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ART AND ECONOMY IN 
 HOME DECORATION 
 
“HAVE NOTHING IN YOUR HOUSES THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW TO BE USEFUL, 
 OR BELIEVE TO BE BEAUTIFUL." William Morris. 
 
Art and Economy In 
 Home Decoration 
 
 BY 
 
 MABEL TUKE PRIESTMAN 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 JOHN LANE COMPANY 
 MCMV1II 
 
Copyright, 1908, by 
 
 JOHN LANE COMPANY 
 
MY MOTHER 
 
 HAS TAUGHT ME FROM CHILDHOOD 
 TO LOVE AND APPRECIATE 
 BEAUTIFUL THINGS 
 
\ 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 I have endeavored in this volume to assist 
 my reader to solve some of the various prob¬ 
 lems of house furnishing, and to induce the 
 homemaker to think for herself as to what is 
 to be avoided and what to be made use of. 
 
 It is really a difficult task to furnish a house 
 properly. It requires serious thought, and a 
 knowledge of color and harmony, and a cer¬ 
 tain refinement and simplicity of taste which 
 are not always easy to acquire; and therefore 
 it is well worth while to go to a little trouble 
 to learn the best way of doing this. 
 
 In my twelve years’ experience as an interior- 
 decorator I have come across problems in 
 house furnishing of almost every kind, and 
 this book is the result of my experience. 
 
 Portions have already appeared in maga¬ 
 zines, and I take this opportunity of thank- 
 
 [7] 
 
Preface 
 
 ing the editors of Country Life in America , 
 American Homes and Gardens , House and 
 Garden , The International Studio , Ameri¬ 
 
 can Home Monthly, and The New York Herald 
 for their courtesy in allowing me to republish 
 them. 
 
 [ 8 ] 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART ONE 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface 7 
 
 I. Introduction 11 
 
 II. Choosing a Color Scheme 19 
 
 HI. How to Treat Walls Successfully 28 
 
 IV. Concerning Halls 43 
 
 V. A Few Points to Remember when 
 
 Buying Carpets and Rugs 49 
 
 VI. Characteristics of Oriental Rugs 59 
 
 VII. Home-made Rugs 75 
 
 VIII. How to Stain Floors 86 
 
 IX. Furniture 9 1 
 
 X. The Right Use of Ornament on 
 
 Furniture 97 
 
 XI. Casement Windows and Their 
 
 Treatment. Fireplaces 105 
 
 XII. What to Use for Portieres and 
 
 Curtains in the Country House 115 
 
 [9] 
 
Contents 
 
 XIII. Shelving, Pictures, and Bric-a- 
 
 brac I2 ^ 
 
 XIV. Lamps and Candle Shades 138 
 
 XV. Needlework in the Hands of a 
 
 Craftsman x 44 
 
 XVI. Finishing Touches 154 
 
 XVII. Ornamenting Fabrics by Means 
 of Stencilling and Block Print¬ 
 ing I( V 
 
 XVIII. Arranging Flowers Artistically 179 
 
 PART TWO 
 
 XIX. What to Avoid in the Home 187 
 
 XX. Cottages by the Sea or Lake 192 
 
 XXL The Decoration of a Modern Sub¬ 
 urban House 1 97 
 
 XXII. Describing some Interesting 
 
 Rooms 20 4 
 
 XXIII. How Some Craftworkers Fitted 
 
 up Their Home 211 
 
 [ 10] 
 
art and economy in 
 
 HOME DECORATION 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 Introduction 
 
 This volume is intended as a practical 
 assistance to those of moderate incomes. It 
 is undeniable that there exists in almost 
 every one a sense of color value. This may 
 be subconscious, and yet it is so much a factor 
 in our daily lives that I have chosen color as 
 the groundwork of my effort to point the way 
 toward the successful decoration of the home. 
 
 In looking back over the last fifteen or 
 twenty years we can see for ourselves that the 
 taste of the community has improved in a 
 wonderful way. This may partially be ac¬ 
 counted for by the fact that magazines and 
 newspapers, realizing what people want, try 
 to give practical help that will be of value in 
 the home, not only in cooking and dress- 
 
 [ii] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 making, but also in decoration. This they do 
 by describing successful homes and giving 
 illustrations of good interiors. 
 
 Perhaps nothing shows such an improve¬ 
 ment as quality in color. At one time it 
 was rare to find a house that was in perfect 
 harmony throughout. Certain rooms might 
 chance to have a good color sense, but this 
 was more often accidental than carefully 
 brought about. So many crude colors in 
 draperies and carpetings were put on sale 
 that it was difficult even for those gifted with 
 knowledge of color to gain the best effects, 
 but to-day we cannot make this excuse because 
 there is such a large variety of shades of each 
 color, and many of them are so beautiful in 
 tone that practically any good color scheme 
 can be evolved; so that there is encourage¬ 
 ment to learn how to combine or oppose colors 
 into compositions which appeal to the eye 
 and satisfy our sense of color. 
 
 We have lived through the hand-painted 
 craze, when nothing was safe from the would- 
 be artist, whether in the form of a rolling-pin 
 or a coal-scuttle. Having survived this stage, 
 the drapery epidemic overtook us; “ tidies on 
 
 [12] 
 
Introduction 
 
 the chairs, “draperies” on the mantel, and 
 “throws” on the furniture. Curtains of heavy 
 texture, trimmed and looped, drained the 
 pocket-book and were the torture of dis¬ 
 criminating minds. 
 
 Next the bric-a-brac habit overcame us. 
 Dreadful overmantels with cubby-holes were 
 put on the market. They were naturally 
 overladen with useless vases and imitation 
 Dresden figures. There were many useful 
 ornaments to choose as substitutes, such as 
 beautiful jars with rich-shaded coloring, fitted 
 with bronze vases to hold lamp oil, yet the 
 knicknack was preferred. Such articles as 
 clocks, lamps, inkwells, photograph frames, 
 candle-sticks, and flower-holders can all be 
 objects of beauty, and by being objects of 
 beauty in themselves can take the place of 
 so-called ornaments. 
 
 Yet we certainly have made progress in 
 the last fifteen years. It is not so very long 
 ago that the accepted decorations for dining¬ 
 rooms were pictures of still life, in heavy gilt 
 frames. We all remember those caricatures 
 of fruit, of abnormal size, on dishes carefully 
 
 placed on a white table-cloth, with all the 
 
 [13] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 creases artfully depicted. Happily we have 
 outgrown such decorations because our taste 
 is better and people are beginning to think 
 for themselves. Nevertheless, bad things do 
 go on year after year, because people accept 
 them. Why do most people buy highly 
 polished furniture, which is not only inartistic, 
 but very unserviceable ? Is it laziness or poor 
 taste ? The manufacturer can just as easily 
 make furniture with a dull finish. It is all a 
 question of the public demand. 
 
 Again, the pillow epidemic is still in full 
 sway. Fortunately, beautiful pillows, well- 
 designed furniture, rugs of rich, good coloring, 
 and artistic draperies are to be found by those 
 who have the taste to select what is good. 
 
 Homes are apt to lack simplicity because 
 the furnishings have been chosen without 
 regard for one another. The pictures on the 
 walls, the ornaments on shelves and tables, 
 the carpets and rugs upon the floors, the 
 draperies at windows and doors, contend, as 
 it were, for preeminence, and defeat the effect 
 of harmony. The accessories in a room should 
 be subordinated to the colors so as to enhance 
 
 and not interfere with the general effect. 
 
 [14] 
 
Introduction 
 
 Until this fact is understood it is impossible 
 to get the desired results. 
 
 A law of composition persistently violated 
 in our homes is the law of contrast. That 
 plainness gives value to ornament in the same 
 way that darkness adds brilliancy to light is a 
 truth that few realize. A beautiful picture 
 placed by itself on a plain wall surface will 
 look infinitely better than if surrounded by 
 a medley of insignificant pictures of a different 
 style. Our common sense tells us not to put 
 a heavy, rich oil painting on the same wall as a 
 water color of soft, delicate tones. 
 
 The first step toward improving the home 
 is, then, to do away with what is bad. There 
 is more danger of destroying the appearance 
 of a room by overcrowding than by bareness. 
 We have all felt the futility of adding in order 
 to improve. A clean sweep of all that is there, 
 and calm, judicious consideration of what 
 should be allowed to go back again is the only 
 way toward reform. The questions carefully 
 and faithfully answered should be: “Is this 
 beautiful?” “Is this useful?” Have the 
 strength of character not to put unnecessary 
 
 ornaments back again unless they come up to 
 
 [15] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 these requirements. It is a false art that takes 
 
 away from the convenience and homelike feel- 
 ing of a room. 
 
 A cheerless look is engendered from a poor 
 arrangement of the furniture. Time is well 
 spent in placing it thoughtfully with the prin¬ 
 ciples of comfort in mind. An easy chair 
 should be where the best light will fall upon 
 its occupant, whether by day or night. The 
 sofa should be placed in the best position for 
 resting and reading, and not so overloaded 
 with pillows as to preclude comfort. We can¬ 
 not, we must not, blunt our artistic sensibilities 
 by allowing in our homes any decoration or 
 piece of furniture which cannot prove its right 
 to be there. The question naturally arises. 
 How am I to know what is good or bad ? To 
 some this knowledge is intuitive, and others 
 have it not at all, but much can be gained 
 from books on decoration. The spirit of art 
 and the fundamental laws which govern it 
 can be learned by reading the works of 
 masters in art and by the application of their 
 views to our individual needs. To those who 
 are conscious of unsuitable and inartistic 
 surroundings, the task is half-accomplished. 
 
 [16] 
 
Introduction 
 
 American women are so quick in grasping 
 opportunities and imbibing the best of what 
 is around them that if they are really con¬ 
 scious of a need of reform improvement will 
 come quickly. 
 
 In Charles Wagner’s book, “The Simple 
 Life,” he expresses exactly what I wish to con¬ 
 vey. “ It is very certain,” he says, “ that the cul¬ 
 ture of the fine arts has something moralizing, 
 and that our thoughts and acts become impreg¬ 
 nated at length by that which strikes our eyes. 
 But the exercise of the arts and the contem¬ 
 plation of their products are privileges reserved 
 to a few. It is not given to every one to 
 possess, to understand, or to create beautiful 
 things. But there is a kind of human beauty 
 which can penetrate everywhere: the beauty 
 which is born in the hands of our wives and 
 daughters. Without that beauty what is 
 the most ornate home ? A cold habitation. 
 With it the poorest home is animated and 
 lighted. Among the forces capable of en¬ 
 nobling and transforming wills, adding to 
 happiness, there is perhaps not one with a 
 more universal usage. It knows how to make 
 
 valuable by means of the poorest instruments, 
 
 [17] 
 
 2 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 and amidst the worst difficulties. When the 
 room is small and the family purse meagre, 
 the table modest, a woman who has this gift 
 finds the means of causing order, neatness, 
 and decorum to reign there. She puts care 
 and art into everything she undertakes. To 
 do well what one has to do is not in her eyes 
 the privilege of the rich, but the right of all. 
 It is for that that she employs it, and that she 
 knows how to endow her home with a dignity 
 and a pleasantness which the more fortunate 
 homes, where everything is left to mercena¬ 
 ries, never attain.” 
 
 This “human beauty” Charles Wagner 
 speaks of is innate in most of us, and only 
 needs development and cultivation. “Nature 
 has put a charming art in the fingers of 
 women.” Can we not remember this and 
 strive to make it felt in our daily lives and 
 surroundings, by making our homes livable 
 and appropriate to our needs ? Let us avoid 
 ostentatious display, and cultivate the beauty 
 of harmony and simplicity. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Choosing a Color Scheme 
 
 When we are ready to decide on the color 
 scheme of our rooms we have a very hard 
 problem to solve. We know the liability there 
 is to make mistakes, and yet too often we 
 find out the fault when it is too late to rem¬ 
 edy it. 
 
 Color should be chosen with reference to the 
 quantity and quality of light which enters the 
 room. A north room, as it has little sunshine, 
 needs bright, warm treatment—yellows, reds, 
 and golden browns—while a room with a 
 southern exposure requires cool, light colors— 
 blues, greens, and cool gray tones. Some 
 shades of green can be used with good results 
 in a southern room, but olive greens are best 
 suited to northern exposures. This shade is 
 apt to be brownish at night, and so must be 
 considered both by daylight and artificial light. 
 
 The amount of daylight that permeates a 
 [ 19 J 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 room will have an effect on the depth of color 
 to be used, and so it will be necessary to con¬ 
 sider all colors both in a strong light and in 
 shadow. I need hardly add that by artificial 
 light a room will usually be darker than one 
 expects. Since, therefore, masses of color 
 deepen with shadow, it is well not to have the 
 walls too strong, but to have the strongest 
 tone for floor coverings and furniture. The 
 ceiling in all cases must be lighter in tone than 
 the walls. When the tones are well balanced 
 in this way the room is usually successful. 
 
 We need not be so hampered in our selec¬ 
 tion of colors for rooms that face east and west, 
 as practically any color can be used success¬ 
 fully in them. We do not realize how all- 
 important it is to have the wall treatment 
 satisfactory. People will go into new houses 
 and put up with the most abominable wall 
 coverings rather than re-paper to suit their 
 curtains, furniture, and rugs; and will cheer¬ 
 fully spend three times the amount required 
 for new paper in trying to pull the room to¬ 
 gether. I need hardly say they rarely succeed 
 in gaining the desired result. 
 
 The first impression of a room depends upon 
 [ 20 ] 
 
Choosing a Color Scheme 
 
 the walls, for they are the atmosphere, as it 
 were, and make the room pleasant or other¬ 
 wise. When selecting wall papers, violent, 
 harsh coloring must be avoided. Two-toned 
 papers are very desirable, for, if soft in color, 
 they form nearly as good a background for 
 pictures as plain papers. A narrow-striped 
 paper gives the effect of height to a room, 
 but a large design, having more width than 
 depth, serves to make a room look smaller 
 and lower. Mouldings and dado rails break 
 up the wall spaces and are valuable factors 
 in wall treatment. If the room is too high, the 
 ceiling paper can be brought down a few 
 inches on to the side wall. Never, however, 
 use a wall paper on the ceiling and bring it 
 down. It has a most crushing, overwhelming 
 effect, very overpowering to sensitive persons. 
 
 Alas! There are many pitfalls for the un¬ 
 wary. Sometimes I have watched people buy¬ 
 ing paper and have noticed that they rarely 
 have curtain material or furniture coverings 
 with them to enable them to choose a paper 
 that harmonizes with them. They do not 
 appreciate that they must be considered with 
 
 reference to their future surroundings. People 
 
 [ 21 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 seldom think of the size of the room or the 
 exposure, but choose rather the greatest num¬ 
 ber of violent contrasts when trying to make 
 their house attractive. How much better it 
 would be to get tones of some colors that are 
 harmonious—brown and yellow in a northern 
 room, with brown and green in an adjoining 
 room, and so on. I have seen a pink parlor 
 leading out of a red hall, and a blue living- 
 room leading out of a pink parlor. Each room 
 was beautiful in itself, suitably furnished in 
 every way, and no expense spared; yet this 
 glaring mistake proclaimed itself the moment 
 the threshold was crossed. 
 
 Ornamentation should produce a pleasing 
 impression of artistic refinement, without call¬ 
 ing attention to the beauty of a detail or the 
 capability of the owners. 
 
 As a rule, it is the woman who is the home¬ 
 maker, and those who have the ambition to 
 make their homes attractive can gain no little 
 help by reading up the subject and by closely 
 observing the harmony of colors. 
 
 A woman of resource and ingenuity can 
 work wonders with a very limited amount of 
 
 money by cultivating her taste so as to be 
 
 [ 22 ] 
 
Choosing a Color Scheme 
 
 able to discriminate as to what is worthless 
 and what is good. She must teach herself to 
 care for pure tones and good backgrounds 
 She will soon learn that it is more restful and 
 refreshing to go into a room with cool green 
 walls, white paint, wrought-iron hardware 
 a carefully chosen rug, than into one with loud 
 walls, gold furniture, brass fixtures, onyx 
 tables, and large-patterned carpet. 
 
