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How To Be A Decorator: Principles Of Decoration Painting Points Wallpaper Points Wall Points Floor Points Colonial Living Rooms Veneered Paneling The English Room Spanish-Italian Living Rooms The Living Room Without A Mantel Living Room Points Dining Rooms Dining Rooms Points Combination Living Room - Dining Room Living Room - Dining Room Points Halls, Sun Rooms And Porches Points For Halls, Sun Rooms And Porches Colonial And Modern Bedrooms Bedroom Points Colorful, Comfortable Nurseries Nursery Points New Fashions In Draperies How To Make Curtains And Draperies Drapery Points Slip Covers Slip Cover Points How To Make Slip Covers How To Paint Furniture Finishes For Natural Wood Furniture |
( Originally Published 1930's ) 1. First of all make a dining-room fulfill its main purpose-a room in which to eat three meals a day comfortably. 2. Make it a cheerful and yet a restful room. If possible choose a room which is sunny in the morning. Arrange to have it lighted pleasantly in the evening. 3. Side lights are especially to be desired, as they give a soft general light, while an overhead light, directly over the table, is a little too concentrated to be attractive. 4. The custom of using candles in candlesticks, with or without shields, on the dining-table, is a very attractive one which is inexpensive and little trouble to follow. 5. If there are children in the family, a plain rug is not so economical as a small figured rug, which does not show spots. 6. In all dining-rooms a screen, which hides the swinging door to the pantry or kitchen, is desirable. It is necessary, however, that there be good light behind this screen, or dishes will be broken. 7. The arrangement of furniture in a dining-room is stereotyped: a table in the center of the room; a sideboard or console-table on the main wall; a service-table near the pantry door; and possibly a china closet on the secondary wall or in a corner. It is well not to leave more than two or four chairs at the table between meals. 8. A bowl of flowers or a silver or glass dish is kept on the bare table between meals, with nothing under it. It is now the fashion to put most of the silver and glass behind closed doors between meals, showing only a few pieces on the sideboard. Or dispense with all of it and use only a dish of fruit and two candlesticks set on a lace or linen runner. 9.The dining-room is preeminently a place to put family portraits or a favorite picture over the mantel, provided that the walls are covered with a solid color or an inconspicuous pattern. 10. Personality and individuality can be shown in this room, as in all others, by the ornaments chosen, the color of the background, and the pictures. As a dining-room is not used to sit in for an extended length of time, a scenic paper may be used pleasantly, whereas it might become tiresome in the living-room. |
