FURNITURE AND DECORATION
The Qualities to Be Sought in Furniture--Home-made Furniture--Semi-made
Furniture--Good Furniture as an Investment--Furnishing and Decorating
the Hall--The Staircase--The Parlor--Rugs and Carpets--Oriental
Rugs--Floors--Treatment of Hardwood--Of Other Wood--How to Stain a
Floor--Filling as a Floor Covering.
Necessity invented stools,
Convenience next suggested elbow-chairs,
And Luxury the accomplished sofa last.
WILLIAM COWPER--_The Task._
Utility, comfort and elegance are, as Cowper shows, the three successive
purposes for which furniture was designed. And to-day the order of
development remains also the order of importance. The first things to be
desired in any article of furniture are durability and simple
application to its purpose. These being found, a person naturally looks
to see if the use of them will contribute to his physical pleasure as
well as his convenience, that the back of a chair is the right height
and curvature to fit his back, and the seat is not so deep as to strain
his legs; that the table or desk is one he can spread his legs under in
natural fashion, and rest his elbows upon with ease; in short, that the
furniture conforms to his bodily requirements, as the chair and bed of
the "wee teenty bear" suited exactly the little old woman of Southey's
tale. Last of all, the aesthetic pleasure, the appreciation of beauty
by the mind, decides the choice in cases of equal utility and comfort.
The artistic considerations are so many that furniture has become a branch
of art, like sculpture or painting, with a large literature and history
of its own.
Since most authorities on the subject largely ignore the questions of
utility and comfort, devoting themselves to the questions of aesthetic
style, it will be useful to our purpose here to confine the discussion
to the neglected qualities. As a rule, a durable, useful, and
comfortable article is a beautiful one. At least it has the beauty
of "grace," by which terms the old writers on aesthetics characterized
perfect adaptation to purpose, and the beauty of what they called
"homeliness," or, as we would now say, since this term has been
perverted, of "hominess," the suggestion of adding to the pleasure
of the household.
The quality of "hominess" is greatly increased in an article of
furniture by a frank look or "home-made" appearance. There is no more
delightful occupation for the leisure hours of a man or woman, and no
more useful training for a boy or girl, than the making of simple
articles of home furniture. Really, the first article of furniture which
should be brought into the house is a well-equipped tool-chest, and the
first room which should be fitted up is the workshop. A vast amount of
labor will be saved thereby in unpacking, adjusting, repairing, and
polishing the old and the new household articles, so that life in the
new home be begun under the favorable auspices of the great household
deity, the Goddess of Order. When it is further considered that often
small repairs made by a carpenter cost more than a new article, the
tool-chest will be valued by the family as a most profitable investment.
If it is not possible to procure the proper materials and tools for
making the entire article, some part of the work, the shaping, and
certainly the staining and polishing, can be done at home. If the
visitor does not recognize the home quality in such an article,
the maker does, and will always have a pride and affection for it.
Many furniture manufacturers give in their catalogues designs of
semi-made or "knock together" furniture, that is, the parts of tables,
chairs, etc., cut out and planed, which it is intended that the
purchaser put together himself. These, as a rule, are made of good
material befitting the hand workmanship which will be put upon them,
and are offered at a considerable reduction from the price asked for
ready-made furniture of the same material.
Furniture stains of excellent quality are found in every hardware store
and paint shop, which can easily be applied by the merest amateur.
It is never wise to buy flimsy furniture, however cheap. As a rule,
there is too much furniture in the American home. It is better to get
along with a few good, durable articles, even though a little expensive,
than with a profusion of inferior ones. These soon reveal their "cheap
and nasty qualities," are in constant need of repair, and quickly
descend from the place of honor in the parlor to be endured a while in
the living room, then abused in the kitchen, and, finally, burnt as
fuel. Good wood and leather, however, are long in becoming shabby,
and even then require only a little attention to be restored to good
condition. When it is considered that in furniture there is virtually no
monopoly of design or invention, and one therefore pays for material and
labor alone, and competition has reduced these to the lowest terms, the
purchaser is certain to get the worth of his money when he pays a higher
price for durable material and honest workmanship. When it is further
recalled that our chief heirlooms from the former generations are tables
and chairs and bureaus, it will appear that it is our duty to hand down
to our children furniture of similar durability and honest quality.
Therefore, money spent for good furniture may be considered as a
permanent investment whose returns are comfort and satisfaction in
the present, and loving remembrance in the days to come.
So often is the artistic beauty of a house destroyed by a bad selection
and arrangement of furniture and choice of inharmonious decorations,
that many architects are coming to advise, and even dictate, the style
of everything that goes into the house. Thus Colonial furniture is
prescribed for a residence in Colonial style, Mission furniture for
Mission architecture, etc. There is a corresponding movement among
makers of artistic furniture to plan houses suited to their particular
styles. Thus "Craftsman" houses and "Craftsman" furniture are designed
by the same business interest.
Since, however, the average American home is something of a composite
in architectural design, the housekeeper may be permitted to exercise
her taste in making selections from the infinite variety of styles
of furniture that are offered her by the manufacturers of the country.
It is advisable, however, that the furniture in each room be in harmony.
Let us briefly examine the articles of furniture and styles of
decoration appropriate for the several rooms.