 Few of us realize how color affects the spirit . 
 Dark and gloomy colors cause depression, 
 while bright sunshiny colors bring cheerfulness 
 into the home. In starting out, therefore, to 
 decorate a house, the color of the walls should 
 be decided first, and then the division of the 
 walls by mouldings or panels, lo egin 
 with the hall, if it is narrow, red should no 
 be selected, as it contracts the spaces and does 
 
 not light up well at night. 
 
 In a small house it is well to decide on colors 
 and tones that blend with the color of the hall. 
 If the hall is narrow and gloomy, yellow should 
 he chosen. A plain yellow-felt paper above 
 a burlap dado of deeper yellow or tobacco 
 brown will harmonize with a dining-room o 
 brown and copper. If it is at the extreme 
 
 [ 23 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 end of the hall, it will apparently increase the 
 size of the hall. 
 
 If the dining-room is ten or eleven feet high, 
 the plate-rail might be hung level with the top 
 of the door, using a strong plain yellow car¬ 
 tridge paper, or crinkled felt or burlap. A 
 frieze of warm coppery tones of modern 
 English design should be hung from the plate- 
 rail to the picture moulding, on a level with 
 the eye. Below the picture moulding, brown 
 burlap, paint, or even a crinkled brown felt 
 could be used. Another dado could be sub¬ 
 stituted, by dividing the walls into sections 
 with strips of wood four inches wide, nailed 
 sixteen or eighteen inches apart. These strips 
 could be placed over paint or burlap and be 
 stained to match the rest of the woodwork of 
 the dining-room. A dull brown would be es¬ 
 pecially pretty with this scheme. 
 
 If the room has light-oak woodwork, it can 
 be changed at a small cost by removing the 
 varnish with ammonia and applying a brown 
 stain; this could be waxed when dry. If there 
 is a low ceiling, the same idea could be carried 
 out by hanging the plate-rail about seven feet 
 
 from the floor, instead of on a level with the door. 
 
 [ 24 ] 
 
Choosing a Color Scheme 
 
 The sitting-room on the first floor should be 
 green and yellow, which would give a feeling 
 of unity with the hall, whether it be used as 
 a reception-room or as a drawing-room. A 
 two-toned green paper could be used with 
 yellow hangings. A soft yellowy cream tint 
 on the ceiling would look well. 
 
 Probably the large room on the second floor 
 will be used as a living- or morning-room, and, 
 if so, should be made bright and pretty by the 
 use of a flowered paper of old rose and green, 
 with a plain base of grass cloth, jute, or denim 
 hung below a photograph-rail. Following out 
 this idea, all the woodwork, including the 
 corner seat, must be treated with an ivory- 
 white paint. 
 
 There are many pretty flowered papers for 
 bedrooms. Softness of tone is hard to find, 
 but may be secured by a little perseverance. 
 English and French papers cost the most, but 
 are much softer than those made in America. 
 Some of the domestic have narrow colonial 
 stripes, which may be found among the fifteen- 
 and twenty-cent papers. They are extremely 
 pretty. They can be hung on the side walls 
 
 to the cornice; but if the room is very high, 
 
 [25] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 a frieze of plain color deeper than the tint of 
 the ceiling would be preferable. 
 
 When a house is being built it is a great 
 economy to have the scheme of color, and 
 plans of detail, decided before the building 
 is completed, as then everything could be 
 worked together to produce good results. The 
 hardware should be selected early: dull brass 
 with green woodwork, bright brass with white; 
 or if the woodwork is chestnut or oak, and the 
 furniture strong in character and design, iron 
 hardware would be suitable. 
 
 Instead of all the walls having a last coat 
 of smooth plaster, one might be left rough and 
 sanded. The hall would look well in this 
 way, and could be colored or left the original 
 gray of the plaster. A stencil decoration, if of 
 strong tones and good design, would add to its 
 appearance. The living-room might be de¬ 
 cided upon as more suitable for gray walls 
 which would form an admirable background 
 for pictures. 
 
 It is a great improvement to a room to have 
 a beamed ceiling, and this could be done 
 without cost in some cases, by leaving the 
 joists of the floor above uncovered. These 
 
 [26] 
 
Choosing a Color Scheme 
 
 could be finished off and stained brown. A 
 ceiling paper or burlap should be placed be¬ 
 tween the beams and run down to the top of 
 the doors to join the picture moulding. A 
 strong treatment is necessary for a room of 
 this kind, and a careful selection of the fur¬ 
 niture would be advisable. 
 
 It is the care with which we consider the 
 aspects of various rooms that makes up the 
 beauty of a house and tends to give us har¬ 
 mony of the whole. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 How to Treat the Walls Successfully 
 
 It is always a difficult problem to choose 
 the right kind of wall treatment for all rooms 
 and all purposes. Plain solid colors are the 
 best backgrounds for pictures; but if we 
 do not possess many that are really good 
 figured papers would be a better choice, as 
 they furnish the walls without the aid of 
 pictures. 
 
 In choosing a paper we must not only con¬ 
 sider the furniture and hangings that are to 
 go in the room, but we must bear in mind the 
 uses to which the room will be put. Although 
 this is so important, it is a point that is very 
 often forgotten, and the neglect of it leads to 
 endless confusion. There are several fun¬ 
 damental truths that we should get well in 
 our heads before undertaking the task of 
 choosing wall coverings. If the ceiling is 
 much too high it can be divided into three 
 sections. The ceiling paper can be brought 
 
 [28] 
 
DECORATIVE NURSERY PAPER A WELL DESIGNED PAPER WHICH COULD BE 
 
 USED ONLY WITH THE RIGHT SURROUNDINGS 
 
{ 
 
How to Treat the Walls 
 
 down one or two feet, level with the top of the 
 door or windows, and should always carry out 
 some architectural line already in the room. 
 
 A figured paper below this could cover the 
 wall to within seven feet of the floor, when a 
 burlap or wood panelling would make a suit¬ 
 able base. It is not common, however, to 
 find ceilings so high as a general rule, and 
 unless the walls are over eleven feet, it would 
 be unnecessary to bring the ceiling paper down. 
 Sometimes a ceiling is so low it is depressing, 
 and in that case a striped paper would make 
 it appear higher, especially if the same paper 
 was run from the ceiling to the skirting board. 
 
 Papers with very large figures are never 
 quite suited to a small house. They dwarf 
 the rooms, and the breaking up of the patterns 
 by doors and windows is disagreeable and 
 has an uncomfortable feeling for any one sen¬ 
 sitive to his surroundings. What a good thing 
 it would be if the wall-paper salesmen attended 
 classes where they could be taught the effect 
 of the various wall papers they are to sell. 
 They would then be less daring in what they 
 recommend to their customers. Far too fre¬ 
 quently paper is advocated that was originally 
 
 [ 291 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 designed for a large hall or dining-room of 
 magnificent proportions, with all the furniture 
 and panelling in keeping with the design. 
 Such papers are meaningless and assertive in 
 a small house, and people cannot be too careful 
 in avoiding them. 
 
 When going into a new house we must not 
 be deceived by the quantity and quality of 
 light which pervades the room. If the walls are 
 bare, it is very difficult to get a correct im¬ 
 pression of how light or dark the walls will be 
 when papered. If the rooms are dark, sun¬ 
 shiny yellows or warm rose tints are bright 
 and cheerful, while olives and blues tend to 
 make a room dark and dreary unless the walls 
 are so well broken by windows that this need 
 not be considered. Warm tones in north 
 rooms, cool torfes in south rooms are points 
 to be remembered. 
 
 Every season I make a point of seeing the 
 new wall papers, and, looking at many hun¬ 
 dreds, it is sad to think how few there are 
 that would be restful to live with. Sometimes 
 in going through a whole book, I do not find 
 a single paper I could honestly recommend. 
 Assertiveness is more often found among the 
 
 [30] 
 
How to Treat the Walls 
 
 domestic papers than the imported ones, the 
 reason probably being that the English manu¬ 
 facturers pay high prices to the best artists 
 in the country for wall-paper designs. Such 
 men as Walter Crane, Cecil Aldin, John 
 Hassal, Lewis F. Day, Voisey, and Shann 
 Kydd are employed to make designs for them. 
 As large prices are paid for these designs, the 
 manufacturers do not cease to make up a 
 paper at the end of a season, but continue to 
 bring it out for five or six years, if the design 
 is good and continues to sell. Some of the 
 original Morris papers can be bought to-day 
 in London in the same colorings as when they 
 were made over twenty-five years ago. A 
 desire for novelty on the part of the public 
 demoralizes American manufacturers, and we 
 find that good designs we have grown accus¬ 
 tomed to cannot be obtained at any price 
 when they have run their allotted time. If 
 the manufacturers paid the prices for designs 
 that English and French makers do, this would 
 not happen. 
 
 To treat the walls of our home successfully, 
 we must first consider the hall, for it should 
 be the key-note of the color scheme. It is 
 
 [ 3 1 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 well to have the walls broken by mouldings, 
 because, as a rule, the paper on the upper wall 
 will outlast the dado. If a light paper covers 
 the walls that would quickly soil, it is best to 
 have a burlap or a panelled dado to protect 
 the parts exposed to hard wear. This is 
 especially important when the staircase is 
 narrow, as it is seldom they are wide enough 
 to allow trunks to be carried up and down 
 without knocking the walls. 
 
 Another way of treating the hall is to use a 
 two-toned or fabric paper; a very undefined 
 pattern can be used, giving a varied surface 
 which is very pleasing. It will be found that 
 the broken wall surface is much more ser¬ 
 viceable than plain walls. If a frieze is used 
 in the hall, it should stop at the foot of the 
 stairs. Nothing looks worse than a frieze 
 running on a slant above the staircase. A 
 beautiful one could often be afforded in the 
 lower hall when the expense would be un¬ 
 called for on the second landing. If there is 
 no place for the frieze to terminate at a mould¬ 
 ing or arch near the staircase, place a little 
 beading at the end of it, which will be all 
 
 that is necessary to finish it off. 
 
 [32] 
 
How to Treat the Walls 
 
 In city homes the dining-room is very apt 
 to be poorly lighted, and is often devoid of 
 attractive characteristics, and therefore every¬ 
 thing that is possible must be done to bring 
 about a cheerful appearance. Yellow or corn 
 color in a plain or two-toned effect is always 
 good. Where there is plenty of good china, a 
 plate-rail is advisable, and the display on this 
 of decorative pottery is sufficient decoration 
 for the walls, if the colors are right; but it 
 is a great mistake to have a plate-rail with 
 insipid china and inartistic pottery possessing 
 no decorative qualities. Variety can be given 
 by groups of copper or pewter, which are 
 bright and add a gleam of brilliancy when the 
 light catches them. If there are no suitable 
 decorations on hand, some of the beautiful 
 poster friezes designed by first-class English 
 artists can be used instead. They are soft in 
 coloring, and the repetitions of design so far 
 between that there is no opportunity for getting 
 tired of the pattern. Some of the convention¬ 
 alized floral designs can also be used, the 
 coloring being chosen to suit the walls. 
 
 A beautiful dining-room can be made, when 
 the wall is panelled in wood to a height of 
 
 3 1 33 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 six or seven feet, by running above the high 
 wainscot an old-time landscape frieze con¬ 
 sisting of trees, fountains, and urns on a white 
 ground. The tree-tops of this frieze should 
 nearly reach to the ceiling, the groundwork 
 of which must match that of the frieze. With 
 mahogany furniture such a scheme would be 
 very rich-looking. 
 
 Never before have so many beautiful fabric 
 papers been shown as at this time. Some have 
 a basket weave resembling burlap, while others 
 have a variety of texture that is very charming. 
 The silk-fibre papers are durable and artistic 
 and come in beautiful colors. They are good 
 for using below these poster friezes. 
 
 There are so many horrible tapestry papers 
 on the market that I recommend these with 
 fear and trembling; but there are one or two 
 beautiful designs that are always in good taste 
 and that can be used successfully as ahighdado 
 in a dining-room. They come in beautiful 
 rich colors—some in tones of pale green with 
 Venetian red roses and wood color introduced. 
 These are suitable for covering the walls of 
 country dining-rooms, and are excellent when 
 used with white paint. I have in mind an 
 
 [34] 
 
A FRIEZE OF NASTURTIUMS IN TONES OI 
 BROWN AND COPPER 
 
 DECORATIVE FRIEZE IN DEEP ROSE AND 
 SHADES OF GREEN 
 
How to Treat the Walls 
 
 imported tapestry paper costing only fifty 
 cents; although it has been in the market 
 some six or seven years, it still comes over in 
 large quantities. 
 
 In preparing the walls of a room which will 
 be furnished in mission furniture, some of the 
 art-nouveau papers can be used, but as there 
 are several flagrant monstrosities among the 
 new papers, they must be chosen with care. 
 Suitability, not novelty, is what we need; so 
 do not be impressed by the salesman telling 
 you the paper is a “good seller.” You may 
 then rest assured it is a bad paper, for the 
 majority of people have not good taste, and 
 the manufacturers unfortunately cater to the 
 majority. 
 
 Some of the leather papers in solid color or 
 two-toned effect are very beautiful for a large, 
 handsomely furnished dining-room. These 
 are best used with a tiny little border that is 
 sold to go with them to outline the panels. 
 This treatment is very rich and dignified, but 
 requires modern furniture in the room to be 
 correct. Cheap light-oak furniture or painted 
 chairs would be grotesque with such a back¬ 
 ground. Plain burlap as a base, surmounted 
 
 [35] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 by plain felt above, is an old standby for a 
 dining-room that we never tire of, especially 
 when it is broken by a broad plate-rail on 
 which decorative pottery has been placed. 
 
 There are any number of beautiful little 
 colonial designs suitable for dining-rooms. 
 They are dainty in design and appeal to most 
 of us as being eminently suitable to their sur¬ 
 roundings. It is not necessary to have pic¬ 
 tures in a dining-room, as it is best for the table 
 and the silver to be the centre of attraction. 
 It is always difficult to get good enough pic¬ 
 tures for the living-room or library, so that it 
 seems rather a waste to use them in a dining¬ 
 room where we can do without. 
 
 The library must be restful. A peaceful 
 room of this character must be treated with 
 a quiet background. Nothing must be chosen 
 that tends to distract the eye and thoughts. 
 Therefore, it is better to have a plain wall sur¬ 
 face, which may consist of either burlap, paint, 
 or wall paper. Usually the book-cases take 
 up a good deal of wall space, so that there is 
 not so much wall surface to cover, and a good 
 quality of paper can be used. A silk fibre is 
 particularly good, and although the first cost 
 
 [ 36 3 
 
How to Treat the Walls 
 
 is high, it does not fade and is really cheaper 
 in the long run. 
 
 The living-room can be treated in several 
 ways, but it needs considerable thought, for 
 if there is no library it must take the place of 
 one. If it is on the second floor, there is a 
 wide scope for good color schemes, as it will 
 not open out of other sitting-rooms with which 
 it must harmonize. Plain papers are always 
 best for such rooms, as here of all places we 
 like to have our favorite pictures about us. 
 The picture frames and walls must harmonize. 
 Corn color is the most satisfactory tone for 
 the walls, and goes with either stained wood¬ 
 work or ivory paint. Many of the two-toned 
 papers are practically as good a background 
 for pictures as the plain ones, and are well 
 adapted for living-rooms. Many people divide 
 the walls and have a plain base and a frisky 
 flowered paper for the upper walls. Although 
 this looks bright and cheerful, it is not satis¬ 
 factory to live with. As these rooms are used 
 in the day-time as well as in the evening, 
 papers must be considered by daylight and 
 artificial light, and a color must be selected 
 that will be pleasing at both times. 
 
 [ 37 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 Another rule we must observe if we live in 
 the same house all the year around is: we must 
 not choose so warm a scheme as will not be 
 pleasing in the hot months. Red is a fa¬ 
 vorite color for living-rooms, and yet I think 
 it is a poor choice. When everything is lighted 
 up in the winter evenings, it is certainly 
 cheerful and attractive, but in the day-time it 
 seems to contract the size of the room, and 
 is most assertive when the weather is warm. 
 It should never be used with mahogany fur¬ 
 niture, as the walls kill the color of the ma¬ 
 hogany. There is a shade of Pompeiian red 
 that is a deep old rose and this is a most 
 satisfactory color to live with, as it has nothing 
 of the assertive qualities of a really bright red. 
 
