A deep jutting window provides an admirable playroom when partitioned off from the bedroom in some way. In one case a deep window place was built on over the porte-cochere. It was reached from the child's bedroom by ascending two broad steps and was divided off by an attractive little fence. The French windows extended to the floor and there was a high iron railing on the outside to prevent the child from falling out. This allowed almost outdoor ventilation and also enabled the playroom floor to be swept out separately from that of the bedroom. On a little ledge outside the window were growing plants and inside there was a little play-garden, a large aquarium, and a bird-cage suspended from the ceiling. The floor space was seven by five feet, allowing ample space for the child to move around and play in comfort

This small but delightful place set aside for play kept the dignified but childish bedroom always as fresh as a pink. It was a charming room with warm gray walls and bright woodwork and furniture. On one side of the play-window a toy closet was built in with beautifully decorated cupboard doors and deep shelves below for oversized books and bulky toys. On the opposite side the little bed stood against the wall and near it a small chest of drawers with an oval mirror hung above it. At the far end was the story book corner with an ell of bookcases, a small table, and easy chair, and a comfortably upholstered window seat where the child could curl up to read and to dream.

When it is remembered that the principal mental and physical growth of children comes through play, the importance of providing as much space for it as possible will be realized, and of utilizing every opportunity to turn it into creative channels. A playroom should grow with the growing interests of the children. As the articles of furniture gradually outlive their usefulness, they should be converted to new uses, or be replaced by pieces which cater to the new needs so that, bit by bit, the playroom will be transformed into the workshop, the study, or sitting-room for grown children.

Foil design in red, green, and blue. The floor was paved with mosaic tiles in dull red and green upon which a few small black rugs were placed.

There were no chairs in the study. The long narrow table which served as a desk was placed in front of a built-in settle on one side of a fireplace constructed of the same tiling as the floor. There was a corresponding settle on the other side, and a refectory bench, and two low stools. The wainscoting of the study was set out from the wall to form cupboards for ungainly books and papers, and the book shelves were built above it.

The contrast of the dark oak furniture with the gray wainscoting, the touches of strong pure color, the interesting nature of the floor and the unusual furniture and its unconventional grouping, all tended to create an atmosphere which would leave a lasting impression on a young boy's taste. The beauty and comfort of the scheme, without the demoralizing sense of pandering to luxury, was one of its important features.

An unused attic was converted, in another case, into a gratifying boy's domain and its popularity among the boys of the neighborhood led to its christening as "The Haunt." The unfinished walls were covered with natural burlap and the woodwork which remained exposed around the windows and ceiling was painted blue-black. The location of the chimney allowed for a large red brick fireplace, on either side of which were built-in bunks for "house guests" of the boy. These were covered with Navajo blankets, as was the owner's couch in an opposite corner. The floor was also painted blue-black and covered with Navajo rugs, and Indian grass baskets and pottery carried out the decorative idea. There were several good reading lights, an excellent collection of books, game tables, and a moving-picture outfit. Other mothers may have cast anxious eyes out of the window for their wayfaring sons, but one mother always knew that hers was safe and comfortable and happy with his friends, or by himself in "The Haunt."

Where a single, not over-large room has to serve the three-fold purpose of bedroom, study, and a place to receive company, a couch should be substituted for a bed and made comfortable with pillows. A plain chest of drawers is better than a chiffonier or a bureau, and the mirror can usually be hung on the inside of the closet door. For hangings and couch covers some substantial, pleasantly colored, plain material is good with contrasts introduced in the pillows. A medium blue is attractive with oak or walnut, or peacock, or violet. With mahogany, dull orange or gold color is a desirable combination. Dark figured cretonne can also be used, but, above all, avoid the thick, muddy-colored, dust-catching materials which have hitherto been considered suitable for masculine quarters. The couch, the chest of drawers, a desk, small bookcase, and a central or folding table around which boys love to congregate for their high councils, will constitute the requisite objects of furniture, and the less conspicuous and bulky its type, the more efficient will be its service.

