Page 219

xv
THE DRESSING-ROOM AND THE BATH
D       RESSING-ROOMS and closets should be ne-
cessities, not luxuries, but alas! our architects'
ideas of the importance of large bedrooms
have made it almost impossible to incorporate the
proper closets and dressing-places a woman really re-
quires.
In the foregoing chapter on bedrooms I advised the
division of a large bedroom into several smaller rooms:
ante-chamber, sitting-room, sleeping-room, dressing-
room and bath. The necessary closets may be built
along the walls of all these little rooms, or, if there is
sufficient space, one long, airy closet may serve for all
one's personal belongings. Of course, such a suite of
rooms is possible only in large houses. But even in
simple houses a small dressing-room can be built into
the corner of an average-sized bedroom.
In France every woman dresses in her cabinet de
toilette; it is one of the most important rooms in the
house. No self-respecting French woman would
dream of dressing in her sleeping-room. The little
cabinet de toilette need not be much larger than a
closet, if the closets are built ceiling high, and the
doors are utilized for mirrors. Such an arrangement
219