November, 1909 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
In building in bookcases, or any other features, it is a safe rule always to have 
them of the same wood and finish as the standing woodwork 
179 
A built-in seat by the stairway, with a lid, is a 
wonderful convenience 
complemented by a mahogany mantel in the same room, this 
will stand out aggressively, and the room will present a restless 
effect which is most unsatisfactory. In the true Colonial house 
the doors are frequently all mahogany, while the standing wood¬ 
work is all enamel, showing the beautiful ivory tone which is so 
typical, but the mantel is always finished in the same ivory tone, 
and with the exception of the hand-rail of the balustrade there 
is no mahogany introduced save in the doors as mentioned. 
The effective use of white enamel, as a finish for the interior 
trim, including the built-in and glazed bookshelves, is well 
evidenced in the library shown in the first photograph on this page. 
The quiet restrained treatment of this room is very pleasing, 
and the architectural detail of the mantel, bookcases, and other 
standing woodwork is satisfying. 
In the interior of houses designed upon other lines than the 
Colonial, white enamel finish for the woodwork may be correctly 
and effectively introduced as, for instance, in the bit of a hall 
with stairway which is illustrated in the photograph adjoining 
the one previously mentioned. The built-in seat here is particu¬ 
larly interesting, and, while taking up but little space, it is practical 
and also well supplements the stairway of which it is really a part. 
The detail of the balustrade 
of this stairway, by the way, 
is attractive and unusual. 
The corner cupboard illus¬ 
trated is from a very old Colo¬ 
nial house built in Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, antedating 
the Revolution. The beauti¬ 
ful carving over the door and 
the columns which frame it, 
with the Gothic type of the 
inset panels are a part of the 
interesting standing wood¬ 
work of this room. The 
open doors of the cupboard 
show the practical possibili¬ 
ties of three-cornered shelves. 
A very unusual design for 
a built-in buffet and window- 
seat is shown in the dining- 
room of the Southern 
California house shown at the top of the preceding page. Much 
of the wall space here is devoted to buffet and china closet. 
Where the paneled wainscot is unbroken it is topped by a wide 
shelf holding decorative steins and choice bits of pewter and brass. 
The low window-seat is fitted with a deep drawer, and, set beneath 
the sunken window, serves to connect the two sections of the 
buffet which flank it, filling the end of the room most effectively. 
Where one must live in a house planned for another’s needs 
it is often possible to introduce some pieces of built-in furniture 
advantageously. A window-seat, for instance, may be put in by 
an amateur or unskilled workman, and, properly upholstered, 
it will present a good effect and serve all purposes. If there be 
certain crudeness of construction which must be hidden, a valance, 
either plaited or plain, which will extend from the seat line to the 
floor, will be correct and cover a multitude of sins. The style 
of valance used should be determined by the valance of the win¬ 
dow draperies; that is, if the window shows a plaited valance the 
same should appear on the seat. 
If inglenook seats are desired and the fittings of the room are 
along the craftsman or Mission lines, high-back benches, such 
as are yet used in some country school-houses, could be utilized, 
stained like the standing 
woodwork of the room, and 
the seats made comfortable 
by a mattress pad covered 
in some suitable material. 
The window-seat is an 
acceptable feature in the bed¬ 
room also, and can be made 
a serviceable part of the 
room. In the photograph 
shown a very charming 
arrangement of window, seat, 
and window draperies is 
shown. 
Still another convenience 
that should be arranged for 
in the drawings, or while the 
house is being built, is a 
full-length mirror panel 
for the closet door of a bed¬ 
room. 
Even the bedrooms need not be without built-in conveniences, 
such as a combination window-seat and shoe closet 
