Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 December 1882 — BOUSE DECORATION. [ARTICLE]

BOUSE DECORATION.

DMWF overload yonr rooms wflfe ornament. A superabundance of even the choicest ornaments will ■weary the eye and obtrude unpleasantly upon the notice. , \ Patterns in carpets should defer to general effect, so that their slight relief of color will not strike the eye at once, but rather gently remind it of their existence. «•’’ A rather long, large drawing-room would look well with cool blue woolen and silken draperies, woodwork creamywhite, or, for choice, two tones of olive green; chimney-piece to match, or perhaps ebonized, with ornaments of Eastern china. Glazed tiles in fireplaces and for laying hearths serve a useful as well as an ornamental purpose; for the polished surface of the tiles reflects a considerable amount of heat into the room, and makes a cheerful glow which both looks and feels warm. Paint upon woodwork in rooms should always be of pure and simple solprs and “flatted,’' the ordinary “graining” to imitate different kinds of wood being mere dissimulation, and as such to Lie entirely reprobated; the more cleverly it is done, the more absolute the untruth. Instead of curtains, which the modern form of bedstead renders incongruous and impossible, screens on either side of the lied are a much prettier and more healthy substitute. Screens insure privacy, they keep out the light if necessary and are a great improvement to the looks of any room. Drapery, as the means of modifying the stiff and cold appearance of the entrance hall, is not made as much of as it might be. Whenever it can be employed either as a portiere over a door or across an archway, as well as for for the staircase windows, it will, if made of suitable material and harmonizing in color with the walls and woodwork, warm and lighten the hall I and give it a much more homelike and i hospitable aspect. It is of tho first importance to have ' the furniture and fittings of a bedroom simply constructed and not too heavy to be easily removed for house cleansing. The carpet should never cover the whole of the floor; but only laid down in the center of the room and fastened with carpet-pins, so that it can be easily taken up and shaken. The rest of the floor may be stained and varnished, and kept frequently rubbed with beeswax and turpentine. In all purchases of furniture, insist upon honest material, little glue and good sound workmanship, even if a.i sparsely decorated apartment be the j temporary result. The lasting powers ; of these properties will pay high | est and save money for other future wise i speculations. Be proof against padding, let cusliions be independent, make ! sure that comfort reigns within the arms of an easy-chair, and that to sit at ease upon an ordinary chair is not lu- i dicrously impossible. Good color for floors can be gained by paint, but being on the surface it quickly wears away. Stain is much better, for it sinks into and becomes part of the wood, and when polished with beeswax and turpentine is a protector and disinfectant. If a floor is very unsatis- I factory, have the lioards planed down . one-quarter of an inch, and covered all . over with narrow oaken or well-season- I ed pine planks of that thickness and | three or four inches in width, fitted with | extremes! nicetv.

Much ingenuity might be displayed to the advantage of cornices for small rooms, which are often lofty out of all proportion. Here it would be found an improvement to let the major part of the cornice be upon the wall, only intruding slightly upon the ceiling area, w hich w ould look the larger for noninterruption. A simple border of ivy, oak or other shapely leaves, simply suggested in plaster, would suit many rooms better than the usually too assertive mass of badly proportioned linear moldings.