 There is a paper that few people know of 
 among the importations from England. It is 
 what our English cousins use for wrapping 
 paper, and is now made in wall-paper form. 
 It is a soft shade of brown, and makes a 
 neutral background for pictures. Its depth of 
 tone makes it beautiful in itself; combined 
 with white woodwork it is an ideal wall cover¬ 
 ing for a living-room. 
 
 There are so many pretty bedroom papers 
 [38] 
 
How to Treat the Walls 
 
 to choose from that the task is easy, providing 
 we keep a few “don’ts” in our mind. Do not 
 have strong-colored designs on a strongly 
 indicated trellis. They are very pretty when 
 a little is seen at once in the store, but when 
 the four walls are covered they are monoto¬ 
 nous. Always choose soft colors that harmonize 
 with the furniture and floor coverings. There 
 are some flowered patterns with a diamond 
 shape in the background that are very beau¬ 
 tiful and bear no relation to the vivid nov¬ 
 elties to which I refer. There is a little brown 
 spot in the centre of the diamond. The 
 flowers recede into the background and make 
 a soft and pretty wall paper. Then there is a 
 great variety of pretty stripes. One I have in 
 mind consists of daisies in pale gray alter¬ 
 nating with a stripe of poppies. There are 
 several colorings in this paper, the poppies 
 being in blue, red, and mauve. There is some¬ 
 thing unpleasing in the idea of a blue poppy, 
 so that this coloring need not be considered. 
 The pink one is the prettiest of the combina¬ 
 tions. 
 
 An unusual motif is cosmos; this season 
 there is a beautiful paper in this motif. An- 
 
 139] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 other shows two little roses side by side, run¬ 
 ning in stripes two feet apart. It is somewhat 
 on the art-nouveau style, but is in exceedingly 
 good taste. 
 
 Plain walls are also pleasant for a bedroom, 
 but they must be brightened up with a pretty 
 little border. If expense must be consid¬ 
 ered, choose a striped floral paper which can 
 have the stripes cut out and used as a bor¬ 
 der. This method is less expensive and 
 the same effect is gained in the end. There 
 are two ways of treating such rooms. One is 
 to run the border above the skirting-board 
 and around the trims of the room and beneath 
 the angle. The other is to make panels, which 
 can be varied in size, and break up the room 
 in a charming manner. There are quite a 
 number of beautiful borders sold for this pur¬ 
 pose. The Chambrays are prettier than plain 
 papers for panelled bedrooms. It is surprising 
 what a long life watered paper possesses. It 
 is still made in all shades, and there seems to 
 be an epidemic of watered ceilings. Nothing 
 is better than a plain tint for ceilings of bed¬ 
 rooms or sitting-rooms. They are more expen¬ 
 sive and cost a little more to hang, but if we 
 
 [40] 
 
BACKGROUND MAKES IT RESTFUL ROOM OR BEDROOM 
 
How to Treat the Walls 
 
 must save in this direction there are less ob¬ 
 jectionable things than watered paper. A 
 little cobweb design among those made for 
 ceilings, or a silver dot, is not nearly so asser¬ 
 tive if a twelve-and-a-half-cent paper must be 
 used instead of a twenty-cent tint. 
 
 There are one or two especially good papers 
 intended for men’s rooms. They are geomet¬ 
 rical in design and are strong in color, but 
 this is not objected to, as a man likes his room 
 to have character. 
 
 We have not so large a selection among the 
 papers for third-story bedrooms. One I like 
 is a charming little paper with rosebuds 
 scattered over a white ground, and costs only 
 fifteen cents. As it is sometimes important, 
 because of the shape of a room, to paper the 
 walls and ceiling alike, small, unassuming 
 patterns should be chosen. If the ceiling is 
 unbroken it will require different treatment, 
 and there will not be the same limitations. 
 A large attic is best divided by a dado of plain 
 paper, with a figured paper above, which may 
 extend on to the ceiling for about a foot. 
 
 For bathrooms, painted walls are very often 
 used, and are always in good taste. A wooden 
 
 [41 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 or tiled dado is almost invariably used now¬ 
 adays. Above these we can have some of the 
 beautiful varnished papers which seem more 
 serviceable than paint, but we must avoid 
 those ugly little imitation-brick designs, of 
 which every one is so heartily tired. There are 
 several very pretty ideas in bathroom papers. 
 One in square tiles shows a Japanese treatment 
 of a pine-tree motif. Another is formed by 
 stripes of iris leaves with a flower appearing 
 at regular intervals in the stripe. 
 
 Kitchens and pantries are frequently 
 painted, although a few architects go to the 
 expense of tde walls in preference. House¬ 
 keepers are finding out that painted walls 
 are apt to look smeary after a half-yearly 
 scrub, and to-day favor is given to varnished 
 papers, which can be renewed every other 
 year. 
 
 Those who have taken considerable trouble 
 in carefully considering the treatment of their 
 walls will have the satisfaction of knowing 
 that their surroundings are harmonious, and 
 will therefore be well repaid for the time they 
 have spent in planning for successful wall 
 treatment. 
 
 [42] 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 Concerning Halls 
 
 On entering a house our first impression is 
 received from the appearance of the hall. 
 Either it is bad architecturally or it is fur¬ 
 nished in so commonplace a style that we 
 have no desire to enter the house, and its 
 owners are stamped in our minds as people 
 of little culture or refinement. This being the 
 case, it is imperative that the matter should 
 be considered from every point of view, and 
 time given to trying to remedy the natural 
 defects of a badly planned hall. 
 
 An average hall in a city house is usually too 
 dark, and often not pleasantly proportioned, 
 and this last fault is often made worse by a 
 plain paper, surmounted with a frieze which, 
 as it mounts the staircase, is most offensive 
 to the artistic eye. 
 
 Probably the woodwork is walnut, highly 
 varnished, or else it is oak finished in the same 
 lustrous fashion. Then we find a terrible 
 
 [ 43 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 piece of furniture groaning under the weight 
 of coats and hats, while unrolled umbrellas 
 appear to stick out of the pockets. Somewhere 
 inside is a seat, but who would dare to sit 
 down amidst so much overhead drapery ? It 
 also contains a very narrow mirror, and this 
 proportion is accentuated by a bevelled edge 
 around it. 
 
 Another hall has the upper wall and ceiling 
 of felt paper, while below a border of gold 
 stars is a paper of garish colors and bad 
 drawing. Once when going over a house, 
 papered ready for the new occupant, a dado 
 which, to my mind, closely resembled drunken 
 cats met my gaze. The shape of the head, 
 the ears, outstretched paws, all were indicated. 
 Thousands of cats seemed to spring from the 
 walls. Imagine any one trying to live with 
 such a paper! It could only be endured as a 
 preventive against mice. 
 
 A city house is sometimes found with a high 
 narrow hall, varnished walnut woodwork, and 
 badly lighted. These defects can be mitigated 
 in several ways, however. It was my privilege 
 to see what had been done by a young artist 
 who bought a house of this kind, matching all 
 
 [ 44 ] 
 
Concerning Halls 
 
 its commonplace neighbors. By doing the 
 decoration himself, he succeeded in making 
 his knowledge of color and form of practical 
 value. As the hall was gloomy, the walls were 
 painted a soft golden yellow, bringing an 
 atmosphere of sunshine into it. The wall was 
 divided by a heavy dado moulding, placed 
 about seven feet from the ground; below this 
 a burlap of golden brown was used. This was 
 ornamented by a stencil decoration in green, 
 placed just below the moulding. The upper 
 wall was stencilled with a tree motif, the tops 
 of which formed a continuous frieze. This 
 extended only to the arch at the foot of the 
 stairs, the ordinary plaster ornaments were 
 removed, and the arch made square and left 
 the depth of the frieze. Two plaster brackets 
 were allowed to remain, and on these the artist 
 designed and made in plaster figures of boys, 
 who apparently held up the chandelier. These 
 figures were stained green and added greatly 
 to the artistic appearance of the hall. The 
 same idea could be carried out by buying a 
 ready-made figure from a vendor of plaster 
 casts. The imp sitting with his legs crossed 
 could be placed on the brackets, so often used 
 
 [ 45 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 as a support for meaningless ornaments. The 
 woodwork was painted one coat of brown 
 paint and overgrained, producing the effect 
 of dull-finished oak, which was most attractive. 
 A high settle, stained green, with well-designed 
 sides, gave opportunity for holding a visitor’s 
 hat and coat. Those of the family were hung 
 at the end of the hall out of sight. The stair¬ 
 case and floors were covered with one width 
 of velvet carpet, which had a small conven¬ 
 tional design in yellow. A few inches of 
 stained floor were left at each side of the strip. 
 
 On the left of the hall was a parlor, which 
 was converted into a most delightful living- 
 room. The doors extended to the ceiling; 
 straight slats of wood, stained brown, were 
 introduced, instead of an ordinary transom; 
 the doors were removed and handwoven por¬ 
 tieres were hung in their place. These were 
 drawn back, thus allowing the light from the 
 windows at each end of the living-room to 
 enter the hall. 
 
 The vestibule was painted a deeper tone 
 than the hall walls, and the marble dado was 
 softened by toning with color. The vestibule 
 doors had curtains of bobinet with a tree motif 
 
 [46] 
 
Concerning Halls 
 
 stencilled on them, suggesting the decoration 
 inside. The expense was slight, but the 
 difference in the “before” and “after” treat¬ 
 ment of the hall was most remarkable. 
 
 Halls that are easy to treat are those where 
 the staircase turns above a platform near the 
 base of the stairs. A pretty hall I always 
 enjoy going into has white paint and red felt 
 walls with a cream ceiling. A dado of warm 
 Persian design in paper protects the lower 
 walls. The staircase winds until it comes 
 opposite the front door. The mahogany 
 hand-rail and thin white spindles give it quite 
 an old-world appearance. This hall is square, 
 and with a sofa and a table makes an attract¬ 
 ive reception-hall. 
 
 Another hall in a large colonial house in the 
 country possesses a wide staircase, with a bal¬ 
 cony leading to the second flight, which con¬ 
 tinues up the other side of the hall. A large 
 two-toned green foliage paper covers the walls, 
 broken only by a chair-rail. Plenty of light 
 floods this hall, which, with its white wood¬ 
 work and old mahogany furniture, makes a 
 pleasing impression. 
 
 If the walls of a hall are high, they must be 
 147 3 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 broken by moulding, and it seems most prac¬ 
 tical to have a dado of paper or paint. This 
 should be in proportion to the height of the 
 wall on the staircase. A hall might have the 
 dado renewed without much outlay, whereas 
 the papering of the entire hall is always costly. 
 
 Avoid large figures in a small hall, also set 
 figures. I never see a so-called “hall paper” 
 that is really suitable. They are usually badly 
 drawn and poorly colored, and the poor 
 creatures who are talked into buying them 
 are much to be pitied. 
 
 Let the halls look inviting. Have a little 
 table near the door, a mirror, and a chair or 
 settle, but do not have combination hall seats 
 and painted drain pipes for umbrellas and 
 large-patterned carpets on the floor. Stained 
 floors with rugs which can be shaken at least 
 twice a week; bare stairs, or velvet carpets of 
 neat Persian designs; sheer window curtains 
 that let in all the available light; copper bowls 
 for the cards, and a growing plant or fern on 
 the table—these are little details that add 
 much to the whole, and make for a successful 
 hall. 
 
 [48] 
 
HAND-WOVEN RUGS 
 

CHAPTER V 
 
 A Few Points to Remember when Buying 
 Carpets and Rugs 
 
 When in quest of a floor covering, it is a 
 very sensible plan to go armed with a foot- 
 rule, especially if there is only a limited sum 
 to spend. The judicious use of a foot-rule 
 will be a very practical help, as by its use it 
 can be determined how large a rug the room 
 will need, or how many yards of carpet will 
 be required. If this can be done by the pur¬ 
 chaser, the car-fares and expenses of a man 
 from a store will be saved, and this is worth 
 while if the house is in the country. But the 
 chief reason for doing this is to know about 
 how many yards will be needed, so that a little 
 figuring will enable the would-be purchaser 
 to know how much she must allow for each 
 room and enable her to decide whether she 
 can buy Wilton or Brussels carpets, or rugs. 
 
 When measuring a room, first draw a com¬ 
 plete diagram of the spaces to be carpeted as 
 
 [49] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 nearly correct in shape and proportion as 
 possible. Measure with a rule or yard-stick, 
 in preference to a tape line, and give dimen¬ 
 sions in feet and inches. Having found out 
 how many yards will be needed, the quality 
 and kind of carpet must then be decided on. 
 
 Most of the carpets are made in several 
 qualities. Wiltons come in three grades: the 
 first cost $ 3.00 a yard, and are made in better 
 colorings and designs, as well as being heavier. 
 The best ones are mostly in two-toned effects, 
 and have borders made to match them, not 
 only in color but in design. Do not choose an 
 assertive border for a carpet, but see that the 
 colors blend. 
 
 The cheapest quality of Wilton costs $1.50. 
 These are mostly made in designs suitable for 
 staircases, halls, and landings, and are very 
 Oriental in effect. A gold pear design in 
 Wilton velvet comes in a blue background 
 with a soft gold and green design, and also 
 in shades of red. The blue ground is one of 
 the few carpets that can be used successfully 
 in a Delft room. This design has already been 
 on the market five or six years. It is a comfort 
 that the manufacturers have the good sense 
 
 1 5 ° 3 
 
 4 
 
Points to Remember 
 
 to go on making it. Why should a good thing 
 cease to be made when it answers its purpose, 
 and is found practical for its good coloring 
 and design ? 
 
 Another carpet, not unlike the Wilton, is the 
 Axminster. It is made in several qualities— 
 $1.75, $1.50, and $1.40—and is made in much 
 the same kind of designs as the Wilton velvets. 
 It is used for dining-rooms, living-rooms, 
 and halls. The coloring is dark, and the 
 motif is Persian. French designs are also 
 found in Axminster carpets, and are used in 
 parlors. These carpets have a high pile, and 
 require care to keep them free from dust. 
 
 Body Brussels is perhaps the favorite carpet, 
 and dealers tell us they sell more of it than 
 of any of the others. It is made in several 
 qualities, the best being $1.75. This grade 
 is really the cheapest in the long run, as it is 
 extra heavy and will wear much longer than 
 the $1.40 quality. It is made in exclusive de¬ 
 signs, and only the best dyes are used. Body 
 Brussels can be bought at the following prices: 
 $i-75> $ I -4°> an d $1.25, but these prices 
 
 are subject to change. The $1.25 carpet is 
 the same quality as the $1.40, but the designs 
 
 [51] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 are usually old, and are not exclusive to any 
 one firm. Sometimes an unpopular design is 
 really good, but has not been found by people 
 of good taste, and so has been overlooked. 
 
 A wool ingrain costs 95 cents a yard. These 
 are made in two-toned effects, and are often 
 very pretty, but their lack of weight makes 
 them less serviceable than other carpets. In 
 counting the cost of buying carpets, the ex¬ 
 pense of making, laying, and lining must not 
 be forgotten. Sometimes it is advisable to put 
 two layers of lining down where there is a 
 great deal of traffic, as it insures a carpet 
 wearing longer. The cost of making and 
 laying a Wilton is 20 cents a yard, the lining 
 costs, according to weight, 10 cents, I2| cents, 
 and 15 cents. 
 
 Brussels and velvet carpets cost 12I cents 
 a yard to make, 15 cents if a border is used. 
 Plain filling can be bought made of Wilton, 
 Brussels, Axminsters, Wilton velvets, and 
 Terry’s. Brussels and Terry’s are made one 
 yard wide, all the others are three-quarters 
 the usual carpet width. 
 
