3?Gjb Rallies' S’torobI 6ia£ifiet «ji 3 Suctorial Home iSomjramion. 
“You may think it strange that my own mother can¬ 
not tell me what I ask you, out she has never known 
what it was to economize, and, though we have lived 
up to all my father made, it has all been spent to live 
handsomely, and I am much censured for marrying a 
poor young architect. I have my piano (given me 
by an aunt for whom I was named), and two fine but 
not large oil paintings. I bought a Cabinet one day 
in a village store, and at once subscribed for it. I feel 
as if it took me into a new atmosphere and among a 
new set of friends who would help me to make my 
new life a happy one.” “ Bunny.” 
Answer .—To help such an earnest and anxious 
youno’ beginner, is the most pleasant of tasks. For 
her little nest of which she is to make a home, we can 
at this time only give a few general hints and sugges¬ 
tions, promising to add particulars from time to time, 
because so many others, like her, are, and have been, 
waiting for answers to questions. In the first place it 
is always best to begin by first considering those parts 
of the furnishing which offer the least room for choice, 
and upon which, after all, the most depends, viz. : the 
color of walls and wood-work and the carpets. 
White paint is very trying, especially where the 
walls also are one dazzling glow of light. It is al¬ 
ways the best economy to use wall paper, either tinted 
and with a very small figure, or entirely plain, and 
here we have a vast variety from which to select; 
but when time is not an object, the most artistic walls 
are secured by means of paint; hand-work and true 
artist’s coloring, if practicable; if not, by means of the 
“ transfers” or decalomanie art. And here we have a 
means of embellishing at once so exquisite and inex¬ 
pensive that the poor-and-artistic soul may well cry 
“ Eureka,” as they behold the work accomplished by 
its agency. For instance, wo send for a few dozen 
sheets of any design preferred—say apple-blossoms, or 
sprays of Convolvuli, or Wild Roses, with a wall quite 
smooth with “ hard finish,” or even papered with shil¬ 
ling paper turned “wrong side out”—these maybe 
arranged and transferred with the most charming effect. 
Always bear in mind, however, that unless a wall 
contains a number of pictures in conspicuous frames, 
it should never be divided into a sort of panel-work, 
and should have a frieze and dado. Where a striped 
pattern of paper can be procured, which corresponds 
with or prettily contrasts with that of the wall, it may 
be made to do service as a dado by using it horizon¬ 
tally, putting the entire width just above the base¬ 
board. A narrower strip of the same, or one of the 
usual “bordering” paper hangings, will make the 
frieze, running below the cornice, or ceiling, as may 
be. By such means you may decorate your walls at 
small cost, and if you learn to be as good a hand with 
paint and paste-brush as circumstances once made me, 
you will be as proud as you will thankful. It will 
not injure any woman to either paint or paper a room, 
if she works judiciously. “ Make haste slowly ” is a 
good maxim here. 
For your “little hall”: Paint the floor in two 
colors, imitating oak and walnut, or you may lay it off 
in blocks like encaustic tiles. In winter, a few rugs 
will impart an air of comfort. 
As regards furniture, do not use the stereotyped hat 
and umbrella stand, but fasten up a pair of the simple 
“ adjustable racks” sold on the streets or in stores for 
fifty cents to one dollar, and below these place a plain 
table for hats or wraps, screwing a pair of curved iron 
clothes-hooks against the back legs to hold umbrellas, 
canes, etc. One of the most sensible of all hall-tables 
is made with a back, six feet high, the one-half ar¬ 
ranged with outstretched hooks or arms, the other con¬ 
taining a mirror three feet long; below these a hori¬ 
zontal slab forming the table, supported by two side 
pieces, sawed out notches, thus forming supports for 
canes, umbrellas, etc., the whole resting on a bottom 
slab furnished with casters. Here is a hall-stand that 
would amply satisfy even Sir Charles Eastlake’s aes¬ 
thetic simplicity of design ; yet it is pretty beyond 
measure, even though it only cost five dollars. I have 
a great fancy, too, for quaint little cupboards against 
the walls, supported on brackets; such a one in a hall 
is useful for holding gloves, veils, etc. 
