202 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
October, 1912 
over a coat of pale silver, to give 
an atmospheric effect. In the 
stencil over the couch gray-green 
and rose-color were used, the flesh 
tints washed in with lighter rose. 
In the others blue was added. 
Doing away with the need for 
framed pictures, the stencils are 
enjoyed by their owner as the ex¬ 
emplification of a favorite fad, 
and they help in making the dis¬ 
tinctive setting that can be worked 
out in a room devoted to a single 
individual. Louise Shrimpton 
An Attic TT 7" HERE there 
Room VV are four or 
five people in a family 
the living-room often becomes 
uncomfortably crowded 
with those desiring its 
use for varied and con¬ 
flicting pursuits. A 
young woman found this 
the case in her home, 
and wished to create 
some place for work 
and reading undisturbed, 
some place where all her 
working materials had 
need not be shifted and 
misplaced. 
So she set to work to 
make her third floor bed¬ 
room more of a living- 
roo^n, regretting, to be 
sure, the dainty bed, but 
replacing it by a very 
comfortable spring cot 
which gave some extra 
room which was almost 
essential. As a desk was 
a necessity, the typical 
bedroom table had to go, 
and was replaced by a 
bench table which could 
be folded back and made 
a settle, giving an extra 
seat for the occasional visitor; for 
the smallness of the room per¬ 
mitted only two chairs, a com¬ 
fortable willow armchair and the 
straightback chair which served 
both at desk and dressing-table. 
The furniture had been white, 
but had become dingy, so it was 
painted a clear, cool, gray several 
tones lighter than the silvery Rus¬ 
sian crash that was chosen for the 
couch cover and hangings. 
A word or two about this Rus¬ 
sian crash. Every one knows that 
it is to be bought in the toweling 
department of some department 
stores, and that it comes about six¬ 
teen inches wide and is sold for 
dish towels of a rather low order. 
Not even-one is aware of the great 
variety of its color. This, of 
course, is made of the natural col¬ 
ored flax, but varies from a sil¬ 
very gray — very beautiful—to a 
dirty muddy color almost a brown. 
The good colored pieces are com¬ 
paratively rare, but it is worth 
while to hunt until you find them. 
This crash, then, was used for 
the couch cover, cushions, and 
curtains. For the couch it was 
whipped together with very large 
visible stitches in carpet warp, 
dyed a deep orange, and along its 
edges was couched a simple flower 
design. The design was put on 
with torn strips of cotton cloth 
dyed the same deep orange, and 
couched down with the 
carpet warp. 
There were three case¬ 
ment windows nearly 
square and opening out¬ 
ward, and they were cur¬ 
tained with straight side 
pieces of the crash, show¬ 
ing the same design and 
full inside curtains of 
orange cheesecloth. The 
walls were painted a 
clear yellow, the chiffon¬ 
ier, its mirror removed, 
had a cover of the crash, 
and on it stood a great 
brass jar always filled 
with flowers or leaves and 
a row of books at the back 
held by brass book ends. 
The couch was made 
comfortable with a suffi¬ 
cient number of pillows 
all covered with the 
crash, its only decoration, 
the large stitches of 
orange. One or two> 
cushions with inwoven 
designs and one in Ori¬ 
ental blues and reds gave the 
needed variety. The windows oc¬ 
curred one at the end of the room 
and two at one side. The couch 
was placed perforce under one of 
these windows; at its foot stood 
the chiffonier, and beyond it under 
the other window (its mirror hung 
directly against the sash) was 
placed the dressing-table. This 
arrangement, common in English 
cottages, is an excellent one, where 
the view from the window is not 
desirable. A better light for a 
dressing-mirror cannot be con¬ 
ceived. In this case the other two 
windows gave ample ventilation 
so that it was seldom necessary or 
(Continued on page 255) 
The bedroom is stenciled with nasturtiums in their natural colors 
and the counterpane contains a design to match 
It is a difficult thing to combine antiques and museum furniture as consistently and 
with as great resultant comfort as here 
1 his complete kitchen offers suggestions in its table against the 
wall and wide hood covering the sinks as well as the stove 