 Fashion runs riot in carpets as well as in 
 
 clothes, so we must not be surprised to find 
 
 [ 52 ] 
 
Points to Remember 
 
 that a pale-steel color is among the fashionable 
 shades. Could anything be more absurd! 
 A floor must be the strongest color in a room. 
 It would be hard to imagine a successful room 
 with pale-steel carpet and sick walls. Some 
 of the shades of pink are wicked, but for¬ 
 tunately a wide range of good old rose pinks 
 is still left to us. 
 
 Among the Wiltons some cheaper designs 
 are excellent, especially in the greens. 
 
 Golden brown and dull green are goodly 
 colors to combine in floor coverings, and several 
 effective designs in these colors can be seen 
 among the new Wiltons. An old Persian 
 Mosul design is made in old reds, yellow, 
 olive, cream, on a dull blue ground; although 
 so many colors are used the effect is neutral. 
 
 The ever-popular fleur-de-lis design is made 
 in various shades of green Wilton. 
 
 Among the body Brussels bedroom carpets 
 is one called the Waldorf. It has a blossom 
 with an all-over design of leaves. Except for 
 the indistinct flower, it is a two-toned carpet, 
 and is made in blue and two distinct shades 
 of green. Another that is popular is a cherry 
 blossom centred in a diagonal design. It has 
 
 [ 53 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 a very chintzy appearance, and is attractive 
 in pale green or the terra-cotta shades. 
 
 Two-toned designs in set patterns like oil¬ 
 cloths are among the new things in Brussels 
 and Wilton carpets, and are suitable for a 
 small room. 
 
 Among the domestic rugs are several French 
 Wiltons, a 9 x 12 costing $50.00 in the best 
 designs and colorings. Some of them copy 
 the Persian rug so closely that a rug purchaser 
 might be deceived as to its genuineness. 
 
 One of the rugs is copied from an old Ker¬ 
 man shah. It is in pale rose, creams, and blues 
 with the pear motif so often used by the 
 Orientals. 
 
 The Bokhara design is made in two tones in 
 terra cotta, and in deep crimson. Some of 
 the designs are more assertive, a red ground 
 with blue medallion and borders being among 
 these, and are carried each season. The 
 regular price of a 9x12 Royal Wilton is 
 $37.5°, and from these some good designs and 
 colorings can be selected. A better quality 
 can be bought for $47.50, the coloring of which 
 is excellent. 
 
 The Smyrnas are slightly cheaper, a good 
 
 [ 54 ] 
 
MARTHA WASHINGTON RUG 
 
Points to Remember 
 
 quality costing $28.50. A good deal of rub¬ 
 bish is sold under the head of Smyrnas, but 
 every now and then they crop up in good 
 coloring and good designs. I lately found a 
 beautiful old red in a Bokhara design with 
 touches of black as good as any of the French 
 Wiltons, but it was a better quality than that 
 usually found in a Smyrna. These domestic 
 rugs are made in all sizes, which is a great 
 convenience when several are needed in the 
 same room. 
 
 A variety of rugs are made for bathrooms. 
 The Whitall and the Princess are the most 
 popular. They are made in all the small sizes 
 and colors. The Martha Washington rugs 
 with white warps are also much in favor for 
 bathrooms, as they can be readily washed. 
 
 The Kashmir rug is more of a summer rug, 
 but on account of its small price will always 
 be asked for. A 9 x 12 costs $12.00. The 
 colors are strong and the designs are usually 
 Oriental. They can be used in a boy’s bed¬ 
 room or den. It certainly seems that a large 
 variety is offered for our selection, and among 
 so many something can always be found to 
 suit any pocket-book. 
 
 [S5l 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 Axminster and Donegal rugs, which are 
 hand-tufted, are usually made to order and 
 can be ordered any size and shape. Some 
 firms will even go so far as to make a special 
 design to suit a room without extra cost. 
 These rugs are nearly an inch thick, and begin 
 at $12.00 a square yard; but as they are made 
 by hand and each tuft tied in a separate knot, 
 the cost does not seem excessive. Only the 
 best wools and dyes are used. The demand 
 has increased lately because of the interest 
 the King and Queen of England have taken 
 in this industry, which is giving work to 
 hundreds of women in the Donegal Hills in 
 Ireland. Several were made for Windsor 
 Castle, and now orders are being received 
 from all parts of the world. 
 
 The Caledon rugs, costing about $35.00 for 
 a 9x12, are made in beautiful designs, and 
 are especially useful to go with mission fur¬ 
 niture and modern English treatment of walls. 
 Many of the designs are made by Voisey, in 
 those beautiful combinations of green and blue 
 so hard to find in floor coverings. These rugs 
 can be made to order, as the stock carried is us¬ 
 ually not large at the few stores that carry them. 
 
 [56] 
 
Points to Remember 
 
 Hand-woven fabric rugs are now made in 
 all sizes and colors, and fill a long-felt want 
 because of their durability. They are made 
 of cotton materials, and are woven like the 
 old-fashioned rag carpet, but instead of being 
 made hit-or-miss fashion, figured cretonnes, 
 denims, and twill are woven up. Some have 
 plain borders and figured centres, while others 
 are made of plain material with fancy borders. 
 They are woven with white or tan warps. 
 The white warps are much used in bedrooms, 
 but the tan is more serviceable for all purposes, 
 as it does not soil so quickly as white. They 
 are sold in two qualities. Those known as the 
 Priscilla cost $3.00 for size 3x6, and $18.00 
 for 9x12. The Martha Washington rugs 
 have beautiful borders of dainty patterns and 
 cost $4.00 for size 3x6 and $24.00 for the 
 9x12 size. 
 
 Old carpets need never be thrown away 
 when shabby, as they can be pulled apart, 
 cleaned, and rewoven into small rugs. Very 
 bright crude colors make the prettiest rugs. 
 Four yards of carpet make one square yard 
 of rug. The usual price is $1.00 a yard for 
 ripping and cleaning the old carpet and 
 
 1571 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 weaving the rugs. This includes delivery. 
 Velvet, Moquette, Brussels, or Ingrain can be 
 used, but the pile carpets are not mixed with 
 the flat carpets when woven. 
 
 When buying carpets it will oe found that 
 the full line of new ones will not be available 
 until after the middle of September. August 
 is the month when everything is cleaned out 
 to make way for new stock. Many a bargain 
 can be found by watching for it. The only 
 danger is that people are apt to buy ugly 
 things just because they are cheap. Carpet 
 rugs made up with remnants of borders that 
 bear no relation to the centres naturally are 
 sold at exceedingly low prices. To those who 
 want only a floor covering and have no color- 
 eye or conscience about making each room 
 beautiful, these bargains prove very attractive. 
 
 158] 
 
B—waai 
 
 Ife 
 
 m : m mmmmm H ■ ■ ■ HI ■ mm wm 
 
 111 ’' 
 
 »- ■ • . . 5 
 
 PRISCILI.A RUG 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Characteristics of Oriental Rugs 
 
 There are few things about a house that, 
 in a quiet way, have more influence upon our 
 humor than floor coverings. We do not often 
 notice them directly, but nevertheless they 
 have an influence upon one’s subconscious self 
 which is undeniable. The rugs which cover 
 our floors give the fundamental note to the 
 scheme of our rooms. If they are of suitable 
 color and strikingly arranged, they lend to the 
 room a certain feeling of comfort which is 
 essential to the well-decorated home, but if 
 they are not, they destroy the whole effect of 
 an otherwise well-appointed apartment. 
 
 We frequently do not realize that the reason 
 the room gives us an uncomfortable feeling 
 is because its rugs are out of keeping with the 
 scheme of decoration. A rug must not merely 
 satisfy our sense of sight, like a wall paper or 
 pictures, but it must also satisfy our sense of 
 touch, because we are constantly feeling the 
 
 [ 59 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 rug with our feet, and comfort must therefore 
 be considered from this point of view. Too 
 much care cannot be exercised in the selection 
 of floor coverings. 
 
 Experience is the best teacher, and much 
 of it is needed in choosing Oriental rugs; there 
 are many people who buy a rug because its 
 appearance appeals to them, and they feel 
 sure it will go well with the scheme of the 
 room for which they are choosing it. 
 
 What to Avoid in Selecting Rugs 
 
 There are many points to be kept in mind 
 in selecting Oriental rugs. The selvedge 
 should be unbroken, as when this is gone the 
 rug may be said to be on its last legs, especially 
 if the warp, called a heading, at either end of 
 the rug, has also disappeared. The rug should 
 also be examined at the back, as this is 
 often cut by careless handling in transit. If 
 these cuts are small a skilful repairer will 
 soon remedy the defect, but if they are very 
 large it would be well to select another rug 
 if possible. 
 
 If moths have got into a rug, this can be 
 detected by holding it up to the light to see 
 
 [ 60 ] 
 
Characteristics of Oriental Rugs 
 
 if there are any holes in it; but if a fluff conies 
 out of the rug in the first one or two sweepings, 
 it is a sure sign that moths have attacked it. 
 
 Some rugs are made crooked from the 
 beginning, owing to the wool with which they 
 are made not having been dried evenly or 
 gradually. A crooked rug is often found 
 among the Kurdish rugs, as the Kurds are a 
 nomadic people, and have not always suitable 
 water and drying conveniences in their vicin¬ 
 ity. These points should be borne in mind 
 when selecting Oriental rugs. 
 
 The most expensive and beautiful rugs are 
 Persian, and they come to this country in great 
 quantities. Ispahan, Kirmans, Sehnnas, Kurd- 
 istans, Serabends, and Feraghans are the best 
 kinds. Then there are the Anatolian rugs 
 from Turkey. A variety come under this head 
 from Asia Minor. 
 
 The Persian rugs are made very carefully 
 by hand on looms of primitive construction. 
 The only tools that are used are a pair of 
 shears, a comb, and a mallet. No changes 
 have been made in the mode of weaving or 
 in the pattern used, and as some of them were 
 
 in use before the days of Abraham a feeling 
 
 [61] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 almost of reverence comes over one in seeing 
 these ancient designs. 
 
 The Orientals have not the same craze for 
 novelty that possesses the Western people, 
 and much of their success in rug-making is 
 due to this fact. There is much individuality 
 in many of their rugs, and those who under¬ 
 stand the symbols they make use of can trace 
 the history of a people by their designs. 
 
 A Persian never stands upon a rug with his 
 shoes on, but always uncovers his feet; this 
 is the reason so many beautiful rugs have been 
 preserved. The dyes used in these old rugs 
 were all vegetable dyes, made by a process of 
 fermentation, the secrets of which are jealously 
 guarded. Of late years Orientals have often used 
 aniline dyes, much to the detriment of the rugs. 
 
 Ispahan 
 
 Ispahan rugs were often made for the carpets 
 of palaces, and were dyed in the most beau¬ 
 tiful colorings. Many of the designs are floral: 
 the tulip, the pink, the lily, the rose, and the 
 iris, drawn in naturalistic fashion, are gener¬ 
 ally made use of. Mythological designs are 
 much used, and also tree forms, animal forms, 
 
 [62] 
 
Characteristics of Oriental Rugs 
 
 and demons, giving a quaint appearance to the 
 rug. Closely resembling the Ispahans are the 
 Teheran and Joshghan, the difference between 
 them being hard to detect, even by an expert. 
 
 Kerman 
 
 Kerman rugs are made of a very fine quality 
 of wool, so carefully spun that a novice can 
 readily recognize a Kerman by its quality. 
 Such symbolic figures as the tree of life, the 
 cypress-tree, weapons, crowns, and altars may 
 be found in these rugs. The most familiar 
 design is a floriated medallion for the centre 
 of the rug, with floriated corners, frequently 
 depicting flowers growing in a vase, with birds 
 perching on the sprays. There is a great deal 
 of faking in the making of genuine Kermans. 
 They are washed with chemicals to produce 
 the soft coloring, and in some cases they are 
 partly made by machinery, so that it is essen¬ 
 tial to be guided by an expert before buying 
 one of these costly rugs. 
 
 Sehnna 
 
 The Sehnnas usually come in small sizes, 
 
 and are now becoming very rare. The nap 
 
 [63] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 is cut very close, and they do not have the 
 high pile which would make them rich-looking 
 for floor coverings. The design is usually dia¬ 
 mond-shaped, being stiff and formal, though 
 minute and exquisite in detail, and somewhat 
 resembles a Kerman in the use of floral motifs. 
 The medallion is usually on a background of 
 red, green, yellow, or cream. These rugs are 
 beautifully made, owing to the process of 
 knotting and warping, and are good examples 
 of the weaver’s art in both color and texture. 
 
 Kurdistan 
 
 These rugs have a heavy, glossy, lustrous 
 quality, as they are woven with both warp 
 and weft of wool. The selvedge shows a 
 chequered effect and braided loops extend 
 beyond the fringe. It is very hard for a novice 
 to be sure of a Kurdistan, as they are made by 
 the Kurds, who are wanderers in the mountain 
 districts of Persia, and as they copy all kinds 
 of designs they present a great variety of 
 motifs and peculiarities of other makes of rugs. 
 Their wearing qualities are excellent, and 
 when a straight rug can be obtained it will 
 
 be found very desirable. The predominant 
 
 [ 64 ] 
 
Characteristics of Oriental Rugs 
 
 colors are dull red or blue, and the dyes are 
 absolutely to be relied upon. These rugs are 
 so well made and heavy that many connois¬ 
 seurs consider a Kurdistan the most desirable 
 of all rugs. 
 
 Khorassan 
 
 Khorassans may generally be known by 
 their naturalistic drawing of flower motifs, 
 symmetrically arranged. A large and small 
 pear design, and a palm-leaf design are also 
 often introduced, showing East-Indian in¬ 
 fluence. The feature of a Khorassan rug, 
 however, is an unusual look given to the back 
 of the rugs, owing to the peculiarities in weav¬ 
 ing. Four or more rows of knots are tied 
 without a weft thread to support them. Strands 
 of weft are thrown across, followed by more 
 rows of knots, which gives this diversified 
 appearance to the back of the rug. 
 
 Serabend 
 
 The Serabend rug can be told by its palm- 
 leaf centre, which can be found in all Sera- 
 bends in one or more forms, as the pear, the 
 
 loop, etc. They closely resemble the finest 
 5 [65] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 cashmere shawls in design; the palm leaf is 
 a sacred symbol, representing the River Indus 
 as seen from the mosque to which devotees are 
 making their pilgrimage. The warp and weft 
 of the Serabends are cotton, and the pile is 
 wool. 
 
 Feraghans 
 
 Feraghans closely resemble Serabend rugs, 
 but are not as finely woven. They usually 
 come in small sizes. A distinctive floral ar¬ 
 rangement, known as a Feraghan feature, 
 introduces a spray of flowers at regular inter¬ 
 vals on the field of a rug. A conventionalized 
 rose and an indication of a trellis are also 
 found in these rugs. 
 
 Mosuls 
 
 Mosuls are sometimes classed with Persian 
 rugs, though really they are woven by the 
 nomadic tribes consisting of Kurds, Bedouins, 
 and Yezides, who pitch their tents around the 
 old walled city of Mosul. The designs of 
 these rugs show a strange combination of 
 motifs, Persian, Caucasian, 1 urkish, Chinese, 
 
 and Saracenic. These combinations of design 
 
 [ 66 ] 
 
Characteristics of Oriental Rugs 
 
 are most perplexing to the uninitiated. They 
 can be distinguished, however, by an overcast 
 of the red thread or black haircloth on the 
 edges, the nap also, which is very thick, comes 
 close to the selvedge, forming a heavy cord 
 down the edge. 
 
 Iran 
 
 Iran is another name for Persian rugs, and 
 simply denotes that the Persians are antique. 
 The colors in most of the Persian rugs are 
 strong yellows, greens, purples, and old reds; 
 while most of the designs are realistic and 
 floral. 
 
 Turkoman 
 
 Turkoman rugs are named from the coun¬ 
 tries or localities in which they are made, and 
 come from Khiva, Yomud, Bokhara, Afghan¬ 
 istan and Beloochistan. Nearly all the Turk¬ 
 oman rugs have a groundwork of deep rich 
 red. 
 
