HOUSE AND GARDEN 
November, 1909 
1 59 
principal manufacturers in 
New York shows that the 
majority, perhaps, of the 
modern work is patterned 
after old pieces of historic 
note or of established excel¬ 
lence of design. The “Col¬ 
onial” is chiefly in evidence 
— reproductions or adapta¬ 
tions of the rather heavily 
built furniture that was 
used by our grandfathers, 
although, of course, older 
periods known by the name 
of Sheraton, Chippendale 
and Adam are well repre¬ 
sented in the modern re¬ 
productions. 
Still another tendency 
in the available furniture is 
not so pronounced but nev¬ 
ertheless surely there. It 
is the recognition of the 
suitability of old English 
furniture, particularly for 
the dining-room, but to 
some extent for the library 
as well. In these reproduc¬ 
tions are included representations from the Elizabethan, Jacobean 
and the William and Mary periods, stamped with the mark 
of a rugged honesty of purpose and executed 
always in dark oak. 
There is also still another tendency in the 
available furniture for library or living-room. 
That is the modern English which has been 
associated with various names, including those 
of Morris and Voysey. In this general type 
the woodwork of the room itself and the furni¬ 
ture are alike in material and finish. The 
furniture is usually associated with plain 
paneled woodwork, bearing little or no carved 
detail but depending for its effectiveness on 
the beauty in the grain of the wood and in the 
finish given it which serves to accent and dis¬ 
play rather than to gloss over the beauty of the 
grain, and retaining the wood’s natural color. 
There is 
apparently no 
lessening in 
the apprecia¬ 
tion accorded another type of 
furniture which is distinctly 
American—that known as the 
craftsman type. It is not unlike 
the modern English work except¬ 
ing in an entire freedom from 
the faintest suggestion of Art 
Nouveau motives. There is a 
substantial and serviceable note 
in this typical American fur¬ 
niture of oak that improves 
upon acquaintance—a quality 
that unfortunately is not to be 
found in many of the novelties 
annually thrust into the furniture 
Here is an odd type of low secre- yu: f 1:1,- j K 
tary in beautifully selected wona. l ms iuimture, like its 
mahogany veneer for $61 English contemporary, depends 
Here is convincing evidence why the living-room furniture does not have to be all of 
the same period, style or material in order to achieve harmony 
for much of its value upon the finish that serves to bring out 
the beauties of the grain. 
It is impossible, of course, to formulate all 
the elements that go to make up a success¬ 
fully furnished living-room or library. There 
are, however, one or two suggestions that may 
help. In the first place, do not be afraid to 
use furniture of different kinds in either of these 
rooms, and particularly in the living-room, 
where furniture of a single kind often serves 
to dispel rather than to create the desired 
atmosphere of hospitality and attractiveness. 
It is usually an advantage to use several of 
the old-fashioned, heavily upholstered easy 
chairs that belong to no particular period, 
provided only that their covering is made 
harmonious with the other furniture and with 
the wall and floor 
coverings and the 
hangings. Chairs of 
wicker usually help 
This two-door bookcase of mahogany 
would make an attractive addition 
to the library. The price is $70 
in creating that in¬ 
formal atmosphere that makes a living- 
room attractive rather than stiff and 
repellent. See that these have cush¬ 
ions of the same upholstering material 
or of a material that harmonizes with 
the rest of the room. One word of 
warning: do not use mahogany with a 
pronounced color scheme of reds. 
That particular color will serve most 
effectively to kill all the beauty in 
the mahogany By all means have a 
center table in the living-room, around 
which is gathered an easy chair or two 
as an invitation to pause and rest or 
read some of the current magazine 
literature or books. Nothing else will 
do so much for the room. 
One of the modern ten¬ 
dencies is a growing 
popularity of the En¬ 
glish oak furniture 
