April, 1923 
97 
Bradley & Merrill 
bringing the personal touch into the scene, 
one’s likes and dislikes, hobbies or vices. 
For it is these things which will eventually 
make the room individual, instead of merely 
a setting for furniture and hangings in the 
most modern taste. 
With all its faults, the Victorian Age 
was far superior to the Golden Oak Era. 
A room cluttered up with furniture, wood 
work, flowers and birds 
under glass, highlighted by 
crystal pendants and a 
“God Bless Our Home” 
was a picture of the life of 
the time. Every new addi¬ 
tion made the room just 
that much more “cozy.” 
After the limit of this quali¬ 
ty had been reached, there 
was scarcely room to move 
about. A reaction w 7 as nec¬ 
essary—and along came the 
Oak. 
During the reign of light 
oak the furniture stores 
ruled taste, few decorators 
were in existence, and rooms 
became cold propositions of 
shining surfaces starched 
Many accessories bring interest to this 
tiny living room. Blue bowls and mauve 
colored china birds on the window sill 
carry out the blue and mauve tones in 
chintz. Mrs. Gillette Nichols, decorator 
laces and cut glass. Into the attic went the 
walnut and moths feasted on the needle¬ 
work of years’ efforts. 
And then about ten years ago, the move¬ 
ment for better homes began. There were 
G. W. Karting 
revivals of the best designs in furniture, 
decorators were called in to assist, and 
magazines showing examples of rooms in 
good taste helped to bring people back to 
the importance of an artistic home setting- 
This movement has grown now to such 
proportions that all over the country one 
finds beautiful homes, and if they are all 
more or less cut to a pattern they but re¬ 
flect but a national charac¬ 
teristic. 
That as a nation we are 
imitative and apt to follow 
along like sheep can be 
seen by studying the group¬ 
ings of furniture and ac¬ 
cessories in the average hall. 
For example, there will be 
the console with its pair of 
candlesticks and bowl or 
centre card tray. How 
much more interesting and 
decorative would be a 
(Continued on page 156) 
An effective mantel 
arrangement of crystal 
and gilt girandoles with 
vases to match and a 
color fid flower paint¬ 
ing. Darnley, Inc. 
