Our homes, and how to beautify them . re, and a certain undefined rule of proportion seems to govern their width. OUR HOMES, But why should not doors be twice this width ? Wliy should they not sometimesbe double instead of single ? But there the single door is, and we must makethe best of it. The modern fireplace is not so slavishly utilitarian as either the doors or thewindows. As placed in the majority of rooms it does its work of heating in theleast efifective way. A stove in the middle of the room would distribute moreheat, with a smaller consumption of fuel. But this is just one of those
Our homes, and how to beautify them . re, and a certain undefined rule of proportion seems to govern their width. OUR HOMES, But why should not doors be twice this width ? Wliy should they not sometimesbe double instead of single ? But there the single door is, and we must makethe best of it. The modern fireplace is not so slavishly utilitarian as either the doors or thewindows. As placed in the majority of rooms it does its work of heating in theleast efifective way. A stove in the middle of the room would distribute moreheat, with a smaller consumption of fuel. But this is just one of those instancesin which the strictly utilitarian idea has to be taken with reservations. All ourAnglo-Saxon sentiment clings to the chimney corner or its modern open grate, the cheerful glow of a wood or coal fire, the comfortablechimnej-piece—they embody a tradition, and are typical of a deep-rooted homefeeling which few of us would be willing to give up, even for a scientific systemand greater economy. THE FIG. 40. OLD-FASHIONED INGLE-NOOK. QO we have to take these three factors, in view ot the pressure of their utility, pretty much as they are, and to make the best of them. And of course the chimney-piece demands the first consideration, being structurally the most important feature of a room. One glance into an empty room will demonstrate 78 AND HOIV TO BEAUTIFY THEM. the great value of the chinine)-piece. which, unless the room has somethinguncommon in the way of nooks, recesses, or a corbelled oriel, exercises a moreor less commanding influence. Logically, the decorative treatment shouldfollow this indication of value ; in other words, the chimne)-piece should, b)reason of its superior interest, be the chief decorative feature of the room. Howfar this is attainaljle under the rented-house system, the reader can judge for
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectinterio, bookyear1902
