A manual of home-making

Elaeh room presents an individual problem in curtains. Harmony, simplicity ^ and suitability are the guiding thoughts in the soUition. Taste is more efifeetive than money. With the modem ideas of the home as a place in which lives are to be lived, of rooms rationally furnished for everyday use, windows gwathe<l in festoons of ilraperies, sweeping the floor, harboring dust, inviting germs, and excluding the air, have no place. The much trimmed, fcstooncil and lambreciuincd draperies are not now much in use; their return should never be allowc<l. How- ever rich the material use*:! for draperies may be, they should be simply made and so hung as to fall in straight folds. In a case of doubt, the simplest solution of the prol>leni of window draperies should be accepted. The choice in material ranges from filmy nets, transparent gauzes, scrim, and nuislin through soft silk and cotton fabrics, Unens and coarse canvas weaves, brocades, damask, and tapes- try, velvets and velours; in color and design from one un- Mi I I D I Fio* 20. — Four rnethrxia of curtainiiiK a doubJe-hung window: A* stmisht curtains huoK within thu windnw trim. B, a half, or sa^, rtirtain often used for priviwy. C. tiji iiic^msistrnt way of hanidtifr drttprr>% which could l)e renu'iJii'd by rabdii« thi' rod, and exU'ndiijg it to the length of the top molHiag. D, a tnrthod of hanging eurtatua to cover an ugly trim or to widen Ibc window in effect. HOME FURNISHING 59 broken neutral tone to the most complex variation of hues and patterns; in price from a few cents to many dollai^s a yard- Any fabric may be used, provide^d it is suitable. KtTects iii design, color, texture, and pattern that harmonize witJi the room and its furnishings are the distinpiuishing characteristics of the most tasteful selections of hangings, ratlier than rich and costly materials. Scrim, colored chintzes, cretonnes or any other dainty wash- able material is appropriate for a 1>edroom. Bright or gaily- figured hangings may Ix? used in rooms devoted to good cheer and occupied for only short periods, such as a dining-room or a porch sitting-room. Patterns and colors that are entertaining in a tea-room might l>e unbearable in a living-room. For rooms in constant use, or for rooms that should be rejx^seful in their influence, such as a lil>rary, a living-room, or a study ^ near-neutral colors and unobtrusive patterns are essential A city dwelling, close to the street and overshadowed by other buildings* a country^ house situated on a hilltop, t)r in a valley, or by the sea, or in a setting of open fields or gardens sur- rounded V)y trees and shnihben^ present different problems in window treatment. Velvets, damasks, and hanrlsome linen are appropriate for the city house, and the greater formality and reserv^e which are its natural characteristics. Mi effect of freshness is in keeping with the environment of the country home. Cretonnes, chintzes, and printed linen with brighter coloring than would be appropriate in thv city home, are in hannony with the birds and flowei-s and outdoor country. Simple curtains of unbleached cotton for the small-paned cottage window with its ledge of flowering i:>lants suggest the charm of the little house across the st^a. Fur the house used only in summer, curtains should of course be of washable materials.