34 
House & Garden 
In the first year the room contains only the essentials and these represent the greatest expenditure. It has a color scheme of blue 
and mulberry. Each piece is selected for its permanent value, good workmanship and taste. The cost the first year figuring on 
current prices plus the cost of making curtains, etc., amounts to $525.16 
THE THIRD YEAR LIVING ROOM 
How the Bride and the Beginning Housewife Can Build Up a Room 
of Permanent Furnishings in the Best Taste 
AGNES FOSTER WRIGHT 
T he vagueness of a .bride is only 
equalled by the charm of that 
vagueness. 
Could anything be less romantic than 
a matter of fact, common-sense, know- 
what-she-wants bride! 
I find the average bride, when she 
commences to furnish her new home, 
first buys something pretty, then buys 
something else pretty, then buys some¬ 
thing “awfully cute”—and with these 
as a foundation begins to furnish. The 
first purchase is a lamp and shade, the 
second a sofa cushion and the third an 
“awfully cute” desk set. It’s such an 
ungrateful task to jerk her down to 
earth by formulated furnishing and 
statements of cost. However— 
Taking an average size room and 
average size windows I plan to furnish 
it, so that in three years we have a really 
handsome, adequate living room It 
will arrive at that state through careful, 
deliberate purchasing. In the end it is 
complete, although additions may be 
made, as one’s family and means grow. 
The first year the initial outlay is 
considerable. The essentials are in 
every case of first class quality; for in¬ 
stance, the couch is of down and hair, 
but we economize by covering it in 
black Parma sateen, which is a heavy 
twilled variety of upholsterer’s sateen, 
excellent and adequate for the purpose, 
costing $1.80 a yard and taking ten 
yards in all. 
The second year the expenditure is 
comparatively small, first because we 
are just getting over the expense of the 
first year and also because of the possi¬ 
ble advent of a baby. The third year 
we finish the furnishing by the perma¬ 
nent hangings and covering and carpet. 
From then on, it is a matter of non- 
essential additions. 
We presuppose the room to have a 
fireplace, two French doors and two 
sash windows. The walls are a light 
buff color. 
For a rug we buy sixteen yards of 
excellent quality taupe carpeting at $4 
a yard and have the stripes sewed into 
a 9' X 12' rug. That gives a nice foun¬ 
dation, and in the third year, when we 
buy a chenille rug, this carpeting can 
be remade into bedroom rugs, or hall 
runners. 
The curtains are made of a smart 
glazed imported chintz, peacock design 
in blue and mulberry on a black back¬ 
ground, and the color shows splendidly 
with the light coming through the de- 
