AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
April, 1909 
Home-Made Novelties for the Country Home 
By Mabel Tuke Priestman 
CGADOMAGAY)HERE is a fascination about thinking 
NU A ee - : 
Sx out original things for the home, and this 
can often be done by using commonplace 
things which have little value in them- 
selves. In every home there are all kinds 
of articles that accumulate and which in 
time are thrown away because we have not 
found a use for them. It is, therefore, advisable occasionally 
to review what we have on hand and see if a useful purpose 
can not be found for them. 
Often very useful pieces of furniture can be constructed 
from useless lumber. Some girls who were furnishing a 
house on dimes needed a settee for their living-room, and 
not having the means to purchase even the most primitive 
frame, they had to plan how best they could make one. They 
converted three boards that they found in the cellar into a 
strong and substantial settee. “The lumber was rough and 
unplaned, but this did not matter. One strip was sawed 
in two for the ends, and the other two were just the right 
length. Legs were made from odd pieces, and these were 
pushed up to the top of the divan so as to act as a brace. 
The kitchen poker was then used for drilling holes on all 
four sides, and an old clothes line was drawn tight and 
woven from end to end and across, making a firm founda- 
tion for the old mattress, which was placed on top of this 
and covered with plain green linen reaching to the floor. 
This made a charming divan when piled with decorative 
pillows. 
A bookcase was needed for this room, and this was pro- 
vided by using the shell of an old bureau. ‘The divisions 
between the drawers were shelves for the books. Two 
spindles that had been thrown away acted as supports for 
the middle of the shelves. The bureau itself was used in 
the dining-room as a sideboard. The top drawer was re- 
tained, and, when lined with felt, made a convenient drawer 
for silver. A pair of cellar window frames made for a 
nearby house exactly fitted the space beneath the drawers, 
and after these were stained mahogany, the old bureau made 
an interesting piece of furniture—half sideboard and half 
glass closet. More lumber from the cellar made two shelves 
to hold the glass. A pair of brass hinges, a can of mahogany 
stain, two panes of glass 
and the frames were the 
only expenses for making 
both pieces of furniture. 
In a country bungalow 
that was built without a 
hall and with two doors 
opening into an extremely 
small vestibule, the prob- 
lem where to hang hats 
and coats was a serious one. 
An ingenious arrangement 
was thought out by the 
owners by placing wooden 
slats on the only vacant 
wall space, into which 
hooks for holding clothing 
were screwed. The middle 
space was planned to hold 
a mirror. A hinge seat 
held rubbers and made a 
convenient hall seat as well. 
Making a divan frame 
As there was only enough space for the front door to open 
without touching, the advantage of such economy of space 
can readily be seen. 
We have all experienced the inconvenience of having logs 
lying around waiting to be placed on the fire. When the 
supply is not kept in the room, and they are brought in as 
required, it is often a great convenience to have some re- 
ceptacle. Our illustration shows some lumber stained and 
arranged in such a way that it will hold one log or several 
according to the way it is turned. 
An old ironing table that was past service for its first 
use, took on a new lease of life from being stained an olive 
green. It made a useful addition to the porch in the summer, 
and was a handy seat in the hall during the winter months. 
A baking powder can may be converted into a useful 
receptacle for string by covering it with pretty cretonne, and 
making cardboard ends covered with the same kind of 
cretonne and about half an inch wider than the can. Two 
holes must be bored through the side for the string. A ball 
of heavy and one of fine string can be placed in this re- 
ceptacle, which, when hung up with a ribbon, is a useful 
addition to the home. 
The white wooden boxes sold for pyrography make use- 
ful Christmas presents. Unlined and ornamented with 
heraldic patterns, they make a much appreciated holder for 
men’s collars. Or, if preferred, these boxes may be lined as 
a workbasket, and when finished in dainty colorings are very 
acceptable to a girl. ‘They may either be burnt with a suit- 
able decoration or the box may be covered with cretonne 
pasted neatly over it. The outside is first covered and then 
it is neatly finished with a plain lining for the inside, prefer- 
ably sateen. 
In going through a market, baskets of all kinds can be 
found which can be brought into use for the home. ‘That 
in our illustration was originally filled with corn cobs, but a 
practical use was found for it by lining the inside and con- 
cealing the rough slats with a pretty cretonne. The girl 
who used this basket sadly needed more closet room, and 
found that by placing hangers across the top of the basket, 
she could hang two or three skirts in it at once. It was 
over forty inches high, and so the skirts did not touch the 
bottom. The receptacle 
was placed in a corner of 
the room and made a bright 
bit of color as well as a 
serviceable skirt protector. 
The same kind of a basket 
could be used for soiled 
clothes, and, being so nar- 
row, would take up very 
little room where space had 
to be economized. 
An ordinary toaster or 
gridiron can be converted 
into a receptacle for news- 
papers. Cut two pieces of 
cardboard the size of the 
gridiron, and cover them 
on both sides alike with 
plain sateen or cloth. Then 
neatly join the edges to- 
gether and baste the two 
covered pieces inside the 