The hall, now often the smallest, most ill-considered part of the house,
was once its chief glory. In the old days in England, and, indeed,
in America, the word was used as synonymous with the mansion, as
Bracebridge Hall, Haddon Hall, etc. It was the largest apartment,
the center of family and social life. Here the inmates and their guests
feasted and danced and sang. Gradually it was divided off into rooms for
specific purposes, until now in general practice it has narrowed down
to a mere vestibule or entrance to the other rooms, with only those
articles of furniture in it which are useful to the one coming in or
going out of the house, combination stands with mirror, pins for hanging
up hats and overcoats, umbrella holder, a chair or so, or a settee for
the guest awaiting reception, etc. Often the chair or settee is of the
most uncomfortable design, conspiring with the narrow quarters to make
the visitor's impression of the house and its inmates a very
disagreeable one. If space is lacking to make the hall a comfortable and
pleasing room, it should be abolished, and the visitor, if a social one,
taken at once to the parlor, and if a business one, to the living-room.
Where, however, size permits it, the hall should be made the most
attractive part of the house. Here is the proper place for a
"Grandfather's Clock," a rug or so of artistic design, and a jardiniere
holding growing plants or flowers. The wallpaper should be simple and
dignified in design, but of cheerful tone. Some shade of red is always
appropriate. Remember in choosing decorations that the colors of the
spectrum--violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red--run the
gamut of emotive influence from depression to exhilaration. Violet
and indigo lower the spirits, blue and green hold them in peaceful
equilibrium, yellow begins to cheer them, and orange and red excite them.
However, the color scheme of a hall is largely dependent upon the
wood-finish, because of the amount of this shown in the stairs.
Dark red is a very suitable color for the stair-carpet. The best way to
fasten this is by a recent invisible contrivance which goes underneath
the material. Brass rods are ornamental, rather too much so, and carpet
tacks are provoking, both in putting down and taking up the carpet.
Where the hall and stairway are wide and room-like, pictures should be
hung on the walls, interesting in subject and cheerful in decorative
tone. The presence of the stairway, especially if this is broken by a
landing, permits quite a variety of arrangement. The line of ascent
should be followed only approximately. Remember that it is a fundamental
law of art always to suggest a set idea, but never to follow it; to have
a rule in mind, and then play about it rather than strictly pursue it.
Art is free and frolicking. It gambols along the straight path of
utility, following the scent of airy suggestion into outlying fields
and by-paths, but always keeping the general direction of the path.
The parlor, when this is not combined with the hall, should be furnished
and decorated according to the chief use the family intend to make of
it. If they are given to formal entertainment, the color scheme may be
in "high key," that is, a combination of white with either gold, rose,
or green, any of which forms a bright setting for gay evening costumes.
But this decoration is not advisable in the case of the average American
home, since it is too fine and frivolous for the reception of neighbors
in ordinary dress. A quieter, more dignified color-scheme should be
adopted; such as golden brown, with subdued decorations for the wall,
and ecru-colored lace curtains for the windows. The floor may be of
hardwood, in which case a few medium-sized Oriental rugs should be
placed on the floor. It is not essential that these "match" the
wallpaper, for they are of the nature of artistic household treasures,
and so rise autocratically above the necessity of conformity. Where they
are chosen with a view to the color scheme, it is advisable to make them
the means of transition from the hall. If this is decorated in dark red,
the rugs leading from it into the parlor may shade off from this into
more golden tones. The design of the rugs should be unobtrusive. The
homemaker should not feel that Oriental rugs are too expensive for
consideration. Every once in a while their is a glut of them in the
market, owing to an extensive importation, when they can be purchased
at a price which will always insure the owner getting his money back
if at any time he wishes to dispose of them. But the purchaser should
be certain that the bargains offered are real ones, for rug-stores,
like trunk-stores, always seem to be selling out "at a sacrifice."
All Oriental rugs are well made, and, with proper usage, will last for
generations, even enhancing in value. Therefore, they are always safe
investments. Oriental rug-dealers repair rugs at a fair price for the
time spent in doing so.
Since the floor space of a room with rugs in it is about two-thirds
bare, the rugs will often not exceed the cost of a good carpet.
Hard woods take best a finish in brown or green, that gives an impress
of natural texture impossible to secure by paint. Hardwood floors should
be polished at least once a week with floor-wax, a simple compound of
beeswax and turpentine, which can be made at home, or bought at the
stores. This is useful for polishing any floor or woodwork. When the
floor is not of hardwood, it may be stained. All varieties of stains
are sold, the most durable, though the most expensive being the
old-fashioned oil oak-stain. For the parlor and other floors, and
corridors, stairways, etc., that do not get much wear, as well as for
hardwood work in general, varnishing saves time and labor in cleaning.
For proper staining, the wood should be thoroughly scrubbed with soap
and water; then, when dry, brushed over with hot size. Use concentrated
size, a dry powder, rather than that in jelly form, as it is more
convenient. It is dissolved and should be applied with a broad
paint-brush. The application should be very rapid to prevent congealing
and setting in lumps on the boards; accordingly the bowl containing
the size should be set in boiling water until it is thoroughly liquid,
and kept in this condition. The number of coats must depend upon the
absorbent nature of the boards. One coat must be allowed to dry
thoroughly before another is applied. Over night is a sufficient
time for this. Varnishing also should be done rapidly to prevent
dust settling on it. It is best done in a warm room, without draughts.
Do not use stains ready-mixed with varnish, as these do not last as long,
nor look so well as pure stains varnished after application. When the
boards are in bad condition they should be first sandpapered. Cracks
should be filled with wedges of wood hammered in and planed smooth.
They can also be filled with thin paper torn up, mixed with hot starch
and beaten to a pulp. This can be pressed into the cracks with a
glazier's knife. The use of putty or plaster of Paris for this purpose
is not so satisfactory as these methods.
For sleeping-rooms and living-rooms, which for sanitary reasons it
is advisable to scrub, the stain should be left unvarnished.