 Beloochistan 
 
 Beloochistan rugs resemble Bokharas; they 
 
 are somewhat crude, and come in numerous 
 
 [67] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 designs—browns, reds, and purples are the 
 usual combinations of colors, but their charm 
 lies in the beautiful bloom that most of them 
 have, for the wool used is particularly soft and 
 silky. These rugs may be known by their 
 elaborate selvedges, which are sometimes ten 
 inches long in moderate-sized rugs and display 
 wonderful patterns. 
 
 T omud 
 
 The designs vary so much in these rugs that 
 no particular feature can be taken to identify 
 any special style. Elongated diamond forms 
 appear in many of the rugs. The pile, warp, 
 and weft are of fine hair or wool, and they are 
 often mistaken for Bokharas. The deep plum 
 red in which they are made is one of their 
 chief charms. 
 
 Bokharas 
 
 Bokhara rugs are among the most durable, 
 but the antique ones are very rare. They 
 come in deep reds with square little figures all 
 over them. Anatolian rugs are close and fine 
 
 in texture, and are celebrated for their rich 
 
 [ 68 ] 
 
Characteristics of Oriental Rugs 
 
 colorings of blue, green and red. Many de¬ 
 signs are used, one of the most popular being 
 called the “Temple.” It has a plain centre of 
 green and red with a pointed design at one 
 end, supposed to represent the entrance to 
 the mosque. Many of these rugs have the 
 pointed arches, and when a rug is laid on the 
 ground by an Oriental the arch always points 
 toward Mecca. 
 
 Ouchak 
 
 Large-sized Turkish carpets are grouped 
 under the name of Ouchak. Modern methods 
 are observable in these rugs, and large surfaces 
 are left plain to suit the European and Western 
 ideas of observing single-color effects in fur¬ 
 nishing. They come mostly in very bright 
 reds with a mixture of blue. 
 
 Afghans 
 
 Afghans resemble very closely the Bokharas. 
 A large hexagon design in which there is 
 always a trefoil is the chief characteristic of 
 these rugs. They come in large sizes, and 
 
 are almost square. They are larger and 
 
 [69] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 heavier than Bokharas, and are of somewhat 
 coarser texture. 
 
 Khiva 
 
 Khivas are very much akin to the Yomud 
 and Afghan rugs, but the deepest shade of 
 red known is always found in Khiva rugs. The 
 appearance of the rug is kaleidoscopic in effect, 
 which gives it a distinctive charm of its own. 
 
 Caucasian 
 
 The list of Caucasian rugs is a long one, 
 including the Kazak, Derebend, Daghestan, 
 Shirvan, Karabagh, Kabistan, Guenja, Cash- 
 mere, Sumac, and Mosul. 
 
 Kazak 
 
 There is no end to the wear of a Kazak rug. 
 Their thickness and durability, and their 
 strong, daring coloring are their chief char¬ 
 acteristics. A very fine quality of wool or 
 hair is used, making them beautiful and lus¬ 
 trous. The selvedges are braided in the same 
 
 way that Turkish girls plait their hair. They 
 
 [70] 
 
Characteristics of Oriental Rugs 
 
 are bold in design. Beasts, birds, trees, and 
 human beings are adapted for their designs in 
 geometrical forms. 
 
 Daghestan 
 
 The Daghestan rug is not unlike a Kazak 
 in design, but is more closely woven and 
 possesses a shorter nap. The general name of 
 Daghestan has been misapplied to Kabistan, 
 Shirvan, and Bakus rugs. Their chief charac¬ 
 teristic is that they have no fringe on their 
 ends. Antique Daghestan rugs have been used 
 by the Persians for prayer-mats for generations. 
 They are very beautiful in soft-toning colors, 
 but they are becoming very scarce. 
 
 Shirvan 
 
 Shirvan rugs resemble Daghestans very 
 closely, but the yarn is lighter in weight and 
 they have the shorter nap of all the Caucasian 
 rugs. The principal patterns are prayer pat¬ 
 terns, or geometrical or floral figures. Peacock- 
 blue is generally found in the body of the rug, 
 while red and yellow are introduced in diagonal 
 lattice work. The borders are full of detail 
 
 [ 711 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 of arabesque designs and conventionalized 
 flower patterns. 
 
 Cashmere or Sumac 
 
 The designs of these rugs are very like 
 those found on Daghestan rugs, the ground¬ 
 work usually being in blues and reds, while 
 yellow, green, and black are introduced in the 
 borders. These rugs are the lightest weight 
 of all the Oriental rugs, and can be dis¬ 
 tinguished by the fine, even texture of the 
 front of the rug and the rough, shaggy appear¬ 
 ance of the back. They are mostly used over 
 filling or matting, as they are hardly heavy 
 enough to use on a hardwood floor. Owing 
 to the closeness of the weave, they are ex¬ 
 tremely durable. 
 
 Kilhms 
 
 Different from the other rugs are the Killims, 
 which have no nap, and are woven by a needle; 
 they are alike on both sides. They are used 
 for portieres, couch covers, and table cloths. 
 They are too light in weight to be used as 
 winter floor coverings, but are ideal for 
 summer cottages. 
 
 [ 721 
 
Characteristics of Oriental Rugs 
 
 Samarkand 
 
 Samarkand rugs are Chinese in character, 
 and form a class by themselves. They are 
 bold in design, and are yellow, orange, and 
 red in tones. They are coarsely woven, but 
 make suitable rugs for dens. 
 
 Care of Rugs 
 
 People who own good rugs are often very 
 careless in sending them away to carpet- 
 cleaners without understanding the process they 
 will undergo. The Orientals frequently wash 
 their rugs, sometimes soaking them in milk, 
 which gives them a soft, lustrous appearance. 
 
 In washing rugs, a very simple way is to take 
 them out on the floor of the piazza, scrub 
 them thoroughly with warm ammonia suds 
 or with a solution of soap bark, afterward 
 rinsing in several waters, until all the soap is 
 removed. To remove the dust from a rug, 
 it should be carried on to the grass and beaten 
 with a light whip or carpet-beater, on the 
 surface only, which will bring the dust to the 
 surface, when it may easily be removed with 
 a brush. 
 
 f 73 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 Never beat the rug on the wrong side, as it 
 tends to weaken it by breaking the warp and 
 the weft. 
 
 To hinder moths from getting in the rugs, 
 the easiest and most efficacious way is to use 
 them all the time, and not to put them away. 
 Many people send their rugs to their summer 
 homes for this reason. If the home is closed 
 for the summer, and there is no opportunity 
 for sending them away, have them thoroughly 
 cleaned and wrapped in tar paper. 
 
 174 3 
 

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CHAPTER VII 
 
 Home-made Rugs 
 
 The expense of furnishing is so great that, 
 whenever possible, it is no little help to make 
 something for the home out of material that 
 would otherwise be wasted. Owing to the 
 revived interest in old-fashioned furniture 
 and in the love of simple things for the home, 
 rag rugs have become universally popular. 
 These, however, can be bought in such ex¬ 
 quisite colorings at stores that it seems futile 
 to make them; but there are several varieties 
 that can be made at home from old clothing 
 which, when placed upon matting or bare floors, 
 reduce the rug bill and add to the decorative 
 appearance of the home. 
 
 In olden days the dye pot played an im¬ 
 portant part in the making of rugs, for all old 
 clothing was carefully hoarded and torn into 
 strips and neatly sewed together in odd 
 lengths. These strips were wound into loose 
 hanks which were dipped in the dye pot, when 
 
 [ 75 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 they took on a new lease of life, owing to their 
 soft and beautiful colorings. Vegetable dyes 
 were invariably used, so it is not surprising 
 'that to-day so many of these old-time rugs 
 are still beautiful in color, mellowed only by 
 time. Old stockings, old undershirts, petti¬ 
 coats, and dress materials of all kinds were 
 utilized in the making of these rugs, for when 
 they were dyed and worked up in the rugs 
 the variety of texture only added to their 
 beauty. There were always a few balls of 
 white rags, which were put on one side for 
 the purpose of introducing white bands of 
 color when it was deemed necessary. 
 
 In a colonial bedroom what could be prettier 
 with the old-fashioned chuck-bottomed chairs 
 or hickory furniture than one of these quaint, 
 old plaited or crocheted rugs. Their advan¬ 
 tage lies in their economy and in the fact of 
 their being washable, which appeals strongly 
 to the housekeeper of to-day. 
 
 Plaited Rugs 
 
 The simplest rugs are those that are plaited, 
 
 knitted, and crocheted. The plaited rug may 
 
 be either oval, square, or round. When the 
 
 [ 76 ] 
 
H ome-made Rugs 
 
 strips are torn, thin material must be about 
 one and a half inches wide, and thick material 
 about half an inch wide; when plaited, they 
 take up the same amount of space. Take 
 either three colors or three shades for the 
 plaited rug, and plait a strip about one yard 
 long. Lay the half-yard, when plaited, on 
 the table and re-turn the other half-yard and 
 neatly sew them together. Continue plaiting 
 from half a yard to a yard at a time, sewing 
 the plaits together as the work progresses. 
 Many people get their length of stuff tangled 
 up, but this can be avoided by plaiting only 
 short lengths of material, and having one end 
 in the plait much shorter than the other two. 
 It is very easy to keep on adding new pieces, 
 but if one attempts to plait a long strip at 
 once the material becomes frayed and the 
 worker does not find it easy to do. There is a 
 very great difference in the appearance of 
 these rugs. Some workers turn in the edge of 
 each strip as they plait, while others leave the 
 raw edges slightly frayed, and prefer its 
 artistic appearance to the neater rug. This 
 can be left entirely to the choice of the worker, 
 as the extremely particular housekeeper will 
 
 [ 77 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 prefer the neat rug, while the woman who 
 likes to get artistic results from quick work 
 will favor the rough-and-ready plaiting. 
 
 In looking at the group of round rugs, it 
 will be noticed how pretty the effect is of 
 two or three rows of plain material breaking 
 up the hit-or-miss surface. The large oval 
 rug is made in three shades of denim, and has 
 been used in a hall for over five years, and 
 to-day shows no sign of wear—this photograph 
 being taken in its old age. 
 
 Crocheted Rugs 
 
 Those who are fond of crocheting will find 
 the making of these rugs quick and delightful 
 work. They can be made of rags, which 
 should be torn about half an inch wide. 
 Flannelette is particularly charming, as it is 
 so soft to the feet. If they are to be of light 
 weight, the material will just be crocheted in 
 the round. Begin with a chain of four stitches 
 and join together with a crochet hook. In¬ 
 crease the round about eight stitches, and 
 increase the same number for each round. 
 Crocheters do not all work alike, and if this 
 is found to be too full, do not add as many as 
 
 [78] 
 
CROCHETED RUG 
 
Home-made Rug 
 
 eight stitches. The rug must lie perfectly 
 flat and smooth. Single crochet or Afghan 
 stitch is used. 
 
 Many people prefer a thick and heavy rug, 
 especially if it is to be used down-stairs; and 
 in order to make this really solid, manila rope 
 can be used with the material, holding it in 
 the hand and crocheting over the rope. If a 
 rope is found to be too heavy, a round lamp 
 wick can be utilized instead, but this makes a 
 much softer rug. For a heavy rug an ordinary 
 clothes-line is the best filling. Shaker flannel 
 is variegated in appearance, and is perhaps 
 the best of all materials for making crocheted 
 rugs. If this is bought between seasons, 
 remnants can often be obtained for a very 
 small price. Experience will enable the worker 
 to find out how many pounds of material 
 to use. It is impossible to give the exact weight 
 as one worker will use twice as much material 
 as another, according to the looseness of the 
 crocheting or the size of the hook. 
 
 I have seen beautiful fancy rugs made from 
 unbleached muslin dyed in exquisite shades 
 and torn only half an inch in width and with¬ 
 out any filling. All sorts of intricate patterns 
 
 [ 79 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 can be made, and designs of all kinds can be 
 worked out by a skilful worker. As the beauty 
 of these rugs depends upon their coloiing, and 
 as this is not easy to plan for, dyeing can be 
 resorted to, after the rug is completed, by 
 staining some attractive pattern on the rug 
 both back and front. This should be done 
 by means of a stencil, so as to keep the edges 
 clear, and the dye should be allowed to soak 
 in so as to permeate well through the crochet 
 work. 
 
 Knitted Rugs 
 
 Those who are interested in knitting are 
 always on the lookout for some new ideas so 
 that they may keep their needles busy. A 
 knitted rug is made even more quickly than 
 a crocheted one. It is best to wind the material 
 into balls, and to decide on two or three colors 
 beforehand. The material should be cut not 
 more than half an inch wide, and, of course, 
 must be neatly joined together before being 
 wound. These rugs are made in the following 
 way: Knit a strip six inches wide and twelve 
 inches long. Then knit another strip, which 
 may be of another color, four inches wide, and 
 
 [80] 
 
Home-made Rugs 
 
 make it long enough to go entirely around the 
 six-inch strip. The right length must be 
 determined by laying the wide strip on the 
 table and laying the new strip beside it. The 
 corners must be slightly fulled so that the oval 
 will lie perfectly flat. Do not take out the 
 needles until the strip is neatly sewed to the 
 centre piece, so that more can be added if the 
 strip has worked up in sewing. A third strip 
 would make a rug fifty-six inches long and 
 forty inches wide; and if a larger rug is 
 desired, a fourth strip would make a rug 
 sixty-four inches long, every strip increasing 
 the rug eight inches in length. These rugs 
 are pretty when placed in front of a bureau 
 or for a hearth-rug, especially in a living-room 
 in conjunction with mission furniture. 
 
 Hooked or Pulled Rugs 
 
 The hooked or pulled rug is one of the most 
 durable and artistic of the home-made rugs. 
 About ten years ago Mrs. Albee started an 
 industry for the making of these rugs. At 
 that time the usual designs were so ugly that 
 they were seen only in kitchens or farm-houses, 
 and were made by country people from the old 
 
 6 r St 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 clothing of the family. These crude floor 
 coverings were appreciated because they were 
 so durable and could be made quickly at a 
 nominal cost. Mrs. Albee saw the possibility 
 of the rug, and owing to her splendid enthu¬ 
 siasm, a glorified pulled rug was evolved. It 
 was made in the old way, but new flannel was 
 substituted. This was dyed in soft, rich colors 
 and was worked up into beautiful rugs. c 
 used only good designs which she adapted 
 from Indian motifs. They were named 
 “ Abnakee” rugs, and have been much appre¬ 
 ciated by those who have used them. Rugs 
 are made to-day from Mrs. Albee’s directions, 
 and the industry is now being taken up in 
 many parts of the country. _ # 
 
 The process is exceedingly simple, requiring 
 very little outlay. A small frame of soft wood 
 forty-eight inches long by seventeen inches 
 wide is needed. This is made of strips two 
 inches wide and one inch thick. The frame 
 should be made adjustable by the use of pegs 
 fitting into auger holes. A good carpenter 
 
 can build one. 
 
 The rugs are made on burlap of a good, 
 even quality. The designs must be stencilled 
 
 [8a] 
 
Home-made Rugs 
 
 onto the burlap, which is then put into the 
 frame. The material used is a soft, unbleached 
 all-wool flannel, cut lengthwise into strips 
 about a quarter of an inch wide. The only 
 implement needed is an iron hook, which can 
 be made out of a forty-penny nail. It should 
 be about five inches long, including the handle, 
 filed into shape at the end and curved back¬ 
 ward. 
 
 Good designs are the most important 
 features. The most successful for rug-making 
 are those adapted from Indian motifs. Some 
 are from Oriental rugs, while others are geo¬ 
 metrical in form, with pronounced borders 
 and plain centres. Each worker should en¬ 
 deavor to be her own designer, or should utilize 
 simple Indian designs. Broad, strong lines 
 must be used so as to make the designs as 
 barbaric and crude as possible. 
 
 The stencils are usually stamped on the 
 burlap by means of a heavy bristle brush. 
 Other workers have preferred to make the 
 color of the design correspond to the final 
 color of the rug. 
 
