Presented to the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
LIBRARY
by the
ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE
LIBRARY
1980
INTERIOR DECORATION
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK ' BOSTON • CHICAGO - DALLAS
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.
TORONTO
il
terior Decoratioi/
FOR THE SMALL HOME
BY
AMY L. ROLFE, M.A.
INSTRUCTOR OF HOME ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY
OF MONTANA
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1917
All rights reserved
COPYRIGHT,
BY THE MACMILLAN BW*f ANY
Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1917.
J. 8. Cushlng Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
TO MY FATHER
PREFACE
IT has been the purpose to bring together in
this book the chief principles of art as they may
be applied to the furnishing of homes of people
of moderate means. Many volumes have been
written upon the subject of house furnishing
which describe in great detail the expensive furni-
ture, rugs, and tapestries which can be purchased
only by those few individuals who are also finan-
cially able to employ professional interior deco-
rators and who for that reason have less need for
a simple guide. It is the people who must make
their own selections of furnishings and plan their
arrangement who especially require some economic
and artistic knowledge on the subject, so that they
may obtain the greatest amount of beauty and
convenience for the least expenditure. If they
understand color and form harmony in the essen-
tial relation to artistic unity, they should then have
sufficient confidence to express some of their own
individuality in their homes as they endeavor to
Vi
viii PREFACE
combine the ideal with the practical. Beauty and
suitability will by this means be the result of a
conscious obedience to the laws of art.
The author gratefully acknowledges the help-
ful criticism of Miss Anna Cooley of Columbia
University.
AMY L. ROLFE.
BOZEMAN, MONT.,
February, 1917.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION xvii
The Difference between House and Home — The
Homemaker as Interior Decorator.
CHAPTER I
WALLS AND CEILINGS i
The Treatment of Walls and Ceilings regarding
Color, Value, Subordination — Choice and Arrange-
ment of Wall Decorations.
CHAPTER II
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT . . 12
The Use of Curtains as a Decorative Medium —
Colors — Values — Textures — Cost.
CHAPTER III
THE FINISHING OF FLOORS 31
The Treatment of Wood Floors, Old and New —
The Use of Linoleum, Tiles, and Cement for Floor
Coverings.
iz
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER IV
PAGE
DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 38
The Treatment of Floors regarding Color, Value,
Subordination — Different Varieties of Domestic Make
and their Relative Cost.
CHAPTER V
ORIENTAL RUGS 50
The ^Esthetic Appeal of the Oriental Rug — The
Four Principal Classes and Some Subdivisions — Risks
Encountered in Purchasing.
CHAPTER VI
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 61
The Home of [Ancient and Medieval Times and Its
Furniture — The Renaissance — Period Styles of Fur-
niture— The Modern Reawakening.
CHAPTER VII
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE . . .81
Types of the Antiques which are Reproduced —
Consistent Use of Period Styles in the Various Rooms
of the Home — Bisymmetric and Occult Balance —
Comfort.
CHAPTER VIII
FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN 100
A Reflection of the Spirit of To-day — Different
Styles which may be Purchased and Their Use in the
Home — Rugs, Upholstery, and Wall Coverings which
Harmonize.
TABLE OF CONTENTS XI
CHAPTER IX
PAGE
FURNITURE WOODS 108
Mahogany — Oak — Ash — Red Gum — Walnut —
Maple — Beech — Birch — Rosewood — Veneered
Furniture.
CHAPTER X
THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 117
^Esthetic Value — Historical Significance — Period
Styles — Arrangement of Furniture about Fireplace —
Materials.
CHAPTER XI
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 127
The Importance of Artificial Light as a Part of a
Scheme of Interior Decoration — A Brief History —
Period Styles, Arrangement — Colors and Materials of
Shades.
CONCLUSION ... 138
Interior Decoration as Art — How Knowledge of the
Subject may be Gained — Suitability of Each Room
and of the House as a Whole to Its Use — Sincerity in
the Outward Expression of the Owner's Personality.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
A charming but dignified entrance hall. The antique
Chinese rugs harmonize well with the Chippendale
wing chair and with the ^Chinese Chippendale
table Frontispiece
PACING PAGE
Paneled walls give a dignity to this dining room which
could have been obtained by no other means. The
furniture is of the William and Mary period . 6
Reproductions of well-known masterpieces are inexpen-
sive and effective as wall decorations. The furni-
ture is of the Queen Anne period .... 7
The height of this Sheraton dining-room is emphasized
by the use of narrow, straight window hangings
without a valance 20
The arrangement of the sheer muslin curtains seemingly
lowers the height of this Colonial room. The de-
sign of the sofa is American Empire . . .21
The dark stain of the floor of this living-room makes a
pleasing background for the furnishings — a Wil-
liam and Mary high-boy, Windsor and Hepplewhite
shield-back chairs, and a gate-leg table ... 34
Tiles make the ideal floor for the kitchen . . 35
This plain rug with banded border makes an excellent
background for the William and Mary furniture . 42
Finely figured domestic rugs are well suited for use in
entrance halls. The armchair is of the period of
Charles II 43
xiii
xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
Persian prayer rug, i6th century .... 52
Turkoman rug 52
Chinese rug, camel's hair, i8th century ... 53
Caucasian rug, i8th century ... -S3
A handsome Chippendale secretary, chair, and table . 74
A Sheraton secretary and a reed-bottomed chair of early
Colonial days 75
A part of a Chippendale dining-room. Chinese influence
is plainly shown in the detail of ornament . . 76
A Hepplewhite dining-room which is restful in its sim-
plicity . -77
Attractive dining-room furniture of the Adam style.
The arrangement shows the use of bisymmetric
balance 86
An example of occult balance. The group formed by
the Chippendale wing chair and the Jacobean table
and chair balances the piano at the other side of the
room 87
The furniture in this living room centers about the fire-
place. The stool in the foreground is of the William
and Mary period and the table possesses Adam and
Hepplewhite characteristics 90
The single-toned rug in this Colonial living-room is well
subordinated in color and tone to the rest of the fur-
nishings. The informal use of bisymmetric balance
is especially worthy of note 91
This playroom is large, light, airy, and simply furnished,
but the rocker has arms with dangerously sharp
elbows 102
A " baby pen " with Chinese counters that would afford
endless amusement, and a hobby-horse that looks
as sportive as he is safe 103
A charming cottage living-room in which wicker furni-
ture predominates 106
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XV
FACING PAGE
Wicker, reed, or grass furniture is especially well suited
for use on the porch or in the sun parlor . . 107
The dull polish which the Puritans gave to their furni-
ture brought out the beautiful grain of the wood . no
The reproductions of Colonial furniture have broad, un-
ornamented spaces which show the fine finish . in
A classic fireplace of unusual beauty which harmonizes
well with the Georgian furniture . . . .120
No living-room is complete without a fireplace about
which the furniture may be centered . . .121
Lighting fixtures may follow the styles of the various
types of period furniture 132
Where side lights are used as ornamental fixtures no
pictures are needed upon the walls. The furniture
is a modern design patterned after Sheraton . 133
This dining-room suggests at once the personality of its
owner. The same material is used for the chair
coverings and the side hangings at the windows, to
give touches of intense color 144
A charming guest room in a country home which is suffi-
ciently impersonal to suit change of guests. The
furniture is of the William and Mary design . .145
INTRODUCTION
The Difference Between House and Home — The Home-
maker as Interior Decorator.
THERE is an especial meaning attached to
the term "home" which is entirely distinctive.
The humblest cottage may be a home House or
— the most beautiful mansion may Home?
be merely a work of decorative art. Almost
every one interested in home furnishing has
walked through the model apartments of
some large furnishing house and has had the
inevitable experience of disappointment. The
rooms may be well planned, the windows
properly placed, the walls and floors satis-
factorily finished, and the furniture of the
most correct and graceful lines, but still
there remained a feeling of emptiness of
meaning, a lack of the home atmosphere.
It was impossible to forget that the rooms
were exhibition rooms only.
xviii INTRODUCTION
A series of such model rooms could never
be mistaken for a home for the reason that
the personal, the human element, is
The Mean- , , . A , , .
ing of the lacking. A house, to be a home,
i i) must be adapted to some individual
or individuals composing a family
group. It must contain only that which
is useful and suitable to its daily occupants
and should reflect their physical, mental,
and spiritual activities. If the man of the
family is fond of books and of study, there
should be a well-chosen library in the house,
but if he is more interested in games and out-
of-door sports, that room which might have
been admirable as a library might better
be put to other uses more suited to an athletic
taste. An unused music room is the most
dismal of places and is reminiscent of ances-
tral parlors opened only upon the state occa-
sion of funeral or wedding.
So, in furnishing a home, there should
be nothing placed within the four walls
Suitability wnicn is not useful and suitable
in Fur- to the people who shall live there.
mshings That ;s of tne grst importance. But
at the same time there should be a constant
thought and a constant care to keep a feeling
INTRODUCTION xix
of harmony between each and all of the
features of the home. The interior of a
cottage or a mansion may be useful and
may be suitable, and may have a true home
atmosphere, but it may still be very unbeau-
tiful.
Many home builders of more than moder-
ate means secure the services of an expert
interior decorator who works with The
the master and mistress of the house, Amateur
advising, correcting, and often taking JJJJUJ. the
complete charge of the finishing of sionai
the walls and floors and the buying Decorat01
of the furniture, hangings, and rugs. To
the people possessed of more slender purses,
however, the services of such an artist are
out of the question, and in some cases this
may be a blessing. There is a joy in the
proper assembling of those household fur-
nishings, usually for a lifetime, which is unique.
If each chair and table is carefully selected
to fill some especial need, if it is repeatedly
considered in relation to its harmony with
neighboring pieces of furniture in the partic-
ular room where it shall be placed, if it is
wished for, saved for, and finally purchased,
there is a joy in possession through effort
XX INTRODUCTION
which makes that table or chair, in its new
setting, at once a comfortable friend. The
employer of an interior decorator may admire
the harmonious interior of his new home
immensely, but it is some months before he
can really love the individual pieces of furni-
ture. They may be beautiful and adapted
to his personality and use, but there is no
way to buy their friendship. The daily
association, alone, can bring that.
Knowledge r^, i . ,
of Art Ane man who wishes to act as
Principles fas own interior decorator must first
is Essential
study the general rules of art and
apply them to his problem. The principles
of balance, harmony, and rhythm are as
applicable to the plans of a room or a house
as they are to the plan of a picture.
INTERIOR DECORATION
INTERIOR DECORATION
CHAPTER I
WALLS AND CEILINGS
The Treatment of Walls and Ceilings regarding Color,
Value, Subordination, — Choice and Arrangement
of Wall Decorations.
FORTUNATE indeed is he who has the privi-
lege of building his home after individ-
ual plans suited to his own uses .
i r™ r When the
and tastes. Ihen, after the site House is
and style have been determined, a New
general plan of the interior can be easily
and pleasantly evolved. Often the architect
is also an interior decorator of no little abil-
ity, and he can safely be allowed to suggest
a harmonious scheme for walls, ceilings, and
furniture.
However, the pleasure of planning and
building is vouchsafed to a comparative few.
The usual person must live in house or apart-
2 INTERIOR DECORATION
ment originally designed for another, or, worse,
designed for any possible renter. He must
often adjust himself to an environment
Where the x ,. j i i_«
House has foreign to his nature and make his
been biult home within walls at variance with
by Another , . . , , mi • •
his ideals. 1ms is no easy task and
yet every home maker can control, to a cer-
tain extent, the finish of the walls and ceilings,
and the furnishings of the rooms wherein he
dwells, and make them speak of his personal-
ity and the personality of his family.
Much can be accomplished by refinishing
the woodwork and doing over the walls and
Chan es ceilings- If tne problem is a rented
which can house or apartment, the landlord may
be made not j)e wjujng to make changes, but
can usually be persuaded to allow the tenant
to redecorate at his own expense. Such
expense may be made very slight by using
the proper materials, and there is nothing
so necessary in good interior decorating as
well-toned woodwork, walls, and ceiling. A
well-furnished room makes a beautiful pic-
ture, and a beautiful picture must have a
beautiful background.
The dominant color used in a room, and
the contrasting and combined effects of other
WALLS AND CEILINGS 3
shades employed, are of the greatest impor-
tance. Although physiologists have long
known that colors affect the temper-
ament in different ways, many people
fail to profit by this when they select colors
for their home. Rooms should be decorated
in colors appropriate to their use, but also
to the feelings and actions of the occupant.
Where contrast is used, it should be agree-
able and interesting. Where there is no
contrast, one tone should melt softly into
another, making a completed color scheme.
A dark woodwork with a light wall is not
usually agreeable. A fairly light wall is
often desirable, so, for this reason,
the woodwork should be finished in
a medium shade, or enameled white or ivory.
Ivory is especially suited to the bedrooms
and, in a colonial home, is admirable in the
living and dining rooms. It is well to adhere
to the plan of finishing the standing wood-
work in adjoining rooms in the same color,
or varying shades of the same color. The
walls, too, of the different rooms should show
no crude contrast, but should harmonize well,
and the ceiling color should show a tone
slightly lighter than that of the side wall.
4 INTERIOR DECORATION
If the home is an apartment or a small
cottage, it will usually be found well to have
the same tone of woodwork and the
fected by same tone of wall in all the adjoining
Color and rooms. A surprising impression of
additional space can be effected in
this way. If, on the other hand, the rooms
are overlarge and cold in character, the
best plan is to finish the standing woodwork
in a darker tone, and place a more deep value
upon the side walls.
Architecturally, the proportions of a room
must be good in order to give a proper back-
ground for the beauties of the fore-
Propor-
tionsof ground. If the ceilings are too low,
R(M^tlap~ additional height may seemingly be
effected by gained by placing the picture mold-
SSfec"1 m£ at *ke very toP °f tne ^de wall, or
turalDe- even, at times, bringing the tone of
the side wall six inches over on to the
ceiling, terminated there by a molding.
If, on the other hand, the ceilings are too
high for the size of the room, the picture
molding should be placed at a distance of
a third of the side wall from the ceiling, and
the tone of the ceiling brought down to the
molding.
WALLS AND CEILINGS
Tones of cream and brown, gray, and occa-
sionally green, are usually best for the hall,
living and dining rooms. Cream suitability
and brown belong to the warm colors of
& , . . . , lar Colors
and should be used on the north side to individ-
of the house or where there is little ** Rooms
sunshine. Gray is a cold color and is often
admirable in a well-lighted, sunny room,
containing vivid hangings, upholstery, or
tapestry. Green, as a wall tone, should be
carefully considered before it is used. Un-
informed or unscrupulous merchants some-
times sell wall papers and stains containing
a dangerously large quantity of arsenic.
For this reason it is well to have a green wall
finish tested by a reliable chemist before it
is used. As a wall color it is restful and is
adapted to use in a well-lighted library or
living room. In the bedrooms light walls
should always be used. A bedroom should
be dainty, and only light colors are dainty.
A soft blue tone may be used only on the
south side of the house, for blue is a cold
color, almost colder than gray, and is apt
to give a gloomy effect to a room with a
northern exposure. If you have a dark,
dismal room, use a pale yellow tone for the
6 INTERIOR DECORATION
walls. You will be surprised at the effect
of sunlight.
The whole trend of present-day decora-
tionlis toward the psychological use of color.
_ . . Instead of the vivid, figured wall
.fsycnoiogi- • • • i
caiUseof papers, plain painted or papered
walls which are restful are now used.
What sick person has not feverishly counted
and recounted the dancing stripes and fig-
ures on walls and ceilings, and longed for a
single flat tone of color to rest his tired eyes.
But equally important is the artistic side.
As the wall is the background for the room,
it must be quiet and stay back in its proper
perspective. Flat tone, washable wall paints
are now on the market and are cheap and
satisfactory. Good ingrain, oatmeal, and bur-
lap paper are also to be had, at about the
same cost, but of course are not as sanitary
as washable tints.
Wood-paneled rooms are very beautiful
and are seen far too seldom. While they
Paneled are of course more expensive, there
WaUs is still a richness given by a high
wainscoting and a beamed ceiling which
may compensate for the extra cost. Com-
paratively inexpensive building materials can
WALLS AND CEILINGS 7
be selected and satisfactorily stained, thus
eliminating much expense. A paneled wall
in natural color wood adds dignity to a library
or dining room, while even a bedroom is
charming with ivory panels. If pictures are
desired on the walls of a paneled room, they
should be unframed and merely fitted into
the panels of the wainscoting with a narrow
molding matching the woodwork. A formal
arrangement is most pleasing. One charm-
ing bedroom which I saw recently had the
entire side walls paneled in deep ivory. On
either side of a slender, built-in dressing table
a long panel was fitted with a soft mural
painting, done in oil on canvas. I have also
seen similar effects by the use of good repro-
ductions in lithographs, shellacked after fitting
in the panels.
An equally formal and artistic arrangement
of pictures may be carried out in the simpler
homes where the walls are painted
, . , . T T Pictures as
or papered in a plain tone. Un- Formal
framed pictures for each room are
carefully selected. Then a narrow
molding is secured and painted or stained
to exactly match the woodwork of the room
or rooms in which it is to be used. The fin-
8 INTERIOR DECORATION
ished molding should then be taken to a
cabinet maker to be used as frames for the
selected pictures. These pictures should have
no mats and should be hung flat on the wall
with screws and eyes.
When no formal effect is desired and where
there is a variety in the style and framing
The of the pictures, there are several gen-
Hanging eral rules which it is well to follow.
of Pictures jn tjle mam> pictures should be hung
on a level with the eye, so they can be in-
spected with comfort. Scenes showing great
altitude, such as of mountains, or pictures
claiming adoration, as the Madonnas, may,
however, be placed above the level of the
eye. There should be no pictures hung in
the hall and only formal pictures in the
dining room. Ancestral portraits and old
prints of historical scenes are suitable for
the library, while etchings, sepia prints, and
color photogravures are charming in the liv-
ing room. Framed photographs of family
and friends should be reserved for the bed-
rooms, if it is wished to see them on the walls
at all. The casual caller has little or no
interest in them.
Original paintings to adorn the home should
WALLS AND CEILINGS 9
not be purchased unless the purse and artis-
tic knowledge of the buyer are sufficiently
large to insure true works of art. choice of
Reproductions of recognized master- Pictures
pieces are always safe and may be obtained
at very reasonable prices. Millet, Corot,
and Jacques, who idealized the life and home
of the French peasants, Whistler in his
works in black and white, Abbey, Sargent,
Kenyon Cox, and many other great painters
have given us pictures which are now beauti-
fully copied and which we can all enjoy.
Prints of the ruins of the Greek Parthenon
or Temple of Athena, the Roman Forum
and Colosseum, are also interesting. For
informal breakfast rooms and for bedrooms
soft Japanese prints are excellent.
The size and character of the picture, the
size of the wall space, and the character
of the other pictures to be placed on Group Ar-
the same wall determine the group «*agement
arrangement of the hanging. Large pictures
should be hung alone on a wall space. Small
pictures should be grouped together, with-
out any attempt at symmetry. Heavy pic-
tures only should be suspended from the
picture molding, and then by two parallel
10 INTERIOR DECORATION
wires, from two hooks. One hook should
never be used, as the angle formed by the
single wire is unrelated to the straight lines
of the wall and picture frame.
Occasionally the fortunate home maker
possesses a piece of fine tapestry. Nothing
Ancient could be more beautiful hung upon
Needle- the wall of the living room, if the
as Wall colors blend well with the furnishings.
Decoration Qld samplers may be framed for pro-
tection and hung in the hall above the card
table.
