m 
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, a self-addressed stamped 
B where they may be^'obtained ^ lls department will also purchase any of the articles here described for subscribers living at a distance, or will furnish the names of the places 
More Chintzes 
F OR a number of years Christmas 
presents have been assuming use¬ 
ful forms, and even the children are in¬ 
terested and pleased with gifts which are 
neither toys nor games. "The little girl 
will still have her doll on the tree, but, 
with an instinctive housewife’s spirit, she 
takes a keen interest in something useful 
and pretty for her own room. 
Ever since our fore-mothers (why 
not?) hung chintzes of quaint design and 
color at their great Georgian windows, 
and great-great-great-grandfather went 
asleep in the chintz-covered chair (with 
wings at the side and flounces all around), 
the flowery material has been a favorite 
with housewives. Discarded in that 
gloomy and tawdry period (aforemen¬ 
tioned—1870-1880) for horsehair and 
knitted tidies, it has again attained its 
place of favor in the American home, and 
from the new designs and delicious colors 
shown this year, it seems fated to stav. 
Its use in renewing old furniture or cov¬ 
ering cushions for new has been written 
about often, but it remained for it to be¬ 
come an integral part of the furniture it¬ 
self. Several stores are carrying this cre¬ 
tonne furniture. Some of it is entirely of 
the material, put together so cleverly that 
paste or nails are the last thing thought of 
in connection with shelves, drawers or 
neatly turned legs. Other pieces are part¬ 
ly white enamel or other wood in connec¬ 
tion with the cretonne or brocade, or 
whatever material is used. Nothing could 
be prettier or more suitable for a little 
girl’s room than the set of this furniture 
seen lately. 
The chiffonnier is of white enamel, 
with cretonne-covered drawers and glass 
knobs. The woodwork projects slightly 
beyond the drawers, protecting them from 
dust, and the top of the stand is a sheet 
of plate glass, the cretonne showing 
through. The glass is easily cleaned, and 
affords complete protection to the ma¬ 
terial underneath. 
With this comes a little desk in the 
white enamel, with cretonne top, which is 
hinged in the centre, and may be closed 
tight and locked when not in use. The 
contents of this desk would delight any 
small girl, as it is completely fitted up 
One of the many attractive styles ot book rocks that 
are now being shown 
with pens, paper-cutter, scissors, held in 
place by tiny cretonne straps. A blotting 
pad and day-book bound in cretonne go 
with this desk, the whole making a charm¬ 
ing gift for a little girl. 
A sewing table would delight the heart 
of a girl at all domestically inclined. This, 
too, is of white enamel and cretonne, with 
two compartments for work. A novelty 
The serviceableness of this rocker should appeal to 
prospective Christmas-givers 
of this table lies in the two handles, which 
make it easy to pick up and carry about. 
Made of a darker cretonne or brocade, 
are the two pieces for the bedroom of the 
mistress or young lady of the house. The 
box is for hats, and is of strong material, 
covered with the cretonne and bound with 
gimp. It is extra large, to accommodate 
all sizes in hats, and makes a strong, at¬ 
tractive bandbox for one’s closet-shelf, 
or, if need be, will fit under the bed. The 
little rack is for magazines in the lower 
part, in the upper for books, and makes a 
charming adjunct to the reading-table by 
the bed. 
There are also two odd pieces in silk 
brocade and mahogany for a boudoir or 
sitting-room. The table has a glass top, 
protecting the brocade beneath, which 
may be lifted, disclosing a large aperture 
beneath for keeping pamphlets or other 
articles. 
The waste-basket is charming and 
unique. The side facets are of old, blue 
Chinese embroidery, the edge bound in 
gold gimp braid, and the whole set on a 
small, gilt pedestal. 
A Comfortable Rocker 
HERE is nothing more uncomfort¬ 
able than an uncomfortable rock¬ 
ing chair, and nothing that can serve 
equally well in almost any room of the 
house than one that rests and soothes 
while it serves. Those that “catch in the 
back,” those that are too straight or rock 
unevenly, soon find themselves deserted. 
What every woman eventually wants is a 
low rocking chair—a comfortable, safe, 
snug piece of furniture upon which none 
of the burden of decoration shall descend, 
and yet which is decorative in itself. She 
wants a sewing chair for her bedroom, or 
a low one for downstairs — one low 
enough to permit the children to clamber 
upon it if they will. Of a number being 
shown this winter few equal for sturdi¬ 
ness of build and beauty of line an antique 
reproduction fashioned, it is said, after a 
chair that came over on the “Mayflower." 
It is made of oak or birch in any color 
finish, or of mahogany. The serviceable¬ 
ness of such a rocker should appeal 
strongly to those who have in view the 
practical side of Christmas-giving. 
378 
