Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/368

 341 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTUllE. of severe and disagreeal)le labour from women, which we have long wished to see put an end to, by the substitution of a more rational mode of heating than that of open Kre- places ; but, in the mean time, as the cottager must have fire-irons of some sort, we recommend him to have plain patterns, and rather to indulge in some other description of furniture whicii requires less care in keeping. Where wood is the principal fuel, we recommend the kitchen poker to terminate at the lower extremity in two claws like a claw hammer, or a crowbar ; and to be hollow, with one orifice between the claws, and anotiier at the opposite end for applying the mouth to blow the fire, or rather to rouse the embers after they have been collected together from the ashes by the claws. We have seen the use of such pokers in the kitchens of inns in Germany ; and tliink they may be safely recommended as very superior to those in common use, where wood is burnt on a hearth. 680. Carpets are sources of comfort in every room ; and we should wish the cottager to have not only one in his parlour, but, if possible, also one in his bed-room. For neither the parlour nor the bed-room would we recommend the carpet to be fitted to the room ; because such garpets can very seldom be either turned or changed in any way. In general, whatever may be the shape of the room, the carpet ought to be in the form of a square, a parallelogram, or a circle. A square carpet may be changed eight times, so as to be worn equally on every part of both sides ; a circular one, indefinitely. A parallelogram may be changed four times, which will also admit of wearing it with toler- able regularity. A carpet, accurately fitted, or planned (the term among upholsterers), to every projection and recess of a room, cannot even be changed once, unless the projections and recesses should be of a particular description of symmetry, which is very seldom to be met with. It is evident, then, that a fitted carpet, which can neither be changed nor turned, will not last more than one eighth the time of a square one, or one fourth the time of a parallelogram. For a cottager's bed-room, we would chiefly recommend one piece of carpeting placed by the dressing-table, and pieces neatly fitted to each other to go round the foot and sides of the bed. In general, the parlour carpet will require to be made fast at the margins with a few tacks, but the bed-room carpets may be left loose. Stair carpets give an air of great comfort and finish to a house ; and a cottage should never be without one. We shall describe the manner of laying. these down, and shall enter into other particulars respecting carpets, when we come to speak of Villa Furniture. When a parlour carpet does not cover the whole of the floor, there are various ways of disposing of the margin between it and the wall. Some recommend oil- cloth, others baize, drugget, coarse broadcloth, or brown linen ; for our part, we greatly prefer to any of these, painting that part of the boards of the floor which is not covered with the carpet, of the same colour as the woodwork of the room ; taking care that the margin painted shall exceed in breadth by a few inches the space which it is intended to leave uncovered. This is by far the best mode in staircases and in bed- rooms, as well as in parlours ; it also saves a great deal of the most disagreeable part of a woman's household labours. When the woodw ork of the room is painted to imitate oak, this mode of treating the margins of t.'ie floor has a particularly good effect. The expense may be objected to; but we shall show, when we come to treat of the art of house-painting, how easily any cottager or his wife, though they never before saw a paint brush in their lives, may learn in an hour to grain the woodwork of their cottage, in imitation of oak, sufficiently well for every purpose they can require. Round carpets are not very common in England, but they are not unfrequent on the Continent, and look exceedingly well in a square room. 681. The kinds trf carpets most suit able for cottages are chiefly the Scotch and the Kidderminster, on account of their cheapness ; but we consider none too good for the cottager, provided he can afford to pay for them. In choosing a pattern, the smallest is generally to be preferred, not only as a matter of taste, as being more in accordance with small rooms, but in point of economy; because, in sewing the breadths together, it requires less cutting out to make it match, and because, when the carpet gets old, the patches put on in mending are less conspicuous. The parlour carpet, and the carpets of at least one bed-room, should be of the same pattern, in order that, when the former is partly worn out, the latter may be used to mend it ; because it is always bad, both in point of effect and economy, to mend what is old with what is quite new. A very neat pattern for carpets has lately been introduced for libraries, but it would suit Gothic cottages equally well. It consists of an imitation of wainscot, has a quiet subdued tone of colour, and accords well with furniture made, or painted in imitation, of oak. 682. Colours of Carpets. Much of the opinion which we form of all objects depends on the effect of the first impressions which we receive from them. Our first ideas of any man or woman, ori seeing them at a short distance from us, are taken from their height and clothing; and our first ideas of a room, from its size, and the covering or colour of its floor and walls. Taking the room as a whole, and considering its effect as