Never decide hastily upon a piece of furniture; purchase for the future as much as for the present. It is true fashions change in furniture from year to year, but it is only people of large means who can follow a fashion of this kind. The plain, elegant styles are quite expensive as compared with the ordinary pieces which are turned out of factories by the thousand, and which are covered with ornamentation to catch the popular fancy. One quickly wearies of such furniture; besides, it is not so well made as the plainer styles, and therefore gets out of order very easily.
Get the things necessary for kitchen, bedroom, dining-room, and sitting-room before doing anything about the parlor, and let every article be of good quality, no matter how plain. Make an estimate of what you can spend on each room; then get the best things possible.
What to Buy for the Chambers.
One can get a chamber set for as low a sum as twenty-five dollars; but the prices run up rapidly until the hundreds are reached. Handsome, well made sets, with little or no ornamentation (the quality of the wood, and the finish, giving them a simple elegance not found in more showy pieces) cost from forty to seventy-five dollars. The set includes bedstead, dressing-case, wash-stand, towel-rack, a small table, two common chairs, and a rocker. The more expensive sets have the English wash-stand. No marble is used with the finest chamber furniture. The springs, mattresses, etc., must be purchased separately, as a rule. Have good ones. Have shades and plain muslin curtains for the windows. Stain the floors, if possible. If you prefer not to do that, use straw matting, with one rug beside the bed and another in front of the wash-stand. In buying the toilet set select one that has a plain, fine shape and simple decoration.
Dining-room Furniture.
There are two articles which one must have for this room: a table and some chairs. It often happens that the young housekeeper, not realizing the necessity for having these of generous size, and well made, chooses articles that appear good, but which, in a short time, become unstable. Oak is the most satisfactory wood for the dining-room. Have the table of good width, as a narrow one never looks well. The chairs should be strong, broad-seated, and with high backs.
Having the chairs and table, you can wait for the other things, although a sideboard table is a desirable thing, if one can afford it. If you cannot have exactly what you want, be patient. Sideboards, sideboard tables, and china closets of glass all come in such simple yet tasteful designs that one may be sure to like them all one’s life. It will pay to wait for such a piece of furniture. Have a hard-wood floor, if you can; otherwise have the floor stained. Just enough of the floor may be stained to make a deep border, and a simple rug be placed in the centre of the room. Shades, without any draperies, answer very well for this room.
Comfort in the Sitting-room.
In the sitting-room, where the family gathers for the evening, and where some members of the household spend a good part of each day, put all the comfort you can. Let it be one of the largest and brightest rooms in the house. There should be a bookcase, a firm table of good size, several comfortable chairs, a couch with plenty of pillows, a good lamp, with a shade that will not try the eyes, some pictures, a few plants and shades and draperies that will soften, but not exclude, the light. If possible, have an open fireplace. Let this be a room that shall always be remembered as one of the pleasantest spots in the world. When possible, have a hard-wood or a stained floor, with a rug in the centre.