type of effect desired.
Tinted walls are used in pastel colors with beautiful effect in a wide
range of colors. All that is necessary to know is the customer's color
preference since, today, any color may be worked into an effective
bedroom.
New wallpapers offer an endless variety of color combinations and many
times the entire room scheme may be furnished by the wallpaper.
It is good taste to keep the bedroom in pastels or light tones since
dark tones have a depressing effect upon the occupant. In some
instances, the type of furnishings to be used will determine the type
of wallpaper to be used. French furnishings require the dainty, flowery
type of paper; English furnishings are more subdued--either a plain
paper with a small figure, or with subdued florals. Early American
and Colonial rooms will take a colorful flowered paper or a "quaint"
pattern. It is well to keep in touch with the decorative magazines in
which room settings using correct paper on the walls are shown in color
and which offer many suggestions for other interesting wall treatments.
TREATMENT OF CEILINGS
Ceilings should be either cream, off-white, or light pastel colors
harmonizing with the wallpaper. It is most important that the ceiling
be kept light in tone with the possible exception of an extremely
modern room where a dramatic effect is to be achieved. In a library,
the ceiling may be darkened to bring it "closer to the floor," but in a
bedroom the ceiling should be kept light to make the room appear large
and airy.
FLOOR COVERINGS
A room-size rug is to be preferred when practicable for a small
bedroom, because it causes the room to appear larger than does a
combination of small rugs, yet many bedrooms are being artistically
furnished today with small scatter rugs.
Since the bedroom is closed off from the other rooms, one can be more
daring in the choice of floor covering; it is not necessary to blend
the coloring to the other rooms. New pastel floor coverings in plain
and floral tones offer endless opportunities for bedroom use and color
need be considered only when selecting a pattern now that there is
no longer any set method of dictating the type of pattern especially
adaptable for bedroom use. Today, it is merely a matter of personal
preference and good taste, the only requirement being that one keep in
mind the general color scheme of the room.
In Colonial and Early American bedrooms, small hooked rugs add a note
of color and decoration to the room. In modern bedrooms, scatter rugs
in lovely pastel colors add a new, interesting note.
DRAPERIES: GLASS CURTAINS, VENETIAN BLINDS
In the bedroom today Venetian blinds serve to soften and control the
light; draperies are used more or less for decorative purposes. The
draperies may match the spread, pick-up the color tone of the rug, or
repeat the color of the boudoir chair, chaise lounge, or the accent
color used in the accessories. Venetian blinds may be used in a variety
of colors with matching or contrasting tapes. In many instances, sheer
curtains are used as draperies, crisscrossed and tied back in the
manner of the formal drape. Usually light weight materials are used
for bedroom draperies the material varying according to the type of
room. In the more formal room satin and lightweight damask draperies
are used. In the informal room printed draperies, crepes, voiles, or
candlewick are used.
While glass curtains may be used with Venetian blinds, in many
instances they are used instead of the blinds. They are made of net,
voile, marquisette, muslin, organdie, or any sheer material. In color,
they are white, off-white, or pastel. Preferably, they are made with
double fullness of material, and hung either to the sill or the apron.
A popular item now being added to many bedrooms is the small dressing
table with detachable skirt. The dressing tablet may be artistically
placed in front of the window and the skirt made of the same material
as the draperies. In this way the draperies serve as a frame for the
dressing table and create a beautiful picture. In many instances where
a customer is interested in investing in good bedding but cannot afford
to buy the entire bedroom suite at one time, it may be well to suggest
a box spring and mattress on legs with detachable headboard and a small
dressing table with detachable skirt. An inexpensive chest of drawers
completes the ensemble. Later the box spring and mattress can be used
on the regular bed, the dressing table maintained or moved into the
guest room, and the chest of drawers used in another part of the house.
"PLUS" SELLING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUMMER
The bedroom offers excellent opportunities for the salesman to interest
the customer in "summerizing" the house. During the summer, heavy
spreads should be removed and light, washable spreads substituted.