The lack of culture and refinement in the
occupants of a household is more often re-
importance vealed *n P°°r choice of pictures and
of Careful wall decorations than in any other
Selection wa^ ^ careful attention should
be given to this phase of furnishing as to the
items more usually considered important.
REFERENCES
DE WOLFE, ELSIE
The House in Good Taste.
The Century Company, New York, 1913.
Walls, Chapter V.
DUVEEN, EDWARD J.
Colour in the Home.
George Allen & Co., London.
Decoration, Chapter VI.
WALLS AND CEILINGS u
HERTS, B. RUSSELL
The Decoration and Furnishing of Apartments.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1915.
Backgrounds, Part I, Chapter IV.
PARSONS, FRANK ALVAH
Interior Decoration, Its Principles and Practice.
Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, N. Y., 1915.
Pictures, pp. 251-259.
Hanging, pp. 259-263.
SPARROW, W. SHAW
Hints on House Furnishing.
John Lane Company, New York, 1909.
Walls, Chapters I, II.
CHAPTER II
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT
The Use of Curtains as a Decorative Medium — Colors
— Values — Textures — Cost.
THE windows of a room, together with their
hangings, constitute a very important item
The Need in the general scheme of interior
of Curtains decoration. Most windows should,
of course, be curtained in some way to insure
privacy, to soften the light, and to add to
beauty. There is no one feature of house
furnishing which as quickly tends to give
a home-like atmosphere as proper curtains
and draperies at the windows. A room
which has looked bleak and bare seems to
become livable, at once, when some suitable,
thin fabric is hung at the windows.
A well-tested theory in connection with
„ ^ . curtains is that, in the decorative
Curtains
used as a scheme of the room in which they are
to^Me1*2 placed> tne curtains form the transi-
dium in a tion between the walls and ceilings
and the furniture. In painting a
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 13
picture three values must always be consid-
ered, the foreground, the middle distance,
and the background. Each has its own
place, yet there must be a pleasing transition
from one value to another. If the age-old
art principles of unity, harmony, and rhythm
are observed, there is a complete continuity
in progression from foreground to background.
A beautiful room is a picture, so, the furni-
ture, being the most important feature, should
be conspicuous as foreground, the curtains as
middle distance, and the walls and ceiling as
background. The furniture of a room should
be strong in line and tone, and the walls should
be reticent and delicate in color. The curtains,
then, must be the harmonizing link between,
giving a final touch of beauty and grace.
Few home makers realize that the shape,
size, and method of hanging the
draperies of a window often seem to tectural
alter the entire architectural struc- Structure
- , , f , of Room
ture of the room, and even of the and Win-
window opening itself. If a room is ?ow ®f;
i «t i 5- r i»i fectedby
low ceiled, an effect of greater height Method of
may be gained by using narrow
side hangings at the windows,
falling in straight lines from the rods at the
14 INTERIOR DECORATION
very top of the window to a distance of two
feet below the window sill. If the material
of these side hangings is heavy and rich,
these strips may be made as narrow as eight-
een inches, without a sacrifice of dignity.
No blinds should be used with these side
hangings, but soft, straight curtains of some
sheer material are used inside, next to the
glass. Side hangings may also be used in
a room which is unfortunately too high in
ceiling. In this case the hangings should be
broader and should extend only from the
lower edge of the woodwork at the top of
the window, down to the window sill. Across
the top a rather deep valance should be
placed. When the thin inner curtains are
draped back, the slanting lines so formed,
although not usually to be recommended from
an artistic point of view, still tend to give
even greater breadth.
If the windows of a room are few in num-
ber and too small to let in a sufficient amount
Where °^ ^gnt> great care should be used in
windows the curtains. Only the thinnest
and Few in fabric should be used next to the
Number glass, and if hangings are desired at
the sides they may be placed beyond the
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 1 5
edge of the window opening, covering the
woodwork. This is also a good treatment
for a window, when the woodwork is unpleas-
ant in color or form. However, when the
woodwork is well designed, it is always
best to show it, for it gives the window a
point of unity with the rest of the room.
If it is felt that there must be roller shades,
they should be drawn up to the very top of
the windows, out of sight, during the Sunshine
daylight hours. It is never a mis- Better than
take to let sunshine into the house, a es
even if it does fade the rugs and discolor the
wall paper. It is better to have a healthy,
and therefore happy, home than an unfaded
gloom. People often speak of the effect of
restfulness of a dimly lighted room, but, in
reality, strained eyes are too often the price
which is paid for that form of dusky coziness.
It is always best to let in all the light possible,
merely softened with the sheerest of curtains.
The roller shade which is in general use
in the maiority of houses is not really
. , \ i -* Roller
essential to any room where the shades
windows are properly curtained. Unneces-
The draperies next to the glass will
keep out the crude light from the room, and
l6 INTERIOR DECORATION
will insure sufficient privacy. If, in the
evening, heavier curtains are desired, the
side hangings may be arranged so that they
can be drawn across the window, by the aid
of a simple pulley arrangement with cord
and tassel at the side. This avoids the
necessity for the roller shade, which is never
beautiful, is often hanging askew or is out
of order, and as generally used keeps out too
much light. An otherwise pleasing room
is sometimes spoiled by the various roller
shades at its windows hanging crookedly,
or at different levels.
If, because of their convenience or for some
particular reason, roller shades are desired,
there are several points which it is
Materials well to know. When roller shades
are usec^ ^y should be made of
glazed material. A glazed material
stays clean much longer than an unglazed
material, because the smooth surface does
not catch the dust. A blind made of glazed
material also pulls up much straighter than
one the material of which clings to its own
surface. Opaque green shades are best for
the bedrooms, for they shut out the light
most completely, and green is a restful color
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 17
for the eyes. Two-toned shades are often
used, green on the inside and white on the
outside. This is especially desirable when
white shades are used in the windows of the
rooms on the first floor, so that, from the
outside, all the windows of the house seem
uniform. White holland shades without much
dressing are usually better for the living
rooms, as they let in the greatest amount of
light while still giving privacy. Holland
shade material may be bought by the yard
and easily made up at home. A holland
shade usually keeps fairly clean for two years
and then is often very successfully laundered.
No attempt at adornment by the use of
lace or fringe should ever be attempted.
This only draws attention to the shades.
Another mistake which is all too often
made is in the use of short or sash curtains
stretched across the lower half of a Sash CUT-
window. This form of curtain not t*"18
only detracts from the beauty of Never
the room in which it is placed, but is be Used
a detriment to the outside appearance of
the house as well. If it is necessary to shut
out the neighbor's view from bedroom, din-
ing room, or living room, it is best to do §9*^*
1 8 INTERIOR DECORATION
by the use of very thin net curtains, hanging
back from the glass, close to the heavier
curtains which are made to draw.
The proper hanging of curtains is quite
important. Thin white curtains should never
be hung from rings or hooks. As
Method of , ,, , .
Hanging they are usually not required to draw,
. the rod is best slipped into a stitched
heading. Rods of white enameled
metal are proper to use, as they can be washed.
Brass rods, which are so often used, are not
as satisfactory, for continued cleaning and
polishing is required to keep them in fit
condition.
Heavy side hangings should be hung upon
wooden poles matching the woodwork, or
on strong iron rods enameled the
Method of , r , . , . Tr i_
Hanging color oi the window casing, it the
Heavy sifa hangings are to be used to draw
Curtains . , . f , ,. , ,
at night in place of a blind, the cas-
ing for the curtain rod should be sufficiently
large. If there are net curtains next the
glass, side hangings made to draw, and a
valance, three separate curtain rods, one
outside the other, are required. If muslin
curtains are placed next to the window and
the side hangings are not to be drawn, then
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 19
there need be only two curtain rods, for the
side hangings and valance may be placed
on the same rod. Again, if there are to be
muslin curtains and side hangings, but no
valance, there need be only one rod used,
the side hangings and the muslin curtains
being placed upon the same rod.
No window should ever be hung with a
single curtain stretched across it, and even
when screening is necessary a few
inches should always be open in the Glimpse of
center between the curtains. The H1?^*"
, «r i • -i i r side World
most beautiful pictures possible lor a
room are those made by glimpses of the out-
side world, framed by the soft folds of the
window hangings. Even the despised smoke-
stacks often take on a wonderful beauty
when only a small portion of the sky line is
shown in this way.
In conjunction with simple hangings and
good design, the beauty of a curtain depends
upon its color and texture. The buy- color,
ing of curtain material for her win- ^^^
J • ui x i. "riCost
dows is no easy problem for the should All
woman who wishes only the beautiful JjJ^^.
and yet must take count of the cost, sideration
There is no branch of furnishing upon which
20 INTERIOR DECORATION
such great profits are made by most mer-
chants as in curtain materials and in ready-
made hangings. With a little knowledge
it is possible to save more in curtains and
their fittings than in anything else in the
ordinary furnishing of a house.
For the brackets and poles at the windows,
it is always best to measure windows one-
TheEco- se^' kuy tne fittings of the proper
nomical length, and then hire a carpenter to
Way put them up. The resultant bill
will always be found to be much smaller by
this method than when the merchant sends
out a man to take measurements and put
up the curtain rods.
In the same way, when expense is to be
considered, it is always cheaper to buy the
materials and make your own cur-
Materials . i'ii • ' 1 i_
tains and side hangings than to buy
them ready to hang. The one exception
to this rule is perhaps the hemstitched cur-
tains of fine scrim in white or ecru. The
simple machine finish of these curtains is
very fine and the price of two dollars a pair
is not prohibitive. Fine net curtains, fin-
ished with a simple hem, are also to be had
at little more than the cost of the material,
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 21
and at about the price of scrim. These
two varieties of curtains are suitable in all
or any of the rooms in a house. Sheer
muslin curtains with wide hems are especially
good in the bedrooms. They are usually
best hung in straight lines, but occasionally
ruffled muslin curtains, looped back daintily,
are used in strictly colonial homes. No lace-
trimmed or all lace curtains should ever
be used, with the possible exception of exqui-
site real lace. Even the use of that, however,
is decidedly questionable in taste and it is
fortunate that not many people can pay
the extravagant prices of such curtains.
Machine-made lace curtains are not inex-
pensive and are exceedingly ugly. They
should never be used, as they cheapen the
entire appearance of the house. In pur-
chasing them, the home maker surely disobeys
the good old household rule, "Buy only the
best of its kind."
Where the walls of a room are finished
in light tones, it is usually best to have white
curtains, if only one pair of curtains
is used. If, however, the walls are
toned darker, and only one pair of curtains
is wished, it is more pleasant to have tinted
22 INTERIOR DECORATION
curtains. Contrast between a dark wall and
a light window is to be avoided if possible.
In color, window curtains should be a repeti-
tion of the general color scheme of the room,
but in a lesser degree. White curtains, used
alone, are out of place unless the woodwork
and the wall paper are white or very light.
Delicate, transparent colors blend more readily
with the walls of the room, and tone with
the colors of the view beyond the window
glass, tempered and softened by distance.
Cream and ecru scrim, and madras at forty
cents a yard, are universally pleasing. Fig-
ured madras, at seventy-five cents a yard,
having a white or cream background and a
delicately colored conventional design, is some-
times desirable in a room where the walls are
tinted in a plain color of a rather darker tone.
In a dark-walled room, however, which
has none too much light, it is often best
Texture to use thin curtains of net. Net
and Design curtains are so transparent that,
though they protect the occupants of the
room from the curious gaze of the passer-by,
they still let in much of the colors of the
outside world. Although this tends to blend
the window with the walls, there should
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 23
still also be side hangings used with the net
curtains, which will complete a transition
from the light window to the darker wall.
If the wall finish is plain, it is often well to
have a material with a background the color
of the wall, bearing a design in tones of the
window. A figured hanging should never
be used, however, in a room with a decorated
wall. There the hangings should be of a
plain color, and of a shade intermediate
between the dominant tone of the paper or
stencil and the window tone. By this means
the observer's eye is carried around the room
in continuous progression. There is no dis-
tinct break in rhythm when each window is
reached.
In color, the outside draperies of a window
should repeat the dominant color in the room,
often that in the rug. In this way
, ,. - , , Repetition
a feeling of unity is procured between Of the
the walls of a room and its furnish- Dominant
TTTI i Colors
ings. Where the carpets or rugs are
plain, the dominant color may be found in
them or in the upholstery of the furniture.
Where figured or oriental rugs are used, some
pronounced motif usually supplies the color
key of the draperies, which should be of a
24 INTERIOR DECORATION
solid tone. The material chosen for the
overdraperies should generally be used again
in couch or chair cushions. In bedrooms
or in the living rooms of very simple homes
figured denims used as draperies for the
windows and for couch covers and cushions
give an effect of cheerfulness which can hardly
be equaled in any other way. In more
formal rooms where greater richness is de-
sired, and where portieres and upholstery are
of the same material, a heavier fabric should
be used, such as velvet, velour, aras, monks-
cloth, or extra-weight denim.
Color, however, is of vastly more impor-
tance than material. It is better to buy
Color unbleached muslin or some other
Harmony verv cheap cloth and have it dyed the
proper hue, than to use hangings made of
the most rich and luxurious fabric which do
not harmonize with the walls, floor, and furni-
ture of the room in which they are placed.
There is a general rule which it is well
always to remember in interior decoration.
A Good ^ *s ^s — Use plain rugs and hang-
Rule to ings with decorated walls, plain walls
Follow ancj rugg wjtk ggurecj hangings, and,
as a usual thing, plain walls and hangings
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 25
with floor covering bearing a pronounced
design. There are, of course, exceptions in
charming instances, such as in the use of
chintz draperies woven to match the design
of German papers, but usually the rule is
safe to follow.
The materials for the side hangings of a
window may be quite inexpensive though
very effective. Quaint figured ere-
tonnes in various designs and colors siveMa-
, i • i r r r tdials for
can be obtained tor trom forty to side
seventy-five cents a yard. Im-
ported English cretonne at ninety cents
a yard is especially charming. English,
French, and German chintz are very beautiful
and cost but little more. Plain colored
cretonnes, poplins, and homespun range in
price from twenty-five cents to forty cents
a yard. The rough weave of unbleached
muslin is most effective when draperies made
of it are dyed to match the dominant color
of the room in which they are placed. Jap-
anese toweling with its contrasting blue
and white is attractive in dining rooms of the
simpler sort and in many bedrooms. It
may be purchased at almost any department
store at one dollar for a bolt of twelve yards.
26 INTERIOR DECORATION
Other colors may also be had in Japanese
toweling, and, although not usually as strik-
ing, are sometimes very pleasing in the softer
hues. Mercerized cotton poplins are sold
for fifteen cents a yard, and, when hung,
give almost the effect of the more expensive
sun-proof silks. Another material having a
rough weave and the color of raw pongee
comes at the same price. It is really very
rich looking when used in a room in tones
of brown. A plain, washable material called
casement cloth is made in England, and may
be had in excellent values of dull blue, green,
and brown. It is thirty inches wide and
costs only thirty-five cents a yard. It is
especially suited to simple curtains used next
the window or as side hangings and has the
advantage of taking stencil well, where a
very formal design is permissible.
Of the richer fabrics, there is also a great
variety, especially woven for use in classic
Side drawing-rooms, pleasant living
Hangings rooms, dignified dining rooms or cozy
Expensive breakfast rooms, as well as for the
Materials halls and bedrooms. There are
hangings having little luster in soft silks,
reps, poplins, aras, tapestries, and other effec-
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 27
tive stuffs. Fabrics with a pile are richer,
giving soft color with lustrous high lights
and deep shadows. There are velvets of
many kinds, of cotton, linen, silk, and mohair.
Some have high gloss, some very little, some
are striped or brocaded or woven in elaborate
designs. Reproductions of the most notable
examples of velvets, tapestries, damasks, and
brocades of historical periods may be pro-
cured at reasonable figures. The sense of
harmony should be used in the choice of
these various fabrics, however. Rich, quiet
materials should be selected for dignified
rooms in the pretentious homes. The dra-
peries should be in keeping with the pur-
poses of the rooms, and should be of the kind
that will be pleasant to live with day after day.
Wool tapestries of close, hard weaves,
reproducing many of the designs and colors
of priceless stuffs, may be purchased Modern
at prices ranging from four dollars Tapestries
a yard upward. These are suitable for side
hangings for large windows, for door cur-
tains, and for upholstery. They are fifty
inches in width. All-wool tapestries have
the advantage of being practically fadeless,
but there are also many cheaper grades
28 INTERIOR DECORATION
which come in a mixture of cotton and wool
and are very beautiful in design and color.
Tapestry cloth usually suggests rooms of
dignified proportions and furnishings, but
simpler rooms, especially those of the colonial
type, are often suited to its use.
Mahogany furniture suggests velvet and
velours for the heavy draperies. The double-
faced velours at from three to four
Velour,
Velvet, and dollars a yard are very inexpensive
Damask fQr tjie appearance of richness given.
Velvet and satiny wool damasks are of course
more beautiful in texture, but are much more
costly.
Aras cloth at a dollar and a half a square
yard is usually best with craftsman and
Mission furniture and with oak furni-
ture of the simpler kinds. The rich-
for Simple ness of the hangings should never
Furniture , . i r • r i
overshadow the furniture of the room,
for it should be kept in mind that the hang-
ings are a part of the wall or background of
the room picture.
Where heavy hangings are neces-
SideHang- • * V
ings of sarv at the doors, it is sometimes
Light- best to have lighter weight side hang-
Material ings at the windows, but of the same
WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 29
color. For this use there is a material called
secco silk at thirty-five cents a yard, sun-proof
silk at two dollars a yard, and silk pongee
at seventy cents a yard, as well as many
others.
As with the inside curtains, the most eco-
nomical plan is to buy the materials and
have them made up in the house, Hangings
using simple hems or plain gimps maybe
and bindings for finish. In search- h^the"1
ing for the desirable fabrics it is House
often well to pay a visit to the clothing
material sections of the department stores.
There curtain fabrics may sometimes be
purchased which are more suitable than are
the materials carried in the house furnishing
departments, and there is usually a great
saving in expense to the thrifty housewife.
They must only answer that test of good
hangings — harmony with the various parts
of the rooms in which they are placed.
REFERENCES
DE WOLFE, ELSIE
The House in Good Taste.
The Century Company, New York, 1913.
Hangings, Chapter VII.
30 INTERIOR DECORATION
HERTS, B. RUSSELL
The Decoration and Furnishing of Apartments.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1915.
Curtains, Part II, Chapter VIII.
THROOP, LUCY ABBOT
Furnishing the Home of Good Taste.
McBride, Nast & Company, New York, 1912.
Curtains, pp. 181-188.
CHAPTER III
THE FINISHING OF FLOORS
The Treatment of Wood Floors, Old and New — The
Use of Linoleum, Tiles, and Cement for Floor
Coverings.
THE floor is the decorative foundation of
the room, the starting point in the ascending
scale of color tones, and as such The F1 or
should always be darker in value as the
than the side walls, in the same de-
gree that the side walls are darker of the
than the ceiling. The floor should Room
not be inlaid in complicated designs and
covered with patterns which prove distract-
ing. It should be as inconspicuous as pos-
sible and should be a restful background for
the rugs and for the furniture of the room.
In the more inexpensively constructed
homes of to-day the light oak, maple, Light
or pine floor is often used, varnished Floors
1 M . . 1M r should be
or waxed until its mirrorhke surface stained
compels attention. The most beau- Darker
tiful rugs and the finest of furniture are
31
32 INTERIOR DECORATION
dimmed by its saffron splendor, which is
at once the pride of the enterprising landlord
and the despair of any tenant who wishes
to create a homelike interior. Fortunately,
however, all houses are not owned by land-
lords and even occasionally, when the house
is rented, the owner may be brought to see
the error of his ways and may allow a stain
to be applied which will darken the floor
to a satisfactory tone.
