Simplicity

There should be great simplicity in the furnishing of the library. In the center of the room there should be a substantial table covered with a flat mat which does not slip, or, better still, with no covering at all. On the table there should be a good reading lamp, and to it there should be drawn up comfortable chairs placed so that the light will be good for reading in either daylight or evening hours. Beyond the addition of a foot rest or two and possibly one small side table and several straight chairs there should be no other furniture in the room. On the walls there may be one or two fine large engravings - the portrait of some noted thinker, or the replica of some great architectural triumph. Above the fireplace there might be the bust of one of the early philosophers, or something else which would reflect the interests of the persons who find their inspiration in the books which the room shelters. There should be no "pretty things," no bric-a-brac, to destroy the dignity of the room and to take away from its essential feeling of repose and seclusion.

The Bedroom

The bedrooms of the home should also have a feeling of repose and seclusion, but here there need not be such an atmosphere of dignity. Gay-colored chintzes may be hung at the windows, the most frivolous of French furniture is often not too dainty or too ornate, and the individual tastes of the occupant of the room should be reflected in every detail of the furnishing until the room seems a personal part of its owner. To many older men and women of rather puritanical ideas, the colonial furniture of our forefathers seems most appropriate, the simple lines of the Queen Anne and the sturdy style of Chippendale may reflect the character of some other individuals, while the dainty carving of Hepple-white or the dresden loveliness of Louis XVI seems often the very embodiment of the spirit of the daughter of the household. As a usual thing, each bedroom, being a distinct unit in itself, should contain only one type of furniture, that type selected with reference to the user.

Types Of Furniture For The Bedroom

When there are several guest rooms, they may each be furnished in different styles, styles to suit various types of personalities, but where the home is so small as to boast only one guest room, this room should be furnished in one safe style, such as colonial or English, which would be fairly appropriate to any guest. The dainty white guest chamber with furniture of very slender lines may be lovely for the girl guest, but the man who is forced to spend a night in a room furnished in that fashion must feel sadly out of place.

The Use Of Furniture To Express Personality

The furnishings of the whole house should first reflect and conform to the spirit of the members of the household, but should then be planned with a certain amount of consideration for the guests and friends of the family. The home of the members of a family is the outward expression of their personality, a manifestation of their good will, cooperation with, and courtesy toward, each other as close relatives and toward those of the outside world who enter at times into the home circle.