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House Furnishing and Decorating: Shades

Window Shades. -A double set of window shades-an inner dark shade to harmonize with the color scheme of the room, and an outer white shadeare desirable, but both are not necessary. It saves carpets and other things from fading to exclude the sunshine when a room is not in use, and also assists in keeping sunny rooms cool in summer. Hence, a dark or tan shade is to be preferred, unless the house is fitted with blinds. In that case only the white shade is necessary.

To Renew Window Shades.-Trim off the soiled or worn part at the bottom, make a new hem, and put back the stick. To do this lay on an ironing board, curled side down, the part of the shade that has been curled up over the roller and press it with a hot iron. This makes it easy to turn a hem, which may be stitched on the sewing machine. Let the stitch out as far as it will go so that the fabric will not pucker.

Or, if the shade is too short to trim, change the ends by opening the hem at the bottom, taking the shades from 'the roller and tacking the bottom of the shade to the roller. Make a new bem and put back the stick.

To Hang Window Shades. To adjust the spring on new window shades, roll them tight, fasten them into the sockets, and draw them down full length. Take them out of their sockets, roll them up again by hand, and again draw them down until the spring is as strong as desired.

To Prevent Blowing Window Shades. To prevent the window shades from being drawn out at the top of the window or blowing back and forth when the upper sash is lowered for ventilation, attach the cord from the bottom of the shade to the back of a chair, and move it a sufficient distance from the window to give a free circulation of air underneath it.

Substitute for Window Shades.- To economize on window shades, the upper rooms of a house may be fitted with shades of white cotton, having the selvage on one side and a very fine hem on the other. By the addition of a little glue size or gum arabic to the starch, they can be made very stiff. They look from outside almost equal to ordinary shades of Holland linen. They can, of course, readily be laundered when soiled.

But Draperies. — Portières and other draperies must be selected with due regard to the size and shape of the room, as well as to the color scheme.

Heavy, thick draperies make a small room look close and stuffy. light, airy hangings are equally out of place in a large room. To improve the effect of a room that is too narrow and high between joints, or a room having too high and narrow doors and windows, lower the window shades twelve or fifteen inches from the top and fill in the "Lower the Rod." space with a grill, a rope network, a shirring of silk, or similar decoration. If the doors open outward, or if a door is taken down and hung with draperies, lower the rod twelve or fifteen inches and fill in above with shirred silk or silkoline to harmonize with the portières or draperies.

Or run a shelf or plate rack across the top of the door on a level with the top of the window shades; by these means the room is made to seem lower and larger in proportion to its height.

Or lower the curtain from the pole by means of cords to match the drathe hooks on the pins. pery. Lace over the pole and through Portiéres. In addition to the various grades of draperies on the market, burlap and other suitable fabrics may be made up for this purpose at much less expense. purchased from bookbinders at a few Or brown leather scraps may be cents a pound, cut in strips about half an inch wide, and tied in lots after the manner of carpet rags.

These make very cheap and effective draperies for libraries and living rooms.

Choose preferably materials that will not catch and hold dust more than is necessary, and avoid flounces, fringes, and tassels coarse enough to allow dust to accumulate in them. It is a good plan in summer to take down heavy draperies, shake and clean them, and pack them away until fall in a moth-proof box or chest. They will last longer, and the house will be much cleaner, more airy, and comfortable without them.

Or, if desired, replace the winter draperies with cheap draperies of dark green or other color of burlap.

Lower the pole a foot or more from the casing to let the air pass through, and let them swing clear of the floor.

Curtain Rings. - Rub the curtain poles occasionally with a rag dipped in kerosene oil to make the rings slip easily.

To Clen Draperies. - Draperies and tapestries hung upon the walls may be cleaned by pouring gasoline into a shallow pan, and brushing them with this by means of a soft brush or whisk broom.

LIVING ROOMS The old custom of setting apart a "best room" or parlor to be used only HOUSE FURNISHING AND DECORATING on special occasions, as for weddings, funerals, or the entertainment of company, is happily passing away. Only very wealthy people now have drawing rooms reserved for state occasions. The present tendency is to call all the lower rooms of the house "living rooms," and to have all the members of the family use them freely. A room set apart from ordinary use, and hence shut up much of the time from sun and air, is not good for the physical or moral health of the household. Hygiene demands that sun and air should be admitted freely to all parts of the house. The furnishings themselves, if good care is given them, will be improved rather than injured by ordinary wear, and guests will receive a far pleasanter impression from the easy and graceful atmosphere imparted to a room by daily use, than from the stiff and formal restraints imposed by the oldfashioned parlor. A hostess who takes her friends into a sitting room and tells them frankly that she prefers to "live in her own parlor" will have more friends than critics. The arrangement is plainly for the good of the family, and all who visit such a home will enjoy being taken into the wholesome family life.

When possible, it is pleasant and convenient to have two living rooms thrown together by folding or sliding doors, with a grill and portières or other suitable draperies across the opening. The effect of many country homes could be greatly improved by cutting an arch or square opening about the width and height of two ordinary doors placed side by side or slightly wider, so as to throw two living rooms into one. Suitable folding or sliding doors, while desirable, are not necessary, as the opening can be closed by means of heavy hangings sliding on a rod. "Front Room." -Large houses and ample means will, of course, suggest other living rooms, as the library, music room, a special sewing room, and the like. But these are neither necessary nor possible in ordinary households, and the "front room" may be made not only more habitable but also more attractive to callers and guests by the presence of a piano or other musical instrument, and by low bookcases built along the walls, three or four shelves high, to hold the family collection of books, and stained or painted to match the woodwork. The top of these bookcases may be finished by a shelf about breast high, or slightly lower, on which plaster-of-Paris casts, vases, or flowers and other appropriate objects may be displayed. A "front room" having the walls hung with suitable cloth or paper in solid colors, or two-toned shades of brown or green, with shades of green or tan, and hangings to match the wall coverings; a hard-wood floor waxed and oiled, or floor stained or painted in imitation of hard wood, or a solidcolor floor covering of denim or ingrain filler, with rugs of Oriental patterns and appropriate furniture, will have a distinctly modern and artistic atmosphere.

Couch.-Couches and sofas having a raised headpiece or arms at either end are giving place to plain couches, after the fashion of the Oriental divan, without head or arms, and covered by appropriate couch covers. An ordinary folding canvas cot bed and a common cotton top excelsior or hair mattress thick enough to prevent sagging in the middle is really superior to a sofa or davenport costing much more money. Bagdad or other suitable couch covers in cotton fabrics are inexpensive, and a row of fancy pillows can be readily made of washable material at slight expense. Thus the entire couch and furnishing may be had at the cost of but a few dollars.

Imitation On the other hand, by purchasing an iron or steel couch with wirespring top and hair mattress, and adding a real Bagdad or other Oriental couch cover and pillows to correspond, a couch may be had that will be in keeping with the most lux urious surroundings.