Winnetka Local History Digital Collections

Winnetka Weekly Talk, 18 Oct 1924, p. 19

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WINNETKA WEEKLY TALK, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1924 BREAK TEDIUM WITH FURNITURE Vacant Wall Spaces Can Be Avoided By ALLENE LYLE Have you read many memoirs of men in prison or stories about these men? If so you will no doubt remember that one thing that every one of them complained of was the "Barren, bleak walls." There is nothing about plain wall space that is cheering or homelike. In- stead there is something very depress- ing about wall, wall and nothing but wall, as one gazes about a room. Perhaps you have never noticed it because you have never been away from home in a strange place, but I'll venture that if any of you have lived in a rooming house where there 1s no attempt at hominess or have gone to a boarding school where each girl is expected to decorate her own room, you, too, know the sadness and loneliness that comes from just nothing but bare wall space. I am not ex- aggerating. It is awful. Tall Pieces Best _ Over half the furniture that we have is placed against the wall, and there are so many tall pieces of furniture to choose from that one need not be worried about any ugly portion of the wall. Not only do these pieces break the monotony of the wall space of the room, but the wall serves as a background to them. They say that everything should be studied and re- garded in relation to its background. This is particularly true of furniture. The wall offers a contrast to the article. Take for instance a beauti- ful tall Queen Anne secretary desk. When viewed by itself it is lovely, but this loveliness is enhanced a thous- and fold by placing it against a wall that is appropriately papered or paint- ed. . Then the beautiful color is brought out and the panels of burl or marquetry are emphasized. It is the same with nearly every piece of furni- ture. It is artistically helped by the contrast of the wall. Book-case Effect A tall bookcase has also the effect of breaking the wall space, but one high piece should be balanced in the room with another--or if you think two of them in one room are too much, the one may be opposite the mantel, to which height is given by a picture hanging above. The hall may always be taken care of by the console table with its ac- companying mirror, which may be al- most any design and shape you de- sire as long as it fits in the space and is proportionate to the table. A high backed chair may be placed in the hallway, too. EFFECT OF HEIGHT A tall, narrow picture hung in a room which has low ceilings will give a heightening effect to the room; such, for instance, as Burne-Jones' "Hope," or Alexander's "Pot of Basil." For the room that is too high in its effect, a wise use of pictures giving the frieze effect will seem to lessen the distance of the ceillings. A mir- ror may be used similarly, with the added advantage of giving greater space to a room. SPINET FURNITURE IS WITH US PERMANENTLY Way back in colonial days there was a man who owned a spinet, which was an instrument with a keyboard something like our piano, that en- joyed great usage in the Colonial households. We don't know this man's name but we do know that he had an idea. We don't know whether he had such a sensitive ear that when the spinet became discordant he couldn't stand it, or whether his wife insisted on playing music other than hymns on Sunday, or whether the instrument just naturally gave out, but anyway this man had the key- board and the wires removed and the spinet was transformed into a writ- ing desk, to which it was remark- ably well adapted. No doubt other people of the day followed suit and the spinet desk was quite a common thing. In the last few years manu- facturers, always on the lookout for something different, have reproduced these spinet desks and many of. them may be found in the modern Amer- ican home as they were in Colonial days. These spinets were usually char- acterized by spirally turned legs, al- though not always, and by using the spirally reeded and turned support it has been a simple matter to design whole suites of furniture, which are designated as the spinet Colonial style. LANTERN IS IN VOGUE WITH SHADED LAMPS No disciple of Diogenes was ever more devoted to his lantern nor placed greater value upon it than does the mod- ern homemaker. It may be severely wrought of iron or it may be fearfully and wonderfully colored in the poly- chrome, which has held its place in the heart of a fickle public so much longer than some of its competitors. The floor lamp has become a fixture and its shade is becoming a work of art. Borrowing from the luxury of the French, the shade has superimposed lay- er of chiffon upon layer, rainbow shade upon rainbow shade, to produce a soft lighting effect both restful and artistic. The flat satin shade, which serves not so much to diffuse the light as to direct its rays and soften the glare, remains popular, as does the parchment shade. There seemed some danger that the table lamp would be swept entirely away by the influx of floor lamps, but within the past few months a demand has arisen for the older child in decorative illumination, the reception being so cor- dial as to recall from the limbos of the out-of-vogue the table lamps shaded in softly stained art glass. BAR BAD MATTRESSES As a result of a few unscrupulous mattress manufacturers using cam- ouflage waste, shoddy, and other un- desirable fillings covered by a new art ticking, cretonne, or other at- tractive covers, the law went into ef- fect the first of January in the state of Pennsylvania that manufacturers of mattresses, pillows, bolsters cush- ions, and all articles of upholstered furniture, including slip-seat diners, to attach standard tags to these ar- ticles if shipped into the state and offered for sale to people living with- in its borders. The tag provides room for an official statement of the mate- rials used in filling, along with the name and address of the maker and vendor. Beautiful Ame rican Furniture ~7 APNG" bal ) / \Y 4 on! ) WN 2 W ™ NX =~ MQGFS 2-2 wn Ee rs mn | ih : Am yl Beautiful Woods Accentuated by Simple Lines Brown Wimlandt ™ FOUNTAIN SQUARE, 1567 Sherman Ave. EVANSTON "GOOD FURNITURE MAKES THE HOME" rait Co. Tel. Univ. 6300 ve, MOHAIR Comfortable overstuffed furniture goes a long way toward standing for a comfortable and happy home. When you select your davenport at Brown-Umlandt's all you need to consider is the style and covering best Good wear and under- suited to your partic lying quality vou may take as a matter of course. The suite sketched above was designed with fine delicacy of line and is suitable for rooms where larger pieces would have an undesirable bulkiness. irety with fine mohair. $156.00 $ 79.00 Covered in its ent Davenpqr Chair... Vo pd abhi 1 ail JACO A PLACE TO WORK-- --a place to put things. iil i It LIVING ROOM GROUP $235.00 ular needs. t ee eee ee see wie PARE ET ONT lS TE To BEAN TABLE DESK Solid Walnut $160.00 --a place to find things when you want them. "I have always wanted a table that I could work at without the stretcher below inter- fering. How many times you have said that to yourself. This solid walnut Jacobean Period Library Desk is a reproduction of an old piece made in England during the reign of James I. in the early part of the 17th century. antique finish that does not scratch or mar. Everything about it is interesting. "It grows on you." You will never want to part with it. This is the kind of furniture you will hand on to posterity. Come in and see it. visiting the store in Evanston. "Good Furniture Makes The Home" You will want it for YOUR living room or library. There are many other fine pieces of "good furniture" you will also enjoy looking at while It has an

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