The Editor ivill gladly anszt'er queries pertaining to individual problems of interior deeoration and furnishing. 
please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. 
When an immediate reply is desired. 
Brightening a Somber Piazza 
' I ■'HE somberness of a dark piazza may 
be gratefully relieved by the use 
of willow chairs in their natural state, 
with cushions of bright crimson. The 
combination of the fresh willow and the 
red gives a suggestion of cheer and sun¬ 
shine which cannot be evaded, no matter 
how gloomy the day or the individual. 
The bright red cushion in the white or 
green enameled chair is even a little more 
startling than in the natural willow, but 
very inviting and cheering. The large 
flower patterns in chintz have superseded 
the more modest designs, and all the pat¬ 
terns show roses and other flowers sev¬ 
eral times enlarged from nature’s dimen¬ 
sions. These flowered chintzes seem most 
appropriate trimmings for the natural wil¬ 
low and reed furniture, as their colorings 
are apt to be quite exact reproductions of 
nature. 
For use indoors, willow and kindred 
furnitures are now tinted to match any 
color scheme of the walls, and the choice 
of cretonnes is so large that harmony is 
assured, whether the choice be in warm 
wistarias, mellow browns and yellows, or 
bright roses. 
A Casement Window Device. 
T HAVE in a measure solved the prob- 
lem of casement windows in our house 
at Lawrence, Long Island. About 
eighteen months ago we built a sun parlor 
as an addition to the house, which room is 
about 28 X 12 feet. The casement win¬ 
dows swing out and are fitted with 
Chamberlain weather strips, making them 
completely weather proof. The screens 
are on the inside and in one piece, rein¬ 
forced in the length and breadth bv metal 
strips. 
The architect, after some study of the 
problem, decided to have the screens work 
on slides, the same as the ordinary two- 
piece screen, and when raised they dis¬ 
appear into the wall between the top of 
the window and the ceiling of the room. 
Ours is an old-fashioned house built 
about 150 years ago and as most of the 
ceilings are low, we would not secure 
more than about fifteen inches of head 
room, ^\’hen the screens are raised, how¬ 
ever, this opening of fifteen inches permits 
the casement windows being unlatched 
and opened or closed. The casement win¬ 
dows are opened and closed by means of 
a metal arm, which allows adjustment with 
a thumb screw. 
It is no doubt possible in building a new 
bouse to allow for more space so that the 
screen can be raised at least two feet, 
which should be ample for all purposes. 
The Piazza Tea Wagon and Table 
T he willow tea wagon for piazza par¬ 
ties is preferred to finished wood, for 
willow is in its natural state and not sub¬ 
ject to the changes of air and temperature 
to which other varnished woods in time 
succumb. Under the glass top should be 
a strip of chintz to match the chair cush- 
The shape of every tool is painted on the wall, 
so that each implement has its particular 
place 
ions. The piazza table of willow or reed 
is vastly more useful if provided with a 
glass top to fit, under which is a mat of the 
chintz. Another and more original method 
is to have several neutral toned under 
pieces, and to arrange one's own decora¬ 
tions from nature. Llowers and leaves 
will press very gracefully under the weight 
of the glass, especially if the background 
is mounted on cardboard to counteract the 
corrugated effect of the willow work. 
Grasses and grains may be most effective¬ 
ly arranged on these neutral silk or sat- 
teen pads, and preserved by the glass for 
some time. 
Keeping Track of Tools 
D ifferent tools are frequently lost 
or mislaid by the workmen using 
them, and considerable annoyance as well 
as expense is the result. One of the most 
successful methods of lessening this in¬ 
convenience is used by the owner of a 
country place where several workmen are 
employed. 
On the wall of the shed where the vari¬ 
ous implements were kept this man painted 
the outline of every kind of tool and at the 
top of each figure a spike was driven. A 
number was then assigned to every man 
employed and all the tools he used were 
stamped with it. After the day’s work 
the men were required to hang the tools 
on the spikes over the corresponding paint¬ 
ings, so that a glance along the wall was 
sufficient to show what implement, if any, 
was missing, and who was responsible for 
it. 
This is a practical plan and can be re¬ 
commended where comparatively few tools 
are used. Vhere larger numbers are to 
be considered, it is advisable to employ a 
caretaker. 
The Uses of Cheesecloth 
W HOE\^ER has a cellar, a stable, a 
garden or a chicken house should 
be told the manifold virtues of cheese¬ 
cloth. Frames covered first with chicken 
wire, then the cloth tacked tight over them, 
let in light and air, yet keep out dust and 
a modicum of cold. A three-foot running 
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