Wood stains may be purchased in various
colors which are already dissolved in alcohol,
The Use or a 8°°d stain may be made by mix-
of Wood ing oil paint and turpentine. Color
cards of wood stains can be procured
which may be brought into the room where
the floor is to be darkened and the desired
hue and value decided upon. Shades of
brown, of silver-gray, or of brownish green
are usually best, giving the effect of Flemish
oak, weathered oak, brown weathered oak,
or green weathered oak. If the stain pur-
chased is too dark, it may be lightened by
the addition of a little wood alcohol, and the
dye may then be applied with a camel's-
hair brush. Open ground woods should have
the pores filled with a paste filler. These
THE FINISHING OF FLOORS 33
fillers may be purchased containing any stain
desired, and should be used on oak, ash, and
chestnut floors. Maple, birch, hard pine,
and sycamore are close grained and do not
require a filler.
The finish for stained floors may be either
wax or varnish. Varnished floors are the
most easily cared for. Durable, y^^^
water and heat proof varnishes are and Waxed
now on the market, and two coats Floors
applied once a year are all that are needed
for the average floor. Waxed floors are
more beautiful, but require constant care.
For waxed floors a ready prepared wax
may be used, or beeswax melted with turpen-
tine to the consistency of lard is equally
satisfactory. Two coats of wax are usually
necessary, and they may be applied with a
soft rag or, better, with a weighted brush
which is manufactured for that purpose.
The wax should be rubbed on only a few
feet of the surface of the floor at a time and
this portion polished before proceeding farther.
One coat of varnish should always be given
to the wood before the wax is applied, for
the wax alone is not a sufficient protection
to the wood against grease and moisture.
34 INTERIOR DECORATION
The floors should be rubbed about every
two months and additional wax applied to
The Care a^ worn places- If a floor is allowed
of the to become worn down to the bare
wood, dirt is ground into the surface
and cannot be removed without scraping. All
grease and dirt should be thoroughly removed
before any new finish is applied. On varnished
floors this is especially important, and a good
scrubbing with strong soapsuds is most effective.
Very poor floors may be successfully stained
and then varnished, if first all nails are re-
TheReno- move<^ an<^ every crack and chink
vationof filled with putty. When floors are
Old Floors dd? or badjy discolored> it ;s often
best to use another finish which is made es-
pecially for this purpose. It is a varnish and
stain combined, called floor lac. The pig-
ment is retained in the varnish instead of
sinking into the wood, so that the floor with
its imperfections does not show through
to any great extent. If the floors are very
badly marred, however, one coat of ground
paint is necessary before applying the varnish
stain. The painted surface covers the rough
places in the wood and furnishes a surface
which is extremely durable.
THE FINISHING OF FLOORS 35
Oiled hardwood floors are suitable for
the kitchen and the bathroom. Oiled floors
have the advantage of not being slip- oiled
pery and may be mopped up with Floors
water each day. A good quality of raw
linseed oil should be used, and two coats
each year are generally needed to keep the
floors in good condition.
A practical covering for the kitchen and
the bathroom is linoleum. It may be kept
spotlessly clean with frequent wash-
, . . Linoleum
ings and is attractive in appear-
ance. It comes in simple inlaid designs of
white or cream, combined with a light color.
The best grade of linoleum is the wisest
purchase, for it wears well. A good kitchen
floor covering of this material will usually
be found to be in excellent condition ten
years from the time it is first used. Lino-
leum is rather awkward to handle, so it is
best to have it laid by the firm from which
it is purchased. A narrow molding should
be placed over the edge next to the base-
board of the room.
Tiles, of course, make an ideal sanitary
covering for kitchen and bathroom floors.
They may be kept clean and are beautiful.
36 INTERIOR DECORATION
They are, however, too expensive for the
average small home, so it is fortunate that
Floors of tnere 1S a verv satisfactory substitute
Tile and in cement. A cement floor is often
now laid in any one of a variety of
colors which will harmonize with the rest
of the room. It may be left in one plain
surface, or may be lined off with a small tool
in tile effect while the material is still soft.
It is the most sanitary of all floors in one
respect, for the edges are usually rounded
up to the baseboard in one continuous curve,
thus facilitating cleaning. In one corner
of the room an outlet for water may be
placed. The one disadvantage of both tile
and cement floors is that they are rather
hard on the feet if there is much standing to
be done. In the kitchen when floors of this
kind are used rubber mats may be found a
great comfort when placed before the sink
and work tables.
Comfort and suitability should both be
considered in choosing floor finishes. The
floors of the home will then take their place
as a subordinate but very important element
in the general scheme of decoration.
THE FINISHING OF FLOORS 37
REFERENCES
ELDER-DUNCAN, J. H.
The House Beautiful and Useful.
John Lane Company, New York, 1908.
Cement Floors, p. 35.
MclNTosH, JOHN GIDDES
Manufacture of Varnishes.
Scott, Greenwood & Son, London, 1911.
Floor Recipes, pp. 393-396.
ROBINSON, L. EUGENE
Domestic Architecture.
The Macmillan Co., New York, 1917.
SABIN, ALVAH HORTON
House Painting.
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1908.
Floor Finishing, pp. 61-68.
SABIN, ALVAH HORTON
Technology of Paint and Varnish.
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1904.
Floors, pp. 318-320.
SABIN, Louis CARLTON
Cement and Concrete.
McGraw Publishing Co., New York, 1905.
Cement Floors, pp. 426-428.
CHAPTER IV
DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS
The Treatment of Floors regarding Color, Value,
Subordination — Different Varieties of Domestic
Makes and their Relative Cost.
As has been said, the floor of a room is the
foundation upon which the entire decora-
tion of a room rests, and since floors
The Floor 111
as a Back- are usually carpeted or largely cov-
ground Q^ed with rugs, the selection of floor
coverings is of the greatest importance. The
color value of the floor should be substantial
and harmonious in effect, for a room should
always look as if it had been furnished from the
bottom up, even though, in reality, the rug or
carpet may have been the last thing selected.
As a general rule it is wisest to decide upon
Floor the wall finish first, because of the
^teiTTe necessity °f adaptation to the amount
the Domi- of light which the windows let in, but
fTthe°10r next in order should come the floor
Room covering. From it is usually worked
out the entire color scheme of the room.
38
DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 39
If the rug or carpet is many-hued and figured,
some dominant color is selected and repeated
in varying degrees of value and intensity in
the window draperies and upholsteries. If
the floor covering is plain, the same color or
a harmonizing hue is repeated elsewhere in
the room.
In color, the floor coverings should never
be vivid. If a rug is too bright, it will seem
to fairly jump from the floor and
•11 i i • i Intensity
attention will be drawn to it rather
than toward the furniture for which it is
the foundation. The majority of people have
passed that stage of affection for the hearth
rug proudly bearing a recumbent dog, or the
carpet boasting huge roses and lilies which
might well have been plucked from the covers
of a florist's catalogue, but it is still not gen-
erally known that, even though the design
of a floor covering is conventional, it must
also be sufficiently dull to stay down in its
proper place. There are many women who
feel that an oriental rug must fit in any room
in which it is placed because of the harmony
centering about a diversity of colors, but
this is a false idea. Many of the rugs which
come from the Far East are so vivid in hue
40 INTERIOR DECORATION
that the rooms in which they are placed must
be greatly intensified in color in order to
keep a proper tone balance.
There should also be a sufficient depth
of value to support the rest of the room, or
the rug or carpet does not seem
securely planted under foot. If a
large rug is used or a number of small rugs,
rather than a carpet, and if the surrounding
floor is light, there must be an especial depth
in value to secure the effect of an adequate
foundation. When a perfect balance has
been achieved in this respect, it is really
immaterial whether the floor covering has cost
much or little. The visitor will not think of
the floor, but will merely sense the feeling of
repose given by a well-planned picture.
Domestic ^or *^*s reason domestic rugs are
Rugs are often as artistically satisfactory as
factory 1nS~ t'ie more costly orientals, and there
intensity is certainly a wide choice among
and Value i • • i • i *
the varieties made in our own land.
The plain rug or carpet is perhaps in great-
est vogue to-day among those of domestic
The Rain make. There are many good reasons
Rus favoring its choice. A plain floor
covering, like a plain wall, sets off to good
DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 41
advantage whatever may be placed upon it.
There is no reason for calling attention to
an inexpensive rug by introducing a design
which will detract from furnishings of greater
value in the room. Most of the rooms in
our homes to-day are too small, and a plain
rug or carpet adds to the apparent size of
the floor space. When carpets, rather than
rugs, are used, the use of one solid color on
the floors of adjoining rooms adds greatly
to the effect of spaciousness and gives a sense
of unity to the whole house.
As has just been said, the greatest sense
of size is given by an unbroken floor space,
so, in the same way, if plain floor
1 ' Effect of
coverings are used, a room appears size given
largest which is carpeted, next in size ^ a Plain
if a single large rug is used, but much
smaller if a number of small rugs are used.
A plain floor always seems larger than a
floor bearing a design, whether that design
is made by figures woven into the floor
covering, or by the arrangements of rugs
upon the floor. When, however, small rugs
are selected, they should fit like mosaics
into a picture, in color and design and in
their placing.
42 INTERIOR DECORATION
The choice of floor covering, however, is
affected by so many conditions that it is
not easy to lay down any definite
dinationof rules as guides. Rugs and carpets
Floor should always be as inconspicuous
as possible. They must blend with
the walls and furnishings, or an otherwise
beautiful room will prove unpleasant to live in.
The less pronounced the floor of the room, the
better and more restful the combined effect.
Among the most harmonious domestic rugs
made are those in one, two, or three plain-
toned borders of one color. Where
Plain Rugs , . .
Tvith "two or three tones are used, the cen-
Banded trai value is lighter than the marginal
border. These rugs have a pile which
is often quite' deep, and they are firmly woven.
A plain Axminster velvet rug in a nine
by twelve size may be purchased as low as
Axminster twenty-eight dollars. The Axmin-
Russ ster carpets and rugs have a rather
coarse warp, but the rugs especially give a
very good effect and have fair wearing qual-
ities. The Chenille Axminster rugs in plain
tones are made after the fashion of hand-
tufted rugs of Scotland. They are very
heavy, with a deep pile and made of the very
DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 43
finest wool. Large Chenille rugs may be
purchased for sixty-eight dollars and up.
Plain Wilton rugs are also very satis-
factory. They may always be relied upon
for appearance and service. The wilton
warp is closer than the Axminster, Russ
and the pile is deeper in the less expensive
grades. Plain rugs, and plain rugs with
two-toned borders, may be had in the Wiltons
in several grades, ranging from twenty-four
dollars up to sixty dollars for the ones of large
size.
There is only one objection to these solid-
color rugs, and that is that they do show dust
and footmarks all too plainly. For
. . -in i • The °ne
this reason, in halls and in rooms objection
directly entered from the street, it ^ Plain
is well to plan a color scheme per-
mitting of the use of rather light rugs in a
brownish tone. Footprints are not thus so
noticeable as they are on a darker rug in a
different color.
In many homes figured rugs are preferred,
and here there is a greater variety to choose
from. The American rug manufac- Figured
turers long ago realized the appeal Russ
which the beauty and practicability of the
44 INTERIOR DECORATION
oriental rug makes to the average home
maker, and they have constantly endeavored
to give to the public a rug just as well made,
just as beautiful, and with the same wearing
qualities as the antique, but at one tenth
the price of a good oriental. Each year
there are more perfect and beautiful repro-
ductions made, and it is astonishing how
closely they conform to the traditions of
eastern art.
Productions ranging in price from twenty
dollars to one hundred dollars for a nine
by twelve rug are in the first rank,
in Quality The wool used is imported from the
of Various Orient, is strong, tough, and resilient,
and gives great wear. Both Wilton
and Body Brussels are made, being woven
on Jacquard looms. In the weaving the
yarn is thrown over long, slender steel wires
so as to form a loop. In the Brussels fabric,
the wire is merely pulled out, leaving the
loop intact. In the Wilton, there is a sharp
knife at the end of the wire which cuts the
loops as they are drawn out and makes each
loop a tuft. All rugs of this class are made in
this way, and so, in judging the relative value
of rugs, before purchasing it is well to look
DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 45
at the back of the rugs and select the firm
fabric which is very closely tufted. The
closeness of the tufts can also be told on
the upper side by bending the rug sharply.
The more closely tufted the rug, the greater
is its value. The finest Wilton rugs have
600 knots to the square inch. Axminsters
in good oriental designs may be found at
reasonable prices, while tapestry rugs are
even cheaper. Tapestry fabric is made of
printed wool, and may always be distinguished
by the blurred appearance of the figures.
Very few people whose taste leads them
to desire genuine orientals can resist the
Smyrna rug, a rug with two wearing Smyrna
surfaces and a price which figures a Russ
very great saving. The Smyrna rug is re-
versible. The colorings and designs are exact
reproductions of orientals in many cases.
Scotch rugs are also reversible and are
made of Scotch wool. A large rug costs
twenty-five dollars. They are made scotch
with the weave of an ingrain carpet Russ
and are usually artistic in design and coloring.
A nursery rug in Scotch wool comes at eight-
een dollars and is woven with a charming
border of quaint animals.
46 INTERIOR DECORATION
Rag rugs are to be found in the depart-
ment stores in all sizes, colors, and prices.
Many of them are very thick and
soft in color and blend admirably
with the colonial furniture of a bedroom.
A large rug nine by twelve may be purchased
for twelve dollars and a half and gives good
service, as it washes well. Rag rugs are
also suitable for the living room when they
are woven from well-worn wool carpet. An
old velvet carpet, faded and worn, often
makes a rug of most charming texture and
color, and the cost of weaving is slight.
Rugs of Scotch Caba Fiber at ten dollars
are suitable for the veranda and bedrooms.
Large grass rugs may also be found at
the same price, smaller rugs for less.
They are cold in quality and therefore are
more suitable for the summer cottage than
for the permanent home.
In this day of vacuum cleaners there has
been somewhat of a revival for carpets. If
n a cleaner is installed in the house
Carpets .
versus with an attachment in each room,
Rugs it is certainly less work to have car-
pets than rugs. The effect given by a floor
completely covered is warmer, and many
DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 47
people feel that it is more luxurious and in-
viting. That is a question of taste which
may be decided by each home-maker. Vel-
vet, Body Brussels, and Ingrain carpets may
be purchased by the running yard at a
slightly lower figure a square foot than may
be purchased in a rug of the same quality.
Plain, soft colors are unquestionably the
most artistic but are not always desired be-
cause of dust and footprints and the wear
which shows in the well-used places before
the doors. A patterned carpet, while not
so beautiful, shows wear much less, but, if
used, the figures should be small and unob-
trusive and should be close enough to cover
the background well. Then there will be no
spotty effect to draw attention to the floor.
For the people of quite limited means the
domestic rug or carpet is undoubtedly the
wise selection. A cheap oriental rug
is usually not beautiful, is loosely of Do-
woven, and gives poor service. Good R^SS^S
orientals, on the other hand, by rea- often Pref-
son of their very richness are apt to theUse°of
form a painful contrast with the furni- Oriental
ture in the modest home. It is also a ugs
mistake to sink a large sum of money in a rug
48 INTERIOR DECORATION
with the idea that a real antique will wear for-
ever. Antiques are only antiques because they
have been very carefully used. In the Orient
it would be a sacrilege not to remove the
footgear before entering a house. Here in
America the hard impressions of our stout
shoes cause our rugs to wear in a compara-
tively short time, so, occasionally, there is
additional expense for renapping, for weav-
ing in the damaged places, and for making
the necessary repairs. However, modern ori-
entals are very satisfactory, for the patterns
are beautiful and, as the rugs are new when
purchased, the wearing qualities are excellent.
Indeed, a modern oriental, while costing much
more than a domestic rug, also wears several
times as long, so the expense is often no
greater in the end. For the householder
of sufficient capital to purchase either modern
or oriental rugs, the question is merely that
of suitability and harmony to the home.
In one house an unobtrusive Wilton or
Body Brussels rug may seem in keeping
with the scheme of furnishing, in another
house an oriental rug may add a needed point
of interest.
DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 49
REFERENCE
HUNTER, GEORGE LELAND
Home Furnishing.
John Lane Company, New York, 1908.
Domestic Rugs, Chapter V.
CHAPTER V
ORIENTAL RUGS
The ^Esthetic Appeal of the Oriental Rug — The Four
Principal Classes and Some Subdivisions — Risks
Encountered in Purchasing.
A HOME is something more than a place
in which to live. It is what both men and
women long for, work for, and from
Esthetic which children receive their earliest
Value of an(j most enduring impressions,
the Home . . 5 . F
I heir view of hie is influenced by
whatever of finer suggestion or of real uplift
it is possible to bring into their environment.
If the income is not too limited, it is a wise
investment to do all that is possible to beau-
tify the home and to add to its charm.
Oriental rugs have a power of fascination
The Em an<^ a Pecu^ar mystical quality
tionai which stirs the imagination and
oSfthe1 emotions, more, perhaps, than any
Oriental other item of household furnishing.
** Each rug, laboriously made by hand,
represents months or years of patient work,
50
ORIENTAL RUGS 51
and necessarily reflects the changing moods
and mind of the maker. Each piece of
fabric has received a personal touch which
gives it almost a life and personality in the
family circle.
Although in some homes of unlimited
means, oriental rugs may be entirely out
of place because of the color scheme The
or the manner of furnishing — plain Blending
,°, \ Power of
rugs are sometimes needed where oriental
there is much wall decoration, and
mission and craftsman furniture requires floor
covering of modern design — yet, the scope of
the oriental weavings, old and new, is so
great in variety of texture, color, and design,
that suitable selections may usually be
made for almost any room. The variety
of colors in multitudes of tones and values
tends to make the rugs blend in any setting.
Some of the best effects, however, are gained
by the use of rugs woven by the eastern
workers from special color schemes sent
over to them from this country. Where
it is practical to have rugs made to order in
this way, it is possible to have a wonderful
harmony in color in the rooms in which they
are used.
52 INTERIOR DECORATION
There are many oriental rugs upon the
market, but it is distressingly hard for the
Precaution prospective purchaser to judge of
Necessary values. The uninformed person is
in Deter- •« i i . n • •
mining easily cheated, so it is well to deal
Quality oniy ^h the merchant whose rep-
utation for honesty is of the best. The
innumerable oriental rugs with which America
is now flooded, are usually genuine, however,
in that they are really hand woven. All
Asia seems to have gone to weaving since the
demand for eastern floor coverings became
so universal. However, this great increase
in the industry has given the inevitable
result of inferior production. The wool used
in these days is often not so good, and poor
aniline dyes are sometimes used instead of
the vegetable dyes which were always used
formerly. Cheap aniline dyes are never as
soft in color as vegetable dyes, so rugs of this
inferior dye are usually "washed" by a
chemical process which softens the colors but
rots the wool. A "washed" rug may occa-
sionally be detected by rubbing a small spot
with a moistened handkerchief. If the color
comes off, the dye is aniline of a poor grade
and the rug is doomed to lose its color with a
PERSIAN PRAYER RUG, i6TH CENTURY.
(Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum)
(Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum)
TURKOMAN RUG.
CAUCASIAN RUG, i8TH CENTURY.
(Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum)
(Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum)
CHINESE RUG, CAMEL' S-HAIR, iSra CENTURY.
ORIENTAL RUGS 53
comparatively short period of use. Before
wool will take aniline dyes well, the natural
oil has to be scoured out of it more thoroughly
than when vegetable dyes are used. This
scouring process leaves the wool looking dead
and lifeless, so after the rug is dyed with ani-
line colors, a high luster is given by the use
of a glycerine bath. The pleasing sheen which
this lends soon wears off under the tread of
the disappointed purchasers.
Small rugs, four by five feet and less, of
modern make, of good design and color, may
be purchased all the way from ten Relative
to fifty dollars. Large rugs and Cost
antiques are higher in price, varying according
to age, beauty in color and sheen, and fineness
of texture. The most expensive rugs some-
times contain 1000 knots to the square inch
and represent the work of a lifetime.
Oriental rugs are usually divided into four
principal classes, Caucasian, Turkish, Turko-
man, and Persian. Each class is Four
distinguished by some special char- Principal
... , . j • i • i Classes of
actenstic in design, and within the oriental
classes there are many subdivisions Russ
usually easily .recognized by the connoisseur,
who examines not only the pattern, but the
54 INTERIOR DECORATION
material of the warp, tuft and pile, and the
length of the pile. He also counts the number
of knots to the square inch, and determines
the kind of knot used. After assembling
all these points of identification he is usually
able to give the rug which is being examined
the true name.
The average buyer of the more inexpensive
oriental rugs has neither the knowledge nor the
time for such careful examination,
Reliable , , ,
Dealers and must rely upon only a few gen-
should be erai facts on the subject, and upon
Patronized , J, !
the word of a trusted dealer.
Caucasian rugs come from the Russian
Caucasus, once Persian territory, but ac-
Caucasian quired by Russia in the nineteenth
Russ century. These rugs bear designs
which are rectilinear and geometrical. There
are three principal types, the Daghestans,
Shirvans, and Kabistans. Daghestan rugs
are very beautiful with their silvered tones of
red, blue, green, and yellow, and designs of
stars, squares, and hexagons, of the most
conventional type. They are suited for use
in small reception rooms where dignity is
desired. Kabistans are more like Persian rugs,
for they are softer in color than the Daghes-
ORIENTAL RUGS 55
tans or Shirvans. Stiff animal and human
forms appear in the designs of Kabistans.
For living rooms, libraries, and uses for
dining rooms, Turkish and Turko-
the Second
man rugs are especially desirable as and Third
they are to be easily found in the Class
larger sizes.
Turkomans are distinguished by the use
of many octagons. Perhaps the best known
Turkoman is the Bokhara, named Turkoman
after one of the most remote coun- Russ
tries of the world, seven hundred miles east
of the Caspian Sea. The rugs which come
from this far country have octagons and
diamonds in blue and white designs on rich
red backgrounds. Long wool fringes and wide
selvages prevent fraying. Bokhara rugs are
strong in color and should never be used in a
dainty room. Baluchistans, another type of
the Turkoman class, are also well fringed and
selvaged like the Bokharas, but come in softer
colors, more like the Persian rugs.
The equilateral triangle can always be
traced in a Turkish rug. In Ladik or Anato-
lian fabrics there are usually borders Turkish
which are composed of figures which Russ
look like flowers, until when traced they are
56 INTERIOR DECORATION
found to be made up of one square or triangle
after another, joined to give floral form.
Turkish rugs are woven in soft tones of the
primary colors, blended with a skill that gives
a subdued effect. The designs are apt to be
very symmetrical and the center of the field
of the rug is often pointed at both ends,
except in the case of the prayer rugs. The
Kaba-Karaman and Anatolian prayer rugs
are seen most often for sale.
The finest rugs in the world are woven in
Persia. Rug weaving in Persia is especially
Persian fostered by national pride and
Russ strongly encouraged by the rulers of
that country. Great care is taken to keep
the rugs woven here from deteriorating in
excellence, and the use of aniline dyes is abso-
lutely prohibited for this reason. Persian rugs
are characterized by soft, exquisite coloring
and a floral design.
The most interesting of the Persian rugs
are the Kirman. The hues of these rugs are
very delicate and the plant, flower,
Various /, . , r i • 11
Types of and bird form designs are treated less
Persian geometrically and more naturalisti-
cally than those of any other oriental
rugs. They are unusually soft and silky and
ORIENTAL RUGS 57
have a beautiful sheen. Saraband rugs are
woven in the mountains of western Persia
and derive their designs from the pine trees
found there. Rows of small pine cones usually
fill the central field, the stems of the cones
pointing alternate ways. The colors are red,
blue, and ivory. Quaint medallion effects
are found in Saruk and Tabriz rugs. These
rugs are delicate in coloring, and of admirable
weave, and are among the most popular of
the many types of Persian rugs.
There are many other types of the four
classes of oriental rugs, each reflecting the
thought and customs of some period ,
, . r - TJie Charm
in the history of the country from of the
which they come. Commercialism Antique
has cheapened the design and color in many
instances, but the charm of a human quality
still remains and no manufactured rug can
ever supply that personal element. The an-
tique oriental rugs were the result of years of
patient effort. The thoughts, emotions, his-
tory, and legends of the regions from which
they come, are faithfully recorded in the rugs.
The most beautiful rug was, to the girl of the
Orient, what the painstaking sampler was to
the child of our grandparents' day. No work
58 INTERIOR DECORATION
was too fine, no effort was too great, for the
rug, when at last completed, was to last a
generation and more, cherished as a household
treasure.
The modern rugs are made for commerce
rather than for home use in their native land,
The but still, a feeling of loyalty to, and
Modern reverence for, the craft of their ances-
tors inspires the workmen and work-
women of to-day with an affectionate enthu-
siasm which must inevitably show in their
finished products. Though the stitches are
hurried and often not nearly so fine, the same
ancient symbols are used in the designs, and
many quaint legends may be traced through
the mesh of the intricate patterns.
CLASSIFICATION OF ORIENTAL RUGS
PERSIAN
Yuruk Niris
Herez; Bakshich, Gorevan, Serapi Kurdish
Laristan Karadagh
Kirman Senna
Koultuk Kashan
Saruk Souj-Boulak
Ispahan Kurdistan
Sultanabad; Savalans, Muskabad, Bijar
Mahal Jooshaghan
Khorassan Feraghan; Antique
ORIENTAL RUGS
59
Meshed; Meshed Ispahan (good)
Herat ; Ayin (cheap grade)
Hamadan; Oustrinan, Karaguez
Saraband; Selville (poor)
TURKOMAN
Beshire
Samarkand
Bokhara
Soumack
Daghestan
Leshgian
Chichi
Shirvan
CAUCASIAN
TURKISH
Bergamo
Kulah; Modern
Oushak; Yaprak, Kirman
Demirdji; Enile, Gulistan
Ghiordes; Modern, Hammadieh
Cassaba; Sparta
Kulah; Antique
Ghiordes; Antique
Ladik; Antique
Shiraz
Kirmanshah
Tabriz
Mosul
Afghan
Baluchistan
Yomund
Kazak
Genghis
Derbend
Karabagh
Kabistan
Kaba-Karaman
Konieh; Modern
Meles or Cardian
Akhissar
Makri
Anatolian
Caesarian
Kirshebn
REFERENCES
DUNN, ELIZA .
Rugs in Their Native Land.
Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1910.
History, Chapter I.
Doctored Rugs, Chapter IV.
60 INTERIOR DECORATION
HOLT, ROSA BELLE
Rugs, Oriental and Occidental, Antique and Modern.
A. C. McClurg & Co., 1908.
Chinese, Chapter IV.
Symbols, Chapter VI.
MUMFOKD, JOHN KIMBERLY
Oriental Rugs.
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1901.
Caucasian, Chapter IX.
Turkish, Chapter X.
Persian, Chapter XL
Turkoman, Chapter XII.
RIPLEY, MARY CHURCHILL
The Oriental Rug Book.
Frederick A. Stokes Co., New York.
Materials, Chapter V.
CHAPTER VI
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE
The Home of Ancient and Medieval Times and Its
Furniture — The Renaissance — Period Styles of
Furniture — The Modern Reawakening.]
ONE of the foremost interior decorators of
the country recently said that his greatest
trouble came with otherwise cultured v
women who had the idea firmly fixed ideas of
in their minds that there were just
three styles of furniture. All Period
straight-lined furniture, to them, is
mission, all mahogany with glass knobs is
colonial, and all painted or gilded furniture
is Louis the Sixteenth !
Although there are many more than three
styles in furniture, it is nevertheless extremely
difficult to give even an approximate Many
number. Timms and Webb, in a styles
recent work illustrating furniture from about
5000 B.C. down to the present day, give
thirty-five distinct styles. Other authorities,
however, differ greatly. Many of the styles
61
62 INTERIOR DECORATION
blend so gradually into those preceding and
succeeding, that, if a line is drawn between
them at all, it must be purely arbitrary.
The furniture of the ancient has little
bearing upon our needs to-day — a fortunate
Furniture circumstance, considering our meager
of Ancient knowledge. We know that the
adapted to Egyptians constructed their house-
Modern hold furniture in stone, the Greeks
and Romans in marble and bronze,
and the people of the Middle Ages in wood.
Little of the furniture of that time is now in
existence. In fact, our knowledge is chiefly
due to old drawings, usually in the form of
tapestries representing historical events. In
these old records the furniture is merely a
detail, an accessory used in the background
to illustrate a situation. A bench or settle
figures in an interview between a knight and a
lady, a chair of state is rudely indicated in the
story of a coronation ceremony, or a long
banquet table serves as a center about which
valiant warriors gather. Without the^aid of
these manuscripts, if they may be called such,
all domestic furniture made prior to the
thirteenth century would be largely a matter
of conjecture. Fragments from many of these
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 63
manuscripts have been fitted together, so that
we now have a fairly clear picture of the life
and homes of the people of that time.
The house, or home, of the Middle Ages
contained one large room called the heal,
which served as a dining, living, and
• • A j • • • »^ The Home
sleeping apartment. Adjoining it Ofthe
was the bower, or chamber for the Middle
ladies of the household. There was
little furniture in the main room. A long
rude table, composed of a board laid upon
trestles, occupied the center of the floor, and
about it were placed rough stools and benches
for the members of the family with the excep-
tion of the lord and his lady. For them were
placed two rudely constructed chairs, usually
the only chairs in the house. The walls were
hung with cloths or tapestries bearing legends
of the time, which served to keep out wind and
cold. A hearth fire placed below an opening
in the roof furnished the necessary warmth,
and illumination was provided by means of
torches and extremely primitive lamps.
The bower contained a bed, sometimes a
bench or stool, and always a chest
r i • j rr-ii i i The Bower
oi some kind. The chest was the
most important article in the house and hid
all valued possessions.
64 INTERIOR DECORATION
Toward the latter part of the Middle Ages
the chairs and chests were decorated to some
extent. The Gothic style of archi-
ningsof tecture became the vogue, and the
Gothic pointed or Gothic arch and Gothic
Style . .11.1
carving were introduced into the con-
struction of furniture. The English corona-
tion chair, showing the arch and the quatrefoil,
an ornamental foliation having four lobes or
foils, was built at this period, and happily
has not been destroyed in succeeding cen-
turies.
During the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth,
fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, the Gothic
Details of st^e °^ architecture endured. The
Gothic pointed arch, the trefoil, the quatre-
Styie £ojj^ ancj sjmpie tracery were used
upon massive furniture, the Gothic treatment
being confined mostly to decoration, the con-
struction little affected by it. Toward the
close of the fifteenth century the carving
became heavy and more complicated, the
lines of the furniture less beautiful, and ani-
mals and grotesque heads were combined with
Gothic details.
The plan of the home remained much the
same, distinctly feudal in character. Chests
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 65
became elaborately carved and inlaid. Beds
were surrounded by carved and latticed walls.
Rude tables took the place of the Much
board and trestle, and the chairs Oma-
, .111 -i mental
were heavily laden with ornamenta- carving
tion. Only one distinctly new article Used
of furniture seems to have appeared during
these two centuries, and that was the cupboard,
upon which a wealth of ornament and detail
was heaped.
Toward the end of the fifteenth century a
great change took place in all handcraft. A
new force born in Italy gradually TheRe.
spread throughout Europe and sup- naissance
planted Gothic art. The Renais- tolt"fr
sance was a sudden spontaneous outburst of
intellectual energy in the arts and inventions,
knowledge and books, which had long lain
neglected during the Middle Ages. The
awakening began in Italy, and the whole coun-
try seemed all at once to be endowed with
an instinct for the beautiful, and also with
the capacity for producing it in every form.
From Italy the reform wave spread rapidly to
France and Spain, then to Germany and the
Low Countries, and at last to England and
the new world of America.
66 INTERIOR DECORATION
One often hears the Renaissance spoken of
as a thing of the past, but we are still in the
Furniture onward movement although the first
Designs vigor is over. At the first no article
adapted of furniture was too commonplace to
to Use receive the attention of the greatest
artists of the day. Designs were made with
reference to their setting, and the furniture
for the home became less heavy and clumsy,
so that it no longer was suggestive of the
cathedral or the abbey. The household ap-
pointments were for the first time in history
made with a careful regard for the needs of
the owner, his station in life, and his manner
of living. The homes of the early Renaissance
began to take on a harmony as a whole, as
well as a wealth of exquisite detail, which had
hitherto been absent, but which we of the
present day are still striving to perfect.
Before many years had passed, homes began
to look more comfortable. Chairs, benches,
and tables were loosened from their stiff
positions against the walls, and new furniture
was invented and added, as occasion and need
arose. Chairs became upholstered, tables
gained more beautiful lines and exquisite
carving, and cabinets and chests of drawers
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 67
augmented the old cupboard, and dower
coffers. Clocks, mirrors, and screens became
universal. In the palaces all was luxurious
beauty. Sunken panels in the woodwork
were ornamented by carved rosettes in high
relief, often gilded. The halls were hung
with exquisite tapestries and massively framed
pictures, and the horizontal beaming of the
ceilings, in its complexity, has come down to
the present time as a beautiful example of
the period.
From Italy, the spirit of the Renaissance
spread to France, but here the transitional
period was of longer duration, due TheFrench
to the Gothic art being more firmly Renais-
rooted in France than in the south. sance
The ornamental woodwork of the French in
the early years of the Renaissance differs
strongly from the Italian work of the same
period. It is lighter, more delicate, the
carving more open, and the whole less depend-
ent upon the antique models. In the cabi-
nets the furniture makers seem to have
reveled especially in use of their talent.
The construction of this article gave oppor-
tunity for artistic shaping and decoration
which was impossible in bed, chair, or table.
68 INTERIOR DECORATION
The great devotion of time and skill which
the medieval workmen spent upon the
chest was now lavished upon the cabinet of
the Renaissance.
In Germany, and the Low Countries, as in
Spain also, the Renaissance developed on
The Re- original lines. A simpler, sturdier
naissance form arose than that of France and
many and Italy. Heads and grotesque masks
Spain were introduced with good effect
into cabinet work. Marquetry was excelled
inx^y the I^utch, and in Flanders a distinct
type of chair arose with turned woodwork
and cane seat and back. The Flemish style,
more than any other, influenced the Spanish
Renaissance. There are many chairs from
that period, the woodwork much like those
in Flanders, the back and seat of stamped or
carved leather.
By the beginning of the sixteenth century
the Renaissance had reached England, and a
The En style arose there called the Tudor,
lish Re- which was a mingling of the Italian,
naissance French? and Flemish, the latter pre-
dominating. We Americans are especially
interested in this style because the chairs
which the first colonists brought over from
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 69
England belong to this period, and the carved
chairs made in this country in the early days
show the Flemish-Tudor influence.
This style became more fixed and distinctly
English after Elizabeth came to the throne.
From that time on it was known The EUza
as the Elizabethan, but there is bethan
really no distinction. A style of style
carving known as the linen fold and the strap
work was used especially upon cabinets.
The Jacobean style was an outgrowth of
the Elizabethan, and was very similar, but
of a lighter and more graceful con- The
struction. This style endured from Jacobean
the accession of James I until the style
end of the seventeenth century. The "thou-
sand-legged table," in England called the
"gate-leg table," is a product of this period
as was also the wainscot chair, a combination
chair and table in which the back of the seat
formed the top of the table. The turned
furniture legs of the Flemish naturally gave
rise to the more graceful spiral leg. The
finest type of spiral was carved by hand and
was very beautiful. It was used for tables,
chairs, and elevated cupboards. English oak
was the chief material, but later in the seven-
70 INTERIOR DECORATION
teenth century a great change was made by
the introduction of walnut. This did not
lend itself to easy carving, so paneling and
marquetry, with applied drops, spindles, and
nail heads were used.
The seventeenth century closed with the
furniture of Louis XIV, a style which ever
The Louis since that day has been misunder-
xrv style stood and misused. It was designed
by a man named Andre Boulle, who, with
his brother artists, perfected a type well
suited to pompous and luxurious court life.
It was heavily ornamented with shell and
brass in what was called the rococo style of
decoration. The legs of tables and chairs
were at first straight and then carved, inlaid
and veneered with gilt or brass. The furni-
ture, although ornate, was consistent with
its surroundings, and was not without beauty,
inasmuch as beauty of construction was
never lost sight of.
By the time of the beginning of the reign
of Louis XV French furniture had changed
The Louis somewhat in its character. Decora-
xv style tion grew more and more ornate,
and the magnificent and stately extravagance
of Louis XIV turned into a daintier but no
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 71
less extravagant style. There was more vari-
ety in design and a larger use of carved metal
ornament and gilt bronze. Shells, shaped
foliage, roses, seaweed, and strings of pearls
elaborated all designs, and were introduced
principally by Charles Cressant, a great
artist of that time. There are still existing
many beautiful examples of his work. Some
of the wood which he used was left in the
natural finish, but more often it was painted,
enameled, gilded, and carved. The legs of
his chairs were curved and the arms and
backs were also curved, carved, and gilded.
Gobelin, Ambusson, and Beauvais tapestry,
with Watteau designs, were used for the uphol-
stery. An air of gayety, richness, extrava-
gance, and beauty was given by all the furniture
of this time, which, while not fitting in with
our modern ideas of beauty as applied to use,
still was well adapted to its own time.
Toward the latter part of the reign of
Louis XV the furniture became too Transition
excessively rococo in style, due to g^of
the influence of another artist, Jules Louis xv
Aurele Meissonier, who brought into *° ^oute
French use some phases of the xvi
decadent Italian taste of that time. He
72 INTERIOR DECORATION
believed in putting curves and convolutions
everywhere, broke up all straight lines, and
disregarded all rules of symmetry. He car-
ried the rococo style to its limit in lavish
decoration, and as his power of invention was
marvelous, his output of designs was very
great. The furniture designed after the
ideas of this man was not beautiful and is
too often accepted by people to-day as the
typical style of Louis XV. The greatest
contribution of this later furniture of Louis
XV was of a negative character. By its
extreme extravagance it brought about a
reaction against the ornate rococo school
which influenced all succeeding furniture
making.
Louis XVI furniture is in pleasant con-
trast. It was characterized by simplicity
The Louis of construction and severity of orna-
xvi style ment. The rococo details disap-
peared, and once more antique models were
sought for decorations as well as for forms.
