ch of oak and cane; a large high back
chair with arms of the Stuart order, that is, with graceful, turned
legs, carved frame work, and cane insets; two Cromwellian chairs covered
in some good stuff; and two or three straight oak-and-cane chairs of a
simple type. These chairs may be used for various purposes between
meals, and will not give the room the stiff and formal air that
straight-backed chairs invariably produce. One could imagine this table
drawn up to a window-seat, with bench and chairs beside it, and a dozen
cheerful people around it. There will be little chance of stiffness at
such a dining-table.

It should be remembered that when a part of the living-room is used for
meals, the things that suggest dining should be kept out of sight
between meals. All the china and so forth should be kept in the pantry
or in kitchen cupboards. The table may be left bare between meals.

In a room of this kind the furniture should be kept close to the walls,
leaving all the space possible for moving around in the center of the
room. The book shelves should be flat against the wall; there should be
a desk, not too clumsy in build near the book shelves or at right angles
to some window; there should be a sofa of some kind near the fireplace
with a small table at the head of it, which may be used for tea or books
or what not. If there is a piano, it should be very carefully placed so
that it will not dominate the room, and so that the people who will
listen to the music may gather in the opposite corner of the room. Of
course, a living-room of this kind is the jolliest place in the world
when things go smoothly, but there are times when a little room is a
very necessary place to retreat. This little room may be the study,
library, or a tea room, but it is worth while sacrificing your smallest
bedroom in order to have one small place of retreat.

If you can have a number of living-rooms, you can follow more definite
schemes of decoration. If you have a little enclosed piazza you can make
a breakfast room or a trellis room of it, or by bringing in many shelves
and filling them with flowers you can make the place a delightful little
flower box of a room for tea and talk.

Of course, if you live in the real country you will be able to use your
garden and your verandas as additional living-rooms. With a big
living-porch, the one indoor living-room may become a quiet library, for
instance. But if you haven't a garden or a sun-room,