THE BEDROOM
The bedroom is very like an old familiar friend: it sees us as we
really are, tempting us to throw off all veneer of pretense or
worldliness and rest in just being ourselves--a rest so sweet and
wholesome and good that we go from it recreated and strengthened. In
the spirit of truest friendship it exacts nothing, but by its subtle,
quiet sympathy charms away our restlessness and presents us anew to
that person known as our better self. The friend of our choice is the
one who wears well; who never intrudes, never wearies, never pains us;
whose influence is one of rest, of restoration, of reinspiration--the
embodiment of the true mission of the bedroom. It, like our friend,
must be able to survive with honor the test of that familiarity which
comes with intimacy--whether it shall breed contempt or content. And
so as we plan it, let us endeavor to temper our likes and dislikes with
judgment until we can be reasonably sure that it will be a room
pleasant to live with, and companionable, which will not irritate our
moods into becoming moodier, nor our weariness into becoming wearier.
LIGHT AND AIR
Of first importance, of course, are light and air; these we must have,
and sun if possible. One good warm ray of sunshine is a more effective
destroyer of disease and "dumps" than all the drugs on the market;
while good ventilation is one of the most valuable as well as one of
the cheapest and most ignored assets of the home, particularly of the
bedroom, where our hereditary enemy, the microbe, loves especially to
linger. Given air and light, we have the best possible start toward
our rest room and upon its exposure and size depends largely what we
shall add unto it in the way of furnishings and decorations. Dark
walls and floors wrap one in gloom and have no place in any bedroom. A
warm, sunny exposure invites the use of contrastingly cool light blues,
grays, greens, and creams; while the glow of delicate pinks and yellows
helps to make a sunshine in the shadows of a north light. East and
west lights adapt themselves to the tasteful use of almost any color,
saving and excepting red, which cannot be mentioned in the same breath
with rest and has the red-rag-to-the-bull effect on nerves. If an
overstrong affection for it demands its use, it must be indulged in
sparingly and much scattered and tempered with white. Though a certain
sympathetic warmth should be expressed in the bedroom coloring, we want
rather to feel than to see it, and too much becomes a weariness.
CARPETS VERSUS RUGS
Beginning with the base, as becomes a good builder, and working upward,
floor coverings which cover without covering, if one may indulge in an
Irishism, are far preferable to those which extend from wall to wall.
Carpets undoubtedly have their uses: they make over well into rugs,
supply heat to the feet, particularly in summer, and to the disposition
during the semiannual house cleaning. They also cover a multitude of
moths. But they belong to the dark ages of unenlightened womanhood
whose chief end was to keep house, and have been jostled into the
background by bare floors or mattings, with rugs. Hardwood floors
certainly are nice and seem to wear an air of conscious pride of birth,
but their humbler self-made brethren of common pine, stained and
varnished or oiled, answer the purpose fully as well. It really
amounts to a case of rugs make the floor, for if they are pretty and
conveniently disposed about it, the floor itself receives very little
attention. Small rugs before bed, dresser, and chiffonier will suffice
in a small room, and can be easily taken out and cleaned, but a more
commodious room requires the dressed look imparted by the larger rug.
Whatever its size, avoid large figures and strong colors, choosing
rather a small, somewhat indistinct pattern woven in the deeper shades
of the other decorations of the room, at the same time supplying a
foundation which, without calling attention to itself, becomes a good
support for the general decorative plan--a base strong but neither
heavy nor striking. Since we were made to stand erect and look up, it
is irritating to have one's eyes drawn downward by the unattractive
attraction of an ugly rug. The colonial cotton rag rugs are quite the
most desirable for bedroom use, from a sanitary as well as an artistic
standpoint, and are woven to produce charming effects. The usual
combination is two colors--white with blue, yellow, green, or pink,
black with red, different shades of the same color, etc. Occasionally
three colors are used, but more are apt to destroy the dainty
simplicity which is the chief charm of rugs of this kind. They are
woven like any other rag rug, and of any dimensions.
