If the room is low and long, the walls should not be papered at all. Plain white ones increase the apparent size of the apartment, and lighten it, wjiile any colored or figured covering detracts from the desired effect. If the walls have been papered before, and must be covered in the same way again, choose a pale tint of some preferred color, and finish with a border of a brilliant and darker shade. Solid colors are the most suitable for a dining-room, for the reason that the eye does not weary of them as it does of figures, and because of the advantage in hanging pictures. With a bright background, pictures of almost any kind are improved in appearance, and the general effect, even with fine wall ornaments, is heightened. Figured designs are not adapted for the dining-room, and such HOME-MAKING AND HOME-MANAGEMENT. 39 paper always detracts from, rather than adds to, its appearance. Striped paper is preferable to figured, be the latter never so delicate, and panel paper is more suited to such rooms than either. For those who prefer the darker patterns in paper, and the Eastlake in style, there are numberless rich and beautiful patterns. But for dining- rooms, the best authorities favor the tinted walls. The furniture of a dining-room should be uniform. If of oak, then it should be more massive than walnut requires to be, and it should be more orna- mental. Walnut demands a better finish and more simplicity in design than oak, while the latter calls for more or less additional up- holstery. Chairs of oak are not really desirable unless the seats are cushioned, while walnut, with cane-seats, are pleasant enough for any demand. The buffet should be a match for the chairs and tables, and an extra table should always be provided to stand in a corner for the reception of newspapers ; otherwise the paper is put down beside the chair of the person reading, or it is laid upon another, and in either case is in the way. A bronze ornament for the mantel, and a couple, not necessarily a pair, of vases, will be sufficient in the way of small articles of a strictly ornamental kind. The mirror, if there is room for it, should be put in the dining-room. If not, then it should go to the sitting-room up-stairs, or the bedrooms. The parlor is not the place for mirrors, and the better taste of the American people will eventually banish them from its domain. Small articles are not suitable for the dining-room, where there is constant moving about and likelihood of their being broken by care- less servants. Pictures are acceptable, and the number should be according to the size of the apartment. Do not hang one above an- other in a dining-room; it is almost impossible to keep them dusted where there are many. Fasten them with the silver or gold wire now so generally in use ; there is no comparison between it and the old worsted colored cord of other days which was always in danger of being moth-eaten, and which frayed out so soon. If selecting pic- tures for the dinincc-room, fine engravincjs will b^ f\r more suitable than ordinary paintings, and a water-colored fruit i)iece will give sufficient variety if color is wanted. 40 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

If the room is low and long, the walls should not be papered at all. Plain white ones increase the apparent size of the apartment, and lighten it, wjiile any colored or figured covering detracts from the desired effect. If the walls have been papered before, and must be covered in the same way again, choose a pale tint of some preferred color, and finish with a border of a brilliant and darker shade. Solid colors are the most suitable for a dining-room, for the reason that the eye does not weary of them as it does of figures, and because of the advantage in hanging pictures. With a bright background, pictures of almost any kind are improved in appearance, and the general effect, even with fine wall ornaments, is heightened. Figured designs are not adapted for the dining-room, and such paper always detracts from, rather than adds to, its appearance. Striped paper is preferable to figured, be the latter never so delicate, and panel paper is more suited to such rooms than either. For those who prefer the darker patterns in paper, and the Eastlake in style, there are numberless rich and beautiful patterns. But for diningrooms, the best authorities favor the tinted walls. The furniture of a dining-room should be uniform. If of oak, then it should be more massive than walnut requires to be, and it should be more ornamental. Walnut demands a better finish and more simplicity in design than oak, while the latter calls for more or less additional upholstery. Chairs of oak are not really desirable unless the seats are cushioned, while walnut, with cane-seats, are pleasant enough for any demand. The buffet should be a match for the chairs and tables, and an extra table should always be provided to stand in a corner for the reception of newspapers ; otherwise the paper is put down beside the chair of the person reading, or it is laid upon another, and in either case is in the way. A bronze ornament for the mantel, and a couple, not necessarily a pair, of vases, will be sufficient in the way of small articles of a strictly ornamental kind. The mirror, if there is room for it, should be put in the dining-room. If not, then it should go to the sitting-room up-stairs, or the bedrooms. The parlor is not the place for mirrors, and the better taste of the American people will eventually banish them from its domain. Small articles are not suitable for the dining-room, where there is constant moving about and likelihood of their being broken by careless servants. Pictures are acceptable, and the number should be according to the size of the apartment. Do not hang one above another in a dining-room; it is almost impossible to keep them dusted where there are many. Fasten them with the silver or gold wire now so generally in use ; there is no comparison between it and the old worsted colored cord of other days which was always in danger of being moth-eaten, and which frayed out so soon. If selecting pictures for the dining-room, fine engravings will be far more suitable than ordinary paintings, and a water-colored fruit piece will give sufficient variety if color is wanted. 40 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.

The hearthstone; or, Life at home