 As it is impossible to get flannel in suitable 
 
 colorings, it must be dyed. This is the most 
 
 [83] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 troublesome part, but the results make it well 
 worth while. Some people prefer the vegetable 
 dyes, while others find the best commercial 
 dyes perfectly satisfactory. It is best to dye 
 a piece of flannel only five or six yards long. 
 Each dip comes out a different shade, thereby 
 insuring a soft tint in the rug and making an 
 unevenness of light and shade not possible to 
 
 achieve in any other way. 
 
 The rugs are actually made by hooking the 
 strips of flannel through the burlap in little 
 loops about a quarter of an inch high. These 
 may be left rather uneven. When the rug is 
 finished, it is gone over with sharp shears and 
 the highest loops are cut, leaving a mixture of 
 loops and straight ends. Some rugs have a 
 pile half an inch thick, while others have one 
 
 about one-quarter of an inch. 
 
 When pulling out the loops the hook is held 
 in the right hand above the cloth, while the 
 strip of cloth in the left hand below is allowed 
 to be drawn loosely through the fingers. The 
 frame should rest lightly on two tables, the 
 worker sitting comfortably so that she need 
 not stoop over her work. Begin at the rig t 
 
 hand corner of the frame and work toward 
 
 [84] 
 
Home-made Rugs 
 
 the middle, backward and forward. This 
 method is followed satisfactorily by some 
 people, while others have frames as large as 
 the finished rug, and work all the way across. 
 Each worker, however, has her own method, 
 which is usually arrived at by the best of all 
 teachers—Experience. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 How to Stain Floors 
 
 The care and finish of wood is a problem 
 which has to be met sooner or later by every 
 homemaker. How many floors are spoiled 
 by the wrong kind of treatment! The majority 
 of people, when they have a floor to stain, 
 buy a ready-made can of varnish and stain, 
 mixed, and then are disappointed that the 
 appearance of the floor is not what they had 
 expected. It is impossible to make a beautiful 
 floor surface with this makeshift, and patience 
 and care are needed to obtain good results. 
 Good hardwood floors are the most serviceable. 
 The expense of having them properly finished 
 can be minimized by the homemakers doing 
 the work themselves. Soft woods, such as 
 Southern pine, Oregon pine, Washington fir, 
 and redwood can be made to look almost as 
 rich as hardwood by careful treatment. If the 
 woodwork is new it is easy to stain the floors 
 
 satisfactorily, and no one need be deterred 
 
 [ 86 ] 
 
How to Stain Floors 
 
 from doing it. Old floors covered with shabby 
 marks can be renovated very easily, as there 
 are excellent materials on the market for 
 removing stains. 
 
 The floor must first be treated with a good 
 solvent, which should be applied with an or¬ 
 dinary paint brush. It wdl immediately soften 
 all the old coating so that it can be easily 
 removed, leaving the wood bare and clean, 
 ready for the new finish. After the solvent is 
 applied to the whole surface, go over it with 
 a painter’s putty knife, which will remove all 
 the old material. If a great many bad coats 
 of varnish and stain have been used, the solvent 
 may have to be applied a second time, though 
 this is rarely necessary. When most of the 
 old stain has been removed, wipe the surface 
 clean with a cloth or waste saturated with 
 naphtha or benzine; care being taken that 
 no artificial light is near, and that the win¬ 
 dows are open. The best kind of waste 
 to use is fine steel wool, as this hastens the 
 work, having some grit to it. When the wood 
 is perfectly dry, it is then ready for the finish. 
 If there is no hurry about removing the old 
 
 finish, it will be found that the longer the 
 
 [87] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 solvent is allowed to remain on the floor before 
 being scraped off the easier it will be to remove 
 it. Sometimes it can be left on a whole day. 
 
 The next process is to color the floor the 
 desired shade. The choice of this will be 
 governed by the kind of wood of which the 
 floor is made. Oak should not be stained with 
 mahogany dye. If the floor is oak, the ques¬ 
 tion must be decided whether the finish is 
 to be weathered oak, brown weathered oak, 
 green weathered oak, Flemish oak, or light 
 oak. Color cards can usually be obtained 
 of wood dye, so that the shade can be seen 
 before the dye is purchased. 
 
 The best woods for floors to be made of are 
 oak, maple, or pine. Maple is perhaps the 
 wood par excellence for all-round service. If 
 it is desired that the floor be left the natural 
 color, a wood filler must be used in place of 
 the dye. Such can be obtained so as to make 
 the grain of the woodwork appear dark or 
 light, whichever is preferred. 
 
 The last process for an unstained hardwood 
 floor is to apply a coat of good beeswax. This 
 can be made at home. Buy the beeswax by 
 
 the pound; shave it down, and cover it with 
 
 [ 88 ] 
 
How to Stain Floors 
 
 turpentine. Put it on the back of the range 
 to allow it to melt very slowly; when soft it 
 will be ready for use. It should be of the 
 consistency of lard when melted. Beeswax is 
 expensive, and unless it can be obtained whole¬ 
 sale it is as costly to buy as the wax ready 
 prepared. Usually two coats are needed. The 
 quickest way to polish the floor is to use 
 a weighted brush. If there are many rooms 
 in the house requiring a wax finish, it is essen¬ 
 tial to invest in one of these brushes, as too 
 much time would be spent in polishing several 
 floors with a cloth or hand mit. They can be 
 obtained for three dollars, but this price must 
 be considered as against the time and strength 
 spent in doing the work by hand. After the 
 floors are polished, the weighted brush will 
 be needed only about every two months to 
 keep the floors in perfect order. If the floor 
 gets worn in some places, add more beeswax, 
 and then the surface will appear uniform. 
 
 For a softwood finish dye must be applied. 
 One gallon of dye will be needed to cover four 
 hundred square feet of floor space. Before 
 applying the dye try it upon a small piece of 
 
 wood and see if the shade is the color desired. 
 
 [89] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 If it is too dark, a little wood alcohol can be 
 added. The dye must be applied with a two- 
 inch camel’s-hair brush or Fitch brush. If 
 these directions are followed, a very serviceable 
 and artistic floor finish will be the result. 
 Some people prefer a shellac finish, which is, 
 of course, brighter than the wax. If this is 
 preferred, one coat of good shellac must be 
 applied before the final coat of wax. The cost 
 is very slight if the work is done by one of the 
 household, as it is usually the labor that makes 
 floor-staining and finishing so expensive. 
 
 A new floor, 15 x 18 feet, will require five 
 pounds of wood filler, costing fifty cents, and 
 two pounds of prepared wax costing one 
 dollar and twenty cents, showing that for less 
 than two dollars the floor can be properly 
 finished. 
 
 For a hardwood floor, two quarts of dye, 
 five pounds of filler, and two pounds of wax 
 will be required. A new floor with a shellac 
 finish will cost about fifty cents more and will 
 take two quarts of dye, half a gallon of first- 
 quality floor varnish, and one pound of pre¬ 
 pared wax, making a total of four dollars. 
 
i 
 
 craftsman’s sofa 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 Furniture 
 
 There is much to select in furniture in these 
 days, but it can be classified under two divisions 
 —good and bad. Some particular piece may 
 be good in itself, but it must be appropriate 
 to the place and purpose for which it is used, 
 or it will cease to be beautiful. 
 
 Furniture should be suitable to its surround¬ 
 ings. The life for which the white-and-gold 
 furniture was designed was one of elaborate 
 formality. Ceremony and not comfort are 
 suggested by rooms furnished in this style. 
 
 Our houses should not be overcrowded. 
 Most housekeepers err in this direction. We 
 do not want our homes to suggest museums, 
 with shelves laden with knicknacks. Too 
 many small things only make a room look 
 trivial and not homelike. William Morris’s 
 words, “Have nothing in your houses that you 
 do not know to be useful, or believe to be 
 
 beautiful,” should always be remembered. 
 
 [91] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 Some people think if a thing is old it must 
 of necessity be good. When the best Georgian 
 furniture was made there were, even then, 
 men who made furniture from poor designs. 
 The quality of workmanship, however, was so 
 excellent that it has lasted until the present 
 day. The original Georgian designers were 
 masters who made standards in architectural 
 as well as household art. 
 
 The Adams Brothers were great architects 
 as well as great designers. Wedgwood, Chip¬ 
 pendale, and Flaxman expressed themselves in 
 material forms, and we reap the benefit to-day. 
 Chippendale and Sheraton patterns were 
 brought out to New England by cabinet¬ 
 makers who had worked under these masters 
 in England, and with these patterns and the 
 skill gained by years of practice they were 
 able to make as good furniture in the new 
 world as in the old. Sometimes they used 
 maple and cherry when mahogany could not 
 be had. These men were often engaged for 
 months at a time by the old colonial families 
 to make their furniture after such models. As 
 it was good honest handiwork, and the wood 
 was well seasoned, it is no wonder that much 
 
 [ 9 ^ ] 
 
Furniture 
 
 of it still remains and deserves to be treasured 
 by those who have the good fortune to pos¬ 
 sess it. 
 
 A careful study of plates of colonial furniture 
 will impress the best designs on the mind so 
 that the buyer will be able to discriminate be¬ 
 tween good and bad furniture. It is not possible 
 for all of us to obtain these old pieces, but there 
 are still many conscientious cabinetmakers 
 who will faithfully reproduce good pieces, 
 and who will use only good, seasoned wood. 
 
 Another point to remember when furnishing 
 a room is the size of the furniture to be con¬ 
 sidered. Large, heavy pieces are not suitable 
 in a room when it already seems crowded with 
 two easy chairs. It is best not to mix woods 
 when buying anew. Mission and colonial fur¬ 
 niture are often in the same room; but in a 
 case where the room is to be newly furnished, 
 do not have both. Wicker furniture seems to 
 fit anywhere. It is especially suitable for 
 living-rooms and bedrooms on account of its 
 light weight. It can be stained brown, green, 
 or mahogany, and goes with any kind of fur¬ 
 niture. Never buy furniture highly varnished. 
 It is inartistic and unserviceable. A bright 
 
 [ 93 ] 
 
H ome Decoration 
 
 piece bought from stock can always be rubbed 
 down, if you insist upon it; or if ordered from 
 one of the floor samples, it can just as easily 
 be “finished dull”—a term meaning the polish 
 of “elbow grease,” but not of varnish. 
 
 In the houses of to-day the built-in window 
 seats, hall settles, and porch benches are very 
 sensible. They reduce the cost of furnishing 
 and add much to the decorative qualities of 
 the home. 
 
 Another thing to remember when buying 
 furniture is not to choose queer, eccentric¬ 
 looking pieces that will look passe in a year 
 or two. Furniture has to last a long time, 
 and it is important to get pieces of good design 
 and finish, which will keep their original ap¬ 
 pearance after years of service. 
 
 There is a quiet dignity about craftsman’s 
 furniture that makes it peculiarly well suited 
 to the simply furnished home, and its sturdy, 
 straight lines give it a feeling of stability. So 
 many new houses of to-day are finished with 
 trims of dark-stained wood, and for such 
 houses craftsman’s furniture is invaluable. 
 The hand-beaten copper handles add just 
 that touch of color and relief necessary to 
 
 [ 94 ] 
 
a craftsman’s library table 
 
Furniture 
 
 break the monotony of the straight lines. The 
 craftsman’s sofa is suggestive of how a room 
 furnished with this kind of furniture should be 
 treated, for instead of being filled with fluffy 
 pillows of light colors, the heavy straightbacked 
 pillows of craftsman’s canvas ornamented with 
 applique are absolutely in keeping. 
 
 Charming pieces of furniture are made for 
 dining-rooms, and the little sideboard is 
 beautiful in design and yet does not take up 
 much space if used in a room of moderate size. 
 The handles could be of copper, black iron, 
 or brass. The method of putting this fur¬ 
 niture together with tenon and wedge joints, 
 together with the fact that all the wood used 
 for craftsman’s furniture hasbeen well seasoned, 
 makes it practically indestructible. Leather is 
 an appropriate covering, the color of the skin 
 seeming to melt into that of the wood. 
 
 In looking at our illustration of a centre 
 library table, notice how completely in har¬ 
 mony is the beaten-copper lamp and grass 
 shade with the simple lines of the table. 
 
 In a large house built on somewhat Gothic 
 lines, the furniture made at Rose Valley, 
 Pa., is particularly appropriate. The ex- 
 
 [ 95 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 quisite carving shows the hand of a master 
 craftsman. All the furniture made in the 
 workshops at Rose Valley is designed by 
 Mr. William Price, a well-known Philadelphia 
 architect. The furniture is not carried in 
 stock, as it is usually made to order and de¬ 
 signed to suit the house in which it is to be 
 placed. Our illustrations show one or two 
 samples of this beautiful furniture. No one 
 can see the Morris-chair without appreciating 
 its graceful lines, and the adjustable seat 
 makes it one of the most comfortable chairs 
 possible to imagine. The cushion for the seat 
 is usually made several inches thicker than 
 that of the back. The same care is exercised 
 in the upholstery as in the hand carving and 
 construction. Like the craftsman’s furniture, 
 most of it is held together by tenon and wedge. 
 
 When the furniture is all in place, the house 
 must be studied as a whole, and improvements 
 made by readjusting it, finding by experience 
 the best place for each piece. Strive to express 
 your individuality in your home; make it 
 beautiful; and, above all, adapt it to your 
 requirements by imparting to it a charm that 
 
 every one will feel on crossing your threshold. 
 
 [ 961 
 
A GOOD EXAMPLE OF MORRIS CHAIR 
 

 
CHAPTER X 
 
 The Right Use of Ornament on Furni¬ 
 ture 
 
 The right use of ornament on furniture can 
 only be successful if it is made in obedience 
 to the law of use. Utility is suggested by 
 simplicity of form, and the ornamentation 
 must not be allowed to interfere with the 
 original purpose of the article. Much thought 
 is needed in order to hit the happy medium 
 between bald simplicity and undue elabora¬ 
 tion, but there are few who understand the 
 art of knowing where to stop. The considera¬ 
 tion of use cannot be too strongly emphasized. 
 There is no excuse for the table that wabbles, 
 the chair that is not restful, or for a couch 
 where carved ornament in the back deters one 
 from making use of it as a lounge. If this 
 interferes with the original purpose of the 
 sofa, it is bad ornament, however well it may 
 be tooled. 
 
 [ 97 1 
 
 7 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 It will be found that the most successful 
 enrichment is generally suggested by some 
 useful purpose, either in taking away from the 
 tiresomely monotonous effect of a too plain 
 surface or by making it more useful in that 
 it will not become so easily scratched, because 
 of having the surface broken with pattern. 
 
 Simplicity in design naturally calls for good 
 workmanship and good materials. The most 
 decorative pieces of furniture are those which 
 rely on their structural quality and good work¬ 
 manship, together with beautifully finished 
 woods, rather than ornament added later. 
 What could be more beautiful than the deep- 
 toned browns and soft grays of fumed oak or 
 chestnut that give to the wood a look of age, 
 and enhance the beauty of the natural grain 
 far more than an application of varnish, which 
 wears off and can easily be scratched ? 
 
 A year or two ago, when visiting some beau¬ 
 tiful homes in England, I was immensely im¬ 
 pressed by the absence of any so-called finish 
 on the wooden panels. Apparently they had 
 only been subjected to the process of filling 
 and fuming, and were without the lustre of 
 
 even a wax finish. In looking at new oak that 
 
 [ 98 ] 
 
The Right Use of Ornament 
 
 is free from varnish it will be noticed what a 
 beautiful wood it is, well adapted in tone for 
 many color schemes that harmonize with the 
 color of the wood. 
 
 Furniture should be chosen of structural 
 simplicity, relieved only by the colors and 
 changeful effects given to the finish of the 
 wood and the leathers. What further orna¬ 
 ment is needed for a sideboard than such 
 accessories as hinges, door pulls, and escutch¬ 
 eons ? They may be as ornamental as it is 
 possible to make them, but they must be in 
 harmony with the original structural sim¬ 
 plicity of the piece. 
 
 Ornament is always an accessory, but it can 
 be at the same time a constructive accessory, 
 thereby adding to the beauty of the design, 
 and showing the reason for its existence by its 
 conformity to rule. 
 
