May, 1913 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
397 
tries for covering walls. A very fine efifect 
is easily attainable, and that without much 
ability or experience, because these tapes¬ 
tries are woven and sold by the lineal 
yard. They can also be procured in vari¬ 
ous widths and designs from three feet to 
six feet high. The tapestry is tacked to 
the wall, or placed on a frame and finished 
with a gimp or wood molding, and it fills 
the space between the wood dado and the 
ceiling. 
The tapestry is put up in one length, 
spaces being cut out to allow for windows 
and doors. These wall tapestries are best 
procured direct from upholstery firms or 
establishments that import direct and sell 
to the individual. Buying from these firms, 
the intermediate profit of decorators is 
saved, and there is a better assortment to 
select from. 
The coloring and design of excellent 
patterns are reproductions of the Tapis- 
serie de Bruges. One especially good one 
is designated Brabant tapestry. It has a 
design about twelve feet long, the width 
being six feet. This is copied from the 
Gobelin tapestry designed by Chas. Le 
Brun during the reign and under the pat¬ 
ronage of Louis XIV. It represents a 
woodland scene with running water in 
form of cascades with a background of 
distant, fleecy, cloud-capped hills. The 
colors are soft shades of blue, green and 
some wood colors that harmonize splen¬ 
didly with oak or mahogany woodwork. 
This tapestry is in stock as narrow as forty 
inches wide. To complete a room with 
this wall tapestry, the curtains, carpet "and 
table covers should be self-colored or plain 
shades, which could emphasize the blue, 
green or brown in the wall tapestry accord¬ 
ing to taste. The first two colors would be 
best with mahogany, and any one of the 
three would look well with oak woodwork. 
Plain or figured Imperial velours make 
handsome curtains and table covers, espe- 
The figured paper detracts from the effect of 
the otherwise attractive curtains 
dally when trimmed with one of the tapes¬ 
try borders about six inches wide, made 
for use in combination with the Brabant 
wall tapestries. 
To decorate a wall with tapestry, the first 
cost is more than paper hanging, but, in 
view of the need of frequent renewals of 
paper and the trouble and inconvenience 
caused thereby, it is economy in the long 
Ornamental sticks for supporting plants may be 
had in these curious forms 
run. Moreover, the best paper never com¬ 
pares in richness with even a cheap tapes¬ 
try, and tapestry, exactly opposite to paper, 
seems to improve with age. 
Flower Sticks 
OR the amateur gardener who has an 
eye for the picturesque there are 
curious little flower sticks topped by carved 
wooden figures of little men and women 
and birds, that are useful for tying up 
plants in need of temporary support. Al¬ 
though the idea originated among the 
Bavarian peasants, and the figures them¬ 
selves are quite as foreign looking as one 
could possibly wish, the sticks are now 
made in this country and are not at all ex¬ 
pensive or difficult to secure. They are 
painted in all sorts of gay colors, bright 
reds and yellows and greens that are 
guaranteed waterproof, while the hats 
are black and ornamented with tiny 
feathers. 
The sticks are made with sharp 
pointed ends and are from eighteen to 
twenty inches high, so that they can be 
used for tying up plants of quite good 
size. Even if not an absolute neces¬ 
sity they will at least lend a bit of 
humor to an otherwise perfectly prim 
and proper garden bed. 
Hanging Window Curtains 
Effectively 
HE two windows illustrated on 
this page show how differently 
pretty curtains can be hung, making or 
marring a room by their arrangement 
The little window with the ruffled 
under curtain and the flowered cre¬ 
tonne outside, should be attractive and 
make a pretty setting for the window 
itself, but it is not. In the first place, 
the figured paper detracts from the ar¬ 
tistic value and should be used only 
with plain draperies. 
The figures in curtains and paper do 
not harmonize at all, and take away the 
restful efifect of the room. If they had been 
put up at a window where the paper was 
perfectly plain the whole efifect would have 
been changed. The outside hangings are 
too full. Half the width only should have 
been used. 
Note the difference in the alcoved recess 
in the living-room of the Colonial type. 
Here the bright colored cretonne curtains 
do not take away from the dignity of the 
room, but rather add color and cheer, giv¬ 
ing a most artistic efifect which is 
heightened by the sofa pillow on the 
window seat. 
Cretonne of all sorts and colorings is 
found in most artistic effects. There are 
to-day nearly a hundred varieties of 
domestic manufacture which can be pur¬ 
chased for as little as fifteen cents a yard. 
It is often hard to tell it from the real 
chintz. It is a most inexpensive hanging 
as well as an artistic one, for you can often 
pick up odd remnants at reduced cost, 
which will often do for window hangings. 
A Home-made Hamper 
One of the things especially needed 
about a home is a hamper, and for this a 
simple box may be utilized to the satis¬ 
faction of all members of the family. The 
home-made hamper needs less space than 
one of those purchased. Take a box three 
feet long, two feet wide and about 30 
inches in height. Cover with table oil¬ 
cloth (blue looks best when the hamper is 
intended for the tiled bathroom), and 
attach handles of nickel. The inside of 
the box is enameled white, and the first 
division is used for stockings and flannels, 
the middle and largest for table and bed 
linen, towels, etc., and the third for lingerie 
and other wearing apparel. 
There can be a pocket of the oilcloth 
fastened to the inside of the cover. 
Here the bright colored cretonne curtains do not 
take away from the dignity of the room 