Straight lines replaced flowing scrolls, hori-
zontal bands superseded fantastic moldings,
cupid and rose-garlanded panels gave way to
rectangular spaces decorated with classic
emblems. In chairs and tables the sup-
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 73
ports were fluted, tapering slightly at the
base. The oak leaf, laurel, and bay leaf were
often used in the scheme of decoration. Gild-
ing, inlay, and enamel were still often used,
but during this period the first mahogany
was imported, and many beautiful pieces of
furniture were constructed of the new wood
alone. The furniture of Louis XVI shows
its relationship very strongly to the furniture
of Louis XV. It is quite remarkable that a
style which was the direct outgrowth of a
former period should have so completely
absorbed all of the good qualities and none
of the bad qualities of its predecessor.
During this time the furniture of the Dutch
people had been finding its way into Eng-
land and influencing English design. The Queen
But it was not until the reign of Anne style
Queen Anne that the Dutch and English
designs were completely assimilated. For
this reason the perfected style was known
by the name of the sovereign reigning at
that period. The Queen Anne furniture was
of great simplicity and grace. The earliest
chairs and tables had cabriole legs and
plain Dutch feet, and the chairs had the
solid splat and spoon-shaped back with
74 INTERIOR DECORATION
rounded ends to the top. In the later Queen
Anne chairs a modified Spanish foot was
sometimes used. A small amount of carv-
ing was sometimes used in decoration, but
it was always subordinated greatly to the
graceful lines of the furniture.
The Chippendale brothers of England, in
their earliest work, copied to a great extent
The Chi ^e Queen Anne models with cab-
pendaie riole legs and modified Dutch feet,
style Very soon, however, they developed
their own originality and used the ball and
claw foot, and pierced and carved the splat
in the chair back. Later, the straight-legged
Chippendale chair came into favor, and the
Chinese art influenced the carving, making
it more delicate and fantastic. The later
chairs also showed French and Gothic tend-
encies, and were not nearly as successful as
the early models. The chief characteristic
of the Chippendale chair is usually a pierced
splat richly, and often fantastically, carved,
surmounted by a bow-shaped top-piece turn-
ing down in the middle and up at the ends.
The one exception is what is called the ladder-
back chair, but in this, too, the bow-shaped
feature is distinct.
(Copr., 1916, Good Furniture Magazine)
A HANDSOME CHIPPENDALE SECRETARY,
CHAIR, AND TABLE.
(Copr., iQi6, Good Furniture Magazine)
A SHERATON SECRETARY AND A REED-
BOTTOMED CHAIR OF EARLY COLONIAL DAYS.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 75
The Chippendale brothers worked entirely
in mahogany, that wood having been imported
for the first time just before their Theinflu-
dav. If they had had to work in *nc<:of
* Environ-
either oak or walnut, it is doubtful mentupon
if the results would have been so ^terials
beautiful. Each style is greatly in- Designs
fluenced by its own environment, and it is
amusing to know that the reason Chippen-
dale and other furniture makers of the
eighteenth century constructed their chairs
with broadly spreading arms, made them
without arms entirely, and also invented
the settee, was because the women of that
day wore immense hoop skirts !
Scarcely less beautiful than the Chippen-
dale style is the Hepplewhite. Hepple-
white's work is more delicate and ,
In6 rl6O-
dainty. He used inlay very eifec- piewhite
tively, straight, tapering legs and ^
spade feet. His shield-shaped chairs have
brought him the greatest renown, perhaps, with
the exception of his serpentine sideboards,
which are strikingly graceful. He worked with
a man named Shearer, whose eye for propor-
tion was indisputable. It is unfortunate that
Hepplewhite's construction was often faulty.
76 INTERIOR DECORATION
The work of Hepplewhite was greatly
influenced by two architects of the middle
The Adam part of the eighteenth century,
style James Adam and his brother Robert
probably never designed the furniture which
is attributed to them, but to them was
largely due the reaction that took place at
this time, — a sudden great impetus toward
simplicity and classic forms. The style was
similar in many respects to that of Louis
XVI. The straight line, the arabesque scroll-
work, the gayety, lightness, and formality
are common to both. The essence of the
Adam style might be said to be simplicity,
elegant slenderness, and low relief. The arm
is an important ornament; the bell flower,
delicate scrolls, drapery, the fluted shell, and
medallion. Lions' and eagles' claws are used
for feet.
The influence of the Adams on the furni-
ture makers of their time was very marked.
The Shera- Sheraton did not imitate them, but
ton style he embodied in his furniture a true
Adam feeling for simplicity. While Sheraton
was the last of the trio of great master furni-
ture makers of the eighteenth century, he
certainly cannot be said to be least. In
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 77
fact, some authorities maintain that while
Chippendale and Hepplewhite were fine work-
men, Sheraton was a poet. Sheraton carved,
painted, and inlaid his furniture, using, and
often improving upon, the ideas of his two
great predecessors. He seldom used the
shield back of Hepplewhite, and never the
pierced splat back of Chippendale. While
Chippendale avoided the straight line, Shera-
ton used it a great deal. His chairs are al-
most always distinguished by a straight top
to the back, and rectangular legs. In his
sideboards, tables, and desks where curved
lines were used, he introduced the fluted
column of Louis XVI. His furniture always
seems thoroughly consistent in design, that
final test of consummate art.
The last great epoch in furniture making
arose in the early days of the nineteenth
century. It was influenced by the _.
French Revolution, and victory is Empire
stamped over all its furniture in the style
form of wreaths and torches or other warlike
emblems. The Empire artists lauded the
classics as never before, and Roman and
Grecian decorations were used lavishly.
Marquetry was discarded, but plain surfaces
78 INTERIOR DECORATION
were covered with massive carving. In its
plainer form the Empire type was dignified
and full of beauty, having qualities of repose
and stability which outranked some of its
predecessors. It is to be regretted that,
toward the last, the decorations came to be
extravagant, even to the grotesque. The
Empire style probably had more effect upon
furniture making in America than any other.
It came at a time when the industry on this
side of the water was at its height, and con-
sequently a large majority of the so-called
colonial furniture is of this type.
After the Empire, there was no other dis-
tinctive style of any value produced during
Transition t^ie remamder of the nineteenth
to Modern century. There was a great quan-
styies tjty Q£ furniture manufactured, but
it was a sad combination of many old forms
and little thought. The result was the large
number of black walnut pieces, carved and
decorated with countless turned "icicle" pen-
dants and the stamped and inlaid light oak
furniture. In the past few years two rather
fantastic modes have come somewhat into
favor, the British New Art andL'Art Nouveau.
These can hardly be ranked as furniture
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 79
styles, but rather as fads running parallel
with the present craze for hand-beaten metal
wear and jewelry. Mission furniture, too,
has achieved a great popularity, and very
suitably fills the need for a cheap but durable
style.
Historians predict that, because of the
unusual prosperity of our present time, there
will soon come a great reaction from A New Re-
rapid money making toward art for naissance
art's sake. If their prophecy is correct, the
twentieth century may still give us furni-
ture makers whose work will rank with that
of Chippendale, Sheraton, and Hepplewhite.
REFERENCES
CLIFFORD, C. R.
Period Furnishings.
Clifford & Lawton, New York, 1915.
Colonial, p. 203.
Gothic Designs, p. 64.
EBERLEIN, HAROLD DONALDSON, AND
McCLURE, ABBOT
The Practical Book of Period Furniture.
J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia & London, 1914.
Periods, Chapters II-XIV.
KlMERLY, W. L.
How to Know Period Styles in Furniture.
Grand Rapids Furniture Record Co., Grand Rapids,
Mich., 1913.
Typical Examples.
80 INTERIOR DECORATION
MACQUOID, PERCY
History of English Furniture.
Lawrence & Bullen, London, 1906.
Age of Oak, Vol. I.
Age of Walnut, Vol. II.
Age of Mahogany, Vol. III.
CHAPTER VII
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE
Types of the Antiques which are Reproduced — Con-
sistent Use of Period Styles in the Various Rooms
of the Home — Bisymmetric and Occult Balance —
Comfort.
THERE are a very few families at the present
time where rare old furniture has descended
from generation to generation in any .
considerable quantity, and the pur- and Re-
chase of genuine antiques is often Productions
out of the question. Indeed, the seeker after
old furniture must ever be on guard, for the
manufacture of so-called antiques has come
to be a most clever and flourishing industry.
As with the antique oriental rug, antique
furniture should be purchased only from a
reliable dealer. Unlike the oriental rugs,
however, which have never been satisfac-
torily imitated, the period furniture which is
turned out in our factories to-day is in every
way as beautiful as the rare old pieces of our
forefathers. The designs are good, and true
G 81
82 INTERIOR DECORATION
to type, and the wood is strong and beautiful
in grain, while the masterful polishing which
brings out the exquisite markings is far
ahead of the ancient finish.
In the reproductions of old furniture, it is
noticeable that the manufacture of the most
beautiful and suitable styles is be-
The More . , , .,
Simple coming greater year by year, while
Jypes the types of lesser merit are grad-
ually disappearing. The elaborate
and heavily carved furniture of the early
Italian and French days is not now often
reproduced, and of the later periods, the most
simple designs are retained. Each one of
the old masters made many designs, a few
of which were good, and many of which were
poor. The finest furniture was usually built
on plain, strong lines, and it is from these
pieces that the manufacturer of to-day selects
his models.
Furniture of different periods is adapted
to various types of homes. The greatest
sense of unity can often be ob-
Consistent , . ,' , ,
Use of tamed in a home by planning gar-
Period cienj house, and furnishings to con-
styles .
form to one certain period. Ihe
absurdity of a Japanese garden and a house
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 83
built on the lines of a Swiss chalet and filled
with colonial furniture is apparent at once,
and yet mistakes equally great are often
made. The landscape gardener of to-day is
fortunately furthering a sentiment for unity
between house and grounds, and the interior
decorator carries that idea one step farther
to the inside of the house as well.
Each type of furniture of the chosen period
contains enough styles to furnish all of the
different rooms of a home. There The Use of
are heavy and more formal pieces Different
which are suitable for the hall, dig- the Same
nified chairs and tables for the din- Period
ing room, and lighter furniture for the living
rooms and bedrooms. There is the greatest
economy in the purchase of furniture of one
period for the entire house, because the pieces
are interchangeable between the various
rooms. Articles from the bedrooms may be
used in the living room when desired, and
the chairs belonging to the dining room suite,
when not in daily use, may serve the purpose
of straight chairs in living room and hall.
The sense of unity given by similar furnish-
ing also adds greatly to the apparent size of
the house, as the observer passes from room
84 INTERIOR DECORATION
to room. Some of the manufacturers of this
country are making a specialty of designing
period furniture for the entire house. The
complete list of furniture may be purchased
from the one firm with a minimum of expense
and worry, and additional pieces may easily
be obtained whenever desired. The same
firms will also make special adaptations
in design, woods, and stains to suit the
needs of the particular house which is to be
furnished.
To some people, however, the entire house
furnished in one period seems rather monot-
Fumiture onous, and more variety is desired,
styles of jn tnis case different rooms may be
Different . . . .
Periods furnished in the various periods. In
biased1*7 larSe livinS rooms Chippendale,
Together Hepplewhite, Sheraton, and Adam
furniture may sometimes be used together,
and chairs and tables of Louis XIV, XV, and
XVI will often blend well, but any further
mixture of furniture will usually produce
results disastrous to unity and harmony.
It is only styles which are so closely related
that there are many points in common in
their structure and decoration, which may
be successfully placed in the same room.
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 85
In general it is best to use only one style in
each room, and certain styles have been
found to be especially well adapted to par-
ticular rooms.
The hall is the most formal room in the
house, and, in even the very unpretentious
home, should have a dignity which is
, ' ' • ^i_ The Hall
given to no other place. It is the
entrance to the house, and so should bespeak
the character of the inner rooms to a certain
extent, but should preserve an atmosphere
of stateliness, suited to a room which is not
intended for rest or recreation. Very little
furniture is desirable in the hall, but that
which is placed there should be suited to the
character of the place so that it seems really
a part of the architectural plan. Some of
the early Italian and Spanish chairs, tables,
and chests are admirably adapted for formal
use in the modern hall, and the Tudor and
Jacobean English furniture with the Flemish
chairs of the same period are also suitable.
Of the eighteenth-century furniture, the
early types of Chippendale and Queen Anne
have a certain air of stateliness, and the heavier
pieces of colonial furniture are also built
along lines of dignity. The hall is really a
86 INTERIOR DECORATION
passageway used to form a connection be-
tween the various rooms of the house, and
this should be remembered in selecting its
furniture. It should be so furnished that it ex-
tends an impersonal hospitality to the person
who enters, but gives only a hint of the spirit
which is manifested in the privacy of the
rooms beyond.
Next to the hall the dining room should
be the most formal room in the house. It
The Dining should be bright and cheerful and in
Room harmony with the adjoining rooms,
but should also have a certain dignity of its
own in selection and arrangement of furni-
ture. As there should be almost no attempt
at decoration in this room, the table, chairs,
and other necessary furniture stand out in
strong relief and so perhaps should be the
most carefully chosen of any furniture in
the house. Flemish and Jacobean furniture
are popular for dining room use because the
dull oak used in these types is easily cared for.
In mahogany the colonial furniture is most
often used, but it is not as distinctive as the
Chippendale, Adam, Hepplewhite, and Shera-
ton. Hepplewhite and Sheraton, being rather
light in construction, should be used only in
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 87
comparatively small rooms so they may not
appear trivial in the formal arrangement.
The furniture of the time of Louis XIV may
also be used in dining rooms. Although it
is rather elaborate, it is also heavy enough
for this use, but especial care should be taken
with the selection of rugs, wall decorations,
and window hangings so that there shall be
entire harmony.
There can be no pleasing harmony in a
room unless the laws of balance are observed
in the arrangement of the furniture _,.
n i • A • Bisymmet-
and wall decorations. A room is ricBai-
only in balance when its furnishings ance
are so arranged that there is an equalization
between attractions. Balance may be di-
vided into two general types — bisymmetric
and occult. Bisymmetric balance is gained
by a mechanical arrangement of like parts in
like manner about a center. Occult balance
is gained by aesthetic sense of proportion.
The dining room is the one place in the house
where bisymmetric balance is most important
and where it may be used without danger of
too great formality and stiffness. No matter
how small the dining room may be, it always
has greater charm when sthe furniture is
88 INTERIOR DECORATION
arranged with dignity. To secure perfect
bisymmetric form, the table should be placed
in the exact center of the room and an imag-
inary line should then be drawn cutting the
room into two equal parts. The chairs,
serving tables, and buffets should then be
arranged in like position on either side of the
room, so that one piece of furniture balances
another. This rule cannot be followed abso-
lutely, of course, but adaptations may be
made to conform to the architectural details.
Where there are attractively curtained win-
dows on one side of the room they may be
balanced by an interesting buffet or a wall
decoration placed opposite. Several chairs
may be grouped formally to balance a large
piece of furniture. In all adaptations and
applications of this principle, however, it
will be found that the simplest arrangements
are the best. There is a greater sense
of repose, of rest, in the dining room where
there is to be found only the absolutely
necessary pieces of furniture, formally ar-
ranged.
The living room, on the other hand, is
that room in the house where a fine sense of
occult balance is needed to create an atmos-
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 89
phere of rest and charm, reflecting the indi-
vidual tastes and interests of the various
occupants of the room, but preserv-
, . • r The Living
ing at the same time a unity 01 Room and
meaning. The living room, of all
rooms in the house, should never seem
formal, and yet, if the laws of balance are
not observed, the greatest confusion in the
selection and arrangement of the furniture
is bound to result.
Colonial or sixteenth century English fur-
niture is usually the most suitable for the
living room. The modern colonial
furniture of to-day is usually a quite
faithful copy of the furniture made for the
. Living
by our runtan lathers. It was an R00m:
adaptation and an outgrowth of the Colonial
f . 1 >>i - , , and Six-
furniture made by Chippendale, teenth
Hepplewhite, and Sheraton which
was brought over to this country by
the colonists. The Adam and Queen Anne
styles were also adapted to the new use in
the same way that the others were — by
eliminating all unnecessary ornament and
strengthening the lines and proportions so
that they should fit into the plain and prim-
itive life of the new world. For this reason
90 INTERIOR DECORATION
colonial and sixteenth century furniture may
easily be used in the same room. Their
close relation in origin makes them fit in well
together.
French furniture is not so suitable for liv-
ing room use. It is too ornate, too elaborate
French m the early styles, and too delicate
Furniture jn the later productions, for the
everyday life of a household. It is better
used in formal reception rooms. French
furniture is usually much more expensive
than English and colonial furniture, for only
the most expert craftsman can reproduce
French motives and styles with a truly
aesthetic accuracy. This again is another
reason against using it in the living room.
Good colonial furniture is comparatively
inexpensive because of the greater ease with
which it may be practically evolved.
Some reproductions of early Italian furni-
ture are also very fine in the modern living
Italian room. There is a certain strength of
Furniture ime ancj solidity of structure found
in the productions of the Italian Renaissance
which partakes of the spirit of the present
times, and gives promise of a more general
use in our house furnishings in the future.
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 91
In arranging the furniture of the living
room in order to obtain the result of occult
balance, there should be, as in a
room arranged in bisymmetric bal- 0btSn°
ance, an axis which centers the inter- Occult
est and about which the rest of the
furniture is grouped. In a dining room,
the axis of interest is always the table, which
should be invariably placed in the center of
the room. In the living room the axis of
interest is very seldom placed in the center,
but is at one side or at one end of the room.
A well-proportioned fireplace is perhaps the
most usual and most successful main point
of interest for the living room. A large
table with a reading lamp and an easy chair
may serve equally well, or a piano in daily
use may prove the dominant note to give
occult balance to the point of interest in a
room. All other furnishings should be sub-
ordinate to that interest, but should be so
placed as to balance in seeming weight. If a
grand piano is placed at one end of a room,
there should be several groups of lesser in-
terest at the other end of the room so that
the weight of the piano will seem balanced.
In a room which is poorly arranged in this
92 INTERIOR DECORATION
way there is a feeling of tipping given, which
is very unpleasant. A large tapestry or rug
hung upon the wall opposite a heavy fireplace
will often preserve a sense of balance, or
even a single bowl of flowers properly placed
in the room may give the secondary interest
needed.
Comfort should be of the greatest impor-
tance in furnishing the living room. The
chairs should be inviting and restful
Comfort 11111 11 i
and should be so placed as to be
equally desirable for reading in the daylight
or evening hours. Wherever possible, table
lights should always be used, as the glow of a
reading lamp is second only in creating the
homelike atmosphere to the hearth fire itself.
Only big restful pictures which every member
of the family enjoys should be placed upon
the walls, and the draperies, rugs, and furni-
ture should reflect the character of the people
who use them. The best of its kind should
be there, but nothing too good for daily use
should ever be placed in a living room, for
it should be the most used room in the whole
house, with the possible exception of the
library, if the house be the home of people
much given to reading or study.
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 93
The library should have the same spirit of
repose as the living room, but at the same time
should be furnished in a manner to The
give greater dignity and solidity. Librar7
The interest in the room should center en-
tirely about the books, for which the room
exists. Unless there are many books it is
ridiculous to name the room in which they
are placed a library. If there is only one
small case of volumes, it might better find its
home in the living room. So, too, a library
the walls of which are lined with many books
behind locked doors is wrongly named. It
is an affectation hardly better than the rooms
of certain people of past times who filled their
shelves with beautifully bound dummies.