 The right use of the curve should add orna¬ 
 ment to the furniture. There is nothing more 
 beautiful or ornamental in the way of a chair 
 than the old fiddle-backed arm-chair of colonial 
 days, pleasing to the eye with its graceful lines, 
 and relying for ornament on its beautiful 
 curves. The foot was originally a club-foot, 
 
 [99] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 but in some cases it is carved, and the ball or 
 claw-foot came to be used instead of the orig¬ 
 inal club-foot. In some of the old pieces we 
 sometimes see the knee carved, and the back 
 was often pierced or divided by interlacements 
 of bands. The original shape has lived, and 
 to-day its superiority is recognized as one of 
 the best designs ever made for a chair, and 
 gradually it has lost its ornament and relies 
 only upon its well-modulated curves for 
 decoration. The old Windsor chair has also 
 survived, and although ornament has never 
 been introduced, it is a comfortable and beau¬ 
 tiful chair which will never go out of fashion. 
 
 In looking at the old colonial highboys, we 
 cannot help being struck by their graceful 
 lines, so full of dignity. The plain surface is 
 charmingly broken by the well-designed 
 handles, and ornament is introduced by the 
 graceful lines and flaming torches surmounting 
 the drawers, and also in the shell beautifully 
 carved by hand and placed usually in the 
 middle lower drawer. 
 
 In later times the original Morris-chair was 
 comfortable, beautiful, and ornamental, and 
 bears little resemblance to the immoral chairs 
 
 [ I °0 ] 
 
The Right Use of Ornament 
 
 turned out in these days by factories, where 
 ornament has played havoc with the well- 
 thought-out lines designed by the master. In 
 going through a factory of Morris-chairs, there 
 would in all probability not be more than three 
 designs that ought to be allowed to exist. 
 Carvings on the arms, carvings on the knees, 
 billowings in the wrong places detract from 
 the shape of the chair and tend to make it 
 singularly uncomfortable. It seems incon¬ 
 ceivable that when such a good chair was 
 designed as the original Morris-chair any 
 one should want to alter it. It filled every 
 requirement, and yet the terrible monstrosities 
 that bear the name of Morris-chairs demoralize 
 the uninitiated. We have to thank Messrs. 
 Liberty and Heal, of London, and Mr. Gustav 
 Stickley, of America, for introducing into their 
 respective countries simple, well-constiucted 
 furniture, devoid of useless ornament, yet satis¬ 
 fying in its lines—indeed for most of the well- 
 made furniture of to-day. George Walton, too, 
 has made his mark in furniture designing- 
 beautiful in line, exquisite in detail, the orna¬ 
 ment always subservient to the first principles 
 in art. In the last ten years enormous strides 
 
 [ioi ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 have been made in the designing of good fur¬ 
 niture, for which we cannot be too thankful. 
 
 There are some pieces of furniture that seem 
 harder than others to reform. The hall hat- 
 rack is one of them, and the abortions that 
 have existed with bevelled mirrors and glued- 
 on carvings have no excuse for their survival. 
 Beds are another source of woefully misdi¬ 
 rected ornament. Wriggling, tortuous curves 
 do not suggest repose in the slightest degree. 
 In going through any large department store, 
 one cannot find in them half a dozen well- 
 designed beds that any person of taste would 
 want to possess. Good brass bedsteads with 
 straight lines and simple ornament are few 
 and far between, while goosenecks and swirling 
 curves are in abundance, not only in the brass, 
 but in the cheap enamel-bedsteads. For sani¬ 
 tary reasons wooden bedsteads are not so 
 much used as metal; but they are so much 
 more beautiful that it seems a pity that wood 
 cannot be more frequently used and the 
 mechanisms where dust is apt to lodge be 
 only of metal. 
 
 There has been a great improvement in 
 
 wicker furniture during the past ten years. 
 
 [ 102 3 
 
SIMPLE LINES AND GOOD CARVING 
 

The Right Use of Ornament 
 
 Simple, comfortable shapes in chairs and 
 settees can now be obtained, but there are far 
 too many of the lumpy, bumpy kind still to 
 be seen, with knobs of wood run on to the 
 wicker, detracting from all sense of beauty of 
 line and construction. 
 
 It is intended that ornament should please 
 the eye, and in order to do this line and color 
 must in themselves be beautiful and restrained 
 by absolute fitness. The right use of the curve, 
 which is the line of beauty, can be made purely 
 ornamental. It is interesting to notice the 
 development of the line and curve. Full of 
 meaning were the curves in the Renaissance 
 period, and how suddenly they fell away from 
 the lines of pure beauty in the Louis-Quatorze 
 and Louis-Quinze periods! 
 
 Applied ornament is usually round or flat. 
 To the round belong carving and all forms of 
 relief; to the flat, geometrical designs, applied 
 in various colors, such as marquetry, mosaic, 
 buhl, and veneering. Furniture ornamented 
 by the flat style is in itself beautiful, but can 
 only be placed amidst the right surroundings. 
 Rich hangings, costly woods, and beautiful 
 rugs are the right surroundings for furniture 
 [ 1031 
 
H ome Decoration 
 
 of this character, and it only looks out of place 
 and vulgar when put in modern, inexpensive 
 homes. Inlay and marquetry in furniture 
 call for mosaic in stone and tapestry on the 
 wall, and unless used with restraint are apt to 
 be in bad taste. 
 
 Our illustrations of Rose-Valley furniture 
 show intricate and exquisite carving, and 
 much of it; but its suitability to the surround¬ 
 ings for which it is designed shows a deep ap¬ 
 preciation of the right use of ornament. Every 
 detail is carefully thought out, and although 
 it is elaborate, a feeling of restraint is notice¬ 
 able, as none of it is superfluous. The quiet 
 dignity of the simple lines shows how large 
 a part form plays in the making of good fur¬ 
 niture. 
 
 It all comes back to the principles of fitness 
 and suitability to their surroundings, and we 
 have to consider this when deciding the right 
 use of ornament on furniture. 
 
 [ 104 ] 
 
ROSE-VALLEY FURNITURE 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 Casement Windows and Fireplaces 
 
 So much has been written about the health¬ 
 giving properties of sunlight and air that people 
 are at last beginning to realize the necessity of 
 open windows. Health is the first essential 
 of good homemaking. If our homes are to be 
 wholesome and cheerful, we must make ar¬ 
 rangements for the admittance of the best of 
 nature’s gifts,—light and air. 
 
 We must, therefore, not have curtains so 
 costly that we dread sun, air, or dust; neither 
 must we have windows so heavy that it is a 
 labor to open them. The solution of many 
 difficulties has been met in the casement 
 windows, now so much in evidence in modern 
 home-building. Not only are they artistic, 
 but the ease with which they respond to the 
 slightest touch makes them of practical value. 
 
 The casement should open inward so as 
 to allow the use of fly-screens and insure easy 
 washing. There are many ways of building 
 [ I0 5 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 casement windows, such as the recessed bay- 
 window, useful also as a window-seat. Some¬ 
 times, again, the seat has a high back of wain¬ 
 scoting, and the casements appear several feet 
 above. At this height they let in light, but 
 give no outside view. Such an arrangement 
 is useful when a sideboard is built into the 
 recess in place of the window-seat. It also 
 gives opportunity for the use of leaded glass. 
 
 There are several good methods of curtain- 
 in^ these windows. A sash curtain can be 
 hung on a rod especially made for casements. 
 
 It is fastened securely at one end, and has 
 a rough rubber disk at the other, doing away 
 with the necessity of taking down the curtain 
 to wash the window. As shades cannot be 
 used, it is desirable to have a pair of curtains 
 wide enough to cover all the casements. One 
 long rod supported in the middle is fastened 
 to the casing, and can be used in conjunction 
 with sash curtains on each casement window. 
 Or, better still, the sash curtains can be dis¬ 
 pensed with altogether. When this is done 
 there should be a deep valance to take away 
 the glare from above when there are no 
 shutters. 
 
 [ 106 ] 
 
Casements and Fireplaces 
 
 There are so many delightful curtain mate¬ 
 rials sold by the yard now that a tour through 
 the shops will show an immense choice. Raw 
 silk and China silk, challies, linen taffetas, 
 Singapore lattice, bloom-linens, serge, and 
 even Turkey red can all be used when plain 
 materials are needed. Among figured ma¬ 
 terials there are many charming varieties: 
 cretonnes with their creamy grounds, white 
 glazed chintzes with their strong designs of 
 old-fashioned flowers, linen taffetas with stencil 
 floral effects, Madras in soft greens with old 
 rose or yellow flowers, or Madras in self-tones 
 in lovely shades, seem to grow more beautiful 
 each season. Japanese cottons are found in 
 blue and white, Java prints in strong, con¬ 
 trasting colors, and also in yellow and white, 
 red and white, and occasionally in green and 
 white. 
 
 Among the Oriental stuffs, plain colors in 
 deep rich shades hold their color in a way that 
 no Western manufacturer can imitate. Some 
 of the flowered muslins are also excellent for 
 casement windows, if of good color and design. 
 
 All the materials mentioned can be used 
 
 for inner curtains, yet they must not be chosen 
 [ 107 1 
 

 Home Decoration 
 
 haphazard. Inner curtains must become part 
 of the wall line, and be harmonious in color 
 and design with the general treatment of the 
 room in which they are used. 
 
 For sash curtains a transparent material 
 is needed. The most suitable are fishnets, 
 bobinets, colonial nets, scrims, cheesecloths, 
 and Madras, which are made in soft creamy 
 shades, more beautiful in down-stairs rooms 
 than dead white. Sometimes white is best in 
 a bedroom, and for this purpose white Swiss, 
 plain or dotted, comes in all qualities. Among 
 other suitable materials are nets, dimities, 
 point d’esprit, and nainsook, any of which 
 make sheer and dainty curtains. The new 
 stencilled curtains are especially suited for 
 bobinets and scrims, and if properly done 
 will stand sunlight and soap. Sometimes the 
 design runs down the front and across the 
 bottom of each curtain. Others are made with 
 the design running across the top and also 
 just above the hem at the bottom. One with 
 a strong design of grapes and leaves with a 
 heavy stem, stencilled on cream bobinet, 
 looked most beautiful in a dining-room, with 
 soft green burlap on the walls. 
 
 [ 108 ] 
 
Casements and Fireplaces 
 
 Some of the deep bay-windows, with six or 
 eight casement windows, with smaller windows 
 above, are usually curtained with two sets of 
 curtains which are sewed on to numerous little 
 rings which move easily on the rods. The 
 lower curtains are drawn back in the day-time 
 while the top curtains are kept drawn to give 
 the effect of a valance. These must have 
 traverse cords, as they are themselves out of 
 reach. This treatment gives the window a 
 very quaint and attractive appearance. 
 
 If a room is dark and gloomy, curtains made 
 of soft yellow Madras or silk will give an effect 
 of sunlight. If, on the other hand, the room 
 has a southern exposure, greens and blues 
 will tend to soften the light. Thus, an open 
 casement window with dainty muslin curtains 
 and a pot of growing flowers on the window¬ 
 sill bespeaks refinement and an atmosphere of 
 cheerful hospitality. 
 
 The Fireplace 
 
 Nothing improves a house so much as well- 
 designed fireplaces. It is therefore most im¬ 
 portant that we give a good deal of attention 
 to this detail. The hearth is the centre of the 
 
 [ 109 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 home, around which the family gathers in an 
 evening, and the kindling logs seem to cast 
 a spell on those circled around its glowing 
 embers. 
 
 An open fire is desirable from more than a 
 social point of view, as it creates a draught, and 
 a room with a fireplace is always much better 
 ventilated than one without. A constant 
 change of air is necessary to insure perfect 
 health, and an open fireplace is a valuable 
 asset in any room. As a rule, the occupants 
 of the house have not much to say in the choice 
 of a fireplace, for if the house is built for them 
 the fireplaces are naturally designed by the 
 architect in character with the rest of the 
 house, and if the house is rented the fireplaces 
 are already there. 
 
 Sometimes these are so bad that it is abso¬ 
 lutely necessary for something to be done to 
 conceal them. A shabby black-marble mantel¬ 
 piece can be transformed by pasting muslin 
 over it and then covering it with several coats 
 of paint. In a room with white trims a marble 
 mantelpiece, painted white, takes on an en¬ 
 tirely different garb, and is unobtrusive because 
 it matches the woodwork. A white marble 
 
 [ no ] 
 
Casements and Fireplaces 
 
 mantelpiece, cold and unapproachable in its 
 appearance, can be treated to a coat of acid, 
 which will turn it to a greenish-yellow shade, 
 and will remove the high polish so objection¬ 
 able in out-of-date mantels. Of course, the bad 
 design still remains, but if the surface is 
 agreeable, the improvement in the appearance 
 of the renovated mantel is remarkable. The 
 landlord may be obdurate and may have to be 
 reasoned with, but if he does not like it he 
 can be reassured, for when the mantelpiece 
 has been covered with muslin, and painted, 
 the material can be removed and the polish 
 added with no damage to the original. 
 
 In a room with rough-cast walls and mission 
 furniture a severe style of fireplace is most 
 appropriate. Red brick is an excellent choice 
 when heavily pointed with black or ivory 
 mortar. The mantel-shelf should be of heavy 
 oak supported by beautifully carved pilasters 
 or quaint gargoyles. Wrought-iron andirons 
 and a few heavy ornaments on the mantelpiece 
 would be in perfect accord with such a room. 
 
 If a living-room is colonial, the fireplace 
 must be in keeping. The colonial mirror 
 
 should fit between the shelf and a well-designed 
 [ml 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 moulding. The mantel should be made of 
 carefully carved wood with a facing of dull- 
 gray marble. The candelabra on the shelf 
 must be in keeping with the room, which 
 should be furnished in mahogany of good 
 colonial design. 
 
 Another colonial scheme is a simple fireplace 
 of Pompeiian brick built almost level with the 
 wall. The purple red of the brick blends well 
 with many papers of low tone. A stronger 
 note must be accented in the tiles which form 
 the hearth. Such a fireplace is so inexpensive 
 to build that any one could have it instead of 
 a badly designed one, which would otherwise 
 spoil a good room. 
 
 A fireplace built on somewhat similar lines 
 with Pompeiian brick facing and an Arabian 
 tiled hearth could have the detail beautifully 
 carved and a simple panel mirror placed above 
 the shelf. 
 
 In the living-room in a summer cottage an 
 altogether different kind of fireplace can be 
 built of rough stone found in the neighborhood. 
 This should be surrounded with a heavy oak 
 shelf supported by corbels of stone or oak. 
 
 Sometimes an inglenook effect can be made 
 
 [ H2 ] 
 
Casements and Fireplaces 
 
 by running a beam across the room and sup¬ 
 porting it by posts. This could only be done 
 in a room of craftsmanlike appearance. A 
 generous hearth must be laid for this treat¬ 
 ment, but the mantelpiece can be simplicity 
 itself: red brick pointed with black, an iron- 
 backed fireplace, and andirons of the same 
 metal. The opening at the top can be hidden 
 by a handmade hood of repousse brass. The 
 fireplace jambs and shelf can be straight 
 beams. Shelving for books could be built on 
 either side of the fireplace, and a high-back 
 settle could be run to the same height as the 
 mantel-shelf. An end like a grandfather’s 
 chair, some seven or eight feet from the fire¬ 
 place, would make a decorative finish. Of 
 course, it would not be necessary for the book¬ 
 cases to be hidden by a similar wing. 
 
 A fireplace across a corner is sometimes very 
 attractive, except when it is near a door, and 
 this absolutely spoils the comfort of a fireside 
 when the opening of the door necessitates a 
 general upheaval. One of the simplest fire¬ 
 places built in a corner consists of three Gothic 
 panels above a high shelving. Below are three 
 shorter panels following the line of those above. 
 
 8 [ ii 3] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 The facings of the fireplace consist of Mercer 
 tiles, and these are framed on either side by 
 the jamb only four inches wide. The entire 
 mantel is set in one large panel. It takes up 
 very little room, and yet is very effective. 
 
