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, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. 
A Suggestion for Colonial House 
Furnishing 
HE dark red Colonial house with 
green shutters and white facings, 
described by Mrs. J. B. K., Jr., in her re¬ 
cent inquiry, can surely be made attract¬ 
ive and livable at a moderate cost with 
not a touch of the stiffness and formality 
which is dreaded. The home in the coun¬ 
try town, where one lives all the year 
round, should carry an air of permanency 
in its furnishings which is not always 
found in the formal winter house or in 
the summer bungalow. 
The yellow-toned striped and blind- 
figured papers in this house are well- 
chosen but limit the hangings and cover¬ 
ings to the duller tones of yellow, gold, 
ecru and brown. From the description of 
the house we could almost have wished 
for the walls of one room at least — say 
the living-room — to be covered with one 
of the reproductions of the old Colonial 
large-figured and dim-toned paper, with 
a little bright color. 
The Colonial hall running through the 
center of the house should be made liv¬ 
able if wide enough, with an old settle, 
a wing armchair, a mahogany table, a ma¬ 
hogany mirror hung crosswise, and a few 
small chairs. The white woodwork and 
the yellow paper will bring plenty of sun¬ 
shine and light, and the fan lights and 
side windows of the front door may be 
curtained with light ecru net or scrim. 
The east room or living-room should 
make a very attractive family gathering 
place, with its large and small windows 
on one side, the old brick fireplace and 
white painted mantel, and the French 
window—also with fan-light—opening on 
the piazza. The French window, if cur¬ 
tained with a soft plain or fancy ecru net, 
should have this fastened close to the win¬ 
dow at both top and bottom. The heavier 
curtains, arranged in Dutch - Colonial 
style, hang full at each side, with valance 
at top; these may be of heavy mercerized 
linen, or buff with green and brownish 
figures. It is desirable to cover the furni¬ 
ture with heavier material than the cur¬ 
tain stuff, because of the wear and tear. 
The couch and chairs to be re-covered 
'would tone in well with dark golden 
brown wool tapestry or velveteen. The 
Oriental rug, with old rose, black, dark 
brown, blue and tan, will have sufficient 
color without using rose color in the 
hangings, which would not tone in well 
with the yellow paper. Excellent rugs at 
moderate cost are of domestic make, with 
Oriental colorings, and should be selected 
to harmonize with the general ecru tone 
of the room. 
Scrim is one of the most effective as well 
as one of the least expensive materials 
for curtain material. A pair three yards 
long and forty-eight inches wide, with 
drawn-work and hemstitching, can be 
bought for $4.50 
For library hangings, which should 
not darken the green-papered room too 
much, ecru challie with large green con¬ 
ventional rose, is effective. In the small 
bedroom with white and yellow striped 
paper, and yellow and pink border, a 
striped and flowered cretonne or linen 
should be used for the hangings, with 
ecru or coffee background. If the white 
furniture has a smooth surface it could 
be handpainted with delicate garlands of 
flowers, or treated with decalcomania 
transfers or stencil work. The larger 
bedroom, with wide satin-stripe yellow 
paper and ribbon and pink rose border, 
with its brass beds and mahogany furni¬ 
ture, needs a small figured chintz in soft 
yellows and green. Use a rag rug in 
brown tones for this room; and a light 
hand-woven washable rug in yellow and 
white for the small room. K. N. B. 
Scrim for Window Curtains 
S CRIM is now much in vogue for win¬ 
dow curtains. It is not, however, 
just a passing fad, as it has gained its 
popularity on its merits. For many years 
scrim has been advocated by authorities 
on home decoration, but it is only recently 
that ready-made scrim curtains have been 
sold in the shops. Scrim not only has 
a charming texture and appearance, but 
also possesses that important requisite— 
durability. 
Perhaps the art of stenciling is in 
some measure to be credited with the in¬ 
creased sale of scrim, as the material 
adapts itself particularly well to stencil 
treatment. In my own bedroom hang 
curtains of cream-colored scrim, stenciled 
with a design of Tudor roses in green 
and pink. These curtains I stenciled 
eight years ago; they have been in con¬ 
stant use ever since, and have stood re¬ 
peated washings — a fact which speaks 
volumes in favor of both scrim and sten¬ 
ciling. 
Formerly scrim was made only as a 
plain material in several grades, but now 
the manufacturers are bringing out novel¬ 
ties in barred scrim, mercerized striped 
scrim, etc. Many of these new materials 
are charming indeed. 
(302) 
