The dining-room should be cozily, even joyously, furnished with those colors and designs which suggest strength and satisfaction. No half-way colors or designs will answer here. The tones used must be full, rich, satisfying, and the furniture should complete the suggestion. The prevailing styles of dining-room furniture—particularly of the chairs—seem to have been purposely planned utterly devoid of comfort, that the occupant might not even for a moment be lulled into forgetfulness of the business at hand, but be urged to prosecute it with dispatch and seek comfort elsewhere.
Much the same thought seems to have established the prevailing styles of hall chairs and seats. Truly, if the chance guest who must needs occupy one of them until his identity is established should judge of the hospitality of the host by the comfort of these furnishings, he would make haste to depart while his wearied limbs could still perform their office.
The reception-hall and drawing-room are, perhaps, the two places most anxiously considered in the planning of the house. There seems to be a mistaken idea that these places, which are most seen by strangers, should be furnished as an advertisement of the financial standing of the owner. No matter how much the rest of the house may suffer, these places must be lavishly, even extravagantly, replete with everything that custom ordains as necessary to a stylish house. Against extravagance as to value we have no quarrel, provided all things are in keeping, but we do oppose the garish assembling of costly goods which do not make for comfort or beauty or utility. Have extravagance if you will, but not riot; luxury, but not profusion; comfort, but not stock display.
As to the arrangement of the various pieces of furniture we would strongly advise a study of nature’s scheme. Note the variety of shapes and sizes of the trees of the forest; the broken, sympathetic, undulating surfaces of undisturbed mother earth. Note how well acquainted and even familiar the various parts of the landscape seem to be; how the tall tree nods and reaches down to the short one and the low one reaches up to the high one; how the knoll sweeps gracefully down to the level glade and how the glade runs up to the knoll.
Everywhere is the charm of related variety and harmonious grouping of equalized differences.
Fig 133
Fig 134