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BEAUTIFUL HOMES. 
Since the publication of “Household Elegancies,” 
there have been suggested so many attractive ways of 
adding to the comforts and pleasantness of home in¬ 
teriors, that thousands of families have gained in taste 
and refinement. 
Our American ladies are deeply inter¬ 
ested in these household topics, and 
keenly alert to every little device sug¬ 
gested to them to work with their own 
fingers. 
But besides all the little features of 
elegancies which can be stowed here 
and there on the wall, or chair or carpet, 
still there is that broader field of house¬ 
furnishing, which includes all things 
from front door and kitchen to hall room 
and garret, telling how to furnish them 
all nicely and tastefully at little expense, 
a subject which the ladies now more 
than at any other time are urgently in¬ 
terested in. No volume hitherto in 
American or English print has practi¬ 
cally touched this topic, and it is our 
pleasant privilege to say that from the 
office of the Floral Cabinet is to ap¬ 
pear a work, now almost ready, entitled 
“ Beautiful Homes, or, Hints in House- 
Furnishing,” edited by C. S. Jones, 
which in most delightful manner, with over three 
hundred illustrations, describes to every young house¬ 
keeper the hundred or more ways in which all the 
rooms of the house can be nicely furnished. From its 
pages are given the following illustrations : 
A RUG. 
This is made of lamb-skin, carpeting, or heavy cloth 
in the centre, around which is fastened a border of 
dark cloth, ornamented with application embroidery. 
A Baby Cot. 
Beautiful designs may be found in cretonne, and all 
that need be done is to cut the separate parts carefully 
out, and after arranging and basting down the vari¬ 
ous figures, to fasten them to the foundation and cover 
the edges with chain-stitching, using a shade of the 
color found in the designs. For instance, in the 
leaves, several shades of green or brown; in the 
deer’s heads, various shades of dun, and so through 
all the parts. In some cases the design is cut out of 
self-colored cloth and applied to the foundation by 
means of embroidery, introducing various stitches, 
such as half-polka, point Russe, chain and coral 
stitches. This requires not only skill in embroidery, 
but considerable knowledge of colors, as the whole 
formation of birds, and other prominent objects, de¬ 
pends altogether upon the arrangement of colors. 
In certain kinds of woolen goods, very appropriate 
designs are found, as also in silk, the only objection 
A Carpet Rug. 
being the tendency in this class of goods to fray on the 
cut edge, and we have found it an excellent plan when 
we used such, to touch the edges with a little nice 
clean gum-arabic, and work over closely (after it 
dries) in button-hole stitches. 
child’s cradle. 
In houses where the apartments are small, it is fre¬ 
quently a matter of great importance to have certain 
articles of furniture in a portable shape, so that they 
may be put out of the way occasionally. The cradle, 
or cot, especially is frequently a subject of great an¬ 
noyance, and the neat mother, when expecting com¬ 
pany, and “baby” is not occupying its crib, would 
gladly put it out of sight; for such situations as these, 
the elegant folding cot shown in this illustrai ion would 
prove a boon. 
This simple little affair is made only of four rods, 
slender but strong, fastened together with screws, that 
allow of its being turned up in compact form. The 
bed itself is made like a hammock of merino, reps, 
damask, etc., with a strong interlining of canvas with 
quilting to hold the parts together. 
This small elegant model of blue quilted silk, is 
trimmed with a Swiss muslin frill trimmed with lace 
and a puffing lined with blue, and medallions of lace 
edged with fine Valenciennes or tatting; this is caught 
up anund the sides with bows of the silk or ribbon. 
Around the entire edge of the hammock a strong piece 
of rope is fastened, which not only strengthens the 
part, but gives the long boat-shape to the cot when 
opened out. A mattrass, pillow, etc., will fold inside 
the hammock. 
At the head of the cot a strong rod is screwed which 
bends over the top and sustains a drapery of light 
muslin matching the other hangings. This slips in a 
notch prepared for it, and is easily removed and hung 
away. 
A brush-case. 
As the nail and tooth brushes used on the wash- 
stand necessarily become damp, and in order to pre¬ 
serve them it is necessary to dry them as quickly as 
possible, it becomes a point worthy of attention to 
provide some means of doing this effectually, yet 
neatly and perhaps tastefully. 
The china stands, with perforated bottoms, are ob¬ 
jected to by many persons, and sometimes occupy too 
much space, but in this illustration is seen a handy 
article which can hang against the wall 
above the stand, and is a beautiful addi¬ 
tion to a toilet stand. 
This model was made of fine wood, 
eight inches square, sawed off to form a 
perfect hexagon; on this was screwed a 
half circle, fitting the centre, in which 
was cut openings to admit the brushes, 
and adorned wdth a lambrequin, cut 
from green oil-cloth, cut out in design 
figures, as shown, and lined beneath 
with black velveteen, wdiich, showing 
through the openings, had a beautiful 
effect. The pine back—for which heavy 
pasteboard may be substituted—w r as 
covered in like manner, and the back 
part lined with muslin glued neatly 
over. The shelf w^as covered with the 
oil-cloth tacked neatly dowm beneath 
the lambrequin, and, wdien finished, is 
beautiful, though a simple and easily 
made case w r as the result. 
HOME-MADE LAMBREQUINS. 
Cut from any pattern desired, of blue, pink, or red 
cambric; then cut a piece of lace, book- muslin or dot¬ 
ted muslin the same size of cambric, edged with a 
ruffle, or pleating, of cambric and lace together, or 
white twisted fringe. 
Another w^ay is to take a piece of muslin or bleached 
cotton, and cut in three points, the longest at the 
sides; ruffle around the sides and low'er edge, starch, 
iron, and flute nicely. It is better to cut full enough 
for three box-pleats. 
A cover for foot-stool, or ottoman, is made of black 
A Brush-Case. 
or gray cloth. Embroider some nice pattern by first 
taking a piece of canvas the size of pattern to be 
worked, baste on the centre of the cloth, then work 
with different colors, flowers, leaves, or a deer’s head. 
After it is all w r orked, the canvas can be pulled out, 
a few threads at a time. In the same way I have em¬ 
broidered slippers on cloth. It is much less work than 
filling canvas for slippers, and much prettier. 
