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The House in Good Taste
·
Elsie De Wolfe
12
Then
I
consider
the
heating
of
the
room.
We
Americans
are
slaves
to
steam
heat.
We
ruin
our
furniture,
our
complexions,
and
our
dispositions
by
this
enervating
atmosphere
of
too
much
heat.
In
my
own
houses
I
have
a
fireplace
in
each
room,
and
I
burn
wood
in
it.
There
is
a
heating-system
in
the
basement
of
my
house,
but
it
is
under
perfect
control.
I
prefer
the
normal
heat
of
sunshine
and
open
fires.
But,
granted
that
open
fires
are
impossible
in
all
your
rooms,
do
arrange
in
the
beginning
that
the
small
rooms
of
your
house
may
not
be
overheated.
It
is
a
distinct
irritation
to
a
person
who
loves
clean
air
to
go
into
a
room
where
a
flood
of
steam
heat
pours
out
of
every
corner.
There
is
usually
no
way
to
control
it
unless
you
turn
it
off
altogether.
I
once
had
the
temerity
to
do
this
in
a
certain
hotel
room
where
there
was
a
cold
and
cheerless
empty
fireplace.
I
summoned
a
reluctant
chambermaid,
only
to
be
told
that
the
chimney
had
never
had
a
fire
in
it
and
the
proprietor
would
rather
not
take
such
a
risk!
Perhaps
the
guest
in
your
house
would
not
be
so
troublesome,
but
don't
tempt
her!
If
you
have
a
fireplace,
see
that
it
is
in
working
order.
We
are
sure
to
judge
a
woman
in
whose
house
we
find
ourselves
for
the
first
time,
by
her
surroundings.
We
judge
her
temperament,
her
habits,
her
inclinations,
by
the
interior
of
her
home.
We
may
talk
of
the
weather,
but
we
are
looking
at
the
furniture.
We
attribute
vulgar
qualities
to
those
who
are
content
to
live
in
ugly
surroundings.
We
endow
with
refinement
and
charm
the
person
who
welcomes
us
in
a
delightful
room,
where
the
colors
blend
and
the
proportions
are
as
perfect
as
in
a
picture.
After
all,
what
surer
guarantee
can
there
be
of
a
woman's
character,
natural
and
cultivated,
inherent
and
inherited,
than
taste?
It
is
a
compass
that
never
errs.
If
a
woman
has
taste
she
may
have
faults,
follies,
fads,
she
may
err,
she
may
be
as
human
and
feminine
as
she
pleases,
but
she
will
never
cause
a
scandal!
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