December, 1909 
oer RESPONDENCE 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
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 fumishing of the home and to the developing of the home grounds. 
All letters accompanied by retum postage will be answered promptly by mail. 
Problems in Home Furnishing 
By Alice M. Kellogg 
Author of ‘‘Home Furnishing: Practical and Artistic ”” 
COVERING CUSHIONS FOR A WINDOW-SEAT 
A BROOKLYN subscriber, J. H. G., in 
repapering her dining-room, finds that 
the old covering for the cushions of the 
_ window-seat do not look well. “My cushions 
have had a cover of tapestry that looked right 
with the old paper; but now, with a fresh 
paper on the walls, and the woodwork re- 
painted white, the cushions look faded and 
soiled. ‘The rug is mixed tans, mahogany and 
green, and the wall-paper is now a figured one 
with green and brown predominant. Are 
there any new materials for this special use?” 
Corduroy or velour is the best covering for 
a seat that has much wear, and these materials 
come in different styles from the plain kind 
that has been so long in vogue. The corduroy 
may now be had in wide and narrow lines, 
and instead of the twenty-seven-inch width, 
it comes fifty inches wide. The velour has 
always been made in a great variety of colors, 
but it can be had now in stripes and also 
woven with a fine gold line. There are also 
shaded velours in which two contrasting colors 
are blended. 
If the velvet surface of these goods is too 
fine for the room described by this correspond- 
ent, there are homespuns in a great many 
different shades, heavy linens, taffetas, jutes 
and mercerized cottons, all in plain colors. 
These will look better than a pattern with 
the tapestry paper and figured rug. 
BEDSPREAD FOR A CALIFORNIA HOME 
“Will you kindly advise me as soon as pos- 
sible what kind of a spread to use on my 
maple Napoleon bed? ‘The room is papered 
in pale blue. I have white muslin curtains at 
the windows, with pale blue crépe curtains 
over them. Should the counterpane hang over 
the siderail? Or, should it be tucked in? 
Should I have a valance? Also, is a bolster 
better than a pillow? Please suggest the 
right material for my room, and oblige an 
interested reader in the Far West.”— 
F. W. W. 
A bedstead of the Napoleon, or sleigh, de- 
sign looks best with the counterpane tucked 
down the sides and no valance. ‘The color 
of the carpet or rug is not given, and this 
would enter into the scheme of the room. 
A blue and white room is improved by the 
addition of some color, green or pink, and 
this may be introduced in a cretonne spread, 
with a small spread to cover the pillow as 
it is laid flat at the head of the bed. A 
bolster is not used as much as it was some 
years ago. 
WRITING-DESK FOR A SMALL SPACE 
A reader who is furnishing her reception- 
room (Mrs. D. C. F., of Indiana), inquires 
if it would be in good taste to place a writing- 
desk or writing-table in the room? “I have 
never seen a piece of furniture of this kind 
in a reception-room, but writing equipment is 
often needed separate from the regular desks 
of the family. My parlor, or reception-room, 
is not at all of the formal kind; in fact, it is 
so small that an ordinary-sized writing-desk 
would not be possible to install. Is there any- 
thing that would answer my purpose that 
would not be the conventional thing?” 
A writing-table, compact in shape and well- 
designed, would be an attractive part of the 
furnishings of this room. One of the popular 
half-moon card-tables could be adapted for 
writing by removing the lid that stands against 
the wall and fastening a rail at the back, with 
pockets for holding note paper and envelopes. 
A desk set of antique brocade would increase 
the interest of a table of this kind. 
WOOD FINISH FOR A NEW HOME 
A reader who has found many general helps 
in this department now asks for something 
more specific to meet the needs that have arisen 
in building a new house. ‘Our dining-room is 
trimmed in chestnut, but the stain has not 
been decided upon yet. ‘There is a rough 
brick mantel and our furniture is of medium 
dark oak. ‘The side wall is to be paneled five 
feet six inches high, with a plate-rail above. 
What material is best to use in the space above 
plate-rail? Is it correct to hang pictures in 
this space? For our living-room we have ma- 
hogany furniture and some well-made green 
velour portiéres. What color of woodwork 
is the best for this room? Also, suggest the 
color to stain the woodwork in the hall. Up- 
stairs we have decided upon white paint with 
mahogany doors.” —H. W. 
The chestnut trim in the dining-room may 
be stained to match the furniture, if the color 
is a good one, that is, a color worth repeating 
in larger quantities. The space above the 
plate-rail looks best with pieces of copper, 
brass and pottery standing on the shelf. If 
carefully selected these pieces may be a very 
interesting part of the decorations of this 
room. ‘The wall space, as it is to be a back- 
ground, should be in a plain or two-toned 
covering, crash, buckram, or one of the new 
fiber hangings. ‘There are also some attractive 
materials that can be sewed together and 
tacked to the wall instead of paper. As the 
living-room opens out of the main hall, the 
same finish may be given both places. White 
paint, as a rule, is the best background for ma- 
hogany furniture, but when the room is to be 
the main living-room a quieter scheme for 
constant use is often more desirable. One of 
Replies that are of general benefit will be published in this Department. 
the weathered gray stains may be used in the 
living-room and hall, as its neutral tone will 
allow the introduction of more colors than a 
brown. ‘The green door curtains and mahog- 
any furniture, especially if the latter is covered 
with greens and blues, will both look well 
with this wood finish. 
BATHROOM RUG 
“What kind of a rug shall I buy for my 
bathroom? ‘The pink-and-white and blue-and- 
white rugs seem to me too delicate for much 
service. Is there anything else?’—S. E. F., 
of Virginia. 
The cotton rugs that are made for bath- 
rooms in white with one color added are more 
easily soiled than the Wilton rugs that are 
copied from Oriental patterns. “There are 
also plain Wilton rugs with a band of darker 
color around the edges. A new rug is made 
of wool in the natural color, and this is advan- 
tageous as there is nothing to fade or discolor. 
The mohair rugs are used in the bathrooms 
of our large hotels. “These cost ten dollars for 
a size three by six feet. In some households an 
inlaid linoleum is fastened down over the floor 
and the heavy Turkish towels laid down for 
bathing, and no rug kept on the floor. Some- 
times a strip of velvet carpet, with the ends 
neatly finished, makes the most suitable rug 
for a bathroom floor. As the velvet carpet 
comes in different widths this plan is often 
the most practicable. 
ARRANGING THE FURNITURE 
One of the frequent problems at this season 
of moving from one house, or apartment, to 
another, is the arrangement of the furniture. 
Sometimes, in the new house, it seems as if 
none of the old furniture would fit. “I am 
quite disheartened,” writes Mrs. V. L.,” after 
moving all of my furniture in from a subur- 
ban house of ample spaces to a city flat, to 
find that my rooms look like a shop or mu- 
seum. Nothing seems to fit together, and, in 
trying to follow out the same arrangement 
that I have always had nothing looks right.” 
The new conditions naturally make the old 
arrangement out of place, and it would be 
better to begin at once to adapt the furniture 
to the place in which it is to be kept than to 
try to maintain the former plan. It is difficult 
to give up one’s furnishings, but this is some- 
times the wisest thing to do when spaces are 
too small to allow them to fit comfortably. 
If there is no storeroom where unnecessary ar- 
ticles may be kept, the auction-room may be re- 
membered, or some household where a gift of 
furniture would be welcomed. In placing the 
furniture in a new home the wall spaces will 
be a guide in distributing the larger pieces. 
After this the grouping of chairs and tables 
may be adjusted to the ways of the family. 