Cotton curtains, spreads, summer weight blankets, slip covers for
chairs, scatter rugs to replace large rugs, new dressing table skirts,
and summer pictures and other accessories are all within the realm of
summer sales.
Although all the rooms in the house offer wonderful opportunities for
summer sales, the bedroom best adapts itself to opportunities for this
"plus" selling.
FURNITURE
Bedroom furniture usually is shown and sold in suites. As ordinarily
displayed on the floor, closely crowded and with the bed in short
rails, the pieces of a suite appear so much alike that an unimaginative
customer will find them monotonous and uninteresting. This means that
the successful salesman must find words to picture the suite as it
will appear against the varied and colorful backgrounds and accents
necessary to bring out its beauty and individuality.
There is no sound artistic or practical objection to the use of pieces
from different suites in the same room; provided, of course, that
the resemblances in proportion, line, and coloring are sufficiently
marked to ensure harmony. This is the only way in which antiques can
be used, and it is no less effective with modern pieces. This point is
particularly important in the sale of furniture for a child's room or
a small guest room, which will not take a full suite in any case, but
which will offer a valuable opportunity to sell broken lots. Stress the
fact that use of unmatched but harmonious pieces is modern practice,
that such pieces give interest and individuality to the room, and that
ensemble grouping is as desirable in the bedroom as in the living room
or sunroom.
THE BEDROOM SUITE
When a customer asks to see a bedroom suite, but gives no further hint
as to her preferences, several questions enter your mind immediately:
How many pieces can she use?
What wood, finish, style, and type of design is she likely to
prefer?
Has she been looking at furniture elsewhere?
How much can or will she pay?
[Illustration:
Photograph by Grignon.
Figure 44.--"Right and left" twin chests offer a practical new
decorative treatment for contemporary rooms and may be used singly
or combined into one unit. Included in this grouping are "right and
left" twin beds using the same decorative treatment as the dressers.
A turquoise green tinted transparent lacquer finish is used on this
unusual suite to give an iridescent effect. The large "pouf" hassock
is upholstered in turquoise blue pin-dot satin. The Axminster rug has
large multi-colored cineraria flowers on a soft grey background.]
Do not ask any of these questions at the outset. Normally, the first
actual question is whether the furniture is for use in her own room.
If the answer is "Yes," she is likely to acquaint you at once with
her ideas, if she has any well-defined preferences. In the absence of
such a lead, take her at once to an attractive suite, never at either
extreme of your bedroom patterns.
The ideal starting point is an open-stock pattern, complete both with
beds and with a full assortment of cases. If she is at all interested
in this suite, probably she will tell you at once that she cannot use
all the pieces. This naturally will lead to information as to the size
and character of her room, its woodwork, walls, and floor covering,
whether it is to be used by two people, and if so, whether she prefers
a full-size bed or twin beds.
LIMIT NUMBER OF SUITES SHOWN
In any event try to gain a fairly clear idea of the room, particularly
of its size and available wall spaces, before you show a second suite,
as this information will help you to cut down selling time. In the
absence of a voluntary and positive statement, do not ask how many
pieces she wants. Once on record, she may stand pat; otherwise there
always is the chance, even if she plans to use only three pieces, that
she may buy a full suite, using the extra piece, if necessary, in
another room in order to get a pattern that particularly pleases her.
Bedroom suites are so much alike in general appearance, and usually
displayed in ways which so thoroughly rob them of individuality that
it is dangerously easy to show too many. Baffled by the prolonged
attempt to compare a multitude of minor details and to picture a long
succession of suites in her own room, the average customer may be
expected to become confused, lose confidence in her own judgment, and
decide either to "think it over" or to "look further."
