VII—FURNISHING THE HOME
This very practical subject may be expanded into several meetings, since it is distinctly educational.
Floors—Carpets versus bare floors and rugs. What is the cost of hard wood, of Southern pine, of painted or stained floors? In the long run, are such floors and the necessary rugs more or less expensive than carpets? What sort of rugs are desirable beyond the Oriental? What are artistic, durable, harmonious in color and pattern? What can be done with old carpets?
Walls—The necessity of proper proportion should be emphasized; they should be neither too high nor too low for the size of the room. If they are wrong, what can be done? Show how papering can help the difficulty; too low ceilings call for a narrow striped paper without a frieze; a too high ceiling needs the calcimined ceiling carried down to a foot or more on the wall, with a narrow molding where it meets the paper.
Study the subject of wall-paper, and show illustrations. The dark paper absorbs the light. The gilt-medallioned paper is inartistic; hard, bright colors are tiring to live with. Chintz papers are suitable for bedrooms. Notice the value of self-toned papers, and of shades of tans and pale browns.
Hangings—Have a paper or talk here. Describe the ugliness of highly colored, fringed, two-toned, draped portières, and of imitation lace curtains, such as Nottingham, and contrast with the beauty of simple, plain hangings and curtains of net or muslin of good styles. Show pictures from catalogues of good and bad hangings. Do not overlook the fact that if windows are too large or too small, too high or too low, their outline can be altered by their treatment. Present the possibilities of stenciling.
Furniture—This topic gives opportunity for a whole meeting. Get catalogues from dealers, and illustrate papers on different styles of furniture, English of several periods, French, German, Colonial, and the modern varieties of no period at all. Read from Furniture of Olden Times, by Alice C. Morse. Show how the plain lines of old mahogany are forever beautiful. Contrast such furniture with the showy, ornate, over-elaborate things we too often see to-day.
Make a point of the necessity of having few and simple chairs and tables in small rooms; of the advantage of low bookcases over high ones; the beauty of shaded lights over glaring white ones; of side lights and lamps as better than a central chandelier or hanging lamp.
Pictures should be of good subjects; copies of great masters, and of beautiful scenery or cathedrals, can be had in photographs; they should be plainly framed, hung flat on the wall, and opposite the eye. Bric-à-brac should be quiet in color and line, rather than complex and pretentious; speak of the value of pottery, and, if possible, study a little of what is being done in arts and crafts in all lines.
A practical discussion may follow on, What shall we do with our ugly belongings? Let someone show how carpets can be dyed or made into rugs, furniture simplified by removing the cheap ornamentation and staining the whole, bookcases cut down, hangings made over.