In selecting your carpets, be careful not to use too 
striking contrasts in colors, or conspicuous or unnatural 
designs. Avoid all picture-work here, -whether of 
floral or animal subjects, and better, incline to warm, 
dark-toned shades of color. In choosing furniture, 
bear in mind the tints of wood-work and walls, and, 
as a usual thing, use no wood lighter than oak; in a 
pretty chamber or light morning room, delicate furni¬ 
ture is admissible, but never in parlors, dining-room, 
or library. 
The hall gives the first impressions of a dwelling, 
and it is good sense, as well as good taste, to make 
all things speak for themselves here. One class of 
adornment is always in place, that is, the natural; 
boxes of some pretty wood, arranged as wall-pockets, 
stocked with Ivy, which is trained around the walls, 
forming a natural frieze, and arched over the doors, 
or across the staircase. One or more sets of antlers, 
or any hunting or gunning accoutrements, suggesting 
the storied halls of “ ye olden day.” A clock—the 
more ancient in form the better—is always in place in 
tho corner, or on the landing of the staircase. Stair- 
rods are a useless and ugly superfluity. Here a pic¬ 
ture or two, such as the engravings of Landseer’s 
animals, hunting scenes, or similar works of art; 
while a statuette, upon a pedestal or corner bracket, 
will always appear elegant, even though it only be a 
good cast from some fine work of art. 
As regards the parlor, or drawing room, after a 
neat carpet and delicate walls, with the two “ fine oil 
paintings,” accompanied by a few really good engrav¬ 
ings, let the furniture be simple, but really good, even 
though a par! of it may be home-made; for instance, 
one or two divans—the simple frames for which your 
“young architect,” or any carpenter, will make— 
should be only one foot and a half high, with a raised 
and rounded cushion at one end, and two or three 
against the back, for nothing imparts a greater air of 
cosy comfort than cushions. I make such divans of 
four one-foot boards, with slats laid on cleats nailed 
across each end board; these are furnished with a 
dozen or more spiral springs, on which I first place 
a common straw mattress, then a moss one, covered 
with any material convenient. A very pretty effect is 
given by using furniture gimp and brass-headed tacks, 
putting a deep woollen fringe along the lower edge. 
The trouble with most parlors is this, there is too much 
wood and too little cushion ; too great an exhibition of 
light and glass and none of the soft glamour which 
is so appreciated by the artistic eye; too extensive 
an attempt to make this a “ company room,” and too 
great a fear that family comforts will give an air of 
confusion. 
Now, instead of this, a parlor should present an 
aspect of cosy comfort, that is enjoyed by the family 
at large, and without making it either a sitting-room, 
dining-saloon, or nursery, it may testify slightly to 
being used indirectly for any of the purposes to which 
these apartments themselves are devoted. Thus, a 
child’s chair, a few books, not new, but with the ap - 
pearance of being under present examination or read¬ 
ing, a recent newspaper or periodical, a china plate or 
basket with fruit, or a basket of needle work, instead 
of detracting from, add greatly to the tasteful appear¬ 
ance of a parlor, and, being suggestive of occupation 
by the family, imply that they are of the class who 
enjoy all the prettiness and extra care supposed to 
belong to this special apartment. 
Of tables, I would say, a really sensible one is a 
hard thing to find. As much as possible use a num¬ 
ber of small stands, or “ tete-a-tete ” tables, now so 
popular in England at the “ five o’clock tea.” These 
are simply made of pine wood, cost but fifty cents each, 
and when tastefully painted in imitation ot papier- 
mache, or Japanese lacquer-work, or inlaid ivory, 
would appear to have cost twenty dollars a-piece, and 
yet easily made thus: 
For a larger table f r sitting-room or back-parlor 
use a square, with four simply turned legs and a 
broad shelf across the bottom only, six inches or a 
foot from the floor, with horizontal and perpendicular 
rods or “rounds” bracing the legs above it, then hand¬ 
somely painted and adorned with fine “ transfers,” a 
“ costly ” jar on the shelf and a handsome lamp on the 
slab, and you have a table that any connoisseur would 
pronounce “ good.” As for the jar the new James, 
gutta percha enamel, or even the imitations of china, 
will afford elegant specimens, and for the lamp, a 
glass shade with Diaphenie plates, or other trans¬ 
parencies, and a little bronze powder in crimson or 
green, and gold for the stem and base, and there we 
have a chaste and pretty thing, despite Mr. Eastlake 
“ on imitations.” 
