Furniture & Furnishings

The golden rule in furnishing the cottage home is to remember the simple principle that there shall be no more articles than are really required for practical purposes. Of late years a marked improvement has taken place in the furnishing of our homes ; but there is still a tendency to overcrowding with the trivial and useless. The keynote of all schemes should be simplicity. Let us make the most of a little and good, and exclude anything that favours the accumulation of dust, or interferes with free ventilation.

Naturally, old cottage furniture looks the best in a cottage. But if we cannot afford this, it is far more advisable to acquire, instead of imitation antique pieces chairs, tables, and cabinets, etc., of good modern design, such as those produced by Arts and Crafts or Craftsman furniture makers. These are the work of trained artists, and are beautiful and honest in workmanship. Ostentation and poor construction are faults commonly found in the goods turned out by large furnishing firms.

As to floor coverings, the "over-all" carpet, which is the greatest dust-trap known, and which can never be moved without shifting all the furniture, should never be allowed in the house. Rugs and mats are far preferable, as they can be taken out and beaten in the open without much trouble.

Curtains are also dust collectors, and should not be hung in flounces. The best kind are in small sections, and are hung loosely from light metal rods, so that they may be easily removed for cleaning.