MATTINGS
Mattings, if preferred to the bare floor, come in a variety of patterns
and colors and look neat and fresh, and cool in summer if used without
rugs. They are a yard wide and range in price from 10 to 50 cents a
yard for the Chinese, and from 20 to 60 cents for the Japanese. There
is very little choice between the two, though the Chinese wears a
little better, perhaps. Matting is easily broken and should not be
used where the bed must be drawn away from the wall to be made, or
heavy furniture moved about.
WALL COVERING
Passing from floor to walls, we reach that portion of the room which
gives it its real atmosphere and supplies a background for all that it
contains, of both "things and people." The bedroom seems to be
preeminently a woman's room: here she reads and writes, rests and sews;
it is her help in trouble, her refuge in times of storm. The
intangible something which surrounds the eternal feminine clings about
her room and tells a very truthful tale of the individuality of its
occupant. Her favorite color peeps out from wall and drapery; her
books, well-thumbed and hearing evidences of intimate association, lie
cozily about, and her workbasket reveals the source of certain dainty
covers and indescribable nothings which so materially refine the whole
aspect of the room. Though she receives her formal calls in the
drawing-room, it is in her bedroom that those confidential chats, so
dear to the feminine heart, take place; therefore its background must
be chosen with some idea of its becomingness, and the happy medium in
color and tint selected, softening and becoming to all alike. As
absence of manners is good manners, so absence of effect is, after all,
the best effect. First and foremost, avoid the plague of white walls
and ceilings, which cast a ghastly light over the whole room and make
one fairly shiver with cold. The general plan is to shade the color up
from floor to ceiling, and this is accomplished in so many differing
and equally attractive ways that it is impossible to do more than offer
suggestions which may be elaborated to suit individual tastes and
conditions. Of course calcimine is the simplest and cheapest style of
decoration, and recommends itself to the anti-germ disciple because it
can be renewed annually at slight expense. The only difficulty lies in
getting just the right tint, for decorators, though no doubt worthy of
their hire, are not always capable of handling the artistic side of
their business, and an uncongenial shade gets on the nerves after a
while. The same thing holds true of painted walls and ceilings, though
they too are hygienically good. When we come to papers, we are lost in
a maze of stripes and garlands and nosegays, either alone or in
combination. Prettiness is by no means synonymous with expense these
days, when the general patterns and colors of costly papers are
successfully reproduced in the cheaper grades. Tapestry papers are too
heavy for bedrooms. Those figured with that mathematical precision
which drives the beholder to counting and thence to incipient insanity,
and others on which we fancy we can trace the features of our friends,
are always distracting, especially during illness, when restfulness is
so essential. The plain cartridge-papered wall with frieze and ceiling
either flowered or of a light shade of the same or a contrasting color
is never obtrusive and always in good taste. With a flowered wall a
plain ceiling is a relief, and vice versa. Figures in both walls and
ceiling are tiring, besides having none of the effect resulting from
contrast. Walls in plain stripes need to be livened with a fancy
ceiling, or ceiling and frieze, with their background always of the
lightest tint in the side wall. One room of particular charm was all
in yellow. The molding had been dropped three feet from the ceiling,
giving the impression of a low ceiling and that snugness which goes
with it, and up to it ran the satin-striped paper, while over frieze
and ceiling ran a riot of yellow roses. And here was asserted the
ingenuity of its occupant, who had cut out some of the roses and draped
them at the corners and by door and window casings, where they seemed
to cling after being spilled from the garden above. This same idea can
be worked out with garlands or bunches of different flowers, bow knots,
or other distinct designs. No large figures of any description should
be introduced into a small room, and the whole effect of the decoration
must be cheerful without being boisterous, gay, or striking. If the
ceiling is low, the wall paper continues up to it without a frieze, the
molding--which corresponds with the woodwork--being fastened where wall
and ceiling join. Backgrounds of amber, cream, fawn, rose, blue, or
pale green, with their designs in soft contrasting colors, are the
strictly bedroom papers.
BEDROOM WOODWORK
The very prettiest bedroom woodwork is of white enamel, which has that
light, airy look we so want to catch, and never quarrels with either
furniture or decorations. But of woodwork painted in any color beware,
take care! Finely finished hardwood has the honesty of true worth and
needs no dressing up; but its poor relation, that hideous product of
old-time dark stain and varnish is only a kill-beauty, and should be
wiped out of existence with a dose of white paint.
