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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1912)
4 THE SEMI-MONTHLY MACAZINE SECTION y-'- ' ''W .s' ( in our hoitxfs a room where there shall he sjitice to ctirrt) on the liusiuess of life freely, and vith lileu.iitre. with furniture vmde to use." 'HKLY THIS I'LKA of an English architect is met by the living room in our ideal bouse. It is plainly a room tbat is lived in. We ran easily imag ine anolliei' picture, made by flashlight (for the time would be evening) with tbe family gathered about a cheerful wood fire in I he wide fire place, while. under tlie solt glow ot tin inij lamp, Father or Mother reads aloud from one of the many choice books. It is a room that suggests comfort and cultured good sense. There isn't any reason why culture and good sense should not be linked, is there? At least, he books in this room bespeak culture, and the manner in which they are made instantly access ible, although amply protected, denotes sense. Something from which we may well seek to be de livered is a fussy living room. They are found every where fussy as to furniture, fussy as to curtains and carpets and pictures, fussy as to the paper on the wall. Our room is not fussy. On the contrary, it is a sane, reposeful room. It has just enough fur niture; and all of it is. as our Englishman stipulates, "made for use." And yet. it is not too heavy; for the Canton chair by the window adds just the desir able contrast in': note to the massive table. The big lamp indicates that the table is the center of the room's life; but there are also side lights on I he walls. Serious mistakes are often made in the lighting of a living room. A strong, central light is to be avoided, and the leading lamp's rays should reach all parts of the table, yet fall too low to strike the eyes. It is best to rely on side lights, properly placed, when additional illumination is needed. The proper placing of them, however, is not so simple a matter as it seems. An excellent idea is to make a plan of the room on paper and to indicate where each piece of furniture is to go. Then, the lights may be arranged accordingly one over, or just beside, 1 1 if piano, one at the head of the couch and another close by the book case. Let us follow this plan in our ideal living room, and thereby add much to its convenience. If one desires a hook from the book cases arranged neatly along the wall, he has but to touch a button to read the tillcs plainly. No living room is complete without books, of course, nor without convenient cases for them, and comfortable chairs in which to read them. It is much better, though, to have them in book cases with glass fronts than in open cases; for the housewife or maid is saved much labor in keeping them dusted, and life is added to the books themselves, liitilt-iii book cases are often installed, and while they are attractive when fitted iuto-a chimney corner or made to carry out some archi tectural purpose, it is more feasible to have the books in portable cases hat mav be moved about at will. Why forego the pleasure of rearranging the furniture in the living room at intervals? One feels hampered if the hooks must necessarily remain always in exactly the same place. But there may be those who will say that this liv ing room in the ideal house is too conventional; in short, that it is by no means an ideal living room. Very well, a sudden transformation shows it completely redecorated ; yet without chang ing tne posiuon even of a chair. The craftsman style has been adopted and with excellent effect, it must be ad mitted; at least, that will he the opinion of persons with the craftsman temperament. I u place of a heavy wainscot surmounted by 1 a; er on the sidewalls. we have rough gray plaster. The lloor, of rift pine, is partly covered by woven rugs in two tones of brown. Open beams across the ceiling help to change the decorative atmosphere of the room, and a fire place of common brick with white joints still farther emphasizes the transforma tion. The wood work, of chestnut, is stained a dark craftsman oak; but white scrim "Bonne Feniuie" curtains at the casement windows prevent any sug gestion of somberness; while the heavy wood brown silk drapery with collage valance frames them in appropriately. The mahogany table becomes Tudor J IE I 'i :i ' - ' p Tip! :r- - - - - , ,,,.,a.-;r-l L H" t I I ?t - . 1 the ! ' lw-:'' J I I Jill i w 'I "''"1 f--3f!f:i .... 'jSi -V. :-, Th Idaal Dining Room miut be cheerful, then why not Colonial, or Dutch Colonial? oak or red gum (which, by the way. is not red at all, but a rich warm brown) ; and the lines rieidlv souared. An electric lamn. with amber shade and a standard matching the trim, stands on an ecru crash scarf, em broidered in stone brown. The book case undergoes similar treatment and by addition of leaded class, becomes even more attractive than before. In the revised room there is a sense of calm strength and perfect poise. There is enough variety to obviate monotony, but not enough to produce restlessness. The plain gray walls are unex celled as a background for pictures, and in snch a room the pictures may well carry warm colors. Books in warmly colored bindings also add to the charm. "Have nothing in your home which vou do not aimv to be useful or be ieve to be beautiful." said William Morris a quo tation that may be sup- :ed to applv to every article of the tvpe de- ilied. As a matter of t. it is dillicult to intro- luce a superfluous article into a room of this char-