March, 1913 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
197 
and applied vigorously, will remove the 
tarnish and leave a shiny surface. This 
treatment does not apply to lacquered 
brass, which never needs cleaning. 
Lamp Wick Hints 
O keep the wicks of oil lamps in good 
condition remove them from the 
burners once a week, put them in water 
containing enough washing powder to 
make a good suds, and boil them for half 
an hour or more. This will remove the 
oil and leave them bright and clean. Do 
not cut the wick to secure a better light, 
but turn it just above the tube and rub 
off the charred portion with a match. 
Built-in Furniture 
LTHOUGH designed primarily for 
the purpose of saving space and ex¬ 
pense in bungalows and small cottages, 
built-in furniture may often be employed 
with good effect in houses of a much more 
pretentious character. 
In the Eastern States furnishings of 
this sort have heretofore been limited al¬ 
most entirely to window-seats and book¬ 
cases, but in the West, notably in Southern 
California, where the bungalow is omni¬ 
present, buffets, china closets, writing 
desks and even beds are as much a part of 
the woodwork as are the door jambs and 
window casings. In one sense it has been 
rather overdone and worked to death, 
particularly in California, the idea being 
to put up houses that require as little furni¬ 
ture as possible, so that the man of small 
means who wants to own his own home, 
or the winter transients who desire to go 
to housekeeping at small expense, may be 
accommodated. 
At the same time, however, out of the 
mass of good, bad and indifferent furni¬ 
ture of this sort designed by bungalow ex¬ 
perts there are excellent ideas that may be 
adapted to the house that is not necessarily 
of the bungalow type. This is particularly 
true of dining-room fittings. In a living- 
A heavy willow jardiniere frame of wide 
adaptation 
room, with the exception of built-in book¬ 
cases, movable pieces of furniture seem 
rather more appropriate, but the dining¬ 
room lends itself admirably to the scheme 
for stationary furniture. 
Primarily there is the china closet. 
China must be kept somewhere, but with 
the exception of the old three-cornered 
Colonial piece, the average china closet is 
an eyesore and a thing to be banished from 
a well-arranged dining-room. The built-in 
closet affords much greater space, is less 
conspicuous, and if properly planned adds 
not a little to the ornamental effect of the 
woodwork, for it can be made artistic. 
Of course a handsome sideboard of 
mahogany or oak is preferred to the built- 
in variety, but if there are limitations in 
floor space as well as in purse a buffet may 
be designed and built in connection with 
the china closet. It is not only satisfactory 
in appearance, but provides space for com¬ 
modious drawers for silver and table linen, 
a feature not always to be found in side¬ 
boards, even those of massive construction. 
China closets built on either side of the 
chimney piece make an attractive addition 
to a dining-room if a built-in buffet is not 
needed, and in many cases a corner cup¬ 
board matching the woodwork of the room, 
with leaded glass doors and shelves for 
holding china is a decided convenience 
even when the dining-room is well fur¬ 
nished with separate pieces. 
A Hanging Frame for the Jardiniere 
NE of the newer additions to the long 
list of things that help to make the 
outdoor living-room attractive is a sub¬ 
stantial hanging frame for a jardiniere of 
large size. It is a rather crude looking 
affair of heavy willow strips plaited and 
wrapped until they are capable of sustain¬ 
ing a very considerable weight, such as a 
jardiniere filled with earth must of neces¬ 
sity be. In appearance the frame is thor¬ 
oughly in keeping with its outdoor sur¬ 
roundings, however, is of course un¬ 
harmed by wind and weather, and is suit¬ 
able for jardinieres of every description, 
whether brass, pottery or crockery. 
The willow is in the natural color but 
can easily be stained to match the color of 
the piazza if desired. The frame is about 
four feet high and can be placed on the 
floor and used as a stand for a jardiniere 
that is to occupy a corner of the piazza, 
although it is primarily intended for a 
hanging plant. On account of its sub¬ 
stantial construction vines growing in the 
jardiniere may be trained over the large 
side handles as well as over the different 
sections of the main one with good effect. 
A particularly good effect is given by the position and design of the 
built-in china closets in this well-lighted dining-room 
Simplicity and usefulness are well combined in these cupboards and 
drawers, which are in harmony with the rest of the woodwork 