BEDROOM DRAPERIES
In selecting bedroom draperies, two "don'ts" must be strictly observed:
don't use flowered drapery with a flowered wall, and don't buy heavy,
unwashable hangings of woolen, damask, satin, or brocade, which not
only are out of harmony with the whole idea of bedroom simplicity, but
shut out air and sunlight, make the room seem stuffy, and collect and
hold dust and odors. The patterns of chintzes, cretonnes, and
silkolenes are manufactured to follow closely the paper designs, and
where flowered ceiling and frieze are used with a plain wall, the same
color and design may be carried out in bed and window draperies, and in
couch and chair coverings. With a flowered or much-figured wall snowy
curtains of Swiss, muslin, or net, with ruffles of lace or of the same
material, are prettier than anything else; and for that matter, they
are appropriate with any style of decoration and can always be kept
fresh and dainty. But elaborate lace curtains which have seen better
days elsewhere are most emphatically _not_ for bedrooms, and should
find another asylum. A pretty window drapery is the thin white curtain
with a colored figured inner curtain. The use of figured draperies
demands a good sense of proportion and of the eternal fitness of
things, else it easily degenerates into abuse.
[Illustration: The bedroom.]
BEDROOM FURNISHING
The bedroom furniture must be chosen rather with a view to fitness than
to fashion. "Sets" are no more. How stereotyped and assertive they
were, and undecorative! Bed, dresser, and washstand, forcibly
recalling to one the big bear, middle-sized bear, and little bear of
nursery lore, were clumsy and heavy and bad, even in hardwood; but when
they were simply stained imitations of the real thing, and ornate with
wooden knobs, machine carving, and ungraceful lines, they were truly
unspeakable. The bed with its fat bolster, on top of which, like Ossa
on Pelion piled, stood the pillows, perhaps covered with shams which
bade one "Good night" and "Good morning" in red cotton embroidery--was
especially hideous as contrasted with our present-day enameled or brass
bed, and belongs to the dark ages of crocheted "tidies," plush-covered
photograph albums, "whatnots," prickly, slippery haircloth furniture,
and other household idols which bring thoughts that lie too deep for
tears. Only two styles of sets find a welcome in the up-to-date
home--the rich, dark, mellow mahogany, which is too costly for the
average pocketbook, and the white enameled. Even so the component
parts differ from those of a few years back; then the dresser was
considered an absolute essential; now we frequently prefer the more
graceful dressing table, with its small drawer or two for the
unornamental toilet accessories, or the compromise between the two--the
princess dresser--with the roomy chest of drawers or chiffonier. The
all-white furniture gives the room an air of chaste purity and is no
more expensive than a set in any other good wood, but must be well
enameled or it will be impossible to keep it clean.
CAREFUL SELECTION
The trend of popular sentiment is toward the metal bed, with
accompanying furniture in plain or bird's-eye maple, mahogany, dark
oak, curly birch, or mahogany-birch. Dressers range in price from $9
to $50; princess dressers from $10.50 to $50; chiffoniers from $10 to
$35; and dressing tables from $10 to $50. Furniture, like friends,
cannot be acquired promiscuously without unpleasant consequences.
There is no economy in buying cheap, veneered pieces which will be--or
ought to be--always an eyesore. The truly thrifty homemaker will wait
until she can afford to buy something genuinely good, and then buy it
with the conviction that she is laying up treasures of future happiness
and contentment. The "good" piece is exactly what it claims to be,
without pretense or artificiality, of hardwood of course, of simple
construction, and graceful, artistic lines, its few decorations carved,
not glued on.
