SUGGESTIONS FOR THE MONTH 
FOR THE HOmE AND GARDE) 
THE HOUSE 
A ugust is deddedly the least interesting 
month of the year—a time of all others when 
there is least to do and least to enjoy—the 
days are sultry and the nights warm, and energy 
comes to a low ehb. If the house is situated in a 
locality where the nights are apt to be sleepless on 
account of the oppressive heat, why not try the experi¬ 
ment of fitting up an outdoor sleeping room on an 
upper balcony ? The only difficulty will be that once 
tried you will not want to vacate it. If there is no 
roof over the balcony put up an awning for in most 
places there are at this time heavy dews and the sky 
will not do for a roof. Denim or canvas stretched 
hack of the balcony railing will serve as a sufficient 
screen and may be left in place during the daytime, 
and a light cot with a couple of blankets is the only 
furniture necessary. Take the bedding indoors 
during the daytime, and he sure it is never put away 
damp. City houses occasionally afford such summer 
sleeping apartments, and country houses frequently 
do. For both day and night nothing is more pleasure 
giving then, than the two-storied porch or gallery— 
and if you have none now is a good time to add it. 
August is an excellent time to have all sorts of 
repairs made,—work is slack and it is easier to get 
expert mechanics now than later. If there is paint¬ 
ing or papering to be done in the town house, attend 
to it now, and if there are little things needing atten¬ 
tion do not overlook them. It is so easy to get used 
to one’s own shahhiness, and so very costly to let a 
house fall into dilapidation. 
In selecting wall-papers remember they are in¬ 
tended as backgrounds, and if figures are chosen, do 
not get patterns which are too pronounced or spotty. 
Nothing can he more annoying than the necessity of 
counting and recounting the figures on the wall. Do 
not use striped papers in rooms of small dimensions 
with high ceilings, or cold colors in north rooms. 
Consider the hglit, as well as the furnishing, and the 
purpose of the room. It is not always necessary to 
get an expensive paper to secure a good design as 
some very simple combinations oft-times produce ex¬ 
cellent effects. There are of course, many other kinds 
of wall coverings, which can be used to advantage, but 
the same rules apply to all with but slight variation. 
If painting is done see that a sufficient amount of 
drier is used, and each coat is thoroughly hardened 
before the next is applied; this tends toward dura¬ 
bility as well as comfort. Do not leave drinking 
water standing in a room with wet paint for it collects 
the evaporated oil on its surface, and is then almost 
poisonous. Outdoor painting can also be done 
advantageously at this season, when there are fre¬ 
quently long dry spells, but if it is the outside of the 
house that is to be made new, have a care in the selec¬ 
tion of colors. Remember its environment, con¬ 
sider the architecture, and make it not only rational 
hut attractive. Avoid colors which have an appear¬ 
ance of being sticky and thick; insistent, sickly 
yellows, glaring blues, and shabby browns; suggest, 
instead, the natural tints, the materials that are em¬ 
ployed in building. What is more attractive than 
the white columns and buff colored stucco of the old 
Colonial mansions, or the white porticos and gray 
stone-work of other houses of the same period And 
try the experiment of introducing a glint of red where 
it will give life and character—under the eaves, pos¬ 
sibly—on the down-spout, or on the window sashes— 
it will prove a grateful note. 
Why not also have the chairs upholstered this 
month, that have needed it so long They can be 
done at almost half price and by the best upholsterers. 
Sometimes the householder can successfully be his 
own upholsterer, and it is not a bad experiment to 
make in these otherwise unoccupied days. 
When the family is following vacation pursuits and 
smaller than usual, it may be well to have some of the 
mattresses made over and the pillow cases renewed. 
In the olden days every good housekeeper had a 
feather room and the beds were all picked over once a 
year, but because this is no longer necessary, the 
desirability of caring for the bedding is sometimes 
overlooked. 
The house itself should not need a great deal of 
attention just now, but it is possible that some of the 
woodwork will need repairing. The cellar steps are 
perennially out of order, and door and window frames 
have been known to get out of joint at these times. 
If there has been much dampness, the mahogany and 
other highly polished furniture should have been 
covered to prevent the formation of bloom, which is 
hard to remove. 
66 