In the dining-room use great care, for there is no 
surer criterion of refined taste than the relation this 
apurtment bears to the rest of the house. The side¬ 
board or buffet is the chief piece of furniture here, and 
here too, a very inexpensive affair may be made quite 
imposing. No marble! no carving! yet appropriate 
and elegant. The back rising in one plain slab of 
pine above a high cupboard table, furnished with two 
drawers on one side, a single cupboard door on the 
other, equally divided, the drawers furnished with 
plain rouud knobs, and the door with heavy hinges 
which varnish and bronze. Below this four long legs 
finished with a bottom forming a shelf. Against the 
top of the back fasten two large brass brackets and 
ou them place a slab, thus making a quaint hood over 
the lower part and furnishing a shelf for some tasteful 
ornament, as a basket of wax fruit, etc. Cover the 
shelf with an embroidered and fringed linen spread, 
and it is ready for the furniture of china or silver. 
Ornament all the wood-work in two shades of umber, 
and you have a quaint and striking piece of furniture. 
Let your table napery be of the best you can afford, 
and here is where you may safely spend a good por¬ 
tion of your hundreds, for no one tiling tells as does 
the table furniture. Fine white or tinted linen, spark¬ 
ling glass, clean bright plate, and above all, flowers, 
cut ones, if you may; in any case the tasteful stand 
with living Ivy and Ferns, the Japanese Climbing 
Fern and Smilax, with many other gems, cheap as 
pretty, and only requiring a daily sprinkle and a little 
good-natured watching. The case for them will be 
always ready, and these add so wonderfully to the 
table beauty. No matter how luxuriant they become, 
never remove them to the parlor for show-specimens, 
but keep them sacred for the “ cheerful household 
ceremony,” which each meal should be in a true home. 
Make dining-room chairs comfortable, but let them 
be plain, and in one corner a “ dinner wagon” will be 
found of vast comfort. This is nothing more than a 
set of plain shelves, from four to ten in number, ar¬ 
ranged from twelve to twenty inches apart, and more 
useful than a side table for various dishes and re¬ 
moved plates, etc. The table is but little seen, and 
should be plain. 
The tasteful sets of bedroom furniture render it 
almost superfluous for me to speak of these apart¬ 
ments, but I would use in a simple home the pretty 
and inexpensive cottage sets. In cities you can ob¬ 
tain these from the manufacturers, in unpainted pine 
and ornament them to suit your own taste, for it is 
this decoration which is so costly. I have procured a 
full set of such for ten dollars, consisting of bedstead, 
dressing-bureau, with mirror, washstand, towel-rack, 
candle-stand, commode, rocker, and three chairs. 
Here a bolt of pretty chintz will form the chief fea¬ 
ture, for by.making a simple frame for canopy over 
the head of the bedstead and covering it with tester 
and drapes, arranging a dressing table, hour-glass 
stands, lambrequins for windows and mantel, brackets 
and shelves, covering chairs, ottomans, and cushions, 
a charming effect and distinctive character may be 
given to each room ; and here I would say a word in 
high recommendation of the popular spray or spatter- 
work for this class of hangings. Its beauty can 
scarcely be conceived, unless seen. By obtaining 
Leamon’s aniline dyes, every color and shade may be 
secured; then large designs are cut from paper and 
fastened in place, one set answering for all; a few 
ferns and sprays for fine tracery outside, and as the 
work is voluminous, purchase a low-priced Atomizer 
for casting the spray. 
As regards your purchasing auction furniture, it is 
a matter requiring a vast deal of sound judgment and 
discretion, for if not very careful the fact of articles 
apparently good “ going cheap,” leads to a wider ex¬ 
penditure than was contemplated. Beds, bedding, 
carpets and upholstered furniture might better always 
be purchased new and from reliable dealers. 
Glass, cutlery, and china may also be procured very 
low at sales, but for all kitchen ware go to a regular 
house-furnishing establishment and purchase new 
beauties, the delight of every ambitious (and may I 
say it ?) conscientious housekeeper’s heart. Examine 
all auction goods before the sale commences, and 
mark your outside price on the catalogue, then never 
go beyond it, for in the excitement of bidding you are 
apt to forget the “ dummies” nearly every auctioneer 
has among his audience, and who are quick to notice 
if you set your heart on a certain piece of goods. 
These are only hints and suggestions which “ Aunt 
Carrie ” trusts every reader of the Cabinet will feel 
bound to enlarge upon, yet which are offered with a 
hope of doing good. 
