The art of decorating dry goods windows and interiors

In attempting to explain the fundamental principles of successful store decoration, the window is the first thing to be considered, and there are all kinds of windows, little and big, upright and oblong, cramped and spacious. Some are hard to get at; some have big, awkward posts in them; but no matter what they are or how undesirable they seem, remember that anything with a pane of glass before it may be made a show window.

Build a window floor on a level with the lower edge of the glass; build it strongly and make it as deep as you are able. Three feet is a fair depth; six feet is not too deep.

BOXING A WINDOW.

In order to produce a good window there must be a proper foundation to work upon. An open-backed window is an impossibility as considered from a window trimmer’s standpoint, save in very few cases where articles are small and only require a window shelf to display them.

All windows should have a substantial board backing and sides extending about one-half the height of the window itself. A door should be made in this at one side, to permit the trimmer easy entrance and enable you to reach any goods you may wish to withdraw from the window. Above this backing it is desirable to have a sash reaching to the ceiling, which will serve to admit light and prevent dust reaching the trim.

The distance of the backing from the glass is a matter of choice. Some prefer very deep window embrasures, and for furniture, carpets, stoves and like bulky articles, they are undoubtedly best. For displays of light, small articles, a shallow window is very desirable, and furnishings, notions, etc., may be effectively arranged in thirty inches space. For the general window, however, where various classes of merchandise are required to be exhibited, a depth of from four to five feet is best; and even six feet, especially for a clothing or cloak trim, is not considered too deep for good effects.

The floor of the window embrasure should be made perfectly level, as this will admit of more substantial framework than an incline. A removable, sloping floor may be provided for use when desired.

Against the solid backing brackets and shelves may be secured, their arrangement being altered as occasion demands. It also admits of tacking the draperies in a substantial manner, and there is a satisfaction in knowing your window is solid and that any fragile articles displayed are perfectly safe.

HOW TO WASH WINDOWS.

A clean window pane is a necessity in a show window. Nothing destroys the attractiveness of a really good display so readily and effectively as a streaked, flyspecked glass in front of it.

Many merchants dread window washing day. It shouldn’t be a bugbear when a simple method like the following is understood. Wait until the sun is off the window, for if the sun is shining on the glass it will look streaked after drying, irrespective of the amount of muscle expended in the rubbing. Dust the window thoroughly, inside and out, and don’t touch the glass until after the inside woodwork has been cleansed. Use nothing but warm water, mixed with sufficient ammonia in washing the glass. Steer clear of soap. Dry the windows with the rubber cleaner or soft cotton cloth. Linen leaves lint on the glass. Polish with paper; that’s all that’s necessary.

TO PREVENT WINDOWS FROM FROSTING.

One of the merchant’s greatest trials is the sweating and frosting of windows in cold weather, rendering them useless for display purposes at the very season when they are most valuable.

Much has been written concerning methods of prevention of frost, but most of them are theoretical, and, while they work well in some instances, are absolute failures in others.

THE CAUSE.

Scientists will tell you that the reason a window sweats is because there is an uneven temperature on the opposite sides of the window pane. The cold air outside chills the pane, which condenses the moisture in the warm air inside as it strikes the glass, and the moisture is deposited in the form of “sweat” upon the inner surface of the glass. It then freezes, producing “frost.” Occasionally, when there is moisture in the outer air, a deposit is also made upon the outer surface of the glass, but in either case the frost arises from the uneven temperature of the air inside and outside the window glass.

THE REMEDY.

The foregoing cause of the evil being understood, it is also plain that any arrangement which will render the temperature of the air the same on both sides of the pane will remedy the difficulty. Any other method is obviously imperfect and ineffectual. If the temperature within and without the window is the same the glass cannot sweat or frost.

To obtain an even temperature it is absolutely necessary to box the window. It must be cut off entirely from the other part of the store.

The space under modern show windows is used largely for ventilating cellars. Our sketch shows half of this space used for ventilating cellar, and other half as a cold air passage to allow the outside air to pass through the double perforated window floor, thereby keeping the air within the window enclosure approximately the same temperature as the outside, and thereby preventing the sweating and freezing, so annoying to the trimmer.

A A, open space between double perforated bottom, to be filled with loose cotton to permit the air to pass, but dense enough to keep back the dust from the street.

The floor of the window should be made of boards, perforated and made to fit in snugly without fastening down, so they can be taken up occasionally to clean out the dust that will accumulate in time.

Fig. 3 shows how boards may be used without being perforated. Small pieces of wood are nailed on one edge of each board, say about one-eighth inch thick, so as to keep the boards about that distance apart.

C is a small door that opens into the store room to reach the cold air space, for cleaning occasionally.

B, opening for lighting and ventilating the cellar. A trap door may be arranged to fit over the opening B, but a better arrangement is to have two sashes of glass to fit the front of the openings immediately back of the wire screens shown in Fig. 2. If hinged at the top, they can be opened by pulling back with a cord or chain from the inside of the room.

Fig. 2 shows a wire screen now much used instead of the more expensive iron grille work formerly in vogue.

When possible, a glass roof should be used to inclose the window, in which case the lights may be arranged above the glass. This prevents heating the window. In using floor drapings, employ only cheesecloth, or some light material that will allow air to pass through.

All this may seem to require considerable trouble and alteration of your windows, but wherever this method has been used it has been found thoroughly practical and an absolute prevention of frost.

OTHER METHODS.

(1) An electric fan kept constantly in motion in a corner of the window is said to avoid frosting by keeping the atmosphere in circulation, and thus preventing condensation upon the surface of the glass. In a large window there should be two fans, in opposite corners, and these may be easily concealed from view.

(2) Electric Heaters.—As almost every store is now provided with electric light service, and electric heaters can be purchased in all sizes on the open market, the interest in this new application of electric heating is universal. All that is necessary is to place a small electric heater in the window in any concealed position, and to connect it with the lighting mains.

(3) Several washes for the window glass have been recommended, but our observation has been that these usually fail to prevent frosting.

It is true that one method will succeed with a merchant, and fail when utilized by his next door neighbor. It is hard to explain this fact, save for the different atmospheric conditions of the two rooms. It is not unusual to see one window as opaque as a sheet of felt and another loom up as transparent as a crystal, when both are apparently under the same conditions. One sees a window free from frost where it is entirely enclosed, and that seems to explain the reason. But a few doors further on another window similarly enclosed is covered with ice. Some windows that have a half-length enclosure inside are clear and others are frosty, and some that are entirely open to receive the heat of the store room are clear while others are not.

Among the various washes are pure glycerine, in which a flannel cloth is dipped, ammonia and salt, and alcohol and water. As said before, these are seldom effective in preventing frosting. The safest and best remedy will be found in ventilation, as above described.