Building and Furnishing the Home
111
The chairs were mostly rockers or easy chairs, not all of the same
fashion, but adapted to the comfort of the different members of the
family. There were low, cushioned rocking chairs and high, straight-
backed ones; wide, capacious lounging chairs and snug, little ones;
there were also comfortable sofas; and all seemed to say, Try me, rest
in me. There were tables strewn with books and papers. All was neat
and attractive, but without that precise arrangement that seems to warn
all beholders not to touch anything for fear of getting it out of place.
The proprietors of this pleasant home were in such circumstances
that they might have furnished and embellished their residence expen-
sively, but they had wisely chosen comfort rather than display. There
was nothing in the house considered too good for general use, and
the curtains and blinds were not kept closed to keep the carpets from
fading and the furniture from tarnishing. The God-given sunlight and
air had free ingress, with the fragrance of the flowers in the garden.
The family were, of course, in keeping with the home; they were
cheerful and entertaining, doing everything needful for our comfort,
without oppressing us with so much attention as to make us fear that
we were causing extra trouble. We felt that here was a place of rest.
This was a home in the fullest sense of the word
A Principle Used in Decorating—The rigid precision which we
have mentioned as being a disagreeable feature of so many homes is
not in accordance with the great plan of nature. God has not caused the
flowers of the fields to grow in regular beds, with set borders, but He
[154]
has scattered them like gems over the greensward, and they beautify
the earth with their variety of form and color. The trees of the forest
are not in regular order. It is restful to eye and mind to range over the
scenes of nature, over forest, hill, and valley, plain and river, enjoying
the endless diversity of form and color, and the beauty with which
trees, shrubs, and flowers are grouped in nature’s garden, making it
a picture of loveliness. Childhood, youth, and age can alike find rest
and gratification there.
This law of variety can be in a measure carried out in the home.
There should be a proper harmony of colors and a general fitness of
things in the furnishings of a house; but it is not necessary to good
taste that every article of furniture in a room should be of the same
9
The Signs of the Times, August 23, 1877
.