Decorations. — For adornment, a wainscoting carried well
up on the walls may be finished with a plate rail on which
may rest plates and plaques of good color. The mantel-
piece may hold a piece of pottery or a cast, and some
simple candelabra. Admit no meaningless ornaments.
Spotless table linen and neat dishes — they may be prettily
decorated and yet cheap — are the crowning adornments of
this room.
Historical Sketch. — It will add to the interest of this
lesson to note that a separate room for taking meals — now
a part of the house plan of even the workingman's home,
is one of the luxuries of modern life. Even a generation
ago old-fashioned people in England and America used
their dining rooms as living rooms. In the Middle Ages the
nobleman and his servants ate in the hall. The tables con-
sisted of boards resting on trestles. The seats were narrow
benches or stools so made that they could be easily carried
away when the meal was over. The meals eaten in private
were served in the lord's chamber. The mediseval chamber
developed into a private suite of living rooms, the outer one
of which came to be used as the family dining room.*
TOPIC V
The Living Koom
Tradition vs. Individuality. — We have decided to give
this name to the room on the opposite side of the hall.
The needs and means of the family must really determine
its use. No mere tradition as to what has been customary,
or fancy as to Avhat our neighbors might expect us to
* "The Decoration of Houses." — Wharton and Codman.
THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL 15
have, ought to weigh one feather's weight with us in
determining how we shall use any room in our house.
If the family is small and can afford to keep this as a
company or reception room, it may be furnished daintily
and used for that purpose. Otherwise it is folly and
extravagance to stint the rest of the household appoint-
ments for the sake of furnishing a room with things
too good to be used — a room from which every member
of the family flees the moment the company leaves.
Discussion. — 1. The furnishings that will best serve the
purposes for which this room is to be used.
2. Inexpensive materials that produce good effects.
3. The management of the color scheme.
Conclusions.
Suggestions for Furnishing. — 1. A firm, generous table
that will hold books, magazines, and lamps ; a comfortable
divan with numerous pillows ; plenty of easy chairs ; plain,
well-made bookcases or sets of shelves ; and perhaps a corner
cabinet in which to place objects of beauty and value.
A few good pictures, — only good ones are worth looking
at all the time ; and an ornament or two of good form, —
a vase, a cast or any object that is beautiful in color
and form and made in suitable materials.
Artistic Effects with Inexpensive Materials. — 2. Strong
willow chairs and couches with movable cvishions may
be used with good effect. The hangings in the room
and the covers on the seat cushions may be of the same
color and material. This gives a pleasing effect of unity.
Denims are very satisfactory for this purpose; and when
the hangings are ornamented with a bold embroidery
of a white floss thread on the borders, the effect is
charming.
The Color Scheme. — 3. We must remember that the floors
and the walls have already been decided upon, and the
16 HANDBOOK OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE
Page 11
Presented as published in 1900. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A modernized reading is not available for this page yet. You are seeing the original text.
Decorations. — For adornment, a wainscoting carried well
up on the walls may be finished with a plate rail on which
may rest plates and plaques of good color. The mantel-
piece may hold a piece of pottery or a cast, and some
simple candelabra. Admit no meaningless ornaments.
Spotless table linen and neat dishes — they may be prettily
decorated and yet cheap — are the crowning adornments of
this room.
Historical Sketch. — It will add to the interest of this
lesson to note that a separate room for taking meals — now
a part of the house plan of even the workingman's home,
is one of the luxuries of modern life. Even a generation
ago old-fashioned people in England and America used
their dining rooms as living rooms. In the Middle Ages the
nobleman and his servants ate in the hall. The tables con-
sisted of boards resting on trestles. The seats were narrow
benches or stools so made that they could be easily carried
away when the meal was over. The meals eaten in private
were served in the lord's chamber. The mediseval chamber
developed into a private suite of living rooms, the outer one
of which came to be used as the family dining room.*
TOPIC V
The Living Koom
Tradition vs. Individuality. — We have decided to give
this name to the room on the opposite side of the hall.
The needs and means of the family must really determine
its use. No mere tradition as to what has been customary,
or fancy as to Avhat our neighbors might expect us to
* "The Decoration of Houses." — Wharton and Codman.
THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL 15
have, ought to weigh one feather's weight with us in
determining how we shall use any room in our house.
If the family is small and can afford to keep this as a
company or reception room, it may be furnished daintily
and used for that purpose. Otherwise it is folly and
extravagance to stint the rest of the household appoint-
ments for the sake of furnishing a room with things
too good to be used — a room from which every member
of the family flees the moment the company leaves.
Discussion. — 1. The furnishings that will best serve the
purposes for which this room is to be used.
2. Inexpensive materials that produce good effects.
3. The management of the color scheme.
Conclusions.
Suggestions for Furnishing. — 1. A firm, generous table
that will hold books, magazines, and lamps ; a comfortable
divan with numerous pillows ; plenty of easy chairs ; plain,
well-made bookcases or sets of shelves ; and perhaps a corner
cabinet in which to place objects of beauty and value.
A few good pictures, — only good ones are worth looking
at all the time ; and an ornament or two of good form, —
a vase, a cast or any object that is beautiful in color
and form and made in suitable materials.
Artistic Effects with Inexpensive Materials. — 2. Strong
willow chairs and couches with movable cvishions may
be used with good effect. The hangings in the room
and the covers on the seat cushions may be of the same
color and material. This gives a pleasing effect of unity.
Denims are very satisfactory for this purpose; and when
the hangings are ornamented with a bold embroidery
of a white floss thread on the borders, the effect is
charming.
The Color Scheme. — 3. We must remember that the floors
and the walls have already been decided upon, and the
16 HANDBOOK OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE