f~ December, 1910 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
363 
were not exactly given away; one was 
asked to return at least adequate compen¬ 
sation for hand work and costly materials ; 
but the articles not in the hand-made class 
were both good and inexpensive. There 
was one attractive little cricket covered 
with soft-hued tapestry mounted on wood 
■of dull-finish mahogany that could be had 
for $1.85 — at another place they asked $6 
for what seemed not a whit better. An 
excellent small stool was built on Mission 
lines but made of dull-finish mahogany, 
the top of haircloth, a material admirably 
adapted for wear and tear. The shade of 
the haircloth was a dark green, giving rich 
contrast with the dull-red, well oiled 
wood; and save that I feared real use 
would before long sadly mar the mahog¬ 
any, I should have called this little piece of 
furniture a perfect bit. Its price was $4.75. 
Haircloth proved a favorite material 
in the hand-made ottomans and footstools, 
and though there were various colors to 
be had, the greens were advised as most 
satisfactory. A small mahogany hand¬ 
made footstool with haircloth top was 
ticketed at $10, but I did not like it any 
better than that little one out in the other 
room at less than half that price. And 
■out in the cheaper region there was a 
sturdy, sensible, convenient — one could 
give it a push and shoot it across the 
room if occasion arose — hassock of goat¬ 
skin, priced at $2.50. However, among 
the hand-made things one sore tempta¬ 
tion assailed me, the temptation a large 
stool with a top of rush, the rush stained 
brown and mounted on wood (presum¬ 
ably maple), decorated by an artist to 
suggest the stain of time. It was both 
suitable foot-rest and comfortable seat, 
and was so pleasing to look at that I wanted it badly — but it 
•cost $15. Nearby was a smaller stool the same, except in size, 
to be had for $10. 
An interesting high stool, spoken of by the salesman as 
“Chinese Chippendale,” and marked $16.50, showed slender legs 
-of elaborately carved mahogany, the carving reminiscent of in¬ 
tricate Chinese work in wood, the mahogany stained to give a 
look of age. This stool upholstered “in the denim” I pictured as 
it might be with covering of Chinese embroidered silk in color¬ 
ing of delectable Chinese blues, and then went on to picture a 
room I would like to build up with the Chinese footstool as 
keynote; for some time not awaking to the extravagance of the 
fancy, and the faithlessness I was showing to that avowed ideal 
that a footstool 
should be unas¬ 
sertive, unobtru¬ 
sive. as lowly as 
its function. 
In the show- 
window at one 
of the high- 
priced stores 
stood a most 
desirable high 
square stool with 
top of brown- 
stained can e — 
the wood, fumed oak. This cost $8.50. 
The same price was asked for an oval¬ 
shaped mahogany stool “in the denim,” 
very attractive. Hand - made hassocks 
were decidedly expensive, but what can 
one expect when the material used is but 
nineteen inches wide and costs $7 a yard? 
Hassocks, however, are such dust-gath¬ 
erers that in this day of zeal for the sani¬ 
tary they have little vogue; in spite of 
their comforting softness to the touch 
and the fact that they can be pushed 
about so readily. 
Returning to wares of unpretenious- 
ness, at one store I came upon a curious 
goat-skin ottoman, a huge affair that was 
merely a stuffed bag confined about the 
middle by a leather band; evidently in¬ 
tended for a man taking his ease in a big 
chair in a big room. Standing upright it 
would furnish a soft, luxurious seat, 
when used as a foot-rest was supposed to 
lie on its side, and roll at the desire of the 
lounger. It was cumbersome but had 
certain merits, the cost was $4.50. At 
this same place was a narrow foot-rest 
with a top of sheepskin of a London- 
smoke hue, and the stool was built with 
rounds — these so convenient when only 
a low elevation is desired. 
Having stool, ottoman and cricket 
covered with material to match chair 
and couch is a good idea, and some 
stores ask no charge for the work if the 
buyer furnish tapestry, leather or what¬ 
ever the goods may be. And looking at 
the rather surprisingly limited variety of 
coverings in the ready-to-use footstools, 
it came to my mind that not a little suc¬ 
cessful individuality would come into 
play in the artist of the home designing 
her own stools, ottomans and crickets, or at least selecting the 
stuffs for the tops. And my fancy played with the idea of cer¬ 
tain ones for certain rooms; why not light wash materials for 
summer days, also for all-the-year-round bedroom wear? I do 
not remember having seen chintz ottoman or foot-rest, but why 
not? And what better material than Russian crash with its 
rough yet soft surface ? And art-denim of shade to suit a room ? 
There seems quite a fertile field here, and unworked. 
The same care that is applied to the rest of the furnishings 
should be brought to bear on the choice of a footstool; it should 
be just as carefully made to be a perfectly harmonious and at the 
same time useful element in the whole scheme of the interior as 
the lamp-shades or picture frames. The footstool is a splendid 
object lesson on 
that old theme : A 
successful room is 
such because of the 
small things. No 
matter how elab¬ 
orate and costly 
the furniture and 
hangings, the wall 
covering and the 
rugs, the result 
will be a failure if 
the smaller details 
are not consistent. 
Comfortable and attractive in its dark- 
green velour, but the fringe seems an 
unnecessary dust-catcher 
More sanitary than the one above and 
with an air of durability 
Carved mahogany is of questionable value 
and in doubtful taste for a footstool 
After a Colonial pattern, where the wood is 
likely to be scratched 
A fine combination of proper form and 
durable dull-colored tapestry top 