Partitions, dividers, and model rooms speed up the sale of bedroom
furniture because they make it possible to preserve a more marked
appearance of individuality among the suites thus separated. They serve
also to confine the buyer's attention to the suite under consideration,
and to reduce the likelihood of confusion and indecision by enabling
the salesman to show only such suites as promise to be acceptable. For
the same reasons the box method of arranging an open bedroom floor
usually is to be preferred to arrangement in rows. The exact method
of boxing must be determined by the location of floor columns and the
number of pieces shown in a suite.
BUYERS DO NOT WANT TO SEE ENTIRE STOCK
It is important to limit the number of suites shown to the minimum
necessary to effect a sale. Obviously, this is possible only in the
degree that we learn enough about the buyer's tastes and the details
of her room in the earlier stages of a sale to keep away from all
unsuitable merchandise. Most women do not care even to look at
unsuitable merchandise. They want to see the right thing, measured in
terms of fitness for their own purposes and use.
The woman who shops for a dress, hat, or coat in a modern store neither
expects nor desires to see the entire stock or any considerable part
of it. She is comfortably seated in a well-lighted room which contains
little, if any, exposed merchandise. The salesperson, after a quick
mental appraisal, asks a few leading questions, and brings from the
stockroom one, two, or possibly three models, carefully chosen on the
basis of suitability, size, and style. If these are rejected they
are removed, and a second small selection brought out. Unsuitable
merchandise is not seen by the customer, and the possibility of
confusion and indecision thus is reduced to the minimum.
SEE ACTUAL ROOM, IF POSSIBLE
In important bedroom sales which are worked up in advance of the
customer's visit to the store for the purpose of actually making
selections, it is important for the salesman to see the room to be
furnished if possible, or in any event to secure measurements of the
floor and wall spaces. This will eliminate guesswork and enable you
to have the suite you want to sell set up under such conditions, and
with such accessories and related merchandise as will bring out its
individuality. Even in ordinary floor sales sometimes it is desirable
to have a suite taken off the floor and set up in a situation where it
can be seen to the best advantage.
STEPS IN SELLING A SUITE
As a means of summarizing certain factors which the salesman constantly
must keep in mind, let us consider in order the steps to be taken in
conducting a normal floor sale of a bedroom suite:
_Meet the customer and take her to the suite with which you have
decided to start the sale._--Throughout the entire interview, whether
it results in an immediate sale or not, the customer must be aware of
a degree of courtesy, alert and intelligent interest, patience, and
attention to her comfort and convenience noticeably greater than she is
accustomed to receive in other stores or from other salesmen. This is
fundamental, and indispensable to successful salesmanship.
_Show the first suite._--This suite is a "trial balloon." You do not
expect to sell it, but rather to use it as a means of gaining necessary
information about the customer's tastes and needs and the room to be
furnished. "High light" the set in a few words, and then keep still and
let her talk if she is willing to do so. Remember that you are not in
position to instruct or even to advise her as to what she ought to buy.
Your first duty is to find out as soon as possible what she wants to
buy, or at least what she does not want to buy. In "high-lighting" this
suite, avoid superlatives, and statements which may set up resistance.
Do not, for example, proclaim that it is the latest, the buyer's
favorite, or that you have a suite just like it in your own home. Make
your introduction as interest-compelling as possible, but base it on
some such noncontroversial subject as wood, style, or beauty of design.
If she says nothing, turn to the case nearest her, comment on its wood
and finish, run your finger lightly along it, and try to get her to
do the same thing. Then say something interesting about the style,
the design, or the manufacture. If there still are no signs of real
interest, shift to the subject of her room, and begin to draw out the
information you require. This should stir her interest. If not, move on
to another suite which you know will look well in her room, and begin
all over again.
[Illustration:
Courtesy American Furniture Mart.
Figure 45.--Square upon square offers a new decorative theme in
this Ipswich bedroom group. This suite combines the simplicity of
contemporary design with Early American charm. The 4-row Axminster rug
illustrated is in one of the new hooked designs.]