An unusual and delightful bedroom for a young man had white woodwork outlined in black and walls of light-gray paper with an orange line painted beneath the molding. The rug was black with yellow-orange lines forming the border. A few pieces of furniture were black and others were white, outlined in black. The hangings were black, orange, and white printed linen. The bed was severely simple in line and there was a bed-table with a reading lamp, a small white writing table with a black chair, and a large black wicker reading-chair, upholstered in the orange, black, and white printed linen.

For the young girl bright cretonne and painted furniture usually accomplishes satisfactory results. One should be careful, however, to avoid the vague and wishy-washy both in design and color. No matter how dainty and prim the desired effect may be, the decorations of the room must have backbone, or they will soon grow insipid and lose their charm.

For young girls who on approaching maturity seem to lose enthusiasm and energy, a vitalization of their surroundings has often worked miracles. A tendency to grow more and more retiring and morose was noticed in one young girl of thirteen. She had always occupied a room with a maiden aunt and had never taken any interest in her surroundings. The family finally decided to fit up a separate room for her and a married sister worked out a bright, happy, and stimulating scheme. The walls were papered with a good warm tan and the woodwork painted bright green. The hangings and upholstery of a large chair was of a marvelous cretonne with gay red and green plumaged birds on a tan ground. The rug was a two-toned tan and the furniture was dull yellow with a small suggested bird decoration in bright red and green. The room fairly sang with life and color and was carefully provided with everything to pique the girl's interest and create a feeling of personal ownership. The little desk was fitted with soft tan note paper with a hand decorated bird perched over her monogram in one corner. The dressing table was laid out with a toilet set of deep ivory, which also was incrested with the bird perched monogram. There was a green wicker bird-cage with two canaries in the sunny windows which had a crisp green box with red geraniums on the outer ledge. Gradually the singing birds entered the girl's heart, and brought with them sunshine and gladness.

In the opposite case, that of growing girls who show a tendency to an easily excited and nervous temperament, the surroundings can be made to exert a restraining and soothing effect. One effective scheme of this order was worked out in lavender, rose, and deep ivory. The walls were plain lavender and the woodwork deep ivory with a rose stripe. The window curtains were of thin rose silk and the bedspread rose-figured cretonne in a quiet all-over pattern.

Another quiet little room grew around a quaint set of mahogany furniture. For the counterpane and canopy ruffle of the four-posted bed, which had been used by the girl's grandmother, cream scrim was chosen, upon which the girl worked a simple cross-stitch motif taken from her grandmother's sampler. The cream scrim window-curtains also had a suggestion of the cross-stitch motif. The walls and woodwork were plain cream and the rug and upholstery were reseda.

Simple white furniture and blue-and-white striped, or yellow-and-white checked, cotton material make effective combinations with plain blue, gray blue, or yellow wall paper, and well-toned blue or brown rugs. Inexpensive materials are often the most girlish and attractive and the dress goods departments, as well as the upholstery, should be explored. Reps, poplins, madras, and mercerized cottons all make very good hangings and bed covers, as well as the modern cretonnes, printed linens, and chintzes.

Where the girl's bedroom is also used for a study and for entertaining friends, an attractive day-bed, or couch, can be introduced instead of the conventional bed. When this is set into a corner and spread with a fitted cover finished with a deep ruffle and decked with pillows of bright hue, and a small table with a rose or blue tea-set drawn up to it, it makes an ideal place for the exchange of confidences and the heart-to-heart chats so inseparable from girlhood. A small painted, or fabric-hung, dressing-table will not detract from the atmosphere of the study or sitting-room, although it may be easily concealed with a decorative screen. A large matting shirt-waist box, painted the same color as the woodwork, can often be made to take the place of a chest of drawers, although that necessary article can sometimes be located in a closet, or be shared with a younger or older sister in another room. Every girl should have her own desk and her own bookcase, and there should always be a few good pictures in the room.