XIV 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
August, 1909 
w~ CORRESPONDENCE © 
The Editor of American 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 retum postage will be answered promptly by mail. 
Replies that are of general benefit will be published in this Department. 
Problems in, Home Furnishing 
By Alice M. Kellogg 
Author of ‘Home Furnishing: Practical and Artistic ”’ 
BOOKCASE AND CABINET 
ss E have rather a peculiar need in 
our home,” writes an Iowa _ sub- 
scriber, Mrs. G. F. G., “in the col- 
lecting tastes of our two sons. ‘These boys 
share the same sleeping-room, where I have 
provided them with twin beds, and the large 
alcove they use together as a sitting-room. 
One boy is a great reader and manages to ac- 
cumulate a good many books from time to 
time; the other is collecting minerals at a 
great rate. I have given them open shelves 
that hang on the wall, and now we are talking 
of building in some regular bookshelves, but 
this does not seem to me much of an improve- 
ment. I have seen some bookcases that are 
A cabinet for books and curiosities 
enlarged from time to time, and this idea is 
just what would suit us if the shape of the 
cases was attractive. Is there anything differ- 
ent that you could suggest ?” 
A bookcase with glass doors and adjustable 
shelves would be the ideal way to meet the 
requirements of this family, and the kind that 
could be added to is certainly the most practi- 
cal. In the illustration a simple design is 
shown that gives all of these arrangements 
with a tasteful outline that will always be ac- 
ceptable. If minerals are to be shown through 
the glass, the leads may be omitted and each 
door have only a plain sheet of glass. ‘This 
bookcase is thirty-one inches wide and may be 
added to at either end without altering its trim 
appearance. 
A WINDOW PROBLEM 
V. H. asks how to treat successfully a large 
triple window with a decided round to the top. 
“That is,” she says, “the middle window is 
straight across the top, but the windows at the 
side are each rounded so that shades do not fit. 
What can be done with these hopeless win- 
dows?” 
The ordinary upholsterer would soon solve 
this problem by cut- 
ting yards and yards 
of material into loops 
and festoons, edging 
them with _ thick 
fringe, lining and in- 
terlining every particle 
of the goods in won- 
derful fashion. As the 
room is on large lines 
the windows may be 
treated in a way to 
give straight effects 
instead of the circular. 
A net or lace will first 
need to be hung across 
the glass, and there 
are especial rods made 
that will fit the curve 
and permit the lace to 
be fastened to it. A 
long brass pole an inch 
and a half in diameter 
(as the space is twelve 
inches wide) may be 
fastened above the top 
of the casement, and 
at either end one 
width of fifty-inch 
drapery material may 
be hung to the floor, 
with a deep valance 
across the top. The 
end pieces will cover 
the curves of the case- 
ment and add dignity 
to the spaces of the 
room. A sateen lin- 
ing will help to keep 
the material in shape 
without making the 
folds too heavy. Silk, armures or light-weight 
fabrics could be selected for this room in tones 
that harmonize with the walls. This scheme 
is more satisfying than heavy upholstery work. 
(Continued on page vt) 
ee enemies 
Garden Work About the Home 
By Charles Downing Lay 
PLACING THE HOUSE ON A SIDE-HILL LOT 
N the May number of AMERICAN HoMES 
| AND GARDENS we gave a brief discussion 
of the position a house should occupy on 
different corner lots. Judging by the letters 
which the editor of this department has re- 
ceived since that time, the subject has aroused 
much interest . Some of the queries will be 
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RESIDENCE 
Parlor Floor 
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Arrangement of a side-hill lot 
answered at length in the September number. 
In the meantime, it may be interesting to con- 
sider the location of the house when the lot 
slopes rapidly from the street. 
The plan shown herewith is of a lot 175 feet 
deep and 150 feet front. “The back of the 
lot is fully thirty feet lower than the sidewalk 
in front. 
The restrictions on the property made it 
necessary to place the house forty feet back 
from the property line and, for other reasons, 
it was thought best to place the house about 
on the middle of the lot. 
Other houses on this low side of the street 
have been placed high; the ground floor two 
or three feet above the ‘sidewalk level. ‘This 
made much filling to raise the ground between 
the house and sidewalk, filling which was 
expensive to do and not justified by the results. 
In this case we decided that the first floor 
would be high enough if it was on the same 
level as the sidewalk, with the porch six inches 
lower-and the front. walk a foot lower. ‘This 
makes one low step from the walk to the 
porch and a slope of one foot on the front 
walk from the sidewalk to the porch. The 
lawn, of course, slopes with the walk. Setting 
