Part 2 (1/2)
It is sometimes difficult to hit exactly upon a plan for a was.h.i.+ng-stand for a very small room or corner, and a copy of this Chinese stand (Fig.
17) for a basin and was.h.i.+ng appliances, would look very quaint and appropriate in such a situation. Only real, coa.r.s.e, old Indian, or j.a.panese china, would go well with it, however, or it might be fitted with one of those wooden lacquered bowls from Siam, and a water-jar from South America of fine red clay, and of a most artistic and delightful form. There are hundreds of such jars to be bought at Madeira for a s.h.i.+lling or two, and they keep water deliciously cool and fresh.
If a demand arose for them they would probably be imported in large quant.i.ties. All was.h.i.+ng-stands are the better for a piece of Indian matting hung at the back, for much necessary flirting and flipping of water goes on at such places, which stains and discolours the wall; but then this matting must constantly be renewed, for nothing can be more forlorn to the eye or unpleasing to the sense of smell, than damp straw is capable of becoming in course of time.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 16.]
For the corner of a boy's bed-room, or for the was.h.i.+ng apparatus of that very convenient little cupboard or closet or corner which I always struggle to inst.i.tute _down_-stairs, close to where the gentlemen of the family hang their hats and coats, this (Fig. 18) is a very good design.
It is simple in form and steady in build, and a long towel over a roller just behind it will be found useful. The towel need not be so coa.r.s.e as the kitchen ”round” one, from which it is copied; and above all things do not have it _hard_. It is a needless addition to the unavoidable miseries of life to be obliged to dry your hands in a hurry on a new huckaback towel.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 17.]
Many charming basin-stands have I seen extemporised out of even a shelf in a corner; but such contrivances are perhaps too much of make-s.h.i.+fts to ent.i.tle them to mention here, only one hint would I give. Take care that your was.h.i.+ng-stand is sufficiently low to enable you to use it with comfort. I once knew a very splendid and elaborate basin-stand, extending over the whole side of a dressing-room, which could only be approached by mounting three long low steps. I always felt thankful when my ablutions had ended and left my neck still unbroken.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 18.]
CHAPTER VI.
THE TOILET.
There is no prettier object in either bed-room or boudoir than the spot where ”the toilet stands displayed.” Whether it be a shrine _a la d.u.c.h.esse_ (Fig. 19) or the simplest form of support for a mirror, it will probably be the most interesting spot in the room to its fair owner. Consequently there is nothing upon which the old love of decoration has more expended itself even from its earliest days, or which modern upholstery makes more its special study than this truly feminine shrine. I will say nothing of mirrors with three sides which represent you as a female ”Cerberus, three ladies in one,” or indeed of mirrors of any sort or kind, as our business lies at this moment more with the tables on which they should stand. These can be found or invented of every imaginable form, and contain every conceivable convenience for receiving and hiding away the weapons which beauty (or rather would-be-beauty, which is not at all the same thing) requires.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 19.]
Here (Fig. 20) is a sort of old-fas.h.i.+oned _tiroir_ of an exquisite simplicity, and with but little s.p.a.ce outside for the ”paraphernalia” of odds and ends which the law generously recognises as the sole and individual property of even a married woman. Such articles would need to be stowed away in one of its many drawers. Instead of the frivolous drapery which would naturally cover a deal toilet-table, the only fitting drapery for this beautiful old piece of furniture (of French design evidently) would be an embroidered and fringed strip of fine linen which should hang low down on either side. In a darksome room, imagine how the subdued brightness of its metal mountings would afford coigns of vantage to every stray sunbeam or flickering ray from taper or fire! And in its deep, commodious drawers too, might be neatly stowed away every detail of toilet necessaries. On it should stand a mirror which must imperatively be required to harmonise, set in a plain but agreeable frame without anything to mar the severe simplicity of the whole. There are several pieces of old furniture, however, which are better adapted to be used as toilet-tables than the subject of the ill.u.s.tration. Such a piece of furniture is more suitable when it is divided, as is often the case, into three compartments, the centre one being considerably further back than the side-pieces. In this way a place is secured for the knees, when seated at it, and this central cupboard, when filled with shelves, makes an excellent receptacle for brushes and combs, and so forth.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 20.]
