 

 above the ground. The earth should be 

 rich soil and sand mixed half and half. If 

 this is done early in September the plants 

 should grow roots in two or three weeks 

 and be ready to repot. By tlie time hard 

 frosts come they should be in their per- 

 manent pots and ready to take into the 

 house. They will be strong and thrifty 

 plants and will bloom well all winter lone 



THE ASPARAGUS BED 



D. L. You should cut the stalks ofl: 

 your asparagus and burn them as soon as 

 tliey begin to turn yellow. Burning is im- 

 portant because it destroys insects and the 

 seeds. Seedling plants of asparagus are 

 the worst weeds that you can possibly get 

 in an asparagus bed. and if thev come in 

 any quantity they have to be dug up and 

 picked out by hand. 



Late in October the bed should be 



covered with six inches of long manure 



first tin-owing a little earth up over the 

 plants so that the stalks will come up 

 blanched next spring. 