Indeed it is questionable if the glass-inclosed
bookcases, even though the key be perma-
nently lost, can ever equal the open bookcase
in the spirit of ready companionship. The
literary friends seem slightly removed and
the slight effort of opening a door to reach
them seems to place them apart to a certain
extent. The glass-inclosed bookcase is, of
course, much more sanitary, and the life of
precious volumes is lengthened by the ab-
sence of the daily grind of dust, so there is a
94 INTERIOR DECORATION
conflict between the practical and the aes-
thetic in the minds of the householder who
would have the best kind of a library in his
home.
Bookcases which are built into the walls as
a part of the house are of course always
best. They should be of the same
finish as the woodwork and take
their part as a feature of the architectural
construction. In many homes, however, a
room is taken for library use which had been
originally intended for some other purpose.
It is then that bookcases as pieces of furniture
must be used. There are many cases on the
market both with and without doors which
are built on lines of antique and modern de-
signs. Perhaps the most satisfactory shelves,
however, are given by the sectional bookcases,
of which there is now a great variety. They
are manufactured after designs conforming
to every style of period furniture and in all
possible woods and finishes. Although the
sections fitted together take up slightly more
room than the single bookcases, there is the
advantage that additional sections may be
added from time to time as books accumulate.
The architectural structure of the room may
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 95
also be followed easily and sections may
successfully be fitted underneath windows
and in odd places where large cases could
not be placed. Where cases of either kind
are used in the library, they should, as pieces
of furniture, be matched by the rest of the
furniture in the room in wood, finish, and
style.
Only the most dignified styles of furniture
should be used in the library ; furniture hav-
ing rather strong and heavy lines.
Sheraton and Hepplewhite pieces,
for example, are too dainty, as is also
furniture of the Louis XVI period.
The designs of the time of Louis XV are also
unsuitable because of ornate decorations,
but some of the heavier furniture of Louis
XIV has been successfully used for this
purpose. Chippendale, Queen Anne, Wil-
liam and Mary, Jacobean, and some of the
Adam styles are all very well adapted for
library use, and designs following the spirit
of the early Italian and Spanish models are
admirable. Colonial furniture is always cor-
rect, as indeed it is for almost any room in
the house, because of its many variations
in shape and style.
96 INTERIOR DECORATION
There should be great simplicity in the fur-
nishing of the library. In the center of the
room there should be a substantial
table covered with a flat mat which
does not slip, or, better still, with no covering
at all. On the table there should be a good
reading lamp, and to it there should be drawn
up comfortable chairs placed so that the light
will be good for reading in either daylight or
evening hours. Beyond the addition of a
foot rest or two and possibly one small side
table and several straight chairs there should
be no other furniture in the room. On the
walls there may be one or two fine large
engravings — the portrait of some noted
thinker, or the replica of some great archi-
tectural triumph. Above the fireplace there
might be the bust of one of the early phi-
losophers, or something else which would
reflect the interests of the persons who find
their inspiration in the books which the room
shelters. There should be no "pretty
things," no bric-a-brac, to destroy the dig-
nity of the room and to take away from its
essential feeling of repose and seclusion.
The bedrooms of the home should also
have a feeling of repose and seclusion, but
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 97
here there need not be such an atmosphere
of dignity. Gay-colored chintzes may be
hung at the windows, the most f rivo- The
lous of French furniture is often Bedroom
not too dainty or too ornate, and the indi-
vidual tastes of the occupant of the room
should be reflected in every detail of the
furnishing until the room seems a personal
part of its owner. To many older men and
women of rather puritanical ideas, the colonial
furniture of our forefathers seems most ap-
propriate, the simple lines of the Queen Anne
and the sturdy style of Chippendale may
reflect the character of some other indi-
viduals, while the dainty carving of Hepple-
white or the dresden loveliness of Louis XVI
seems often the very embodiment of the spirit
of the daughter of the household. As a usual
thing, each bedroom, being a distinct unit in
itself, should contain only one type of furniture,
that type selected with reference to the user.
When there are several guest rooms, they
may each be furnished in different styles,
styles to suit various types of per- Types of
sonalities, but where the home is so ^J^^116
small as to boast only one guest Bedroom
room, this room should be furnished in
98 INTERIOR DECORATION
one safe style, such as colonial or English,
which would be fairly appropriate to any
guest. The dainty white guest chamber with
furniture of very slender lines may be lovely
for the girl guest, but the man who is forced
to spend a night in a room furnished in that
fashion must feel sadly out of place.
The furnishings of the whole house should
first reflect and conform to the spirit of the
The Use of members of the household, but
Furniture should then be planned with a cer-
to Express . - • i • r i
Person- tain amount or consideration tor the
guests and friends of the family.
The home of the members of a family is the
outward expression of their personality, a
manifestation of their good will, coopera-
tion with, and courtesy toward, each other
as close relatives and toward those of the
outside world who enter at times into the
home circle.
REFERENCES
DE WOLFE, ELSIE
The House in Good Taste.
The Century Company, New York, 1913.
Reproductions, Chapter XVII.
Arrangement, Chapter XI.
Suitability, Chapter II.
MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 99
McCLURE, ABBOTT, AND
EBERLEIN, HAROLD DONALDSON
House Furnishing and Decoration.
McBride, Nast & Company, New York, 1914.
Arrangement, Chapter XV.
PARSONS, FRANK ALVAH
Interior Decoration, Its Principles and Practice.
Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, N. Y., 1915.
Balance, Bisymmetric and Occult, Part I, Chapter III.
ROBINSON, L. EUGENE
Domestic Architecture.
The Macmillan Company.
Planning and Arrangement, Chapter XII.
WRIGHT, RICHARDSON
Inside the House of Good Taste.
McBride, Nast & Company, New York, 1915.
Comfort, p. I.
Personality, p. 97.
NOTE. — The furniture of the various periods described in
the two foregoing chapters is shown in the following illus-
trations :
ADAM Illustrations facing pages 86, 90
AMERICAN EMPIRE Illustration facing page 21
CHIPPENDALE Frontispiece and illustrations facing
pages 74, 76, 87
COLONIAL Illustrations facing pages 91, no,
in
GEORGIAN Illustration facing page 120
HEPPLEWHITE Illustrations facing pages 34, 77, 90
JACOBEAN Illustrations facing pages 43, 87
QUEEN ANNE Illustration facing page 7
SHERATON Illustrations facing pages 20, 75, 133
WILLIAM AND MARY Illustrations facing pages 6, 34, 42,
90, 145
CHAPTER VIII
FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN
A Reflection of the Spirit of To-day — Different Styles
which may be Purchased and Their Use in the
Home — Rugs, Upholstery, and Wall Coverings
which Harmonize.
PERIOD furniture is not adapted to the use
of all people. There are some persons of
Furniture very modern feeling to whom the
which spirit of the furniture of bygone
Kenects
the Spirit days does not seem at all appro-
Present priate for use to-day. They want
Day something which is to them more
up-to-date, more truly American. For them
there is a modern type which is admired
and used by a great number of people who
feel the need of an inexpensive yet pleasing
kind of furniture.
The mission furniture originated some
The Origin tn^rtv 7ears ag° m a little mission
of Mission church in California. The church
Furniture wag an j^^ble frame structure and
the chairs made for it were of the sim-
100
FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN IOI
plest, straight-line construction possible. Be-
cause they were so simple they seemed to
possess an element of beauty, and the public
soon recognized this fact and called for other
straight-line designs in inexpensive furniture.
Furniture makers all over the country aban-
doned, to some extent, the manufacture of
much ornate, fantastically carved, light oak
furniture, and bent their energies toward the
making of straight-lined dark-stained mission
furniture. Many of the designs were too
heavy, were lacking in a fine sense of pro-
portion, but much of the furniture was, and
still is, good.
Mission furniture is often wrongly used,
however. Many people forget, or are igno-
rant of, the fact that this style of
furniture was originally designed for use of01
the bungalow type of building, Missi°n
i i i i r • Furniture
where the woodwork of the rooms is
on plain lines and is stained the same tone
as the furniture. While mission furniture
may seem very much at home in a western
house, it may be entirely out of place in a
house of the middle west, and surely would
be incongruous in a colonial mansion of the
east.
102 INTERIOR DECORATION
Where mission furniture is well adapted to
the home in which it is placed, great care
should be taken in selecting the rest
Furnish- of the furnishings. Plain walls are
ings which best with mission furniture. If fig-
Harmonize . • 11 1
urea wall covering is especially de-
sired, however, only that having a very con-
ventional pattern should be selected. No
attempt at daintiness should be made in a
room with this type of furniture. The side
hangings at the windows should be non-trans-
parent, of firm weave, and, if figured, should
be of geometric design. Some of the newer
types of domestic rugs are more suitable for
use with mission furniture than oriental rugs.
Oriental rugs carry with them the spirit of
the past and so are not appropriate for use
with furniture of a distinctly modern type.
The plain Wiltons with shaded borders are
often used, but the texture of the many differ-
ent makes of Scotch rugs seems most fitting.
Craftsman furniture is an outgrowth of
mission furniture. The public soon tired of
Craftsman so much straight-lined, heavy furni-
Fumiture ture. People called for designs re-
taining all the good qualities of the mission
furniture, but adding a feeling of grace and a
(Furnihtre designed by Helen Speer, reproduced through the courtesy of The Eouse Beautifttf)
THIS PLAYROOM Is LARGE, LIGHT, AIRY, AND SIMPLY FURNISHED,
BUT THE ROCKER HAS ARMS WITH DANGEROUSLY SHARP ELBOWS.
(Furniture designed by Helen Speer, reproduced through the courtesy of The House Beautiful)
A "BABY PEN" WITH CHINESE COUNTERS THAT WOULD AFFORD ENDLESS
AMUSEMENT, AND A HOBBY-HORSE THAT LOOKS AS SPORTIVE AS HE Is SAFE.
FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN 103
certain degree of delicacy. This demand the
manufacturers succeeded in meeting in many
charming instances. The shops are now filled
with modern furniture, much of which is really
beautiful. Sometimes this furniture is of
entirely new design. More often each piece
is a successful composite of many antique
motifs, so blended that an entirely new idea
seems to have been originated. Some of this
craftsman furniture is heavy and substantial
looking, some is dainty and graceful. In all
designs, however, there is a distinct lack of
unnecessary ornament, and the charm depends
entirely upon the extreme simplicity. Much
of this furniture is very inexpensive and fills
a national want for people of limited means.
As with mission furniture, the most simple
draperies, rugs, and wall coverings should also
be used with craftsman furniture. ,
Consistent
With some of the more delicate de- Use of
signs, however, daintier backgrounds
are permissible in the rooms where Wall
they are placed. Coverings
The principles upon which both mission
and craftsman furniture are based are honesty
and simplicity. The wood is of the best
quality and the workmanship must be exact,
104 INTERIOR DECORATION
as any imperfections are at once noticeable
in furniture of such simple lines. White oak
Honesty *s 8enera^7 used, and in three different
and tones, a soft, light brown, a rich, nut
Simplicity brown? and a delicate silvery gray.
Table tops are sometimes covered with hard
leather, and soft leather cushions are often
used in chairs and settles. As with period
furniture, the mission and the craftsman
types will never go out of style because they
in themselves represent a new American period
of design based upon natural lines which
give comfort and durability, adapted to the
lives of the great class of people. There is
little chance for change in this style in the
years to come, for it is impossible to get far
away from the structural lines which give the
purpose and use of each piece, and the propor-
tions which best serve that purpose and use
are the proportions which it should have.
There are several kinds of "straight line"
furniture on the market which are also some-
what upon the mission order, and were prob-
ably first inspired by the early western de-
signs. Furniture of this type comprises pieces
which are well made, of good proportions, and
equally possible for use in kitchen, office, or
FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN 105
living room. The dignity of their simple
lines makes them harmonious in any setting
which is not elaborate.
Cottage furniture is of much the same type,
but here there is more of an attempt to make
it artistic. It is sometimes enam- cottage
eled, and painted with delicate gar- Furniture
lands in conventional designs, or the natural
wood is used, stained in several different
shades, and oiled. Many of the chairs in
natural wood are modifications of the old
Windsor style. This furniture is really in-
spired by the furniture of our grandparents
but is often more beautiful than the old
pieces. It fits well a demand for a certain
type of furniture which is inexpensive and is
at the same time very dainty. Rag rugs are
generally used with this kind of furniture, with
plain walls of delicate tints and old-fashioned
chintz hangings at the windows, with the
same chintz used for cushions.
Willow furniture is another class which is
very popular and which has a distinct use in
many modern homes. Because of wfflow
its solid comfort, artistic effect, and Fumta*®
great durability it is a great favorite with
many people. It should be remembered,
106 INTERIOR DECORATION
however, in using it, that it is of a distinctly
informal type. No room in which it is used
could be very stiff and dignified. It is very
cheerful, however, and one of its good points
is that it may be used upon the piazza, left
out in the rain even, and still may be refinished
to look as good as new with either paint or
enamel.
A more luxurious furniture of much the
same kind is made of prairie grass. The
Grass weave of this furniture is usually very
Furniture close, the fibers well woven together
to withstand hard usage. It is very attrac-
tive ; and comfortable chairs, settees, tables,
and stools may be found in great variety.
No indoor room except the sun parlor should
ever be furnished with either willow or
prairie grass furniture exclusively.
The Use of . , , , * . . ,. . , n
Willow Although each piece individually
and Grass mav be beautiful, a whole room
filled with chairs and tables of this
type gives an effect of monotony and coldness.
One or two willow or grass chairs may be used
in an informal living room. Combined with
mahogany they give very satisfactory results.
White or colored willow is also charming used
with enameled furniture of the same shade.
FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN 107
The same precaution should be observed in
the buying of willow or grass furniture as in
that of any other class. It is best Aprecau_
always to be sure that the article tionforthe
is well made and of good material, Purchasei
and to remember that it is more wise to pur-
chase one chair which will stand the test of
years of wear, than to purchase three badly
constructed ones. The prevailing styles made
by the most reliable manufacturers should all
be studied before a selection is finally made.
REFERENCES
CLIFFORD, C. R.
Period Furnishings.
Clifford & Lawton, New York, 1915.
Mission Furniture, p. 223.
Arts and Crafts Furniture, p. 224.
L'Art Nouveau Furniture, p. 217.
ELDER-DUNCAN, J. H.
The House Beautiful and Useful.
John Lane Company, New York, 1907.
Modern Furniture, Chapter V.
THROOP, LUCY ABBOT
Furnishing the Home of Good Taste.
McBride, Nast & Company, New York, 1912.
Craftsman Furniture, p. 159.
WALLICK, EKIN
Inexpensive Furnishings in Good Taste.
Hearst's International Library Co., New York, 1915.
Willow Furniture, Chapter X.
CHAPTER IX
FURNITURE WOODS
Mahogany — Oak — Ash — Red Gum — Walnut — Ma-
ple — Beech — Birch — Rosewood — Veneered
Furniture.
THE essential points which should be con-
sidered in the purchasing of furniture for the
home are comfort, lightness, and strength.
Comfort and lightness are largely matters of
design, but the strength and durability of a
piece of furniture is mainly due to the selection
of the wood of which it is constructed. The
highest skill may have gone into the making
of an individual chair or table — the different
parts may have been so joined that the whole
structure has become one piece, but if the wood
appropriate for the use has not been chosen,
the careful workmanship has been wasted.
The prospective buyer of household furniture,
then, should have some idea of the general
characteristics of the more commonly used
woods so that he may have some independent
knowledge to supplement information given
by dealers.
108
FURNITURE WOODS 109
Probably the best known of all the furni-
ture woods is mahogany. It is so well known
that a description of its appearance
mi Mahogany
is unnecessary. Ine most expen-
sive and best known of the mahoganies is the
Spanish. The cheapest wood of this variety
is the Honduras, or the Baywood, as it is com-
monly called. The Spanish mahogany comes
from the West Indies and is very beautifully
figured. The Honduras mahogany has little
attractive marking and is a much softer wood
than the Spanish mahogany. However, it
is usually free from knots and other
defects and is well adapted for furniture-
making where plainness is not objection-
able. Compared with the finer varieties of
this wood, the grain is rather open and coarse,
but it is used for much of the less expensive
furniture and is often employed for the
foundation work in veneered furniture of fine
quality and for the backs of cabinets or other
parts which are not generally exposed to
view. There are many varieties of ma-
hogany, ranging from the finest to that cost-
ing little more than the best pine. It is all
good furniture wood and takes a high degree
of finish.
110 INTERIOR DECORATION
Oak, like mahogany, is so well known
that a description is not necessary. Oaks
of all kinds are becoming quite ex-
pensive and are now used with care
which would have astonished our colonial
forefathers, to whom oak was the common-
est building material. White Oak is the
strongest, toughest, and most durable. It is
characterized by its figure, which consists of
hard, glossy marks unlike those in any other
wood. Brown Oak is considered the choicest
of all the different varieties. It is very hard,
closely marked, and the best grade, which is
called the Pollard, is much used for veneers.
The lighter oaks are often successfully stained
to imitate Brown Oak. Red Oak is another
variety which is used often in cabinet work.
It costs about the same as White Oak, but is
usually of coarser texture, is more porous, less
durable, and is often brittle.
Another wood which years ago was consid-
ered very common and is now classed among
the most expensive varieties of furni-
ture materials is Black Walnut. It
is of coarse texture, but is heavy, hard, stiff,
and very strong. The narrow sapwood is
whitish and the heartwood is chocolate brown.
FURNITURE WOODS III
The wood is durable and takes a good polish,
and is so handsome that it has become the
favorite cabinet material in this country. Al-
though, in colonial days, Black Walnut was
also used as an ordinary building material,
it has now become so scarce that at the pres-
ent time it is too expensive for most furniture,
and is employed largely as a veneer. Be-
cause of its strength and elasticity walnut
is especially desirable for gunstocks, and
the recent demand for the wood for this pur-
pose both at home and abroad has consider-
ably reduced the available supply.
There is a very valuable wood which is used
as a veneer commonly known as Circassian
Walnut. It is not a walnut at all,
but is an ash called by the name of
Hungarian Ash. It is very beautiful, with
fine markings ranging in color from white to
a medium shade of brown. When it is used
as a veneer, poplar is generally the foundation
wood. The common ash is a very different
wood. It is light in color, tough and hard,
with somewhat of a resemblance to oak. As
a rule there is almost no figure. The beauty
of the common ash is considered to consist
mainly in its color, which is unusually light,
112 INTERIOR DECORATION
and for this reason it is especially popular for
bedroom furniture.
Three other woods which are suitable for
dainty bedroom furniture are Maple, Beech,
Ma j and Birch. Birch is more beautiful
Beech,' than ash because of its figuring,
which is similar in character to the
figure in mahogany. For this reason it is
often stained to an excellent imitation of that
wood. Beech is a similar wood and is often
also stained to imitate mahogany or rose-
wood. Furniture of maple rivals that of oak.
The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and tough,
and of fine texture. It is frequently wavy-
grained, giving rise to attractive "curly"
and "blister" figures of a creamy white, with
shades of brown toward the heart.
Although the majority of woods are char-
acterized by their grain or peculiar figure, Rose-
wood may be identified by its remark-
able fragrance. There is probably no
other wood which is so often imitated and sold
as the genuine. The color is a dark red or brown
with strong markings of a much deeper tint.
Red Gum is a comparatively new wood in
furniture manufacture. It is a rather heavy
wood, soft, quite stiff and strong, tough,
FURNITURE WOODS 113
commonly cross-grained and of fine texture.
It is being used in large quantities the past
few years to take the place of the
J , , , j . , Red Gum
less abundant oak, and is popular
because of its beautiful grain and because of
the fine finish which it takes.
