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The chairs and draperies to the windows are of flowered cretonne 
never was a time when the pink rose upon a white field 
was not used) is still present, as beautiful as ever. The 
prices range from nineteen cents to a dollar a yard, and 
there are always bargains to be had for less even than the 
former charge. 
If only one room can be adorned for summer perhaps 
the sitting-room where the family assemble would give the 
most happiness to all. It is the room which gets the hardest 
wear always and is in constant need of a change. 
One of the pleasantest summer sitting-rooms I have ever 
seen was made by the family without the help of any pro- 
fessional workmen. It was a small room, so the problem 
was: How to make seating enough for everybody without 
crowding? 
This question was Sake ed by building a succession of 
box couches all round the room, with corners fitted with 
bookcases. The top shelf was wide enough and high 
enough so that one sitting or lying on the couch could see 
to read by the lamp on the top of the bookcase. 
The frame for this extensive piece of furniture was 
rough packing boards made from packing cases. The book 
shelves, sides of the couches, mattresses, pillows were all 
covered with cretonne, so that the quality of the lumber did 
not make any difference. 
The top of this couch was sixteen inches from the floor 
and three feet wide, so that any single mattress would fit. 
It is always wise to use standard sizes, because when you 
have finished using a thing in some particular place it can 
be used without alteration in another. An enormous 
amount of waste could be saved in the household by the 
adoption of standard sizes for everything. So if you use 
a three-foot couch the top mattress will be available for the 
single beds later on, or old mattresses may be used in this 
Way. 
The difficulty of leaning backward in a seat three feet 
wide was obviated by building a back, eight inches wide, 
across the length of the couch. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
June, 1911 
This is essential to comfort, as nothing could be more 
uncomfortable than sitting upon a seat which is too 
wide. The wall was covered with grass cloth of dull. green 
tone, to harmonize with the green of the draperies. 
The portieres in this room were also of the same 
cretonne. 
» The’sash curtains were brought into the scheme. oF color 
by having half-inch strips of green sateen folded- and 
stitched upon the scrim in diagonals. This is 4 wonderful 
improvement upon the plain white curtain and suggests: the 
dim subdued light of cathedral windows, a_ pleasant | inti- 
mation on a hot day, and a good quality of sateen will wash 
beautifully. 
Children’s rooms are very adaptable to a fresh bit of 
color in the: summer time. Childish eyes instinctively see 
and appreciate beauty more keenly than older eyes, which 
look within more and more as the years pass. 
A girl’s room may be done in the sweet rose pink tones 
which are so plentiful in cheaper cretonnes. The bed- 
spread, the bureau scarf, the window curtains in a new ma- 
terial will make her happy for a long time. 
The boy’s room is happier in darker colors and some of 
the patterns designed “not to show the dirt” (as they say in 
the shops) will make the boy happiest. He can lay his 
treasures from the fields upon such a cover without fear of 
reproof. 
The dead or alive things which a boy picks up and 
carries home to treasure for a time are important, as 
through them he learns more than can be estimated and the 
possession of them in peace will make him love home. So 
for the boy a dark background may be selected for the 
display of the things more attractive to him. 
All bedrooms can be improved with cretonne. It makes 
the most attractive counterpanes, curtains, covers for boxes 
and chests, and scarfs for the night table, dressing table 
or commode. 
The counterpane may be finished with lace, fringe, tassels, 
or in the simplest way possible, a hem. The pillows can be 
A room furnished with figured cretonne for the window and bedstead 
