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■■■•^ 151 l<5Sgl |51 l'i'« -^-S lj]|5Jt <a:^Sj [q] i ° 3 
much money to spend, but which in 
spite of its simplicity has the true touch 
of grace. The walls were tinted a soft 
gray, the paint was ivory, comfortable 
willow furniture painted gray was 
used, with the cushions covers of a 
quaint chintz costing only ninety cents a 
yard. The curtains and valances were 
a plain soft old-blue linen edged with a 
fringed gimp containing the colors of the 
chintz, and in each of the two windows 
stood a window-box of thrifty ferns. 
There was a gray rug, and the blue was 
again used in the portieres and in a few 
cushions. It sounds very living-roomy, 
I acknowledge, but, like all the other 
rooms I have mentioned, it had all the 
comfort of a living-room with that in¬ 
definable charm and pleasant sugges¬ 
tion which are an absolute part of the 
modern parlor. This element seems to 
stand for the graces of life; it might 
almost be called the fragrance of our 
homes, and should not be allowed to die 
out, as there seems some danger of its 
doing. The living-room has its place 
Present-day chintzes are extremely decorative since they may carry out the main color tone of a room when judiciously i ‘ f i; wiflirm* it tint a 
used for upholstery and hangings; they well disguise lines of ugly chairs. Here the type of side lighting is attractive; a 1C \\ C L , 
the fixtures are grouped to provide space for the long mirror parlor or drawing-room atmosphere is 
also a necessity. 
be cured. For instance, mantels are great offenders. There is In rearranging a town-house parlor one should have the new 
sometimes a fearful superstructure composed of fancy shelves plans in scale with the furniture to be used. There should be a 
and a large mirror which should be removed (it can easily be (Continued on page 406) 
done, for they are seldom a part of 
the construction), and a good mirror or 
fine picture or cast put in its place. If 
by evil chance there is a grill in the 
doorway have it taken down, for they 
are quite impossible. Portieres bang¬ 
ing from a simple pole will give a bet¬ 
ter effect. If there is a center light 
have that taken down, and substitute 
well-chosen side lights and lamps. If 
the woodwork is obnoxious have it 
painted—for pine stained a dreadful 
red to represent mahogany is not to be 
cherished as fine hard wood, and will 
spoil almost any room. I have seen an 
astonishing mantel whose fireplace held 
a bookcase. This seemed an insult to 
both, and if by chance you are cursed 
with such a monstrosity, have the mir¬ 
ror part taken away, put a table in 
front of the bookshelves, and have a 
carpenter build two sets of shelves, one 
for each side of the table, to fit under 
the mantelshelf. There can also be a 
connecting sbelf. This will cover a 
multitude of sins and give you a desk 
besides. Such alarming things as this 
are usually found only in the living- 
rooms of certain apartment houses, and 
one does not have to contend with them 
in the average city-house. 
There was another charming little 
town-house parlor where there was not 
The long room problem is often solved by dividing the wall space into panels by means of molding strips. The French 
mirror here is especially suitable with such treatment; notice that it lies close to the wall and is not overburdened by a 
topheavy, much fluted and carved frame 
( 382 ) 