Because of the scarcity of the best woods,
much of the furniture of the present day is
veneered. A cheaper grade of wood veneered
is used for the foundation and the Wood
surface is covered with a thin layer of more
expensive wood applied with glue under
strong pressure. By the use of a veneer rich-
appearing furniture may be manufactured
at comparatively small cost, and very beauti-
ful effects may be obtained by the use of small
and very rare pieces of timber. Veneering
also keeps out the dampness from the inner,
and usually more porous, wood of which the
furniture is constructed.
When veneer is employed in preference to
solid wood for the purpose of reducing the
cost of production, it is often the
case that a piece of furniture made SiveVe-
principally of pine may look as neered
u A •£ *f j x r j Fumiture
handsome as if it were made of solid
wood of the more expensive kind.
114 INTERIOR DECORATION
tical purposes it is entirely satisfactory and
provides really good-looking furniture for
people of moderate means. The practice of
veneering furniture may be regarded as a
means of placing beautiful objects within the
reach of those who could not otherwise afford
them. If the wood serving as the foundation
is good and sound, free from knots and cracks,
and if the veneer is applied with careful work-
manship, there can be no valid objection to
work of this class. Of course it should be
sold for what it is.
Not all veneered furniture is less expensive
than the solid, however. A fine veneer is
more valuable than the solid wood
Veneered
Furniture of which is less beautifully figured.
High Grade The rarest prench Qr Italian walnut
is sometimes veneered on mahogany, as it lasts
better in this condition than if it were solid,
and large surfaces and thicknesses of walnut
are difficult to procure in perfect condition.
Very precious woods such as ebony or satin
wood can only be obtained in small quantities,
and other woods of especially handsome grain
are cut from roots and excrescences of the trees
which have produced unusual conditions of
growth.
FURNITURE WOODS 115
In addition to the cost of materials there
is the labor to be taken into consideration, for
good veneering requires careful work. TheFoun-
A valuable veneer is usually laid on dationWood
an expensive wood as a foundation, and this
unnecessary cost in manufacture adds to the
price of the finished product. For example,
a choice Spanish veneer is often applied to
mahogany of a less beautiful grain. In the
making of reliable furniture great care is
taken by the manufacturers in the selection
of wood which is to be veneered upon to be
sure of successful results. The foundation
wood is dry and free from all imperfections.
Honduras mahogany is considered the best
wood for the purpose, but Yellow Pine, White-
wood, and oak are often satisfactorily used.
Whenever possible, both sides of the ground
wood are veneered to prevent warping, and the
veneer used on either side is of the
, 111 The Proper
same grain and strength, so that the Appiica-
tension of the one side counteracts **on of
the tension of the other. When only
one side of the foundation wood is veneered, it
is laid on the heart side, or the side of the wood
which lies nearest to the center of the tree
before it is cut.
Il6 INTERIOR DECORATION
There are many other facts which should be
learned before the amateur buyer could hope
to be able always to detect imitations and
frauds in the furniture which is offered for
sale. Even though the purchaser may have a
certain knowledge of woods, veneers, and con-
struction, the best safeguard against imposi-
tion is in the choice of a reliable manufacturer
and a reputable dealer. Furniture bearing
the stamp of a well-known firm which is
carried by a dealer who offers it for sale at a
fair price is apt to prove to be what it seems.
REFERENCES
HOUGH, R. B.
American Woods.
NOYES, WILLIAM
Wood and Forest.
Manual Arts Press.
ROBINSON, L. EUGENE
Domestic Architecture.
The Macmillan Company.
SNOW, C. H.
The Principal Species of Wood.
Wiley and Sons.
CHAPTER X
THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME
^Esthetic Value — Historical Significance — Period
Styles — Arrangement of Furniture about Fire-
place — Materials.
THE history of the fireplace is very closely
connected with the history of furniture and it
is hardly possible to study the vari- Period
ous phases of the one without not- styles in
ing parallel similarities of design irePlaces
and construction in the other. Each art
period had its own characteristics which were
shown in the design of the furniture and the
fireplace of that time alike, so they seemed
harmonious and belonged together.
To-day we are living in an age in which
people are trying to select the best points of
all past art periods and adapt them Fife lace
to their own use. It is here that the should
great danger lies. Many a house- ^HOUse
holder who has been entirely con- andFur-
sistent in the selection of furniture
and in the treatment of walls and floors, fails
117
Il8 INTERIOR DECORATION
absolutely in the choice of a suitable chimney
piece which will accord with the general
scheme of decoration. Gothic mantels are
placed in rooms furnished in Adam style,
Italian hearths are obliged to dwell with
French furniture, and Renaissance fireplaces
are set up in modern halls. An utter disre-
gard is often to be observed in a suitable rela-
tion between the fireplace and the rest of the
furnishings of the room.
The fireplace should first seem a part of
the architectural plan of the room. It
should appear to grow out of, or,
theArchi- rather, into, the wall itself. Fire-
tecturai places may project into the room,
Structure . . J * J
or sink into the wall. Ihey may
have large ornamental hoods or mantels, or
may be decorated by applying some sort of
flat ornamentation to the wall space above the
opening. They may have chimney pieces of
stone, brick, metal, or wood, but in each and
every case the lines should follow the lines
of the wall moldings and should embody in
structure and design the dominant idea of the
room.
No matter how informal the rest of the
room may be, the fireplace should always pos-
THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 119
sess great dignity. Any useful object is
always dignified, to a certain extent, and the
fireplace is fundamentally useful.
The first fireplaces stood in the center
of the room and the smoke passed through a
hole in the roof. It was a thing of use rather
than of beauty. Since that time every age
has had its manner of building and naturally
has developed a certain kind of ornamentation
which served to emphasize the idea of use.
The French developed one style of fireplace,
the Italians developed another, and the Eng-
lish still another, but each followed the rules
which governed the period in which it was
built and at the same time never forgot the
idea of its functional purpose.
The idea of use was still uppermost in the
minds of the first settlers who came to this
country. The fireplaces built by
those brave and sturdy men were
homely, substantial structures, and the spirit
kindled by the glow from such a hearthstone
should be preserved by the people of our
nation as one of the most valuable of the artis-
tic and aesthetic legacies handed down by the
Pilgrim Fathers. Some of the older genera-
tion to-day still treasure as their most sacred
120 INTERIOR DECORATION
memory the mental picture of the big country
kitchen of their childhood home, with its great
stone fireplace and oven of bricks. They
can even yet see the housemother's figure
moving briskly from fireside to table, tending
the roasting of the goose or turkey for the
Thanksgiving dinner and preparing the in-
variable pumpkin and mince pies.
The fireplace was the heart of the home in
those days and in the centuries before. It
The Center was the necessary feature of the
of interest house and was always present until
the time when stoves and, later, furnaces
were introduced. For many years after that
time fireplaces were entirely disregarded in
the average home. They were no longer
necessary, they were dirty and required a
great amount of attention, so it was natural
that the people of a nation which prides itself
on a high standard of efficiency and is the
greatest promotor of labor-saving devices
should turn their attention away from the
open fire and rejoice in the more even warmth
and greater physical comfort of hot-air regis-
ters and steam radiators. The new houses
which were built were constructed without
the large chimneys necessary for fireplaces,
THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 121
and the owners of the older houses containing
fireplaces often boarded up the openings
into the chimneys and complacently ad-
justed a permanent fire screen or a huge bowl
of autumn leaves to fill the space.
The fact, however, that a lack of a center
for the room was felt, even in those days of
low regard for the open fire, was substi-
shown by the way in which houses tutes
were often constructed with a mantel in each
room, even though the chimney were lacking.
These disfiguring structures seemed to fill the
place of a dominating interest in the room,
an object toward which the larger chairs in
the room could be drawn to give an air of com-
fort. It was the semblance of the hearth-
stone, without the care of the real fire, which
the people wanted, so, as time passed, the
invention of the gas log was hailed with great
joy. It was considered a luxury, it is true,
but it was also a labor-saving device in the way
of seeming to afford all the pleasure of the old-
time open fire at no expense of time or labor.
The insincerity of the gas log did not trouble
the public conscience in the least, and this
insincerity was reflected in the cheap, light
oak or near mahogany mantels which were
122 INTERIOR DECORATION
almost universally used with a total disregard
for the fitness of things. They were elabo-
rately adorned with much poor machine
carving and were designed in the fashion of
the cheaply constructed furniture which was
turned out in large quantities at that time.
Those days of deception are happily past in
the matter of both furniture and fireplaces.
A Neces ^e Pe°P^e °^ our nation accord the
sary old-fashioned fireplace the position in
Luxury ^j^ j^^g of a necessary luxury. It
has again been made the center of interest in
the living room, at least, and fills its old-time
station of family altar. It has come back
into the homes to stay this time probably, for
the true lover of the open fire will never be
willing to again give up the companionship
of the cheerful blaze. He realizes now with
renewed interest the vital and extensive influ-
ence which the fireplace has had in the progress
of civilization. The people of primitive times
believed fire to be a gift from the gods and
cherished it as their most precious posses-
sion. A fire in some one of their meeting
places was never allowed to go out and was
considered the token of a connection between
mankind and the spiritual world. It is natu-
THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 123
ral that through the centuries during which
civilization progressed, much sentiment came
to be attached to the fire which the savage
forefathers worshiped, and social customs
about its friendly glow replaced, in time, the
ancient superstitious rites. Now it has come
to mean, to the people of all nations, home,
physical comfort, and spiritual joy and con-
solation. It is the token of a universal fellow-
ship.
Much can be accomplished in the way of
extending this feeling of hospitality which
every open fire gives, by the ar-
ransrement of the furniture about mentof
... . rr i • Furniture
the chimney piece, if the room is about the
small, the light of the fire should be Fireplace
placed with regard to the center of interest
and the space directly before the fire should be
kept open so that a person sitting in any part
of the room might be able to watch the burning
embers. When the room containing the fire-
place is quite large, however, there should be
an entirely different arrangement of furniture.
An inclosed area should be formed in front of
the fireplace by placing several pieces of
furniture of the invitingly comfortable kind
before it. A large davenport may be placed
124 INTERIOR DECORATION
in front of the fire with a heavy chair at either
side, or a reading table with chairs may serve
the same purpose. The fireplaces of long ago
usually had two heavy settles built at right
angles to the fireplace, one on either side.
This was doubtless done to shut out the cold
air of the room and keep in the needed warmth,
but at the same time the arrangement gave a
delightful sense of privacy and coziness. For
this reason settles are sometimes built in houses
of to-day, or, instead, two long inviting seats
are often drawn up on either side of the open
fire, close to the radiating warmth and cheer.
Book shelves built into the architectural
structure about the fireplace add much to the
Book beauty, for the woodwork, if wisely
Shelves used, will carry out the general
scheme of the room, and the bindings of the
books give an interesting note of color. It
will be found that companionable books will
have a double lure when they are placed within
such a sheltered nook.
There are almost as many materials of which
it is possible to build the modern fireplace as
there are styles from which to
Materials , , , . f .
choose the design of its construction.
The style and material of the house itself is
THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 125
of first consideration, for the fireplace must of
course be in keeping as a part of the architec-
tural whole. The local environment usually
helps to decide the choice of material. In
some parts of the country stone blocks and
cobblestones are readily accessible at small
expense. In other parts of the country,
brick of different types may be very well used,
and the result is often a fireplace of permanent
charm. Concrete is often effective, and tiles
will be found to be both practical and artistic,
for they can be had in many soft colors, and
are suitable for the hearth or chimney breast
or both. Some mantels are made of paneled
wood and are very dignified reproductions of
those of the early days.
Whatever the material used, the greatest
simplicity of construction should always be
followed. There should be an en-
tire absence of elaboration of de-
tailed ornament and a predominating quality
of that sincerity which is essential to the true
home spirit. Fine structural lines combined
with the gay reflections in the brass andirons
and the ever changing firelight itself will
create a place of peace and contentment which
will not fail to prove a gathering place for the
126 INTERIOR DECORATION
family group and for those outsiders who have
a share of the household hospitality.
REFERENCES
FRENCH, LILLIE HAMILTON
The House Dignified.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, New
York, 1908.
Fireplaces, Chapter IX.
NORTHEND, MARY H.
Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings.
Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1912.
Mantelpieces, Chapter VI.
POLLEY, G. HENRY
The Architecture, Interiors and Furniture of American
Colonies.
George H. Policy & Co., Boston, 1914.
Mantels, Plates 3, 5, 7, 13, 20, 21, 22.
RUMFORD
Fireplaces and How They are Made.
William T. Comstode, New York, 1906.
Construction, Chapter I.
CHAPTER XI
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING
The Importance of Artificial Light as a Part of a Scheme
of Interior Decoration — A Brief History — Period
Styles — Arrangement — Colors and Materials of
Shades.
IN artistic effect the artificial lighting of our
homes has also kept step with the ups and
downs in the history of furniture.
In the eighteenth century and before,
in that period of furniture making which has
rightly been named the "golden age," candles
were the only means of illumination. The
homes of that time were beautiful with their
exquisite furniture placed in surroundings of
the same general style, and lighted at night
by candles which are without doubt the most
charming and poetic of all forms of lighting.
In these houses of our forefathers there was
in each large room usually one chandelier
of exceptional beauty designed to hold a
double row of candles distributed in groups,
suspending myriads of crystal pendants which
127
128 INTERIOR DECORATION
caught the light and reflected it into the dark-
est corner. The eye, however, was never
held by it, for around the room, in well-con-
sidered places, were brackets holding other
candles, and on the mantelpiece and tables
were also numerous candelabra and candle-
sticks. In this way there was a general dis-
tribution of illuminating mediums which even
in their utility formed harmonious and com-
ponent parts of the room, essential to the
scheme of decoration and adding symmetry
and balance to the whole arrangement. At
the same time each fixture gave individual
pleasure as a work of artistic design.
The next phase in the history of our lighting
medium was the introduction of the oil lamps.
Sometimes these lamps were beauti-
Oil Lamps f * *
ful and sometimes they were not,
but the chief interest in them was not in their
design but in their utility. They gave so
much better light than candles, it was so much
easier to read or to sew by their light, that
they were used with thankfulness as a great
comfort. The very fact that they were con-
sidered objects of use rather than objects of
ornament was conducive to a certain amount
of beauty, however. The lines of utility are
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 129
usually simple and show the structural form,
and this in itself is a long step toward the
beautiful. Any object which is severely
plain, having no decoration at all, is more
harmonious than the same object ornamented
in such a way as to conceal its real use. The
first oil lamps were without shades, but read-
ing lamps with plain white opaque or green
shades were soon introduced and generally
used. At night, when one of these reading
lamps was placed upon the table it spread
a circle of light and warmth, a glow of cozy
friendliness which was akin to the spirit of the
open hearth fire and rivaled in its charm the
more aesthetic appeal of the former candle-
light.
People were so interested at this time in
the comfort and efficiency of light that they
did not seem to realize the value of
the lamp as conducive to the home-
like atmosphere, and so welcomed with great
joy the introduction of gas as a lighting
medium. Lamps were banished and were
replaced by blazing gas jets, suspended by
brass chandeliers from the center of the ceiling
in each room. The light given by this means
was usually very poor, and exceedingly hard
130 INTERIOR DECORATION
to read or sew by, but it was a great labor-
saving device and improvement, and no house
of any importance was considered up to date
without a gas lighting system. Candles were
almost completely discarded by this time and
lamps were found only in the poorest homes
in the city or in the country where gas was not
available. Even on the farms the craze for
gas became so great that acetylene plants were
introduced, which, though often dangerous
and inefficient, did seem to be an improvement
over oil lamps.
It was, however, not long before the discom-
fort caused by the glare of the new method of
lighting came to be felt and an ef-
fort was made to soften the sharp
brilliance by opaque globes and silk shades.
The lack of the reading lamp was felt and gas
lamps were soon placed where oil lamps had
formerly been used. The plain shade used
on most of the oil lamps did not seem appro-
priate to gas lamps, unfortunately, and this
led to silly extravagances in the way of silk,
metal, and glass shades. Good taste was
abandoned, and a feeling for the appropriate
apparently did not exist. Flowers, flounces,
fringes, and beads ornamented the lamps of
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 131
sedate homemakers, placed in rooms other-
wise furnished in accordance with classic de-
tail. The gas lamp seemed to be considered
a separate unit, unrelated to the room in which
it was placed.
Fortunately the revival of a desire for the
more quaint form of lighting fixture has come
with the introduction of electricity
» , r i j electricity
into our homes or the present day.
The renewed interest which we now feel in
the good period furniture of all time and in
the best modern designs is reflected in the de-
sign of artistic lighting fixtures. The study
of foreign details, and the reproduction of
period furniture, is giving us saner and more
artistic methods of working in all crafts, is
increasing our sensitiveness to the small things
that make up the whole, and leading us to
realize the necessity of expending thought
on all phases of home decoration. Efficiency
in the matter of quality and quantity of light
is being carefully considered all of the time,
but in attaining that end a regard for the
beautiful and appropriate is also exercised.
In the evening the artificial lighting fix-
tures are the most important of all the furnish-
ings of the room. It is of course a physiological
132 INTERIOR DECORATION
fact that the eye is attracted invariably by
the brightest point of light. If this greatest
Artificial Pomt °f interest is inadequate in
Light as structural design or in architectural
3eioteM»t arrangement, there is a loss of dig-
in the nity to the whole scheme of dec-
oration. Some of that careful
thought and planning which is given to the
illuminated altar in the church should be
carried into the home as well. The form,
color, and design of the lighting fixtures
should all reflect and be in keeping with the
general spirit of the room.
The arrangement of the lights in the room
is of the greatest importance in the general
Arrange- effect. Some very large rooms fur-
ment nished in the formal style of Louis
XIV, XV, or XVI are suitably lighted by the
use of chandeliers suspended from the ceil-
ing. Most of the rooms in modern homes,
however, are better lighted by side lights and
by lamps placed in carefully considered places
about the room. The side lights should be so
placed that they form a part of the architec-
tural plan of the room, and should emphasize
the principal feature of interest. In the liv-
ing room, for instance, if there is a fine fire-
LIGHTING FIXTURES MAY FOLLOW THE STYLES
OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF PERIOD FURNITURE.
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 133
place, it is most natural to strengthen its
appeal by the use of lighting fixtures placed
upon either side. In the dining room the
buffet seems to become a structural part of
the room when it is dignified by a pair of
formal sconces. In the bedrooms the most
logical place for lights is of course on either
side of the dressing table. These side lights
should, of course, be balanced in all rooms by
other lights, but each illuminated spot should
have a distinct use and reason for being, other
than merely giving forth light.
When lamps are used they should be placed
with the same strict regard for proper position
as with side lights. They should al-
, i 11 • Where
ways be arranged to call attention to Lamps
especially attractive pieces of furni-
J , . r f f . be Placed
ture or to decorative groups of furni-
ture, although they, at the same time, may serve
the purpose of comfort for reading or sewing.
In these days of reawakened interest in
interior decoration, people now deliberately
plan for an effect by the use of lamps
which their grandfathers uncon- thetic
sciously achieved. The glow of Valueof
i it- i i the Lamp
warmth and cheenness cast by the
evening lamp gives to the living room at the
134 INTERIOR DECORATION
end of the day what the burning logs in the
fireplace gave in the morning hours — an
almost spiritual center which attracts, not only
the members of the family, but the casual
guest as well. To successfully give this
effect, the light must be subdued and softened
to the proper value by the use of truly artistic
shades. These shades are not the grotesque
affairs used on the gas lamps of some time ago.
They no longer look like ornate garden hats
or flounced petticoats. They are designed to
fit in with the furnishings of the room in color,
texture, and style.
