Odd Pieces for the Living Room
THE ODD THINGS THAT MAKE THE LIVING ROOM COMFORTABLE: No living room is complete in its furnishings without its odd pieces. By odd pieces, I mean the small things which make for comfort such as, corner tables, book racks, smoke stands, floor lamps, stools and the like. It is not necessary that every room should possess all of them, but every room should possess some of them.
Convenience and Needs
After we have placed the larger pieces of furniture, let us study the room from the standpoint of convenience and ascertain its needs. Are most of the chairs arranged convenient to the light, so that a friend or guest can easily drop into one and read the newspaper or a magazine? Has it ever occurred to you that to place a small table near one of the larger chairs with a low lamp on it would make a most convenient and cosy arrangement?
Small Tables
Small tables may be effectively used in odd corners where a chair might be too large or out of place. They are also useful to rest a jar of flowers, or a decorative object. At the top of the page the prices from left to right are Six Dollars for a round mahogany table, Nine Dollars for a folding card table in mahogany, and Seven Fifty for a round mahogany stand.
Smoke Stands and Book Trough
On page One Hundred and Thirteen are two smoke stands and a book trough all made in fumed oak. The prices on the smoke stands include the brass ash trays and match holders. From left to right the prices are: smoke stand thirty inches high, Six Dollars, book trough thirty-four inches high, Six Dollars, smoke stand twenty inches high, Three Dollars.
Smoke Stand Designs
Have you made provision for the men of your family to smoke comfortably after dinner, without the usual bustle and confusion to procure ash trays? A simple smoke stand will solve the difficulty for you. Some designs are made with a single mahogany or oak standard fitted with a brass ash tray lined with glass. Others are entirely of brass. The one at the left in the dull mahogany finish stands twenty-eight inches high. Fit
Book Racks
A center table which is piled up with magazines, books, and newspapers, is never a very tidy sight, and how easy it would be to arrange for a book rack to hold some of the books and magazines being read. Above on the left is an attractive book rack in solid mahogany, with a good arrangement for holding the books and magazines. In the dull finish it costs Twelve Dollars and Fifty Cents. Next to it is a good design for Fifteen Dollars. The solid mahogany stand at the bottom of the page is Eighteen Dollars.
Quaint Stool
A quaint stool in tapestry for Five Fifty or in denim for Four Fifty. In tapestry or denim this stool is the same price as.
Sewing Stand
Although the sewing stand is usually placed in the bedroom or sewing room, it would not be a bad idea to keep one in the living room. It would save some member of the family a trip upstairs if such a stand could be always kept handy. The design on the left is made in oak with a removable basket at the top arranged with compartments for thread and other sewing requisites. Below is a cretonne bag. This design costs Seven Dollars without the bag.
Mahogany Stand and Stools
On the right is a mahogany stand which stands twenty inches in height and is sold for Nine Fifty. The stools below in mahogany and denim are — Left, Four Dollars; Center, Three Fifty; Right, Four Fifty.
Tea Wagon
If one is in the habit of serving tea in the afternoon the tea wagon will be found indispensable. There are many designs, some in mahogany, oak and willow. At the top of the page is a mahogany tea wagon of good design. It is arranged with a removable tray with a glass bottom. The wooden wheels have rubber tires which is an advantage, especially if one has hard wood floors. This tea wagon costs Eighteen Dollars and Seventy-five Cents.Telephone Table and Stool
The telephone table and stool are also very useful objects. How often we are at a loss for a convenient place to rest the telephone! The telephone table solves the difficulty. There is an open shelf just below the top to hold the book, and a proper rest for the i
Mirrors
Although mirrors do not come under the heading of furnishings which make for comfort, they can be considered among the odd things which go to make the living room attractive. A well designed mirror is an object of interest in any room, and there are certain wall spaces that seem to demand them. The space over the mantel offers an excellent opportunity for placing one. They may be had in a great variety of patterns.
Mahogany Frame Mirrors
At the top of the page are shown five excellent designs in solid mahogany frames. The actual size of the large plate mirror in each of them is eight inches wide and eighteen inches high and the prices from the left are as follows. Number one is Six Dollars, Number two Six Fifty, Center design Six Dollars, Number four Seven Fifty, and Number five Six Seventy-five.
Floor Lamps
The floor lamp on the left is fifty-six inches high. Without the shade it costs Nine Dollars. This fancy twenty-two inch silk shade costs Twelve Dollars in any color or in plain silk without the decoration Ten Dollars. The lamp on the right is seventy-two inches high and costs Thirteen Fifty. The twenty-two inch silk shade in any color costs Eleven Dollars.
Odd Chairs and Tables
I have mentioned in one of the previous chapters that every living room needs at least two odd chairs which can be easily moved about. I think that every one who has given the matter serious thought will find that this is true. Every living room also needs a small table or two. They are particularly useful in corners or placed where a chair might be too large or in the way. Odd chairs and tables might be termed the properties of the living room which we find we need after the more important pieces have been placed.
Reasonably Priced Designs
In this chapter I have illustrated a number of such tables and chairs as well as a number of the larger pieces which are all good reasonably priced designs.
Odd Chairs
The odd chairs are those which wait for the unexpected to happen. When the large chairs are occupied, the smaller chairs come into use. They are used at all times, when the large chairs would be awkward or cumbersome, for playing cards, for sitting up to the reading table, or for drawing close to the fire.
Small Chair Designs
There are many attractively designed small chairs which are made for just this purpose. The most interesting of these are the old Colonial spindle or ladder backs, the rush seated, and Windsor chairs. They are all quaint, interesting designs, appropriate to use in almost any living room or bedroom. For the most part, they have been directly copied from old models and if discriminately chosen will add their individual charm to the general scheme of furnishing. In small dining rooms, these chairs may be most effectively used for dining chairs.
Chair Prices
The chair at the top of the opposite page on the left is a spindle back, in oak or birch mahogany; it costs Four Dollars and Fifty Cents. Opposite is a solid mahogany rocker with fine rush seat, for Nine Dollars. On the left in the center is a side chair to match the rocker for Eight Twenty-five. In the center a spindle back in oak or birch mahogany for Four Fifty, and to the right another design for the same price. The Windsor chair below on the left is Six Seventy-five and on the right an arm chair for Five Twenty-five.
Larger Chairs
The larger chairs are, of course, the most important, and one should be particularly careful to select good comfortable designs. The price depends entirely upon the quality of the materials used and the workmanship. One should be careful not to purchase an upholstered chair which is too cheap to be good. The very cheap chairs are made for effect only and will not last. If we pay a fair price for a chair, it will be economy in the end.
Upholstered Chairs
Every living room requires at least two or three comfortable upholstered chairs. They may be covered in tapestry or velour or any plain or figured woven fabric.
