There are still the chairs to be selected and one is open to a wide range of choice in these. There are the good old Windsors well suited to many modern types of decoration; there are the woven, spindle, ladder, or ribbon backed Old English creations; or there are the innumerable and fascinating types of peasant rush bottoms. The decorative idea of the dining-room can be expressed in no better way than in the chairs.

All these pieces can either be obtained in old English oak, walnut stain, or in charming modern colors, such as warm gray, warm tan, gobelin blue, blue gray or yellow, and with or without decorations in pleasing contrasting tones.

Why the delightful qualities of the breakfast-room should be reserved for those who can afford to dedicate a separate room to that function, is an enigma. The charm of the breakfast-room of many a great house is remembered long after its more formal decorations have been forgotten, and inspires one to ask why, instead of dispensing with the breakfast-room, it might not be better to dispense with the formal dining-room in little houses? There are few occasions to which the breakfast room cannot rise with the use of fresh flowers, beautiful linens, china, and glassware.

Breakfast-room furniture has undergone interesting developments recently and will be found in an alluring assortment. The dining-room in a small house in a Western city had walls and woodwork painted golden yellow, and lined off with blue violet and gray green. The hangings and chair seats were of bright yellow printed linen with an all-over leaf design in dull green with purple lantern-shaped flowers. The sideboard and china cupboards were built in and the design of the hangings was carried out in their panels. The dining and service tables were yellow with a purple edge. The floor was painted dull yellow and covered with a violet and yellow rug. The electric light side brackets were painted purple, with purple shades embroidered in gray, green, and yellow. The tableware was deep cream with bands of purple and yellow, and there were many deep cream flower jars in which, whenever possible, flowers of intense turkey-red were used. The house was shaded by a wide veranda and trees and this room was a veritable sun-spot amid the shadowy whole.

For the little house bedroom, woven furniture, enameled, or the peasant painted type, offers many opportunities for intimate and delightful effects. One naive and refreshingly simple bedroom had primitive green painted furniture, gray walls, small oval braided rugs of a reddish cast before the bed and dressing-table, and bright yellow and green hangings and upholstery. A little red bench was set before the dressing-table.

There are many considerations which should enter into the furnishing of small house bedrooms. In the first place it should be decided whether one can afford to use the space occupied by the bedroom for sleeping purposes only, or whether one needs to combine with that function those of boudoir, dressing-room, and sitting-room. If the room is to be dedicated to its primary purpose only, it is necessary to be guided in the selection of the furniture by its contour and proportions. One should not choose twin four posters for a small square room, nor French enamel furniture for a room with low casement windows. There is an interesting modern type of Windsor bedstead which is a characteristic asset to the small house bedroom. It is well proportioned, slender but sturdy, and adds a distinctive touch. Another exceedingly charming type is the Tyrol or peasant bedstead. It has a low headboard and extremely simple but naive lines. There are small rush-seated peasant chairs which may be used in combination with this bedstead. Supplemented by a simple chest of drawers crowned with a peasant wall mirror, a candle table, diminutive dressing stand, and quaint Tyrol chest, an individual and delightful room is achieved. The bed stamps the character of the bedroom and no matter how much pains are expended on the rest of the decoration one can never circumnavigate an awkward or characterless bed.

If the bedroom must serve in a dual capacity, the aim will be to conceal rather than emphasize the bed. For this purpose the modern day-bed is being employed largely. There are many interesting types in natural and painted woods and finely woven reed. They are furnished, when employed in a bedroom, with fitted covers of linen or chintz which tuck in the sides, and with head and foot rolls. The day-bed will be found to be both a practical and attractive article of furniture and immediately, when placed in a corner against the wall, changes the face of the small sized bedroom. With a drop-leaf desk, or a powder table (which is a combination desk and dressing table) and a few comfortable chairs, the room can be made to provide adequately for both work, sleep, and relaxation. A couch or an inconspicuous single bedstead dressed in a fitted cover may be employed also with success in place of the day-bed. Low and high chests of drawers with wall mirrors should take the place of bulky bureaus or chiffoniers.

How often has one's heart dropped at the threshold of a rose-covered cottage at a glimpse of the bleak vista within! It seems to be a superstition - in New England, at least - that all cottages must have Colonial furnishings. While cottages in Colonial days were, of course, furnished in the Colonial manner, it was the manor house which was the typical exponent of the style. It seems a pity to burden the charming cottage with ideals and aims essentially foreign to its nature, while disregarding the many delightful opportunities which it offers.

Let us enter a white frame cottage with green blinds and geranium boxes, and two clipped bay trees in tubs at the door. The little hall is a sunshiny spot with yellow walls and white woodwork and furniture, yellow and white home-made oval braided rugs on the brown painted floor. The living-room walls are painted red orange and the simple cottage furniture, bright blue. There is a blue homemade braided rug on the floor with a border melting into violet and black. The living-room hangings are of violet sunfast material, and the blue rush bottom chairs have red orange seats. The dining-room, which adjoins the living room, has yellow and white striped paper, a white table and chairs, and a white farmhouse dresser.