here in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. They were popular in
England, also, as is shown by Hogarth's drawings.

In fact, most house furnishings are surprisingly adaptable. As with
people, it is largely a matter of bringing out their pleasing traits
and subduing their unattractive aspects. A quaint piece of bric-a-brac
that was a misfit in the city apartment may look just right on the
corner of the living room mantel in your country home. The old spode
platter that reposed almost forgotten on the top shelf of a closet may
come into its own on the Welsh dresser of your dining room. The same
holds with pictures, mirrors, and clocks.

As for furniture, don't discard a comfortable piece that you like just
because it doesn't seem to fit into the scheme of decoration. A chair
or a sofa that appears to quarrel violently with all other pieces in a
room can often be made to conform by a change in upholstery, or in
cases of extreme ugliness, with a slip cover of heavy chintz, denim,
or rep.

"You see that chair," said one country house owner, a few months after
settling in his new home. "Sallie has thrown out every stick of
furniture we had when we first went to housekeeping except that. She
keeps moving it around from one spot to another but so far has kept
it because I like a comfortable chair to drop down in when I come home
at night. If I find it gone some day I shall know it is time for me to
move on also."

[Illustration: TRUE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SIMPLICITY. NOW THE AUTHOR'S
DINING ROOM

_Photo by John Runyon_]

The piece was an average example of the overstuffed,
leather-upholstered era. It is still part of the family furnishings
but it has merged quietly and inoffensively with its better born
companions. Plain muslin has taken the place of the leather and over
it has been fitted a heavy slip cover of sage green rep. No one
exclaims over its beauty but everybody sits in it, even the most
ardent admirer of the delicate Hepplewhite side chair standing nearby.

This brings us to the question of whether the additions in furniture
should be antiques, reproductions, or modern pieces. Again, this
depends on the type of house and the taste of those who occupy it. The
person who buys or builds the salt box or similar type of cottage will
naturally want the furnishings in keeping. Consciously or
unconsciously, he will lean towards antiques. Further, those that look
best in the 18th or early 19th century farm cottage