TOILET AND DRESSING TABLES
Simplicity must be the keynote of all bedroom furnishings. The middle
course in price is the safe one to follow, leaning toward the greater
rather than toward the lesser cost. If there is a bathroom
conveniently near, it is better to dispense with a washstand; but if
its use is imperative, make it as little obtrusive as possible. The
home carpenter can easily fashion one from a plain pine table, hung
with a valance to match the other draperies. If a marble-topped table
is available, so much the better. Toilet sets can be purchased for $4
and up, and should be of simple design and decoration, plain white or
gold-and-white being advisable for general use, as neither will clash
with anything else in the room. A very satisfactory set in the
gold-and-white is to be had for $8. A dainty dressing table follows
the idea of a makeshift washstand. It should be made of a sizeable
drygoods box, with shelves, and the top padded and covered to match the
drapery. The mirror which hangs over it may be draped, or simply
framed in white enamel, gold, or whatever blends with the room.
Overdraping not only looks fussy, but means additional bother and care.
The drapery is thrown over a frame fastened above the mirror.
FURTHER COMFORTS
In addition to what is considered the regulation bedroom furniture,
there should be a small table at the head of the bed for the glass of
water, the candle or night lamp, and books of devotion; a couch for the
mistress's rest hours, and to save the immaculateness of the bed; a
comfortable rocker, with a low sewing chair and one or two with
straight backs; and, when two people occupy the room, a screen which
insures some degree of privacy and affords a protection from draughts.
If one is restricted in closet room, a box couch is a great
convenience; if in sleeping room, an iron cot or a folding sanitary
couch, which becomes a bed by night, is invaluable. A chintz,
cretonne, or other washable cover, with plenty of pretty pillows to
invite indolence, can be used on either, with an afghan or some other
sort of pretty "throw." Though upholstered furniture is out of place
here, chair cushions corresponding with wall paper or draperies give a
touch of cozy comfort. One room with dove-gray walls dotted with
white, and all other furniture of white enamel, had mahogany chairs of
severe simplicity of design, with backs and seats covered with
rose-strewn cretonne which extended in a box-plaited flounce to the
floor. This was the only touch of color, save a water color or two, in
a room overflowing with restfulness and that "charm which lulls to
sleep." Willow chairs are pretty and appropriate, too. The screen,
with its panels draped in harmony with other hangings, should match the
furniture. The new willow screens are light, dainty, and easily moved.
A table, footstool or two, and desk can be added if desired. A greater
length of mirror than that afforded by the dresser glass can be secured
by setting a full-length mirror into the panels of one of the doors--a
fashion both pretty and convenient. Have a care that all mirrors are
of plate glass, for the foreshortened, distorted image which looks back
at one from an imperfect looking-glass has a depressing effect on one's
vanity.
THE BEDSTEAD
And now to the _pièce de résistance_ of the room, the
". . . delicious bed!
That heaven on earth to the weary head!"
Furnished complete it represents a considerable sum, but here again it
is well not to count the cost too closely, for the return in comfort
and refreshment cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. The change
from wooden to metal beds is desirable in every way. Besides being so
much more hygienic, they seem to take up less room, and admit of a
freer circulation of air; they can be painted over and freshened up
when necessary, and look well with any furniture. The best patterns
are formed by parallel bars and circles, those with simple lilies
conveying the idea of solidity, and with the least ornamentation, being
preferable always. The extension foot facilitates the arrangement of
spread or valance, and if drapery is desired, beds with head posts
fitted with canopy frames or "testers" are to be had. Brass beds are
the most expensive of metal beds, costing from $22 to $55, or as much
more as one cares to pay. They have to be handled with great care--or
rather, not handled at all unless through the medium of a soft cloth.
The _vernis Martin_ bed of gilded iron produces the same general
effect, and is but little more costly than the enamel bed, but, after
all, it is only another "imitation." Enameled beds can be had for from
$2 all the way up to $31. It cannot, of a surety, be necessary to warn
against those hideous embodiments of bad taste, colored beds, with
their funereal blacks, lurid reds, and sickly blues, greens, and
yellows. Enough said! And avoid too much brass trimming. The bed
should stand on casters--wooden--and not too high.
