64 
I 
House & Garden 
One of the first rules to be observed 
is to avoid overcrowding. Too many 
pieces give a room a cluttered-up look 
and destroy the sense of balance so es¬ 
sential to a restful effect. Threading 
one's way in and out among a mass of 
meaningless tables and stools to reach 
a fireside chair does not tend towards a 
peaceful state of mind; it merely serves 
to emphasize the fact that it is a great 
deal better to have too little in a room 
than too much. 
An excellent way of determining the 
most appropriate places for pieces of 
furniture is to study a room after sev¬ 
eral people have left it. Heavy sofas 
and tables of course cannot be changed 
but the positions of chairs, stools and 
small tables, which have been moved 
about for sociability, will often be 
found to form nicely balanced group¬ 
ings that are frequently as decorative as 
they are practical. 
It i- quite natural that the fireplace 
should be the central point of interest 
in the room. Here hospitality begins, 
here the guest is welcomed and made 
to feel at home. Here talk is at its 
best and when one is inclined to silence, 
a comfortable chair in front of a blaz¬ 
ing fire is the very best spot in the 
world in which to dream. So unlimited 
care should be given the placing of 
furniture around the hearth. 
If the room is large a good arrange¬ 
ment in the winter is a long couch in 
front of the fire with a chair at either 
side. In this way a group of people 
can enjoy the fire and talk more com¬ 
fortably than if all were seated in a 
line on the sofa. There should be 
low tables for smoking things within 
convenient reach and a long table 
directly back of the couch 
for magazines, books, a 
pair of lamps and a bowl 
of flowers. This arrange¬ 
ment lives well but needs a 
large space in order not to 
look cramped. 
W hen the room is small 
a settee on one side of the 
fireplace with a floor lamp 
can be balanced by a com¬ 
fortable overstuffed chair 
and table on the other, or 
two easy chairs will serve 
the same purpose. The 
main things to be consid¬ 
ered in a fireplace grouping 
are comfortable places to 
sit. good lights to read by 
and convenient tables to 
hold books and smoking 
things. 
Next in importance is the 
window group. People nat¬ 
urally linger near a win¬ 
dow especially if there is a 
garden or an interesting 
view beyond. Such a group 
In a corner one might 
put a comfortable 
couch and overstuffed 
chair with a small table 
between to hold a 
lamp. Courtesy of Nan¬ 
cy McClelland, Inc. 
The piano in the picture 
below is fortunately 
placed at the end of a 
room near a window 
end between an arm 
chair and settee. Miss 
Swift, decorator 
The window group is 
one of the most impor¬ 
tant in the living room. 
The settee above is 
balanced by chairs and 
two small tables. Miss 
Gheen, decorator 
