SOCIAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1947, 18 June 1891, Page 37

SOCIAL TOPICS.

By Oigabhtth.

ARTISTIC HOMES. no; I;. "

After having artistically papered and carpeted our rooms, the next thing to consider is how to furnish them. When a young | couple are furnishing their first house they too much inclined to try and complete equipment of every room. This is a great mistake, for they lose all the pleasure iof looking out for and acquiring pretty ; things afterwards, and often spend all their ready money; whereas double the sum spread out over two or three years would not ;be felt so much and would give a constantly recurring pleasure. Very often one cannot find the article that quite pleases one's fancy 'at first, and rather than be without it people' , often buy a piece of furniture either clumsy 'or ugly, whereas if they wait .a little while the very thing they want is sure to be found. 'In furnishing we. should remember that we shall probably have to live a number of years 'with the furniture we are buying, perhaps, in ,a hurry. An ug^ tKpg'will tfieii,be a constant eyesore to ui^ whereas 'a' "thing" of ,beauty is a joy for ever." In furnishing each room its. character must be considered. For instance, the drawing room, where you are supposed to be a ( t .leisure, should have plenty of, easy chairs and soft'cushions, pleasant books and pictures. No room is so pleasant as that which seems to invite, you to rest in it, and while, you rest .refreshes your eye with pfetty objects; It is a. mistake to buy what are called ." suites," for when one.piece ie lost or broken the rest suffer^. "I)ra|riflg^ room, suites:" usually, cojqsisj; of one. or two pretty or tolerable articles with all the rest possibly ugly or inconvenient. It is best to choose every-> .thing separately. The chair covers may match or contrast pleasantly , but in everything else there may be any amount of variety. By this means you can exercise your own taste in any particular article' that takes; fancy at any time,wi£hout! being/afraid^ 'of not " matching "the rest -of your" furniture. Most men dislike the drawing room. They are not allowed to smoke in it for fear ' of spoiling the curtains; there is seldom, a comfortable chair they can sit on, or a table they can write at, and sp. n 7ery often •the drawing rcjom becomes' merely a place to show visitors' into and. has Trio more character about it than the public drawing room of a hotel".' *Our"horae, like oiir dress, should be characteristic' .of ourselves, and however lowly the establishment, it is never too small to express the refinement and artistic tastes of its owner.

In buying furniture it is well to remember that the cheapest is that, whioh lasts best/ Gim-crack furniture is the ' dearest in the long run, and if you cannot afford good velvet and plush it is better to be content with comfortable wickerwork chairs, upholstered wit h artistic cretonnes.to cheap tapestry or common velvet ; and roomy wicker chairs are decidedly more comfortable than the smart occasional chairs found in most drawing rooms. A white or biscuit-colour basketwork chair can be made into an artistic piece of furniture, with cushions of green velvety while a biown wickerwork looks nice upholstered in terra cotta cretonne with a desigc in pale pink or gold covering it. The j tone of a drawing room should be light and gay, but it should not be overcrowded with knick-knacks, or turned into a museum either of china, cariosities, wories, Japanese work, or anything else. Don't put a table in the middle of the room, or a pier glass over the mantlepiece. A looking-glass in the drawing room is wanted not to see yourself in, but to lighten dark corners and add to the appearance of space. Well bound books on table stands will add to the look of comfort in a room and fresh flowers in white glass vases or china jars make any room bright. Epergnes should be avoided. They are ugly and inconvenient. Growing plants and ferns, thongh veiypleasaut and graceful looking, are said to be unhealthy in the house, and perhaps we had better leavo them in the greenhouse. As for those atrocities in the shape of artificial begonias and india-rubber plants, &c, which we sometimes see in private house 3, well ! the only proper place for them is the dustheap. Pianos are uglj and unwieldly looking at the best. Several great artists, amongst them Alma Tadema, have tried to invent designs for their improvement, but they were never satisfactory ; the cottage (which, by the way, is a shape musicians detest) is the best to decorate. If the back can be shown a handsomely embroidered hanging can be gracefully draped on it, while a well-executed painting of a flight I

of birds, &c, looks well on the front. Cupids blowing trumpets can be used, or heads of the Muses, but these require very careful painting. There is no reason why the dining room should not be as comfortable and pretty as we can make it, although our forefathers seemed to require no external aids to appetite—gloomy oil paintings and uncomfortable chairs being a sine qua non for the room set aparb for eating. Colonial dining rooms are mostly living rooms, and should therefore be the brightest in the house, and those houses which do not contain two good sitting rooms should always have the best room set apart for the dining room. A large table is the main feature, but there is no reason why there should not be comfortable easy chairs as well, and a luxurious sofa, covered with a dark | shade of tapestry which should be of the same tone, though not necessarily 1 of the same colour as the curtains and table" [ cloth. Chenille curtains are rich and warm | looking, and are to be had in beautiful comI binations of colour. If there must be a side : board, it need not be hideous. Oak with | brass fittings is to be had if you look for it, j and will make an excellent background for , any good china you may happen to possess. J There mu3t be a bookshelf, of course, and a i corner for newspapers and magazines. There i can also be an American rocking chair furnished with a nice soft cushion for the head, made the shape of a little bolster. There should be an inkstand somewhere, and a bottle with ink in it. As a rule the household ink bottle is always empty. If you ; cannot get good oil. paintings, engravings are best for the walls; but consign all the grocers' almanacs to the kitchen regions. A goatskin rug will go with any carpet, but the scheme of colour must harmonise throughout. The curtains, tableoover, sofa, and carpet all being "en rapport," the brightest bits of colour being supplied by flowers, glass, china, and firelight.