SPRING, MATTRESS, AND PILLOWS
Those two friends to nightly comfort, a first-class spring and a hair
mattress, are vastly important. If the still, small voice of economy
whispers that other mattresses are "just as good," stifle it. The hair
mattress is the only really sanitary one, since it can be washed and
made over and plumped up times without number, and surely no other
enjoys the distinction of descending from generation to generation,
with the other family treasures. Hair mattresses cost from $10 up,
according to the length of the hair, but a good one of full size cannot
be had under $30. Felt mattresses, from $7.25 to $13.50, are next in
desirability, the best of these, warranted not to cake, being
preferable to the cheap hair mattress with short hair. Then come moss
mattresses with cotton tops, $4.70 to $8; husk with cotton tops, $3.15
to $4; and excelsior, cotton-topped, $2 to $4. Mattresses in two
unequal parts, the larger going at the head of the bed and the smaller
at the foot, are more easily handled and turned than those in one
piece. A slip of heavy white cotton cloth covering the mattress
entire, is a great protection, and should be washed at stated intervals.
Box springs are luxuriously comfortable, an average spring,
felt-topped, costing $17--hair-topped, $18.50. Those topped with tow
and moss are less expensive. There is only one objection to the box
spring: when the bedbug once effects an entrance therein, the days of
that spring are numbered, for there is no evicting him. Woven wire and
coil springs run from $2.25 up, according to the number of coils,
wires, and weight.
Mattress and pillows are covered to match, these days, in all sorts of
charming colors and designs, if one cares to add a little to the cost.
Over the mattress goes a quilted cotton pad, interlined with one
thickness of cotton batting. Pads can be made at home, or purchased
for $1.25, $1.50, or $1.75, according to the size of the bed. The
unbleached cost 25 cents less. Some housekeepers prefer a flannel pad
as being more porous, and therefore more easily aired. Each bed should
have its own pair of white woolen blankets, an average pair costing
about $5, but a really "worth-while" one is scarcely obtainable under
$12 or $15. A little cotton mixed with the wool is not objectionable,
as it prevents so much of the shrinkage to which wool is liable. Heavy
and uncomfortable "comforts," which supply in weight what they lack in
warmth, are neither desirable nor healthful. Folded across the foot of
the bed should lie the extra covering for cold nights, either an
eiderdown or less costly quilt, daintily covered with cheesecloth,
silkolene, etc.
Two night pillows to a bed are the usual allowance. Good live-goose
feather pillows sell for from $3 to $7, depending on the size, and
should be provided with extra cotton slips, buttoning on, to protect
the tick. The feather bolster has had its day. Its descendant, the
bedroll of hair, paste-board, or _papier maché_, is for ornament only,
and is used as a finish at the head of the bed with fancy draperies or
coverings, which it matches. Shams, too, are going out, with other
things which are not what they seem. The thought of untidiness always
underlies their freshness, and so we prefer to put the night pillows in
the closet during the day and let the bedroll or the day pillows take
their place. If there is a shortage of pillows, the night cases can be
exchanged for pretty ruffled ones of lawn, muslin, dimity, or linen.
If one still clings to shams, corresponding sheet shams should also be
used.
BED DECORATION
There remains yet to be found anything more airily, chastely dainty
than the all-white bed with its plain or fringed Marseilles spread and
its ruffled pillows. Though drapery has a picturesque effect, it
interferes to a certain extent with the free circulation of air, and
affords a lurking place for our insidious enemy--the microbe. If used
at all, it should only be in a large, well-ventilated room, and
sparingly, for a fussy, overloaded bed looks anything but restful. If
considerable color has already been introduced into the room, the bed
drapery, cover, and valance should be of some thin white washable
material--dimity, Swiss, and the like. But with plain papers, flowered
cretonne, chintz, etc., are appropriate. The canopy top is covered
with the material, stretched smooth, and either plain or plaited, and
the drapery gathered about the back, sides, and front of this, from
which it hangs in soft folds to within two or three inches of the
floor. It should be simply tied back. The canopy projects not more
than half a yard beyond the head of the bed, and may be either oblong
or semicircular. Very thin white material is used over a color.