Remember to point out any "gadgets" which the suite may have--special
shirt drawers, locks, secret compartments, jewelry compartments,
hidden box, stocking drawers, or drawer mirrors. All of these items
offer "plus" selling features and many times are a factor in the
sale of a suite. Be sure you have examined all of the suites on the
floor thoroughly so that you have discovered all possible gadgets and
opportunities for "plus" selling features.
Unless a customer shows such a keen and unusual interest as to warrant
the belief that an immediate sale is possible, do not spend too much
time with the first suite.
[Illustration:
Courtesy of American Furniture Mart.
Figure 46.--An Early American bedroom grouping ideally suited to
American homes. Simple in design, it is rich in American tradition, for
it is the type of furniture first used in this country by the original
settlers. Scaled to fit a medium-size room, the furniture is sturdy,
practical, and decorative. Made of maple and finished in a rich,
red-brown tone, a suite such as this is adaptable to rural or urban
homes.]
_Show the second suite--a contrasting type._--Since all things gain in
individuality and distinction by contrast with their opposites, usually
it is good salesmanship to show a second suite sharply different from
the first in appearance. If you watch some salespersons at work,
you will see that they move slowly and regularly down one aisle and
back the next, taking each suite as it comes, however closely it
may resemble the one before it. At best, this method wastes time,
while with many customers it results in weariness, confusion, and a
well-defined suspicion that the salesperson is only an order-taker.
In general, move toward the sale by longer but fewer jumps, and show
contrasting types in the effort to heighten the buyer's interest, and
to arrive as quickly as possible at an understanding of her likes. We
know, for example, that some women prefer slender, delicately designed
bedroom furniture, while others want bulk. It is quite impossible
to judge their preferences from their appearance. Suites shown by
the method of contrast will uncover this and similar preferences
immediately, and thus speed up the sale.
Assuming that you pick the second and all succeeding suites in the
light of increasing knowledge of the customer's tastes and the size and
decorative character of her room, move forward slowly. Since you are
not guessing blindly, but acting in the light of knowledge and taste,
you must assume that the buyer will be interested in what you are
showing, and take ample time to develop her interest.
Remember that the customer must like the appearance of any suite at
which she is looking and regard it as well suited for her own use
before she will consider buying it. Emphasis upon the beauty and
distinction of wood, finish, and design, and skillful use of the
"room-picture" method of presentation should precede emphasis upon
construction and price. However, construction becomes an important
factor when you reach the second suite just as soon as you see signs
of acceptance for appearance and decorative fitness. If no such signs
appear, move on to the third suite.
_Show just as many additional suites as may be necessary but no more._
_Close the sale, if and when possible._--There is no simple formula for
closing a sale, and no set point in the sales interview at which to
make the attempt. Notwithstanding a vast amount of theorizing on the
subject, the only rule of practical value to the salesperson appears to
be the old rule of experience and common sense: Try to close any sale
the moment you have reason to believe the customer is ready to buy; not
before, and not after.
FURNISHING THE SUNROOM
The sunroom, though of ancient origin,[28] is a comparatively recent
addition to the American home. Its rapid development doubtless is due
to widening popular confidence in the therapeutic value of sunlight.
Today's sunroom is in practice an informal lounging room which takes
the place of the disappearing back parlor, and as such is a highly
useful and important part of the home. Add the fact that it can be,
and usually is, so decorated as to offer the relief of striking and
colorful contrast to more conservatively furnished rooms, and we have
ample reason for the popularity of this room in American houses. Many
housewives whose homes contain small sunrooms do not know how to make
them attractive, and many others apparently have no desire to do so.
Often the room is a mere "catch-all" and final resting place for worn
or outmoded furniture discarded from the other rooms.
Many homemakers who come to our stores for ideas on sunroom decoration
either turn away to the decorators or big-city stores, or are promptly
headed to low-priced merchandise, and leave with little more than two
$6.75 reed or metal chairs, a small table, a fiber rug, a bridge lamp,
a smoking stand, and a few yards of cretonne.
