80 
House & Garden 
Perfect SoFT^V^ER 
FOR\bURUSE 
\X/^ATER that will not chap the hands or roughen 
the skin, that leaves the hair soft and fluffy and 
comfortably clean, that improves the complexion and 
takes away the sting of wind, dust and sun—fresh, clear, 
velvety soft water. 
—haven’t yon often wished for this delightful home comfort? 
You can now have, from every faucet, water as soft as falling rain. 
There has been found and put in practical use, a mineral which 
Nature has blessed with the power to soften water. 
MIT E 
1^ RIVAL O F TH E CLOUdC 
Nature’s Water Softener 
The Refinite Water Softener attaches to the supply pipe in the 
basement. Water for your use is softened perfectly by simply 
passing thru a bed of Refinite mineral in this system. 
Refinite systems are used the country over, in textile mills, where 
water of no hardness is so essential; in laundries, to save soap and 
soda and make possible the laundering of silks, woolens, blankets 
and all washable fine fabrics ; in beauty parlors, in hotels, hospitals, 
institutions, in steam power plants to prevent boiler scale, and in 
homes. 
They occupy little space—Require no expert supervision, practically no 
attention—Are easily installed—Reasonable in price. 
Let ns tell you about a Refinite system for your 
use. No obligation. Address our nearest offiee. 
The Refinite Company 
Reunite Bldg., OMAHA, NEB. 
NEW YORK, 9 E. 40th St. 
DETROIT. 502 Lincoln Bldg. 
BUFFALO. 411 Liberty Bldg. 
CLEVELAND, 129 Arcade Bldg. 
TORONTO, 23 Scott St. 
CHICAGO. 908 S. Michigan Ave. 
CINCINNATI. 410 Traction Bldg. 
MINNEAPOLIS, 703 Plymouth Bldg. 
KANSAS CITY. 611 Grand Ave. Temple 
SALT LAKE CITY. 209 Walker Bldg. 
SPOKANE. 1015 Old Nat'l Bank Bldg. 
SAN FRANCISCO. 419 Call Bldg. 
ATLANTA, 320 Hurt Bldg. 
PUEBLO, Thatcher Bldg, 
LOS ANGELES. 303 Story Bldg. 
DENVER, 513 Mercantile Bldg. 
QUESTIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN 
ANSWERED 
By personal letter through our Information Service. We always 
stand ready to help you with your own house and garden problems. 
In writing to us, please give full details and enclose postage for reply. 
Inquiry. Under separate cover, I am 
mailing you interior plans of a branch 
office which my husband is establish¬ 
ing. I am writing to know if I am 
entitled to your service department for 
suggestions in the matter of finishing 
interior as well as furnishing same. 
As the shop will be one of two stores 
located on the ground floor of our new¬ 
est and most beautiful bank and office 
building and, in as much as artistic 
shops in our city have as yet not made 
their appearance, I am most anxious to 
set a new standard along this line. I 
am assuming the responsibility of de¬ 
ciding on the decoration and furnishing 
of this new shop, because artistic in¬ 
teriors appeal to me very strongly 
The plans which are being mailed to 
you, I have had drawn by an architect 
according to my suggestions, merely to 
show the requirements in the way of 
furnishings. Having in mind a formal 
interior, I worked along Italian or early 
English lines, with walls finished in 
rough plaster to simulate stone and 
scored off in alternating squares. Each 
of the pillars is to be surmounted with 
a bracket for wall fans. The essential 
pieces of furniture will be:—table for 
purpose of receiving work; bench or 
one or two chairs; clerk’s writing desk 
to be placed against the wall and to be 
a standing-desk, design of said desk to 
correspond with design of other furni¬ 
ture. These are the only essential pieces 
required. 
I would greatly appreciate sugges¬ 
tions or criticism of this plan and also 
would like to know about the hang¬ 
ings, color, etc. 
.Answer. I hav'e your interesting letter 
and the plans of your new office. I 
think it will be most attractive and 
unusual. Your idea is extremely good 
and when finished, the interior will be 
both pleasing and effective. 
The rough plaster walls are good and 
the lighting fixtures should be of black 
wrought iron. A tall iron torchere of 
the same material would be attractive 
and in keeping. I would suggest that the 
brackets for the fans be also of wrought 
iron. 
