January, 1914 
3 * 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
been scraped and repainted until it commands the respect 
rightly due it. In front of the fireplace is a reproduction 
of an old Empire cornucopia sofa inviting one to lounge and 
enjoy the mystery of the fire, while at either end two small 
tables, that were at one time funny little washstands, hold 
lamps that enable one to sit amid comfortable sofa pillows 
and to read. I he back of the sofa is covered with a piece 
of tapestry, so that as one sits at the table directly behind 
it the customary furniture backing is covered with some- 
thing more pleasing to the eye. 
A tall desk secretary of fine lines, several easy upholstered 
chairs and one or two Empire side chairs, along with two 
little mahogany Sheraton tables and a few well selected odds 
and ends of adornment, make this room most livable. Side 
brackets have been used in this room with pleasing effect, 
and have been so placed as not to interfere with the spaces 
where it was desired to hang some charming old prints. On 
the floor is a one-tone rug in brown and, relative to this, at 
all the windows are scrim curtains quite plain and a little 
cream in tone. On the mantel-shelf is a clock flanked on 
either side by two old white urns with black wooden tops 
in lacquer. This inventory of furnishings completes the 
living-room. Again an examination shows that the appoint- 
ments have been made with rigid simplicity. We have a 
sofa, a table, two little lamp stands, a secretary, four chairs, 
two small side tables, a rug, curtains, and a little bric-a- 
brac — surely not an extravagant outfit. 
From the living-room one next enters the library, where 
the walls are hung with a sage-green grass paper that har- 
monizes very well with the ivory woodwork. The ceiling 
is papered with an ivory-white egg-shell paper, as in the 
living-room and hall. About the room bookcases have been 
built in and painted white, and when filled with books in 
vari-colored bindings the effect is indeed most pleasing. 
Curtains of a thin silk in ivory-white may be used on the 
bookcases, if desired, but without them the appearance is 
quite as pleasing, if not more so. The tops of the book- 
cases afford ample space for bits of well-chosen ornament, 
few in number but selected with care and judgment. 
The lighting fixtures in this room are set upon the book- 
cases in the form of old candlesticks. They are fitted with 
electricity but have the appearance of being simply candles 
set among the other pieces of bric-a-brac, and add much to 
the attractiveness of the room. In the center is a long table 
desk of Spanish origin in fine heavy oak, the only piece in 
this Colonial house, but once in a while one must admit a 
stray piece and offer it the hospitality of the room it is to 
grace. Two large bowl lamps on this table afford fine light 
for those using either end as a desk. A piece of old Colonial 
silver, in the shape of an urn, occupies the centre, filled with 
white crysanthemums and standing on a piece of old 
brocade in dull grays and blues — a charming combination. 
As in the living-room, the 
mantel is ancient and digni- 
fied in line, keeping its neigh- 
bor company in general ap- 
pearance. A mahogany clock 
and two sperm-oil lamps 
grace the mantel-shelf. The 
pictures are few but good, in- 
deed, and a family portrait, 
framed in black with a nar- 
row gold band next to the 
picture, hangs over the man- 
tel. The large rug is of two 
tones of green, and there are 
besides several small Ori- 
ental ones in soft colors. The 
curtains are of soft ivory 
silk with inside hangings of 
An example of a well furnished room 
repp in a mellow brown. Numerous comfortable chairs are 
about this room, while a most luxurious divan in an India 
covering and heaped with pillows spells solid ease and com- 
fort. An ugly radiator is hidden by an interesting-looking 
screen that stands in front of it. I his screen is covered 
with a fine English cretonne and varnished so as to give 
the appearance of painted wood. The frame is black and 
highly polished so as to resemble lacquer. Apart from the 
luxuriously upholstered divan and the old Spanish table, 
all the furniture of this room is reasonable in price and the 
making of the bookcases, an important item in the fur- 
nishing, was really cheap. 
Upstairs, the hall, like the one below, is papered in a 
golden-yellow oatmeal paper, and side brackets in dull brass 
give the necessary light. Two generous chests of drawers 
are used for linen and for towels for immediate use. Be- 
sides these, several plain, rush-bottomed, painted Empire 
chairs and a little round walnut table with slipper feet, used 
as a candle stand for emergency candles in case the electric- 
ity fails, complete the furnishing of the upstairs hall. To 
these we must add several one-tone rugs in brown, scrim 
curtains at the windows and one or two pictures. 
The bedrooms are very simple in their treatment. The 
guestroom will serve to give an idea of this. The walls 
are papered in 1830 paper of a small powdered design, the 
background being ivory and gray. The price was twenty 
cents the roll. I he ceiling is in an ivory white egg-shell 
paper. On the floor are several small rag rugs of the 
braided variety. Side brackets supply the necessary light. 
The movable furniture consists of a four-posted bedstead, 
a fine old mahogany dresser, a chest of drawers, and a 
sewing table, all of which afford a most inviting atmosphere. 
Besides these articles there are several rush-bottomed chairs 
and a severely plain but very graceful little mahogany 
Sheraton bed table. I he other bedrooms are furnished in 
much the same way. The kitchen needs little description 
save to say that, as we might expect in such a house, it is 
extremely neat and fully equipped with all necessary ap- 
pliances for convenience and comfort. 
Briefly recapitulating, we may say that one solution of 
the problem of furnishing the small Colonial house has 
been offered from two points of view — expense and arrange- 
ment. The arrangement suggested, one of many that might 
be devised, is simple but effective and readily possible of 
achievement. The expense of the pieces enumerated was 
not extravagant. 
PLANNING FOR TO-MORROWS FURNISHINGS 
By Robert Leonard Ames 
T HE most carefully laid plans of even the most ex- 
perienced furnishers have an unaccountable way of 
occasionally going awry. The home may be fully furnished — 
upon paper — and for each 
and every room there may be 
a list of the articles which 
are to be purchased and 
placed therein; the grand 
total, not without much ma- 
nipulating, has been made to 
come within the amount 
which represents the furnish- 
ing appropriation and so 
carefully may plans have 
been made that the expectant 
furnisher begins to visualize 
the appearance of the house 
when fully arranged. 
But when the time for 
actually making the pur- 
chases has been reached fur- 