Different rooms and different uses require
different colors given by the shading of the
lamps and lights. For reading or
sewing a soft green is considered by
many people to be the most restful hue, but
others can do good work only in a faintly yel-
low glow. Lights screened by shades in the
various tones of rose are unquestionably the
ones best suited to all festive occasions, if
the color is not too brilliant in intensity.
Different materials may be used for shades,
depending upon the decorative style
Materials rF , ~,. .„ 7
of the room. China silk may be
shirred on to a wire frame and finished with
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 135
a simple gimp, and decorated silks of the
heavier variety are also often used stretched
plain upon the frame. For rooms fitted up
in mission style a more severe type of shade
should be used made of Japanese basketry
or of art glass in single hue and shaded effects.
Parchment or even heavy water-color paper
can often be used for the same purpose with
astonishing success. A small amount of in-
genuity, only, is needed, to make charming
shades of all sizes at very little cost, and there
is almost nothing in the line of household
furnishings for which merchants ask such
large prices in proportion to the value of the
materials used in their construction.
As with shades, so also a sense of appro-
priateness should be strictly regarded in the
choice of lighting fixtures with refer- Period
ence to the particular type of furni- styles in
ture used in the room. A period Fixtures
room should have the lights with their shades
in the same period of design. In a room
furnished in the spirit of the period of Louis
XVI the lighting fixtures should be very
dainty and graceful. If there are shades,
they may be very fragile and delicate,
trimmed with tinsel and garlanded with
136 INTERIOR DECORATION
ribbon flowers. Often, however, the most
beautiful effects are gained without shades,
when tiny electric bulbs are placed upon the
tips of candle-like supports. This plan of
lighting is especially effective for the side
lights in the dining room, with shaded electric
candles for the table, and is equally suitable
for the French, English, and colonial periods,
although the standards of the fixtures would
vary with the structural design of the fur-
niture with which it is used. Jacobean and
Chippendale should be rather heavy in shape ;
Hepplewhite, for example, would again call
for more delicate metal work. Straight-lined
metal and wood fixtures are now manufac-
tured to carry out the Craftsman and Mis-
sion ideas, and even in wicker and grass
there are lamps to correspond with the fur-
niture.
Great care should always be exercised in
deciding upon the style, color, and arrange-
Theim- ment of the lights of each room,
?^^ct°f f°r it is possible to make or mar
Artificial
Light as a the complete artistic effect of a
SdTemVof home by the attention or lack of
interior attention which has been given to
Decoration illuminating system.
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 137
REFERENCES
DE WOLFE, ELSIE
The House in Good Taste.
The Century Company, New York, 1913.
Lamps and Sidelights, Chapter VIII.
HERTS, B. RUSSELL
The Decoration and Furnishing of Apartments.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1915.
Fixtures, Part II, Chapter IX.
NORTHEND, MARY H.
Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings.
Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1912.
History, Chapter XIII.
PARSONS, FRANK ALVAH
Interior Decoration, Its Principles and Practice.
Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, N. Y., 1915.
Methods of Lighting, pp. 266-268.
WALLICK, EKIN
Inexpensive Furnishings in Good Taste.
Hearst's International Library Co., New York, 1915.
Lamps and Lamp Shades, Chapter VII.
CONCLUSION
Interior Decoration as Art — How Knowledge of the
Subject may be Gained — Suitability of Each
Room and of the House as a Whole to Its Use —
Sincerity in the Outward Expression of the Owner's
Personality.
THE practice of interior decoration is in
reality merely the exercise of common sense
Interior *n T^3L^on to applied art — a rec-
Decoration ognition of relative values and a
strict feeling of proportion. Com-
mon sense or good judgment can only be
had, however, with a certain amount of
experience through which knowledge of the
subject has been gained.
People in general do not sufficiently realize
that some positive knowledge is absolutely
necessary for the making of a suc-
Knowledge - , , , . r • i - r
must be cessful plan for the furnishing of
their own homes. There may be
some fortunate individuals born, who are
endowed at the beginning with a compre-
hension of balance, symmetry, and rhythm,
138
CONCLUSION 139
who instinctively have a feeling for the har-
monious beautiful, but these especially
favored beings are few and far between,
at least among the people of this country.
Most Americans are not naturally alive to a
strong feeling for art. There has been no
place for it in their busy, money-making
lives, and it is only recently that they have
awakened to any feeling of lack. So the
artistic common sense which the Americans
of to-day exercise must be derived in its
standards largely from the inherited knowl-
edge of bygone days when a love of art for
art's sake was the instinctive possession of
even the most humble people.
There are two ways to accumulate these
inheritances. The first and best is by travel-
ing, by seeing in the various coun-
tries the best art treasures of all
ages, in their natural environment. The
collections in the great museums and in
some of the best shops in this country are
certainly worth attention, but they, after
all, are only collections and can never give
the inspiration which the occasional object
of beauty gives in its native setting. The
average citizen of the United States may see
140 INTERIOR DECORATION
nothing in the palaces abroad which he could
possibly copy in his own home, but he can
gain general ideas of fundamental lines of
beauty from them, and turn to the smaller
chateaux of France and the manor houses
of England for specific inspiration and for
ideas in the furnishing of his own home.
These smaller places exhibit the good taste
and high standards of the royal mansions
without that extravagance and lavishness
which is unsuitable in every way to the
average modern house. Many people who
have made a careful study of period furni-
ture are disappointed in the general effect
which they have achieved by its use in their
own homes, but they have made the mistake
of feeling that beauty depends upon mag-
nificence and so have copied the furnishings
for their simple homes from too luxurious
models. The result is a lack of proportion
which cannot help but be strikingly bad
taste.
The other way of gaining knowledge in
the art of interior decoration is by the study
Historical of art in its relation to house fur-
study nishings, and the effect that the
history of the world has had upon it. The
CONCLUSION 141
underlying reasons for the changes in styles
of furniture is learned in this way, and so a
greater interest is felt in each style. When
it is known that Marie Antoinette was very
young when she became the bride of Louis
XVI, that she disliked the court pomp and
preferred to play as a child at the simple life
of a shepherdess with a garlanded crook and
pretty watering pot, it is easy to understand
that the new royal taste must have had a
great influence in the transition period from
the rococo to the classical ideas of decoration.
When it is known that hoop skirts were uni-
versally worn in the eighteenth century, it is
also easy to understand why settees were
made in such great numbers and why the
chairs were designed with such wide-spread-
ing arms. Every style in furniture had its
relation to cause in, and relation to, some his-
torical event or influence which produced a
type of interior decoration well suited to its
day of creation, but perhaps not at all suited
to modern use. In this study of the causes
and effects in the art of house furnishings,
some of that sense of proportion, of the fit-
ness of things, may be gained in a most pleas-
ant manner.
142 INTERIOR DECORATION
The persons who have made a parallel
study of period furniture, decorations, and
The Proper history will be most apt to link the
^c^f*011 interior decoration of their homes
of Styles . i r i • i
of Past with the style of architecture used
MoydSe£ at the time of building. They will
Use not place mission furniture in a
colonial house and will not install chande-
liers of the Louis XVI period in a bungalow.
Also, if they do furnish their homes with
the style of furniture which the architecture
calls for, they will not slavishly copy all the
modes and mannerisms of another time,
some of which must be entirely out of key
with the life and materials of to-day. They
will realize that not all the creations of the
past are good, and will be able to pick out
those qualities which are most beautiful and
best suited to the present environment. At
the same time they will do some consistent
designing in the spirit of the period or pe-
riods of decoration which they wish to employ,
keeping in mind the details of historic orna-
ment in its scale and surface relation, but
employing their American inventive facul-
ties in the use of expressive qualities and
adaptations to accord with modern life.
CONCLUSION 143
The function of the house as a whole
should be carefully considered before the
furnishings are selected. There is suitabmty
nothing more unsuitable than a °fthe
1-1 , . House as
house with a very simple exterior a Whole
rilled with furniture of a luxurious to its Use
type, and in the same way people should
adapt their homes to their own mode of life
or they will not be at home in their environ-
ment. A house should be neither more nor
less expensively furnished than the means of the
householder warrants. The rule of proportion
applies to the relation between the tenant and
his home as strictly as to interior decoration.
As the function of the house as a whole
must be considered, so must the function of
each room be carefully determined
i 11 i 11- r A Consid-
and expressed by the assembling 01 eration of
the articles of use and of ornament th6*"110-
tion of
within it. The use for which it is Each Room
intended should be kept in view, choke of
and there should be a real under- Fumish-
standing of its needs. When a room mgs
conforms to the needs of some person who
spends many hours within its four walls, it can-
not help but reflect that person's individuality.
The successful interior decorator is the one
144 INTERIOR DECORATION
who becomes really acquainted with his
client and in so doing finds out his likes
and dislikes, his faults and idiosyncrasies, so
that he can place himself in the mental state
of his client and provide furnishings which are
suitable. So the man who is decorating his
own rooms should purchase for his use only
those things which he really likes and which
seem truly useful to himself, but he should be
guided by the general rules of beauty and
proportion so that the result shall be pleasing.
A There are certain essential features, such
as the background values, the arrangement of
the furniture to give proper balance,
and the placing of the larger decora-
tions, which must conform to general rules,
but personal taste should always be regarded
in the colors and the objects of chief interest,
such as the choice of pictures or of the style
of furniture.
The room should be the outward expres-
sion of the spiritual and mental attributes
The Rooms °f *ts occupant, and this expression
as the may often be given in the most
of Per- L simple ways, by a bowl of favorite
sonality flowers, by a few pieces of treasured
pottery, or even by a bird cage hanging in
CONCLUSION 145
the sunlit window. Anything which is a
part of the daily life may be made to fit into
the whole scheme of decoration, and these
necessary articles should be used to gain
desired effects instead of many useless orna-
ments. With the exception of a very few
pieces of real beauty, all bric-a-brac should
be placed upon a high shelf out of sight. In
fact, a general rule might be formulated to
eliminate almost all beautiful things, which
are not distinctly useful in their environment,
for an object which is not useful is somewhat
out of place and is therefore lacking in that
proportion which is one of the elements of
beauty.
Each room in a house should express com-
fort. The colors in the bedrooms should be
of just the right hue and value, to
permit rest and sleep, the desks and
tables for writing should be of a convenient
height and placed in a good light, and the
various chairs should be of a shape and size
adapted to the people who are to use them
and should be absolutely comfortable. If
the furniture is at first not well arranged for
convenient use, the laws of structural arrange-
ment will be found to be elastic enough for
146 INTERIOR DECORATION
a shifting about until each article is in the
right place to do its own work in the most
efficient manner. In this way a homelike
effect is gained which is instantly felt by
any one who enters the room. It then seems
at first glance to be a place which is lived in,
an environment which is conducive to mental
and spiritual growth and physical comfort.
Since no two people and no two family
groups are ever alike, no two real homes
can have the same atmosphere or
Sincerity . . . ,
can give the same impressions to the
people who come into them from without.
Ideally each home should be the manifes-
tation of the owners' interpretation of the
worth-while things of life and should express
his attitude toward the world by his sincerity
in the use of details in his scheme of interior
decoration which shows his true personality.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
SHOWING THE ORDER OF PERIOD STYLES FROM THE BEGINNING
OF THE RENAISSANCE TO THE IQTH CENTURY
ENGLAND
FRANCE
SOVEREIGN
STYLE
REMARKS
STYLE
SOVEREIGN
House of
Tudor
Henry VIII
1509-1547
Tudor
1
V
PH
i
1
1
About the Duration
of the Renaissance
Period in Other
Countries
French Renaissance Periods
Francis
Premier
Francis I
1515-1547
Elizabeth
1558-1603
Eliza-
bethan
Henri
Deux
Henry II
I547-ISS9
fj
James I
1603-1625
[acobean
Italy
1443-1564
Francis II
1559-1560
Charles I
1625-1649
Germany
1525-1620
CharlesK
Commonwealth
1640-1660
1560-1574
Henry HI
1574-1589
Flemish and Dutch
1520-1634
-s
p
Charles H
1660-1685
James II
1685-1688
Spain and Portugal
1500-1620
Henri
Quatre
Henry IV
1589-1610
°8,
William
and
Mary
1688-1702
William
and
Mary
Other European
Countries
1500-1630
Louis
Treize
LouisXIII
1610-1643
Anne
1702-1714
Queen
Anne
i
Barocco Styles
Beginning of the
Rococo
1
Louis
Quatorze
LouisXIV
1643-1715
George I
1714-1727
Chippen-
dale
Hepple-
white
Adam
Sheraton
Chippendale's book,
" The Gentleman's
and Cabinetmaker's
Director," published
1754, and a later
edition 1762.
Louis
Quinze
Louis XV
1715-1747
George n
1727-1760
Hepplewhite's book
"The Cabinetmaker
and Upholsterer's
Guide," 1789.
1
1
Louis
Seize
LouisXVI
1747-1793
George HI
1760-1820
R. and J. Adam
1750-1790
Empire
Napoleon
1793-1814
Sheraton's book,
"The Cabinetmaker
and Upholsterer's
Drawing Book," was
published in 1791. A
later edition in 1812
Reprinted from How to Know Period Styles in Furniture by W. L. Kimerly, by per-
mission of The Grand Rapids Furniture Record Co.
INDEX
Adam style, 76, 86, 90
^Esthetic influence of the fire-
place, 122
^Esthetic influence of the home,
SO
American furniture, 100-107
Antique furniture, 61-79
Antique rugs, 57
Architectural proportions, 4-13
Arrangement, 91-93, 145
Art applied to the home, xx, 77
Backgrounds, 2
Balance, 87
Bedroom furniture, 96-98
Bisymmetric balance, 87-88
Black walnut, no-Hi
Blue, 5
Bookcases, 94-95
Bric-a-brac, 145
Cabriole leg, 73
Carpets, figured, 47
Carpets, plain, 47
Carpets versus rugs, 46
Ceiling, wall, and floor, rule for, 24
Chair placing, 66
Chairs, Dutch, 73-74
Chairs, English, 73-77
Chairs, Flemish, 68
Chairs, French, 70-73
Chairs, Italian, 67
Chairs, Spanish, 68
Chimney piece, the, 115-125
Chinese-Chippendale, 74, 76
Chippendale, work of Thomas,
74-75 > 87
Classic details, 76
Classic restoration, 76, 89
Colonial furniture, 21,68, 91, no,
in
Color, 6
Color and personality, 3
Colors, cool and warm, 5
Contrast, 3
Craftsman furniture, 102
Curtain hanging, 13-14, 18-19
Curtain materials, 16, 20-29
Curtain rods, 18
Curtains, 12-29
Curtains, reasons for, 12
Decoration, interior, xix
Decorators, amateur, xix
Decorators, professional, xix
Dining rooms, 86-88
Domestic rugs, 38-48
Doorways, curtains for, 27-29
Dutch furniture, 73-74
Dutch influence on Queen Anne
period, 73
Education in interior decoration,
138-141
Empire furniture, 77-78
English furniture, 73-77
Fireplace, the, 117-125
Fixtures, lighting, 131-136
Flemish furniture, 68
Floor finishes, 31-37
149
INDEX
Floor value, 31
Foundation, the floor as decora-
tive, 31-32, 38-39
Frames for pictures, 7
French influence on English furni-
ture, 77
French Renaissance, 67-68
French styles, 70-73
Furniture arrangement, 81-98,
100-107, 138-139
Furniture, Cottage, 105
Dutch, 73-74
Empire, 21, 77
English, 73-77
Flemish, 68
French, 70-73
Italian, 67
Mission, 101
Spanish, 68
Willow, 105
Gas illumination, 129-130
Gas-lighting fixtures, 130
Gilded furniture, 71-73
Gold color, 5-6
Gothic style, 64
Grain, the, in woodwork, m-
H3
Green, 5
Halls, 85-86
Hanging, the, of pictures, 8
Hangings, 19-29
window, 19-27
door, 28-29
Harmonious forms, 13, 87
Harmonious tones, 23, 39
Harmony in decoration, 29
Hepplewhite style, 34, 75~76, 77,
90
History of lighting mediums,
125-131
History of period furniture, 61-69
Home decoration, principles of,
xx
Home, definition of, xviii
Homelike arrangements, 87, 93,
98, 145, 146
Ideals of home making, xviii
Inconsistency, 98
Individualism in home decora-
tion, xviii, 92, 98
Individual's color needs, the, 35
Interior decorators, xix
Italian Renaissance, 65
Italian Renaissance furniture, 66-
90
Jacobean furniture, 43, 69, 87
Japanese prints, 9
Japanese toweling, 25
Kitchen floors, 35-36
Lace curtains, 21
Lamps and lamp shades, 133-136
Landlord's alterations, 2
Library, 93-96
Light and color, 5
Lighting the house,
candles, 127
electricity, 131
gas, 129
lamps, 128
Living rooms, 88-93
Louis XIV furniture, 70
Louis XV furniture, 70-71
Louis XVI furniture, 72-73
Mahogany, 109
Materials for curtains, 20-23
Materials for floors, 31-37
Materials for hangings, 23-29
INDEX
Materials for portieres, 26-28
Mission style, 100-102
Modern furniture, 100-107
Motifs,
classical, 76
French, 70-73
New England furniture, 69, 73-
78
New Renaissance in America, 79
Occult balance, 91
Oriental rugs, 50-59
Photographs, 8
Picture arrangement, 8-9
Picture frames, 7
Picture hanging, 10
Picture selection, 9
Portrait placing, 8
Queen Anne furniture, 7, 73
Renaissance, 65
Dutch, 68
English, 69
Flemish, 68
French, 67
Italian, 65-66
Spanish, 68
Restfulness in arrangement, 92-
93
Rococo, 72
Rug color, plain, 42-43
figured, 43-44
Rug design, 39-40
Rug harmony, 39-40
Rug placing, 41
Rugs, domestic, 38-40
oriental, 50-59
Shades for lamps, 133-135
Sheraton furniture, 20, 75, 76-77,
133
Simplicity in decoration, 104
Sincerity, 146
Spanish style, 68
Straight-line furniture, IOO-I02,
104-105
Structural lines, 101
Tables, antique, 63, 65-66
Tapestries, 71
Tapestry placing, 10
Temperament and color, 3, 6
Transitorial mediums, 23
Upholstery, 27
Utility and beauty, 143
Wall, ceiling, and floor, rule for, 24
Wall color, 56
Wall decorations, 6-IO
Wall finishes, 6
Warm colors, 5
White woodwork, 7
William and Mary furniture, 6,
34, 42,^90, 145
Window hangings, 17-27
Printed in the United States of America.
1HE following pages contain advertisements of a
few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects.
Domestic Architecture
BY LAWRENCE E. ROBINSON
Assistant Professor of Architecture in Oregon Agricultural College
Illustrated, 12 mo
A clear, concise, and practical treatment of the general
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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New Tork
Textiles
BY MARY S. WOOLMAN
Simmons College
AND
ELLEN B. McGOWAN
Teachers College, Columbia University
428 pages, ///., izmoy $2.00
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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
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BY CHARLES L. WHITE
520 pages, III., 8vo, $2.00
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BY T. M. CLARK
Fellow of the American Institute of Architects
283 pages, III., i2mo, $i.jjO {Stand. Lib.) .jo
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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New Tork
Furniture of the Olden Time
BY FRANCES C. MORSE
Illustrated, $3.00
"The book is a very complete presentation of the best old
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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New Tork
DATE DUE
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NK Rolfe, Amy Lucile
2115 Interior decoration for
R6 the small home