46 
H 0 u s e & Garde 
THE BEDROOM for MIDDLE AGE 
Its Color Schemes 
and Furniture 
ETHEL DAVIS SEAL 
W E hear so much 
about how to fur¬ 
nish the airy, fairy bed¬ 
room for the fluffy young 
thing; we deeply concern 
ourselves with the bride’s 
boudoir and her proverbial 
fondness for pink. But 
who gives a thought to the 
vagaries of the middle- 
aged? 
Mother’s room is taken 
for granted like history, 
and what does it matter if 
Aunt Susan’s bedroom 
provides a somewhat in¬ 
congruous setting for her 
moss rose cheeks and 
gowns of gray ? 
But all this depends 
upon the point of view. 
Though there is always a 
certain interest in helping 
the young—for it is true 
that a very young girl de¬ 
sires possessions; she is 
charmed with her newly 
found place in the sun; 
that anything can exist 
solely for her, even a 
room, fills her with joy; 
and the first vague glim¬ 
mer of some day having a 
home of her own is crys¬ 
tallized in planning the 
color, the curtains and the 
carpet of her own room at 
home. . . . Still, the 
young girl has a universal 
personality: she fits with 
surprising ease into many 
settings, and if her choice 
falls in with rose or with 
green, she will look back 
at herself with equal en¬ 
thusiasm from her mirror. 
The young bride, too, 
has not so very much to 
gain or lose in the han¬ 
dling of her room. Usu¬ 
ally, if clever, she strives 
for a setting that will interpret her as she 
wishes to be in her husband’s eyes. But here 
we find more a defining of her desires than 
what she has yet grown to be. No matter how 
completely furnished, the room is still in the 
making. 
What the 40’s Want 
But the room of the woman of middle age, 
ah! here is the problem! The woman who has 
known life, fought battles, carried away scars, 
who has grown into fullness of character, 
learned the depth of beauty, and that which 
abides. . . . Can you see a woman like this 
content with bare mahogany and blue, or in 
the midst of a room done in yellow? Rather 
consider how full of personality and charm 
her room could be if developed. Such soft¬ 
ness of background, the mellowed restfulness 
{Continued on page 70) 
The furniture for a middle-aged bedroom might consist of such a suite as 
this—five pieces, which include bed, night stand, chest of drawers and 
dressing mirror; $218. It comes in brown, blue, gray and ivory. The 
upholstered chair is a special shape at $42; the linen shaped covering 
would be extra, requiring about five yards of 31" striped material 
For hangings is suggested 
a cretonne of peacock, buff 
and mulberry or peacock, 
black and old rose, 31", 
$2.50 a yard; for uphols¬ 
tery, striped linen of the 
same colors, $1.25 
An interesting extra chair 
comes in a cottage design 
and costs, undecorated, 
$14.50. The walls of the 
room would be plain and 
th e rug a greenish-gray 
Wilton 