Salesmen must shift from emphasis upon the drab and commonplace to
emphasis upon the distinctive. This will be easy, because persons
who have sunrooms usually can well afford to pay for making them
attractive. In every sale of sunroom merchandise, whether for a new
house or an old, we must have the courage to point out that this room,
potentially so large a factor in the comfort and enjoyment of the
family, so much used by intimate guests, and so conspicuously placed
as to be an open advertisement of the taste of its owners, should
be furnished in a manner consistent with its proper importance. In
order to convert this talk into profitable sales, we must of course
have a stock of interesting ideas and suggestions on modern sunroom
treatments.[29]
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
The sunroom should be comfortable, but colorful and stimulating. This
will demand good furniture and well-sprung seating, careful arrangement
for convenience without crowding, colorful textiles, good lighting, and
interesting accessories.
Since the sunroom often is small and of irregular shape, it should be
measured before furnishings are selected.
THE WALLS
It is common practice to find sunroom walls covered with bright and
strikingly figured papers. Usually the effect is unpleasant because:
1. Such papers make the room seem smaller,
2. With windows on two or three sides of the room, such papers on
the remaining wall spaces rob the room of balance,
3. Draperies or furniture coverings, or both, together with the
necessary colorful accessories, give the room all the animation
it can stand, and therefore make plain or simple wall treatment
desirable.
Walls may be painted, papered, paneled in natural wood, or covered with
one of the new cloth or wood-veneer fabrics.
THE FLOOR COVERINGS
For general considerations governing choice of floor coverings for the
sunroom, see Furnishing the Hall, page 188.
Note as an exception that a plain carpet or large rug often is
preferred to a figured carpet or rug in spite of a tendency to shade
and the fact that it shows dust and ashes more easily because:
1. It offers a more effective background for gaily figured
draperies and floor coverings.
2. The rich and unusual colors often desired for sunroom use are
easier to find in plain carpetings.
WINDOW TREATMENTS
Some method of controlling natural light must be afforded by the window
treatment. Venetian blinds are preferable for this purpose, because
they can be adjusted instantly to the varying height of the sun;
whereas moveable draperies, lined and interlined to make them opaque,
either will exclude the light altogether when closed, or leave a band
of bright light from top to bottom when partially closed.
Glass curtains are not always used on windows which have Venetian
blinds and draperies. When such draperies are omitted, thin unlined
curtains in a neutral or in a positive color are used alone. They
should be made to draw, with sufficient material to provide double
fullness when fully drawn.
Sunroom draperies may be of any material not too heavy to accord with
the scale of the room or too elegant to accord with its decorative
character and other furnishings. Choice among plain, simply figured,
and strikingly figured fabrics will be governed by the size of the room
and the amount of ornament in other surfaces.
THE SALE OF SUNROOM MERCHANDISE
_Suggestions will be welcomed._--Although no new principles are
involved in the sale of sunroom merchandise, the subject merits brief
comment. A woman interested in home furnishings for any other room in
her home is likely to have fairly definite ideas of her own, or least
to be familiar with conventional methods of furnishing these rooms.
This makes the salesman's talk one of discovering and interpreting her
ideas, and helping to carry them out by means of his own merchandise.
With the sunroom this is not often the case. It is relatively a new
room, serving one purpose in one home, another in the second, and none
at all in the third. Customers are likely to be open to suggestions,
and to buy better merchandise and with less resistance, in the degree
that these suggestions are clever and a little out of the ordinary.
This means that initiative and imagination are necessary to marked
success in selling sunroom furnishings,[30] and that accordingly we
must be alert both to gain ideas on sunroom treatments from books,
magazines, and markets, and to study our own merchandise from the
viewpoint of its possibilities for sunroom decoration.
SUNROOM TREATMENTS
The old days when reed and willow were top favorites for sunrooms has
passed. Despite the fact that many beautiful styles in these materials
are on the market, other types of furnishings have moved into the
sunroom to augment and in many instances replace the old favorites.