April 18, 1932

Detroit News Quilt History Project; Michigan State University Museum; Susan Salser

Detroit, Michigan, United States

A portion of a Beauty in the Home column discussing a decoration scheme for a room, quilters in Indiana and the column now features a photograph of Edith Crumb.

Beauty in the Home
by Edith Crumb
This department seeks to give assistance to all who are interested in beautifying their homes and will be glad to answer questions pertaining to interior decoration. In order to serve all who, seek advice promptly no more than three problems will be discussed in any one reply. Readers are invited to write to this department as often as they wish, but to limit each letter to three questions. State your question clearly write on only one side of the paper, enclosing a self-addressed, stamped envelope and address Beauty in the Home department, Detroit News. Letters with their answers will be published for the benefit of all homemakers but names and addresses will not be made public.

A four-poster bed with tester top is a very charming style to select if one wishes on old-time room, the accompanying illustration being an example of how delightfully a scheme of this type may be created. Whether it is in an apartment or an old house, the room may be decorated and furnished in the same manner, except for the floor. If it is an apartment, the floor may be covered with plain carpeting or left in the waxed finish; whereas in the country, one always finds a painted floor more attractive as the background for hooked, braided or regulation hit-or-miss woven rugs.

A large rug of the last mentioned would be effective for this room, old greens, dark reds, browns and tans being shown in the stripes.

The woodwork might be finished in a light tint of cream and the walls treated with cream ground paper with stripe and scenic medallion design in deep tints of fawn with a touch of apricot and light green.

The window treatment would be in keeping with the scheme of draped back curtains made of cream voile finished with cotton ball fringe, the top being finished with a narrow heading.

The same material may be used for the draping of the bed, the spread being of cream cotton with design in green candlewicking.

Other furnishings might be a high-boy, low-boy with separate over-mirror, bench, night stand, wing chair in chintz or cotton damask, bridge lamp with flowered parchment shade and small glass lamp with plain parchment shade.

If one wished draperies for this room, they might be made of light green ground flowered chintz, finished with hems and made to hang straight to the sill, this same material being used for the slip cover on the chair and covering of the pad for the bench.

The covers for the low-boy, high-boy and small table may be of heavy cream linen finished with hemstitched hems.

Instead of the one large rag rug, one might use several small hooked ones, conventional designs being preferable for those.

Indiana Quilt Makers
I am wishing to tell you how lovely my Garden Quilt is going to be and how I am arranging it.

I started putting my patches and the four-inch strips together and when I laid it on my bed I found it was not wide enough so I put five patches for the top of the bed and two for the border which made it seven blocks wide and then a row of seven more borders for the top which makes it 43 patches large and with my four inch stripes it is a very nice sized spread.

I made my flowers orchid, pink and yellow and all my baskets of orchid figured print. The four-inch strips were white. Then I intend to quilt it and then bind the quilt in the same color as the baskets. So I am real proud of my quilt so far.

Somebody else may want to add the extra border and may not think about using to to make it larger.

I have two friends here in Connersville, Indiana who are also making the flower garden quilt.

We could hardly wait for the different patches to be published. I think the zinnia and the bleeding hearts are the lovliest of all.
Mrs. F. N.

That will be a very lovely large spread for your bed, Mrs. N; and even though it is a great deal more work to make it, the results will be well worth your trouble. Although it really isn't trouble to a real quilt-maker is it, Mrs. N.-just lots of fun.

Likes Dresden Plate.
I am making the Dresden Plate quilt and I am very pleased with the results. It is very pretty and I have given the pattern to many of my friends.
Mrs. P. R.

So glad to know Miss R., that you are so pleased with this quilt pattern; and trust that you will find the Flower Garden quilt equally as interesting.

Furniture Covering.
I have been a constant reader of your column for some time but have not read an inquiry which compares with mine. At the present time I should like to change the furnishings in my living room.

Walls are treated with paper having a rough stippled plaster effect, background being a light yellowish tan with stippled effects in blue, red and green, all being very light tints. Rug is a modernistic all over design with a mauve background, having blue, leaf green, orchid, brown, gold and rose designs in light and dark shades, which colors are outlined by a black line. There are two windows facing the north and two facing the east. In this room is a double doorway leading to the dining room. Woodwork is finished in a dark walnut color.

Please suggest color and type of covering for overstuffed furniture, color and type of lamps and also color and style and length of over-draperies.

Should there be any drapery in the double doorway and if so should is be the same as that in the windows?
Mrs. E.J.M.

Plain draperies would be a good choice for your living room inasmuch as your rug has such a decided pattern and so many colors showing in it. For these draperies you might select green moire, finishing them floor length and lining them with light ecru sateen. They may be trimmed with a green tassel fringe and caught back with green silk cords and tassles.

Green and gold in a conventional design such as a lattice would be a good selection for the covering of the sofa in the living room and there might be an easy chair with a covering of striped frieze.

The archway does not require over-draperies; but if you fined that the color scheme of the living room and dining room are not harmonious then it would be a good idea to add these, making them of green moire on the living room side and of rep on the dining room side in a color to match the draperies of the predominating color in the room.

The lamps should be very plain and equipped with plain parchment shades, a light yellow being a pleasing color as this glow would be attractive with all of the colors in the scheme of the room.

Checked Chintz.
If you are thinking of doing over the living room for summer, a charming idea is to use the new checked chintz which comes in tiny patterns and a wide range of appropriate colors. It is stunning when used for slip-covers and hangings.

Courtesy of The Detroit News Archives.