One or two good upholstered easy chairs never seem out of place,
even in the most elegant parlor, and here and there an occasional little
ebonized and cane bottomed chair gives diversity to the looks of the
room, where no two chairs should be alike. Tables are little used here,
still we must have one or two to give the whole a furnished look. A
spare table near the bay window will allow of a jardiniere holding a fern
or india-rubber plant to stand in the sun. You can have nothing better
than black and gold for this purpose. There must be some places to
lay books and other heavy articles ; and the table for this office should
be solid and should stand against the wall. Marble topped tables are
no longer in use. Inlaid or hand painted wood now decorates the tops
and an embroidered or heavily fringed scarf of plush is thrown across
the top, with one end drooping over the edge. The newest tables have
square corners and old fashioned twisted legs. Pretty little tables for
standing at the side of the room have oval shaped tops, are elabo-
rately mounted with brass and inlaid in diamond and checker board
designs.
A plain straight sofa of black wood, with arms supported by rails,
and only back and seat stuffed, is one of the best makes. Chinese
bamboo sofas with plenty of movable cushions are also much favored.
Grand or square pianos must be entirely hidden by rich needle-work
coverings. The English cottage piano usually stands with the back
toward the room, not against the wall, and this back is covered with
handsome drapery. ♦
Brass or Oriental China lamps are now the fashion for common use,
Venetian chandeliers or large hanging brass lamps for receptions. The
light is much more becoming than gas, and the shadows about the
room add greatly to its charm. Candles here and there in brass cande-
labra add much to the beauty of a reception room, and give life and
sparkle to the wall decorations. For the artistic touches one needs to
choose carefully and judiciously, or the rooms will look over-crowded.
Upon the walls a few pictures ; if you like the heads of saints, choose
those of the old masters ; if atmospheric effect, with glories of gold and
crimson sunsets, Turner; if cattle, where the dapple cows lie chewing
their cud in contentment upon the banks of pleasant streams, or in
meadow land, Rosa Bonheur; if of dogs, Landseer, and so on.
In this corner is placed an Eastlake, Queen Anne, jacobin or gothic
style cabinet, inlaid in gold, gilt and mosaic work ; in that corner an
156 HOUSE FURNISHING.
easel with gilt designs, over which fling a piece of brocade of old gold
and peacock blue in Oriental mixture; at the right and left of the lounge
place a pile of Oriental cushions. A loosely held mass of dark olive,
plum-colored or garnet satin may be placed against the wall, in an
alcove or the middle of a panel, and a light-colored pitcher hung on it,
with a pretty knot passed through the handle and over a large nail,
gilt-headed. An embroidered curtain may run on a few feet of gilded
gas-pipe in front of a low book-case. A bit of rich material — an old
crepe shawl, for instance, may be hung on a home-made easel, draping
a picture. A Roman scarf may be forgotten on a shelf in some dark
corner. A painted or embroidered silken curtain may hang beneath a
bracket, supporting a bust.
Page 137
Presented as published in 1886. 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
One or two good upholstered easy chairs never seem out of place, even in the most elegant parlor, and here and there an occasional little ebonized and cane bottomed chair gives diversity to the looks of the room, where no two chairs should be alike. Tables are little used here, still we must have one or two to give the whole a furnished look. A spare table near the bay window will allow of a jardiniere holding a fern or india-rubber plant to stand in the sun. You can have nothing better than black and gold for this purpose. There must be some places to lay books and other heavy articles ; and the table for this office should be solid and should stand against the wall. Marble topped tables are no longer in use. Inlaid or hand painted wood now decorates the tops and an embroidered or heavily fringed scarf of plush is thrown across the top, with one end drooping over the edge. The newest tables have square corners and old fashioned twisted legs. Pretty little tables for standing at the side of the room have oval shaped tops, are elaborately mounted with brass and inlaid in diamond and checker board designs.
A plain straight sofa of black wood, with arms supported by rails, and only back and seat stuffed, is one of the best makes. Chinese bamboo sofas with plenty of movable cushions are also much favored.
Grand or square pianos must be entirely hidden by rich needle-work coverings. The English cottage piano usually stands with the back toward the room, not against the wall, and this back is covered with handsome drapery.
Brass or Oriental China lamps are now the fashion for common use, Venetian chandeliers or large hanging brass lamps for receptions. The light is much more becoming than gas, and the shadows about the room add greatly to its charm. Candles here and there in brass candelabra add much to the beauty of a reception room, and give life and sparkle to the wall decorations. For the artistic touches one needs to choose carefully and judiciously, or the rooms will look over-crowded. Upon the walls a few pictures ; if you like the heads of saints, choose those of the old masters ; if atmospheric effect, with glories of gold and crimson sunsets, Turner; if cattle, where the dapple cows lie chewing their cud in contentment upon the banks of pleasant streams, or in meadow land, Rosa Bonheur; if of dogs, Landseer, and so on.
In this corner is placed an Eastlake, Queen Anne, jacobin or gothic style cabinet, inlaid in gold, gilt and mosaic work ; in that corner an
easel with gilt designs, over which fling a piece of brocade of old gold and peacock blue in Oriental mixture; at the right and left of the lounge place a pile of Oriental cushions. A loosely held mass of dark olive, plum-colored or garnet satin may be placed against the wall, in an alcove or the middle of a panel, and a light-colored pitcher hung on it, with a pretty knot passed through the handle and over a large nail, gilt-headed. An embroidered curtain may run on a few feet of gilded gas-pipe in front of a low book-case. A bit of rich material — an old crepe shawl, for instance, may be hung on a home-made easel, draping a picture. A Roman scarf may be forgotten on a shelf in some dark corner. A painted or embroidered silken curtain may hang beneath a bracket, supporting a bust.