HOME DECORATION NOTES

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 348, 8 August 1885, Page 4

HOME DECORATION NOTES

Pretty hand bags arc netted with string cut glass beads in black or dark red. Many of the five o'clock tea-tables have three tiers of shelves one above the other. Doylies edged with Valenciennes lace is the latest fancy in these ornamental trifles. Blotting paper blue is used in combination with light coffee brown with charming effect. Canvas makes an excellent foundation for sofa pillows made of insertings of bright ribbons. Squares of plush in imitation of crazy patchwork are among the late products in the fancy work world. Water filters of Doulton ware are now considered an essential and ornamental addition to the sideboard. One of fashion's fancies is to have burning in the room a fragrant pastile, which is set on a small brass tray. Among the latest productions in furniture are cabinets of cedar wood with delicate ornamentations in silver. A dining room elegantly fitted up in Persian coloring has the top of the wainscoting bordered with Japanese fans. An elegant screen panel has a peacock embroidered on yellow satin. The brilliancy and beauty of the plumage is faithfully portrayed in filo-floss. Small tables may be tastefully draped with billiard cloth, decorated with appliques of velvet enriched by crescents and spangles ; the valance is trimmed with wide lace of an ecru tint. Button-hole insertion is very much liked for bed linen, owing particularly to its extremely durable qualities. Tapestry has always been an expensive luxury, and therefore, although its manufacture can be traced back to a remote antiquity, its use has always been limited. As a material for furniture upholstery nothingcould be more elegant than this rich textile. Silk mending is such pretty work that many ladies make an accomplishment ot it, and filoselle appears at the right juncture, as yarn is too coarse and heavy. A pair of mittens or hosiery darned with the filoselle silk can be so neatly repaired that it is difficult to find the worn places. Carved wood mantels should not have lambrequins : a scarf of colored silk is sometimes used, or, if preferred, a very good effect is obtained by placing pieces of soft silk of any bright color, about one yard in length, under a vase or any large ornament which may be liked on the mantel.