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Furnishing A Spare Chamber

Furnishing A Spare Chamber image
Parent Issue
Day
21
Month
March
Year
1879
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Alice Thornton tells in the Country Gentleman how she tnaaaged to i'urnish ti spare chamber very comf ortably with a very sniall outlay of money, and as many oí our lady readers may be curious to know how it is done, we quote f rom her letter : When I first went to housekeeping I had just so much money to spend for furniture; and when the living rooms liad been furnished, I liad only about $30 for my spare chamber. The cheapest kind of painted sets were $30, and where were my carpet, erokery, curtains and other things coming from Y 1 had plenty of bedding - part of my "setting out," but that was all. I thought over the problem until I received a letter from Charlie's sister, saying that she was coming in three weeks to make us a visit. That hurried my ideas, and in a desperate frame of mind I took the cara to a furniture factory, two miles distant. Ilere I purchased abedstead, bureau and washstand, of unpainted pine. These coat me $12, and 50 cents for sending home. 1 stopped at the paint-store and bought some zinc-paint of a French grey color, and some dammar varnish. My flrst step was to sandpaper the furniture smooth, then gave a heavy, even coat of the gray paint. Charlie mixed a little lampblack in the paint, in a can by itself, and drew a heavy line (half an inch wide) of this darker shade - a very deep giey - around the panels and on each of the drawers. Half an inch from this band, and on each side of it, was drawn a narrow line of crimson paint. Inside of these bands I transferred sprays of red roses alHI giucii leiivc, in dccaliUiuiiulil. The whole was then given a ooei t urnish, and my $12 set was handsomer than any I saw at the furniture stores. Í then made a cheap caicimine wash for the walls by taking, in the proportion of four pounds of whiting to two ounces of white glue. Soak tlie glue in cold water over night; mix the whiting with cold water, and heat the glue until dissolved, and pour into the other hot. Make of a proper consistency to apply like whitewash. For coloring 1 used Venetian red, dissolved in spirits, - English vermillion is better, but costs more. After the coloring matter is added, try the whitewash in an out-of-the-way corner until you get the right shade. It is of a muddy color when wet and first put on the walls, but is very pretty when dry. I whitewashed the walls evenly with this and pasted a deep border of scarlet and grey paper on the top of the wall. My carpet was matting, 20 yards and at 25 cents per yard - just $5. I made a couple of ruats for the floor ; one was an oblong of gray flannel, with my initials in red, in applique in the centre ; a deep border of red flannel was around the mat, the edges pinked, and the centre had a couple of rows of feather stitching in grey. The other was made of wide stripes of red between narrow stripes of gray flannel ; applique figures of bright colors on the grey stripe. A scalloped border of red linished the edge. Both of these mats were lined with some heavy material to prevent them from kicking up. For curtains I used dotted Swiss muslin, with fluted ruines on the edge, with a lambrequin of red and gray cliinsz. The bands of the curtains were made of crotched grey and red worsted, and scarlet tassels. A dry-goods box, at 25 cents, furnished me with the foundation for a toilet table. This was covered over with chintz of a grey ground, with a vine of red roses running over it. A llounce was gathered on the bottom of the cover for the table; a narrow llounce was on the edge, the edge pinked and gathered up at intervals with bows of red ribbon. I bought a minor in an auction room, at 40 cents ; had the frame painted grey; then placed on the table. Just above the top of the glass, a half moon-shapcil pieee of board was fastened to the wall. Full curtains of dotted Swiss, edged with coarse lace, were tacked to this board, and draped back over the table. A valance of lace-edged muslin looped with bows at intervals, concealj ed the edge of the board and the cur , taina. On top of this board I placed a piaster figure or bust. A lounge was bought at the auction room for $1.50; the proprietor saying, "that's all its worth," the article being "tattered and torn." I covered this over, woodwork and all, with the chintz, and trimmed the edges with red cord. A couple oí' hour-stands were made by fastening two circular pieces of board on a piece of broom-handle ; these were covered with chintz and gathered in the middle tightly with a band of red ribbon ; a plaited ruftte covered the edge. Two barrels made the frames for a couple of easy chairs. These were sawed into shape ; the heads securely fastened in for seats ; unbleached muslin tacked on loosely, and well padded with excelsior ; over this I placed my chintz. My chintz having "run out," as the Yankees say, I covered the second chair with grey drilling, spattered in a design of ferns, vines, and leaves in red dye. A puff of red was put around the top of the back of the chair and around the cushion. It was really handsome and odd-looking. 1 had several steel engravings, photographs and one chromo, without frames. One frame was made of strips of oak ; round pieces split, the rounding side turned out ; the corners lapped rustic style ; a spray of pressed swamp-maple leaves and sumac berries were fastened in each corner. One frame was covered with rice glued on to pasteboard. Kaisin sterns, dipped into red paint, were fastened on the centre oí' the frame, the contrast of white and red being very pretty. For twu pietures, the frames were smootli pine, painted scarlet and varnished. Still other frames had pasteboard covered with grey paper, with little fern and maple lettres glued in the centre. Still others were -;overed with grey moss. Under the pictures I placed little baskets, holding pressed ferns and leaves. Soine were made of pasteboard covered with moss ; some with rice and raisin sterns; and others of gplint work. Brackets were sawed by Charlie, out of pine, haring only the shelf and bottom part. A scolloped lambrequin, of grey canvass, worked with red, was tacked to the shelf, and covered the woodwork. On these I placed piaster figures, varnished, and dustecU witli bronze powder, when sticki. rJ'lio splash mat was white oil eloüi, pinked, and spattered with red ; the toilet covers were grey canvass, fringed and worked with red. A pretty jewell receiver stands on the bureau, the frame is in the form of a tripod, made of stout wire. This frame holds a common white saucer, painted with red sealing wax, dissolved in alchohol, and a little gilt decalcomania transferred all over it. Common wooden boxes of different shape, painted in the same way, make collar, cuff, glove, handkerchief and hairpin boxes. You'll laugh when I teil you what my vases are, Simply lamp chimneys, of a pretty shape, painted with sealing wax, with a gilt figure transferred on the front. They really look quite like china. In the centre of the mantel stands a cross, made of wood, covered with grey moss ; the foot of the moss is covered with dry green moss. Au ivy wreath of wax, is trimmed over it. The lambrequin to the mantel is white swiss, lace edged, lined with scarlet, and caugüt up in puffs, with red bows. My toilet set was grey cardboard, with transferred pictures, trimmed with ribbon; my tidies white swiss, spattered with red, and edged witli lace. Leaman's dyes do nicely for work in all colors, and old ribbons, wosted, and bits of silk, when cleaned and dyed with these colors, will work in nicely for many kinds of fancy work. My room was very bright and handsome, and cost me, including every item of ribbon, canvass, &c, just ;50. Charlie's sister went into ecstasies over it when I told her how little it cost me.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus