ABSTRACT
What follows is an account and a discussion of the decoration, furnishing and equipment of the downstair rooms in houses of different types. As has been discussed earlier, the families living in different house-types have different social and economic characteristics which are reflected in the whole complex of their living activities, including their social relationships with relatives, neighbours and friends. From the experience of many earlier studies, from observations made during this inquiry and from interviews made subsequently, it has been possible to relate many of the items of decoration and equipment to the pattern of living of the family in the home. The systematic analysis of this data will make it possible to advance from the graded social classification based on house-type to more subtle discrimination derived from an appraisal of the furniture, decoration and equipment of families which, it will be shown, reflects a complex of small differences in culture, economic resources and the social life within the family and outside.
