and the drawing-room a little more so, say in Adam or simple Louis XVI furniture.  The library should have plenty of comfortable sofas and chairs, and a large table (it is hard to get one too large), some of the bookcases should be built in to form part of the architectural plan of the room, and personally I think it is a better idea to have all the space intended for bookcases built in in the first place, as this insures harmony of plan.  Another important thing in a library is to have the lights precisely right, and the window-seats and the fireplace should be all that their names imply in the way of added charm and comfort to the room.  The dining-room should be bright and cheerful and in harmony with the near-by rooms.  A breakfast-room done in lacquer is very charming.

The bedrooms should be light and airy, and so planned that the beds can be properly placed.  They may be furnished in old mahogany, French walnut in either Louis XV or XVI style, or in carefully chosen Empire; painted Adam furniture is also lovely, and willow furniture makes a fresh and attractive room.  The curtains should be hung so they can be drawn at night if desired, and the material should be chosen to harmonize in design with the room.

The children’s rooms should be sunny and bright and furnished according to their special tastes, which if too astounding, as sometimes happens, can be tactfully guided into safe channels.

The servants should be given separate bedrooms, a bathroom, and a comfortable sitting-room beside their dining-room.  Making them comfortable seems a simple way of solving the servant question.

The bungalow type of small country house is usually very simply furnished, and the best type of Mission furniture or willow is especially well suited to it.  Bungalows are growing more and more in favor, and, although they originated in America in the West, we find delightful ones everywhere, on the Maine coast and in the woods and mountains.  They are a tremendous advance over the small and elaborate house of a few years ago.

Cretonne and chintz can be used in all the rooms of a country house with perfect propriety, and is a really lovely method of furnishing, as it is fresh and washable, and comes in all gradations of price.  Willow furniture with cretonne cushions makes a pleasant variety with mahogany in simple rooms.

Fresh air and sunlight, lovely vistas through doors and windows of the garden beyond, cool and comfortable rooms furnished appropriately, and with an atmosphere about them which expresses a hospitable and charming home spirit, is the ideal standard for a country house.

The Nursery and Play-room

We should be thankful that the old idea of a nursery has passed away and instead of the dreary and rather shabby room has come the charming modern nursery with its special furniture and papers, its common sense and sanitary wisdom and its regard for the childish point of view.  The influence of surroundings during the formative years of childhood has a deal to do with the child’s future attitude toward life, and now that parents realize this more, the ideal nursery has simplicity, charm and artistic merit, all suited to the needs of its romping inhabitants.