Ingrain filling or other plain carpets may also be used as a background for rugs in the absence of a good wood floor.

furniture (Plates VI-IX and Figs. 24-29).

Furniture is perhaps the most distinctive of all the movable furnishings of the home. Well-made furniture is very durable and should, therefore, be selected with the care which permanence calls for. Furniture of reliable workmanship and made from choice material is rarely cheap, but is the best investment in the end. If the family purse is limited, it is better to buy at the start the few essential pieces and to add to these from time to time. No article of furniture should be purchased unless a need for it exists, and then the one that will best fill that need should be sought for until it is found. At the time of purchase, each article should be judged on its intrinsic merits and its adaptability to the need and place that it is to fill.

The fundamental considerations in the selection of furniture are three: the function or use of the article selected; its construction and design; and its relation to the room and other furnishings.