Home Is the Real World

When the rush is over, and all is said, and all is done, everyone comes home to a world of their own making. This is a place that is regulated by those who live here. While family members may be consulted, the arranging, maintaining and appearance of this place is largely determined by the woman at home. No one in their right mind wants the wife and mother to be miserable in her own home. That is why it is essential that she be encouraged to exercise her experience and judgement in the placement of furniture, the colors and the types of things that she will be living with.



One example that I can relate is that of the woman who wants a chair in a certain place while she reads or does her crafts and needlework. She knows where the light will be and over which shoulder it will come, providing the best advantage to do her work. She knows why she wants the bookshelf arranged in a particular order, because, while at home she obeserves the habits and preferences of her loved ones. She has to be able to control this domain, and determine the kinds of things that come in to her house. She will know what irritates her and what gives her a homey, peaceful feeling. She has to have free reign in the house, to control the clutter and to create the scene that gives her a sound mind.

I doubt very much anyone really wants to drive a homemaker into a state of confusion, but nonetheless, that is what happens when the living room is so cluttered there is nowhere to sit and enjoy the home, and the bedrooms are so full of clutter that the doors will not open, or the kitchen is full of things that do not function as kitchen tools. Order, then, is one of the most important things in giving the home a peaceful atmosphere. The homemaker is free to control this and can discover her own methods that are effective. She doesn't have to be told what to do, any more than the ant has to be told what to do, because her very instincts tell her that the home must be a pleasant place and that she must diligently oversee this mission. (Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. )Although it may not come natural to all women, after home living for a certain amount of time, most people can develop a feeling for the kind of atmosphere they want in their houses.

Think, if you will, of the impression you would get when you dropped by the house of a friend or relative. Perhaps having arrived when the hostess was not expecting you and was away from home, you may have peeked into the window. Inside, you see the sweetest room, and though not entirely matching, it is complete with every element that pleases the heart. Let us say this is a seating area with a plump cushion on it, and though it is for support of the back when seated, it is also pleasingly decorative; maybe with an embroidered hummingbird and a flower.

Your eyes pan around the room in a virtual tour, resting upon the little side tables with bearing shiny lamps and little books with gold-embossed titles. Then you see a potted lily in its full bloom, placed inside a pretty container. The pictures on the wall and the colorful area rug all invite you in. You see the hostess's knitting or crochet in a basket next to her chair. A tea set sits ready to serve, on a low table in the middle of the room.

Although the entire house may not be up to viewing by company or outsiders, we might consider the impression we give from the front window. People are not always influenced by attending a lecture or reading a book. Sometimes we can do more than we realize just by the appearance of our homes through the front window.

Paintings by Susan Rios: An Elegant Affair, and Beyond the Green Door, are available for purchase from Pierpoint Galleries online. These posters are a lot less money than an original painting, and can be a great inspiration at home because of the beauty and calmness they portray. If we surround ourselves in such elegance, we can develop a feeling of dignity for our role as homemakers.