Get a carpet with a deal of scarlet in it ; a cream-colored ground with
deep scarlet roses is very pretty, if one can afford a Brussels, if not, the
new ingrains have beautiful designs and bright colors. Have a low
divan couch, with large square pillows across the back, then if one
wants to lie down, one of the pillows can be transferred to the head. A
Boston rocker, handsomely upholstered, a large, soft, easy chair, a small
sewing chair, a bamboo chair, with broad, flat arms, and a Shaker or
rush-bottomed chair of artistic design, are all comfortable and cheap.
Numbers of small, oddly-shaped tables, low and high, are placed about
the room and used for books, work, photographs, and whatever one has
" lying round." Or one large table, that symbol of comradeship and
content, and it should always be covered with a quiet, rich, beautifully
bordered cloth. Gypsy tables and window stands are covered with
dark, rich stuff, the valance around caught up in small festoons and fas-
tened with bows or tassels, finished round the edge of the table with
cord. If you have a couch that is stiff and ugly, try what a few soft
cushions will do.
If the furniture is already bought in sets, it can be covered with
different patterns of cretonne, which not only protects the furniture,
but gives a variety and breaks up the stiffness. Or buy the frame of
a Turkish chair or easy rocker, get it upholstered in white cotton
cloth, buy dark, rich colored cretonne and make a cover for it, binding
it with some pretty contrast of braid, or cover to match the rest of
the furniture ; you will get an easy chair much cheaper this way than by
getting it already covered. A foot rest frame can be bought cheap ;
stuff and cover it with cotton cloth first, then embroider a piece of goods
and cover it yourself, finishing it off with cord or narrow gimp around
the edge. A handy man with a few carpenter tools could soon make a
nice easel out of black walnut, also screen and pedestals. An old sec-
ond-hand cabinet, in dead black, might be bought for a little, and,
stowed away in a shady corner, would' look as well as new, to hold a
few bric-a-brac ; and for pictures select a few choice engravings in plain
frames.
This room is also the place for the window garden (though some pre.
fer it in the dining-room), the aquarium, fernery, bird-cage,* book-case
158 HOUSE FURNISHING.
(if you have no library), and in fact any of the odd things that add to
the attractiveness and prettiness of home. If the book-case is not yet
filled with books and has a bare look, pleat silesia or silk — in color to
correspond with the room — and fasten at top and bottom inside on the
door, or make a curtain or series of curtains, pulling back one of them
to show an upper shelf of books (the filled shelf), or one filled with quaint
bits of china or specimens. The upper shelf of a book-case is often
devoted to china, curiosities, or specimens.
The panels in window-shutters, doors and over-mantels (as the
shelves for holding china are called) are often painted in oils, or papered
to match the walls. Tall, stiff flowers, such as the iris, sunflower, fox-
glove, etc., are the best for painting, or a branch of cherry or apple
blossoming tree straggling from panel to panel in Japanese fashion.
Page 139
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
Get a carpet with a deal of scarlet in it ; a cream-colored ground with deep scarlet roses is very pretty, if one can afford a Brussels, if not, the new ingrains have beautiful designs and bright colors. Have a low divan couch, with large square pillows across the back, then if one wants to lie down, one of the pillows can be transferred to the head. A Boston rocker, handsomely upholstered, a large, soft, easy chair, a small sewing chair, a bamboo chair, with broad, flat arms, and a Shaker or rush-bottomed chair of artistic design, are all comfortable and cheap. Numbers of small, oddly-shaped tables, low and high, are placed about the room and used for books, work, photographs, and whatever one has " lying round." Or one large table, that symbol of comradeship and content, and it should always be covered with a quiet, rich, beautifully bordered cloth. Gypsy tables and window stands are covered with dark, rich stuff, the valance around caught up in small festoons and fastened with bows or tassels, finished round the edge of the table with cord. If you have a couch that is stiff and ugly, try what a few soft cushions will do.
If the furniture is already bought in sets, it can be covered with different patterns of cretonne, which not only protects the furniture, but gives a variety and breaks up the stiffness. Or buy the frame of a Turkish chair or easy rocker, get it upholstered in white cotton cloth, buy dark, rich colored cretonne and make a cover for it, binding it with some pretty contrast of braid, or cover to match the rest of the furniture ; you will get an easy chair much cheaper this way than by getting it already covered. A foot rest frame can be bought cheap ; stuff and cover it with cotton cloth first, then embroider a piece of goods and cover it yourself, finishing it off with cord or narrow gimp around the edge. A handy man with a few carpenter tools could soon make a nice easel out of black walnut, also screen and pedestals. An old second-hand cabinet, in dead black, might be bought for a little, and, stowed away in a shady corner, would' look as well as new, to hold a few bric-a-brac ; and for pictures select a few choice engravings in plain frames.
This room is also the place for the window garden (though some prefer it in the dining-room), the aquarium, fernery, bird-cage, book-case
(if you have no library), and in fact any of the odd things that add to the attractiveness and prettiness of home. If the book-case is not yet filled with books and has a bare look, pleat silesia or silk — in color to correspond with the room — and fasten at top and bottom inside on the door, or make a curtain or series of curtains, pulling back one of them to show an upper shelf of books (the filled shelf), or one filled with quaint bits of china or specimens. The upper shelf of a book-case is often devoted to china, curiosities, or specimens.
The panels in window-shutters, doors and over-mantels (as the shelves for holding china are called) are often painted in oils, or papered to match the walls. Tall, stiff flowers, such as the iris, sunflower, foxglove, etc., are the best for painting, or a branch of cherry or apple blossoming tree straggling from panel to panel in Japanese fashion.