Whatever the material, it must, of course, be washable and kept
immaculate. The newest bed, all enameled and with a bent bar of iron
at head and foot, lends itself to a pretty style of drapery, which is
simply a plain, fitted white slip-over case for head and foot, finished
with a valance of the same depth as that of the counterpane, which
leaves no metal visible anywhere about the bed. Pretty Marseilles
spreads may be had for $3; cheaper ones in honeycomb follow the same
designs. The white spread, with a colored thread introduced, may
answer for the maid's room--never for the mistress's.
SIMPLICITY
When two persons occupy a room, twin beds furnished exactly alike are
preferable to the double bed. An exclusively man's room demands
somewhat different treatment, though the general principles of
furnishing apply to all bedrooms. A man abhors drapery, and usually
prefers an ascetic simplicity to what he is pleased to term
"flub-dubs." His notions of art are liable to express themselves in
pipes, steins, and other masculine bric-a-brac; but whatever his wills
and wonts on the furnishing question, his room must show care and
attention.
The rule of elimination is a good one to follow in bedroom pictures; no
"rogue's gallery" of photographs, no useless, meaningless, and trivial
pictures, but just a madonna or two, perhaps a photographic copy of
some old master, with a favorite illuminated quotation--something to
help and quiet and inspire.
Tables, dresser, and chiffonier should have each its spotless cover of
hemstitched or scalloped linen, or ruffled lawn or Swiss--anything but
towels. They will answer, of course, but we want a little more than
just answering.
CARE OF BEDROOM AND BED
Much of the refinement of the bedroom depends upon its daily care.
This begins with its airing the first thing in the morning. The bed is
stripped of its coverings, which are spread over two chairs placed
before the open window; the mattress is half turned over, and night
clothes and pillows are placed near the window. The slops are then
emptied, bowl and all toilet articles washed in hot water and dried,
pitcher emptied and refilled with fresh water, and soiled towels
replaced by clean ones. Soiled towels must never be used to clean the
crockery. Cleaning cloths for bedroom use should be kept for that
purpose alone. Once a week slop receptacles must be scalded with sal
soda water and stood in the sun. After an hour the windows may be
closed and the bed made. The first thing is to turn the mattress--end
for end one day, side for side the next--and then comes the pad, and
after it the sheets. The lower one is put on right side up, drawn
tight, and tucked in smoothly all around; the upper should be wrong
side up, drawn well up to the head, and tucked in at the bottom, and
the blankets brought up to within half a yard of the head, with the
open end at the top. When all is straight and even, the upper sheet is
turned back smoothly over the blankets and both are tucked snugly in.
The counterpane, which was folded and laid aside during the night, then
goes on, and is brought down evenly over the foot and sides of the bed,
the bedroll or day pillows are added, and the bed is itself again. On
Saturday the bottom sheet is replaced by the top sheet, which, in turn,
is replaced by a clean one, and the pillowcases are changed. The
spread usually needs changing about once a month. The night pillows
are now beaten and put away, and night clothes are hung in the closet.
Other articles are put in their places, the dresser top is brushed off
and its various contents properly arranged, litter is taken up with
dustpan and brush, or carpet-sweeper, and the room is dusted. Opened
windows at night are a foregone conclusion.
VERMIN AND THEIR EXTERMINATION
Though it seems indelicate to suggest the possibility of a bug in a
well-kept, charming chamber, even the best housekeeping is not always
proof against feeling "things at night." Metal beds are rather
inhospitable to bugs, and if carefully examined, with the mattress,
once a week, there is small danger of their getting a foothold. If
traces are discovered, hunt out the bugs and exterminate them if
possible, and sprinkle bed and mattress with a good, reliable insect
powder; or spray with gasolene, or wood alcohol and corrosive
sublimate, and keep the room shut up for a few hours. Baseboard and
moldings should also be treated in this way. If, after repeating
several times, this proves ineffectual, smoke out the room with
sulphur, first removing all silver and brass articles and winding those
which cannot be moved with cloth. Then proceed according to directions
for fumigating the closet, using a pound of sulphur for a room of
average size. If the room has become badly infested, it will be best
to tear off the wall and ceiling paper, and fill all cracks and
crevices with plaster of Paris. Such shreds of self-respect as these
terrors by night may possess cannot long survive such treatment, and
they will soon depart to that country from whose bourne no bug returns.