I would also suggest that you have 
hangings of brocade in a rich deep red 
and gold coloring. Let the rug be sand 
color to tone in with the walls, and 
the curtains at the windows could be 
a silk gauze of the same shade. 
I am enclosing a list of firms where 
the furniture and hangings can be pur¬ 
chased, and if at any other time we 
can be of assistance to you, please do 
not hesitate to let us know. 
Inquiry. Please furnish me with plans, 
proper dimensions and any other data 
you may have at hand for the building 
of a garden swimming pool. 
Answer. We do not have any plans 
of swimming pools, but I will gladly 
give you what information we have on 
the subject. 
The pool should conform to a certain 
extent with the architecture of the 
house. If the buildings are of the Ital¬ 
ian type of architecture it is well to 
place the pool on or below a terrace 
or within a formal garden. The size 
varies with conditions. It should be 
as large as the space permits and should 
be not less than SO' long by 20' wide 
with a depth varying from 3' at one end 
to 10' or 12' at the other. 
The simplest method of building is 
to line the excavation with brick upon 
which may be applied waterproof ce¬ 
ment. Concrete can also be used and 
it is stronger. A great deal of specially 
prepared tiling is used. This is im¬ 
bedded in waterproof cement placed 
against a lining of brick with several 
layers of canvas or burlap between the 
brick and cement. With this is built 
a narrow gutter, extending around the 
pool to carry off water which is con¬ 
stantly being forced into the pool, to 
enable it to be emptied and cleaned out. i 
The pool may be enclosed within a 
hedge or may be more elaborate with 
marble balustrade and steps. Pots of 
gay colored flowers and perhaps a bright 
colored awning over the whole add a 
decorative touch. I have asked the fol¬ 
lowing firms to send you their illus¬ 
trated matter on tiles. 
Inquiry. I will be very grateful if 
you will help me plan a little house 
of five rooms. I like soft but rather 
gay colors, blues, rose, buff and such. 
Something cheerful, simple and different. 
I do not want a house such as every- ' 
one else has. 
I have some old walnut and cherry 
furniture of which I am very proud 
and I want to give it the proper set¬ 
ting. I have a cherry chest of drawers, 
a low chest or box of cherry, a walnut 
bed with posts, a walnut drop leaf 
table and a small walnut table which 
has two drawers and is about the size 
of a sewing table. 
I want furnishings that are distinctive 
but as inexpensive as possible. I think 
I will need a bookcase, davenport and 
desk. Please suggest new color schemes. 
I am so tired of the usual thing. Also 
I would like to have information about 
pictures. Please tell what to get, how 
many, and where to get them. 
Answer. Your letter asking for help 
in furnishing your house has come to 
me and I am glad to give you the fol¬ 
lowing suggestions: 
If your living room gets plenty of 
sun, why not paint the walls a soft 
green and use hangings of cretonne in 
which the coloring is mulberry, buff 
and green. Upholster the davenport in 
this, and one or two chairs in plain 
green linen. Let the rugs be of deep 
mulberry color and the lamps pale 
green with cream parchment or silk 
shades. For sash curtains, I would sug¬ 
gest a silk gauze in a cream shade. 
In the dining room I would have all 
the furniture a pale gray. This could 
be ornamented with baskets of brightly 
colored flowers. With this use hang¬ 
ings in which the coloring is blue, rose 
and gray. A glazed chintz would be 
charming and the rug could be plain 
dull blue. 
Let each bedroom carry out one color 
scheme. The materials for hangings can 
be cretonne, linen, gingham, taffeta, or 
calico. One room might be all gray 
and pink with pink linen hangings and 
a pink and white and gray cretonne on 
the bed and on one or two chairs. 
Paint the furniture gray and have a 
gray rug. Another room would be ef¬ 
fective in yellow and a certain shade 
of dull blue. The walls should be a 
pale yellow and the furniture and wood¬ 
work painted a deep ivory. Dull blue 
and yellow cretonne for hangings and 
blue linen used for cushions and on a 
chair or two would be effective and 
charming. Still another room could 
have a flowered wall paper in which 
mauve is the predominant color. Taf¬ 
feta curtains in this delicate shade over 
dotted Swiss sash curtains and the dot¬ 
ted Swiss also used on the bed over 
mauve sateen would make an unusual 
bedroom and a lovely one. A touch 
of another color could be brought in 
by using a pale green pottery jar as a 
lamp and with this a mauve silk shade 
lined with rose. 
(.Continued on page 82) 
