Furniture for the Living-room and Library 
THE AVAILABLE STYLES, HOW THEY SHOULD BE USED, WHAT THE PIECES COST 
—A FEW GENERAL PRINCIPLES THAT SERVE TO MAKE THESE ROOMS INVITING 
by Russell Fisher 
W HAT an important factor furniture is in our home life, and 
not only as regards mere surface matters—the joy to the 
eye that comes from beautiful lines and harmonious colors, or 
the dissatisfaction arising from the sight of crude 
and unsuitable examples. That is but one side 
of the matter; the other and deeper effect is 
much more subtle. Have you ever visited the 
home of a friend and felt in his living-room a 
sort of soothing peace that was of such a sub¬ 
conscious nature that it never occurred to you 
to formulate! it or investigate the reason there¬ 
for? That feeling was in all probability aroused 
by your friend’s thoroughly harmonious fur¬ 
nishings—not only the furniture, of course, but 
the entire scheme, the coverings of wall and 
floor, the hangings, the pictures and their 
frames, the ornaments (or the lack of these), 
and the color scheme of the ensemble. 1 sin¬ 
cerely hope that you have had this pleasurable 
experience, but surely you have had its 
opposite—the mental jarring produced by an 
assemblage of reprehensible design, unsuitable 
combinations and garish colors. Unfortunately 
the latter condition of things is too common to 
have escaped the attention even of the least ob¬ 
servant. 
Now a great many people have the idea 
that the only satisfactory method of furnishing 
a room—so far as the furniture is concerned, 
at least, is by holding steadfastly to one of the so- 
called Period Styles, letting no incongruous note find its way into 
You can buy a secretary built of 
mahogany along the lines of 
the old work for $115 
Sturdy oak furniture that is a development of the so-called Mission type makes an 
attractive style for the living-room 
the room. It sounds reasonable enough, to be sure, but practically 
it doesn’t work out just that way. There is a good deal more to 
furnishing a room — and particularly a living-room—than can be 
squeezed into a formula. The room that has 
in it nothing but Louis XVI furniture mav 
look well in a building devoted to the interests 
of some historical society, but it will in all likeli¬ 
hood not make a living-room in your home that 
will attract you into it and make you want to 
sit down and be comfortable. 
A year or two ago 1 had the privilege of 
seeing the living-room in the home of the late 
Grover Cleveland at Princeton. There was 
nothing that remotely suggested Period fur¬ 
nishing about it. In it were great easy chairs, 
upholstered in unobstrusive tones, chairs of 
mahogany of several periods, chairs of wicker, 
an old English chest—I cannot give you an in¬ 
ventory of the entire contents, but in some 
mysterious way its elements from different lands 
and various periods dwelt together in perfect 
harmony and seemed to lend, each in its own 
degree, a portion of the quiet, restful distinc¬ 
tion that made the room seem like a true haven 
of rest. 
The part played by the furniture itself in a 
successful living-room or library is, of course, 
one of the most important elements that go to 
make up the whole. It is a surprising thing 
to find how great an improvement has taken 
place during the last few years in the furniture that is being made 
by American manufacturers. 
Three or four years ago it was 
a difficult thing to find in the 
stores enough furniture of 
good design and careful work¬ 
manship to furnish the whole 
house. One could pick up a 
stray piece or even a set at 
times, but there was no con¬ 
sistent note of merit running 
through all the various kinds. 
The situation is very different 
to-day. It is possible to find 
in the stock of the better 
manufacturers furniture that 
instantly impresses one with 
its grace of design, its soft, 
beautiful finish and its honest 
craftsmanship. The day of the 
flimsily glued furniture has 
gone by, at least so far as the 
better known manufacturers 
are concerned. No doubt the 
recent developed popularity of 
antiques has been largely re¬ 
sponsible for this improve¬ 
ment. In fact, a visit to the 