The defect of these old _tiroirs_ is that they are rather small and low, and consequently look best in a small room, but they offer great variety of decorative embellishment (Fig. 21), and are very satisfactory, as stands for a small oval toilet-gla.s.s in an old frame to match. The designs too of the bra.s.s mountings for door and drawer are nearly always exceedingly beautiful, and vary from the simplest s.h.i.+ning ring to a small miracle of artistic brazen work. These s.h.i.+ning handles take away a good deal from the severity of decorative treatment which would naturally exist in the rest of the room, and it is under such conditions, where form takes precedence of colour, that we learn the full value of these little traps to attract and keep a warm glitter of light.
Here is a simpler design for a toilet-table (Fig. 22) which would look very well standing between the windows of a lofty room. If it was found that a good light for the looking-gla.s.s had been sacrificed to the general harmony of the room, then a smaller gla.s.s might be placed _in_ a window, just for occasional use.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 21.]
Some of the old-fas.h.i.+oned ”toilet-equipages” are very beautiful just as they have come down to us. They are occasionally made in silver, and comprise many articles which cannot by any possibility be brought within the faith or practice of a modern belle. Still they offer charming forms for imitation, especially in the frames of the old hand-mirrors, whose elaborate simplicity (if one may use such a paradox) puts to shame the more ornate taste of their modern subst.i.tutes. Next to silver or tortoise-sh.e.l.l, I like ivory, as the material for a really beautiful and artistic set of toilet appendages, its delicious creamy tint going especially well with all shades of blue in a room. But I prefer the surface of the ivory kept plain and not grotesquely carved as you get it in China or j.a.pan, for dust and dirt always take possession of the interstices, and lead to the things being consigned to a drawer. Now I cannot endure to possess any thing of any kind which had better be kept out of sight wrapped carefully away under lock and key. My idea of enjoying owners.h.i.+p is for my possession to be of such a nature that I can see it or use it every day--and all day long if I choose--so I shall not be found recommending anything which is ”too bright and good for human nature's daily food.” I have seen toilet-tables under difficulties, that is on board of real sea-going yachts, where it has been necessary to sink a little well into which each brush, box or tray securely fitted; and I have seen toilet-tables in Kafir-Land covered with common sixpenny cups and saucers, and shown as presenting a happy combination of use and ornament, strictly in conformity with ”Engleez fa.s.son.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 22.]
But perhaps our business does not lie so much with these as with the ordinary dressing-table which is now more used in the modern shape of a convenient table with a scoop out of the middle, beneath which the knees can fit when you are seated at it, and with a couple of drawers on each side. This too is covered by a white _serviette_ of some sort, and supports a large toilet-gla.s.s of equally uncompromising utility and convenience. But however readily these good qualities may be conceded to the modern toilet-table it is but an uninteresting feature in an ideal bower. If the room be an essentially modern one, and especially if it be in the country, nothing affords a prettier spot of colour in it, than the old-fas.h.i.+oned toilet-table of deal covered with muslin draperies over soft-hued muslin or batiste. Of course the caricature of such an arrangement may be seen any day in the fearful and detestable toilet-table with a skimpy and coa.r.s.e muslin flounce over a tight-fitting skirt of glaring pink calico, but this is a parody on the ample, convenient stand for toilet necessaries, the draperies of which should be in harmony with the other colours of the room. It would need however to possess many changes of raiment, in order that it may always be kept up to the mark of spotless freshness. These draperies are prettier of plain soft white muslin without spot or figure of any kind, and may consist of two or three layers, draped with all the artistic skill the constructor thereof possesses. It is also an improvement, if instead of only a hideous crackle of calico beneath, there be a full flounce or petticoat of batiste which would give colour and graceful folds together. This is a very humble arrangement I know, but it can be made as effective as if it cost pounds instead of pence. And this is one of the strong points in all hints on decoration, that they should be of so elastic a nature as to be capable of expansion under favourable circ.u.mstances, though not beyond the reach of extremely slender resources.
I do not recommend draped mirrors for modern toilet-tables on account of the danger from fire, and I like the style and frame of the looking-gla.s.s on the table to harmonise thoroughly with the rest of the furniture.
CHAPTER VII.
ODDS AND ENDS OF DECORATION.