October 20, 1931

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Detroit, Michigan, United States

A Beauty in the Home column by Edith B. Crumb, advertising the Dresden Plate pattern.

Beauty in the Home
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.

If no library has been included in the plans of the house, it is possible to create one at the end of a living room, and the illustration shows how delightfully this may be done.

Built around the cased opening are book shelves with cupboard space beneath. This is a point well worth considering when building shelves- the cupboard space- for it affords a place for magazines, photographs, maps etc. which really have open shelves. They do not look attractive and they are difficult to keep clean when not protected with doors.

The walls and woodwork in a room of this type would make an attractive background if finished in a light tint of putty and the floor might be covered with a plain grey green carpet reaching to the baseboards.

The draperies would be effective if of gold ground flowered chintz, this also being used for portieres and covering for one or two pieces of furniture.

The glass curtains might be very simply fashioned ones of light ecru… … map, an unusually appropriate choice for this position.

Cherry Kitchen
My kitchen must be painted very light. I have one large window over the sink facing the north and once in the breakfast nook that is not quite as wide or short as the other that faces the west.

Please suggest color for walls, curtain linoleum. I have a white stove and the ice box is one that belongs to the house. At present it is painted green and cream like the kitchen. I want to change this so please advise what color.
Mrs. B.L.T.

The linoleum in your kitchen may be deep blue jaspe striped pattern and the walls may be finished in a putty color, the hardware being finished in blue to match the deeper shade in the linoleum.

The curtains may be of white marquiState finished with hems and made to hang straight to the sill, and the over draperies may be of bright yellow flowered chintz trimmed with ruffles of blue percale or gingham (plain). These may be put up with a simple shirred valance also trimmed with a ruffle.

The chairs and table may be finished in bright yellow trimmed with blue. The table top, seats of chair, two or three inches of the…

Dresden Plate Quilt Pattern
At last-here is the quilt pattern that you have been looking for so long- the Dresden Plate and it certainly is a beauty. No wonder it is such a favorite; because it takes only small scraps to make it. Even if you have just one tiny scrap of material it may be put into this quilt without having to repeat it. The larger the numbers of patterns of material for this quilt, the more beautiful it is certain to be.

There will not be much said about this quilt now, for all the directions and illustrations are on the leaflet and you may have that by sending your request to the Beauty in the Home Department, The Detroit News, enclosing with it a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Courtesy of The Detroit News Archives.