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—1 Iras 
Inside the House 
Timely Suggestions and 
Answers to Correspondents 
The Editor will gladly answer queries pertaining to individual problems of interior decoration and furnishing. When an immediate reply is desired, 
please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope 
An After-Dinner Coffee Stand 
RATHER attractive arrangement for 
the serving of after-dinner coffee in 
the drawing-room is a combination of trays 
forming a little table or stand that serves 
to hold all of the necessary articles and 
may be easily moved about. Like so many 
other things in this day of apartments and 
small quarters generally, it is designed 
with a view to compactness and the occu¬ 
pying of the least possible amount of 
space. The two little shelves are about 
twenty inches long and only about eight 
inches wide, curving slightly in the front, 
so that they are rather wider at the center 
than at the ends. 
The stand is of highly polished wood, 
and the substantial curved handles at 
either end, a continuation of the supports, 
are of brass. The coffee service, of pret¬ 
tily decorated French china, is sufficient 
for six persons, and all of the pieces with 
the exception of the saucers, which are in 
a rack, are so shaped so that they rest 
securely in the stationary rings placed for 
them, making it impossible for them to 
slide off when the stand is moved about. 
Similar stands may be had with the cups 
and saucers on the lower shelf; but in 
place of the coffee pot and other pieces 
on the upper shelf there is a smoking and 
liquor set which includes the decanter, 
glasses, ash receivers and a spirit lamp. 
Three Suggestions for Interior 
Plant Decoration 
T AKE the larger half of a cocoanut 
shell, pierce three holes around the 
edge for the entrance of small chains or 
wires, and use as a hanging basket; or, 
if preferred, rebend to the required shape 
a plate or plaque standard, as a table sup¬ 
port for the cocoanut shell. Then saturate 
a sponge which, when expanded with 
water, will entirely fill the shell. In the 
interstices of the sponge place rice, filling 
the sponge rather thickly with the seed. 
And in a very short time the most interest¬ 
ing green, tufted growth will entirely 
cover the moistened sponge and later will 
fall over the shell. This device makes a 
most novel table decoration, especially as 
it lends itself to the further insertion of 
small delicate flowers for any special or 
hasty occasion. 
Another decorative novelty is the use 
of a long, slender sweet potato placed 
half way in a tall, thin olive bottle, or 
any bottle open-mouthed enough to hold 
the potato without pressure. This is really 
an artistic method of beautifying a dining¬ 
room. for within a week or two, roots will 
An after-dinner coffee stand that is adequate 
but occupies little space 
begin to fill the lower part of the bottle, 
while a long, decorative vine will grow 
from the upper end of the potato. And 
although this vine is not under close ex¬ 
amination particularly fine, nevertheless 
the effect is decidedly acceptable. For if 
the bottle is fastened at the top of a win¬ 
dow, the vine will soon fall over the cur¬ 
tains, and later, sweep to the floor. 
A third suggestion is in utilizing the 
seeds of grape fruit, which can be done 
after the fruit has been prepared for eat¬ 
ing. Then, selecting the choicest of the 
seeds, soak in water for fifteen or twenty 
minutes and plant in the rich soil of a 
fern dish. Plant at least two dozen seeds. 
Then keep the dish in the sun and nurture 
as any plant. In a few weeks the dish will 
be green with many little shoots, all of 
a uniform size, about an inch apart, which 
later, without transplanting or thinning 
out will grow to any height required. 
But as soon as the plants are a couple of 
inches high the dish can be placed in its 
standard and used as a table decoration. 
The growth is not only distinctively 
tropical and mystifying to one’s friends, 
but the plants emit a faint sweet odor. 
So if the seeds are planted in the early 
fall, one can have the advantage of an 
ornamentation through the early winter 
months. Or if planted in mid-winter it 
is not too late for the seeds to be up in 
time for a choice Easter gift. And if re¬ 
served for later use, such as a table decora¬ 
tion after the ferns of the house have 
been removed to the veranda, the plants 
will keep green and healthy through the 
summer. 
Try some of these schemes this winter. 
They are all simple and easily accom¬ 
plished, and their effects are really sur¬ 
prisingly effective under the circum¬ 
stances. 
A Rain Shield for the Window 
A MORE or less vexing problem for 
every householder is that of keep¬ 
ing the rain out of the windows and at 
the same time providing for a proper 
amount of ventilation. Particularly is 
this in evidence in a sleeping room where 
good ventilation is an absolute necessity, 
and where there may be windows facing 
in but one direction, so that it is a choice 
between no air and a drenched window sill 
and floor. 
One of the simplest ways of overcom¬ 
ing this difficulty is by the use of a wide 
board placed in such a position in the 
window that the rain is directed away 
from the opening and not allowed to beat 
in. The board should be about two and 
(42) 