 Sometimes an interesting feature is intro¬ 
 duced by having the fireplace to suit certain 
 decorative subjects. Some time ago I designed 
 a mantelpiece for a living-room which was 
 being remodelled. An ugly fireplace was 
 removed from the corner, and a new mantel 
 was planned, formed of heavy oaken beams, 
 which reached up to the ceiling. Above the 
 shelf was a large plain panel in the centre of 
 which a stag’s head was placed. The shelf 
 was supported by substantial corbels. Be¬ 
 neath these was a plaster cast of the Aurora, 
 stained a yellow green. This was inserted in 
 a panel. The facing of the fireplace consisted 
 of dull, rough orange tiles, which harmonized 
 well with the simple mission lines. The room 
 was furnished with craftsman’s furniture, and 
 the wood was stained to match. The intro¬ 
 duction of the stag’s head and the Aurora 
 made an interesting feature in the room, and 
 
 yet it was all extremely simple. 
 
 [ 114 3 
 
A CORNER FIREPLACE 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 What to Use for Portieres and Curtains 
 in the Country House 
 
 In many country homes curtains that sug¬ 
 gest the modern trend of thought would be 
 out of harmony with their surroundings. If 
 a parlor is furnished in Empire style, what 
 could be more incongruous than hangings of 
 coarse canvas, ornamented with art-nouveau 
 designs ? The curtains must be in harmony 
 in tone and design with the Empire period, 
 and would need to be made of rich-looking 
 materials, overtopped with the fitted valance 
 ornamented with Empire designs. 
 
 Georgian and French styles must be treated 
 with the same restraint, if the rooms are to be 
 faithfully carried out in any one period, and 
 the curtains must conform to the general style 
 of the room. 
 
 In going into houses of well-to-do people, it 
 is surprising to find that draperies that have 
 been made by reliable firms have lost their 
 [ns! 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 shape and sag. This should not happen, and 
 would not if sufficient care had been taken 
 when the curtains were made. When they are 
 laid out on the cutting table the interlining 
 must be sewed or basted to the material, so 
 that when in place the curtains keep their 
 shape. Sometimes the bastings are caught 
 only here and there, and after a while they 
 give way: the result is a sagging, lumpy- 
 looking curtain. If the curtains had been 
 made properly in the beginning this trouble 
 would have been avoided. 
 
 The draperies of a room should always har¬ 
 monize with the walls, but should be stronger 
 and richer in tone. Hanging in soft, straight 
 folds, they soften the hard lines and add much 
 to the beauty and dignity of a well-planned 
 room. In providing portieres for a double 
 door, the portiere can be made by lining or 
 sewing two separate materials so as to form 
 one curtain. The curtain itself will look well, 
 but either one side or the other of the opening 
 will show a blank space of woodwork; also 
 when the sliding doors are closed, one room 
 will be without its portieres. The most usual 
 way is to make the portieres to suit each room, 
 
 [116] 
 
Portieres and Curtains 
 
 the lining of one matching the front of the 
 opposite portiere. It is best to use sateen as 
 a lining, as this is made in a wide range of 
 colors. Wherever possible, the lining should 
 match the curtain, but if the heavy curtains 
 at a window are hung wide enough to come 
 in front of the cream or white curtain, and 
 will be seen through the sheer curtains from 
 the outside, then they must be lined with 
 cream. To my mind curtains lined with the 
 same shade are much more attractive than 
 those lined with white or cream, but they 
 should not be more than twenty-four inches 
 wide when pleated up, and not be brought 
 forward to go in front of the window. An 
 abomination constantly seen is a pair of heavy 
 curtains meeting in the middle of a window 
 and then held tightly back by a cord or band. 
 They give a feeling of uneasiness to those who 
 appreciate the fitness of things, and are in 
 themselves a contradiction. Why hang them 
 forward if you want them back? The same 
 fault may often be seen in sash curtains. They 
 are hung on a rod at the top and bottom of a 
 window, and then a foolish white band or 
 
 cord holds them back in the middle. 
 
 11171 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 In selecting materials for curtains suitable 
 for rooms furnished in period styles, there are 
 many beautiful patterns to choose from, and 
 at prices to suit nearly every one—linen, ve¬ 
 lours, upholsterers’ velvets, Liberty velvets, 
 silk-crinkled tapestries, brocades, corded silks, 
 goat’s hair, Armures, and figured tapestries, 
 all of which make suitable hangings for various 
 rooms. From time to time attractive materi¬ 
 als, representing weaving or cross stitch, are 
 brought out and charm the eye with their 
 color and texture. A material with a design 
 of trees and birds looking as if they had come 
 out of the ark comes in useful for a piano-back 
 or book-case curtain. It comes with a tan 
 ground, and the design is in one color. It is 
 charming in the blue green on a tan ground, 
 and also in copper, while the red and tan seem 
 equally suitable for some quaint hanging. 
 
 Successful experiments have recently been 
 made in evolving new and interesting ideas 
 for hangings for doors and windows. 
 
 We are all familiar with the lined and inter¬ 
 lined velours and tapestry draperies that are 
 always to the fore in most handsomely fur¬ 
 nished houses. They have their place in 
 
 I xiS] 
 
Portieres and Curtains 
 
 classical work, and for the purpose of excluding 
 draughts, but they are not the kind that appeal 
 to craftsmen of to-day. It is remarkable how 
 little is known of what is being done all around 
 us in the development of original and artistic 
 curtains, not only by artistic individuals, but 
 by communities of craftworkers throughout 
 the country. The results are obtained, not 
 by buying costly silk and satin draperies, but 
 often by the use of the simplest textures, in 
 which color or applied design play the im¬ 
 portant part. 
 
 Arras cloth, or craftsman’s canvas, has been 
 a joy to the privileged few who happened to 
 know where and how it could be obtained. 
 Happily it can now be bought at one or more 
 shops in every city. It is very like every-day 
 burlap in weave, and is made of a mixture of 
 linen and cotton. It possesses a slight varia¬ 
 tion in texture that is very desirable in dra¬ 
 peries. It is made in Scotland in a wide range 
 of colors which fade so little with years of 
 wear that the effect is only a softening of tone. 
 It is now obtainable in linen color as well as 
 the art shades. People who have always ap¬ 
 preciated linens enjoy those with a coarse 
 [ 1191 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 mesh called “bloom linens/’ They are an 
 inspiration for making applique upon Arras 
 cloth or other shades of linen. 
 
 Coarse Russian linen sold for kitchen towels 
 is another material constantly overlooked. Its 
 decorative possibilities are endless; the gray 
 in which it is made is a suitable color for using 
 in bedrooms when a quiet groundwork is 
 needed for applique or stencil treatment, or 
 darning. This material is only fifteen inches 
 wide, but the joining of the widths lends itself 
 to decorative needlework, and a hinged effect 
 in stitching gives it much individuality. 
 
 Raw Shikki silk from China is wonderfully 
 attractive for window curtains, especially in 
 the natural color, which does not change with 
 contact with the rays of the sun. Stencilled 
 with dyes, it makes quaint sash curtains; the 
 design showing through the curtain looks well 
 from both sides of the window. Shikki can be 
 used in dark colors for sash curtains when a 
 sheer curtain is used next to the glass. This 
 slight protection seems to be all that is required 
 to insure the color remaining. Another silk 
 that is remarkable for the way it holds its 
 
 color is Tudor silk, which is fifty inches wide. 
 
 [ 120 ] 
 
Portieres and Curtains 
 
 Liberty or Corean silk, thirty-six inches wide, 
 can be substituted when the Tudor is not 
 available. 
 
 For an unlined curtain requiring little 
 weight, the Helena tapestries from Scotland, 
 designed by Voisey, are some of the most 
 beautiful fabrics imaginable. They are made 
 of mercerized cotton. The weft and woof are 
 never the same color, so that the effect is 
 iridescent. The designs are excellent. They 
 are also made up in the seventy-inch Madras. 
 The latter are found at most of the best stores, 
 but the Helena tapestry has to be looked for, 
 as so choice a material is often confined to one 
 or two stores in each city. Some folks have 
 never even seen this material, but those who 
 are familiar with it never waver in their appre¬ 
 ciation of it. In a room with self-toned walls 
 and window curtains, Helena-tapestry por¬ 
 tieres with a voyant design of a flower motif 
 make beautiful hangings and an unusual note 
 of decoration. 
 
 Arts and crafts societies have for sale many 
 kinds of woven fabrics; the Acadian weaving 
 industries, having been revived and fostered 
 
 of late years, are now making the old Evan- 
 [ 121 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 geline portieres; while from the mountain 
 regions of the South the old blue and white 
 coverlets, so dear to our grandmothers, are 
 made into portieres and curtains which are 
 more suitable for blue and white colonial rooms 
 than almost anything else. 
 
 For light hangings, what beautiful prints 
 can be found among the East-Indian cottons, 
 not only in pale yellows and greens, but in 
 deep warm shades! Javanese draperies with 
 their stencilled Batik work, done by hand by 
 the women and children of Java, can be used 
 in nearly any room. 
 
 Craftworkers are beginning to do a modern 
 form of Batik, which consists in dyeing a piece 
 of cloth which has had the parts where the 
 design appears protected by a process, so that 
 the groundwork takes the dye but not the 
 pattern. This industry is only in its infancy 
 in America, but it is an interesting field open 
 for immense developments. 
 
 A description of a few portieres and curtains 
 that have lately been made will not be out of 
 place. 
 
 A portiere of Arras cloth with an applied 
 
 design in linens made an effective drapery in 
 [ 122 ] 
 
ARTISTIC PORTIERES FOR A COUNTRY HOUSE 
 
 
Portieres and Curtains 
 
 a living-room; the groundwork was wood- 
 brown, a pine-cone motif was carried out in 
 rich dark greens and tans, the cones being in 
 green with dark outlines, while the needles 
 and deep border band were in tan. 
 
 Another portiere, made of deep olive green 
 Arras cloth, had an effective design of con¬ 
 ventionalized nasturtiums. The leaves and 
 flowers were in old gold linen with a band of 
 soft tan. Another band of green forming a 
 base for the slender stem lines was held in 
 place by stitchery in heavy green floss. Yellow 
 floss was used for the flower centres and stems. 
 This portiere with olive green walls and light 
 brown mission furniture, with tan leather 
 seats, gave just the decorative note needed in 
 a craftsman’s library. 
 
 Applique can be very decorative when done 
 by artistic people; but such dreadful draperies 
 have been sold that it is necessary to be very 
 cautious in buying, carefully considering the 
 individual merit of each piece. 
 
 A curtain of russet tones was ornamented 
 with an apple and disk frieze treatment in 
 reds and tans, and was extremely decorative 
 and unusual. It was made of changeable 
 
 [ 123 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 linens, the design being outlined with embroi¬ 
 dery silk in art stitch. A great deal of hand 
 work was put on these curtains, but much the 
 same effect could be attained by couching the 
 outline in heavy flax. The same design was 
 used for linen sash curtains in a summer cot¬ 
 tage, and the general effect was excellent. The 
 work was taken up at odd moments, and was 
 a pleasant recreation. If preferred, the same 
 design could Jbe stencilled instead of applied, 
 and then outlined with coarse stitching. In a 
 summer house this is often advisable, when 
 the time cannot be spared for much needle¬ 
 work. 
 
 A design in pomegranates was made up in 
 three shades of gobelin blue linens on Arras 
 cloth and was outlined with flax worked 
 in art stitch. These hangings were very 
 effective in a living-room of blue and ma¬ 
 hogany. 
 
 Another successful portiere consisted of a 
 large tree motif, made up in blue and green 
 linen on a tan linen ground. It was outlined in 
 coarse embroidery stitch. Such a design, how¬ 
 ever, would look well only if suited to its sur¬ 
 roundings in a room furnished in art nouveau. 
 
 [ 124 3 
 
Portieres and Curtains 
 
 Many specimens of modern weaving have 
 been exhibited in New York from time to time. 
 Besides the ordinary woven curtains, with 
 which we are all familiar, there were some 
 gobelin draperies, woven by Norwegians in 
 beautiful colorings. One of swans on a geo¬ 
 metrical background was an exquisite piece of 
 work in soft grays and yellows. Another design 
 in a flower motif was transparent, and was one 
 of the most beautiful pieces of weaving possible 
 to be imagined. When such products of the 
 hand-loom can be made for our use, it seems 
 strange that in the homes of millionaires they 
 are rarely found; but costly, commonplace 
 hangings are often seen, which should not be 
 tolerated. 
 
 Expensive lace curtains in large designs 
 always seem to be out of harmony in a small 
 country house. Slight gauzy effects at the 
 windows to soften the light, and yet which are 
 sufficiently transparent not to exclude the 
 view, seem more appropriate. They can be 
 bought with simple Renaissance edging or an 
 insertion of torchon lace, in soft creamy tones, 
 and seem suitable for all occasions. For 
 libraries and halls, the Arabian color is often 
 
 [ 125 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 preferred. Bobinet also makes a pleasing 
 curtain. The large open mesh does not keep 
 out the light. 
 
 For a colonial green and white house, where 
 only white can be successfully used, Swiss 
 in plain or striped effects are always in good 
 taste if well made. The curtains should have 
 ruffles, and, with care, they will last for years. 
 Flowered Madras curtains are found in all 
 shades and are most useful, especially as inner 
 hangings. They are made in such beautiful 
 colors, and are so serviceable, that we should 
 do badly without them. They fall in such soft 
 folds when used as an inside drapery, while 
 the effect of one entirely covering a large hall 
 window is translucent and suggestive of soft- 
 toned stained-glass windows. 
 
 Stencil curtains for any room or scheme 
 have endless possibilities tor the artist. A 
 good dye is the best pigment, and when the 
 color has been set, will stand frequent wash¬ 
 ings and sunlight. 
 
 It should be the aim of every one who has 
 an appreciation of the beautiful to endeavor 
 to get away from the commonplace. It is not 
 practical or possible for many to make their 
 
 [ 126] 
 

 PORTIERE—STENCIL WORK 
 
Portieres and Curtains 
 
 own furniture or weave their rugs, but it is 
 possible for every home to express the individ¬ 
 uality of the owner in the choice of beautiful 
 and original hangings. 
 
 [ 127 ] 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Shelving, Pictures, and Bric-a-brac 
 
 In new houses the rooms are so much 
 smaller than those built several years ago that 
 we are often confronted with the problem of 
 placing our furniture without the appearance 
 of overcrowding. The placing of books is 
 always a difficult matter. Books we must have, 
 and they should be easy of access. As we 
 cannot always have floor space for book-cases, 
 a very practical solution of the difficulty is 
 to have wall spaces filled with shelves. Two 
 shelves placed in some long space is a clever 
 contrivance and one that gives a most artistic 
 appearance to the room. Above a sofa or 
 settee in the corner of a room, two shelves 
 may be put, the whole length of the sofa, and, 
 if possible, let them terminate at the trim of 
 a window. Shelves eight or nine feet long 
 when placed at the right height are pleasing, 
 especially when they turn a corner and extend 
 at right angles. The top shelf must not be 
 
 [128] 
 
Shelving, Pictures, and Bric-a-Brac 
 
 too high for the books to be reached when 
 standing on the floor, and two groups of long 
 shelves in different parts of the room will 
 accommodate the library of the average home 
 and yet not take up any floor space. 
 
 This shelving can easily be made by a mem¬ 
 ber of the family. A sketch can be made of 
 the supports for the lower shelves, which can 
 be turned at a saw-mill for a trifle, but it is 
 best to use the flat-angle irons for the upper 
 shelf, as they take up no room, and the books 
 will hide the iron brackets. The wooden 
 brackets for the lower shelf give a decorative 
 finish which those of iron do not. 
 
 Another way of making use of shelving is to 
 place three shelves across the corner in the 
 dining-room. When painted to match the 
 woodwork, they give a distinctly pleasing effect 
 to the room and afford opportunity for a dis¬ 
 play of decorative cups and saucers. The 
 bottom shelf should be about five feet from 
 the ground. This also takes up no floor space, 
 all of which is needed for the chairs and side¬ 
 board in a small dining-room, especially when 
 there are two or more windows which break 
 up the room. 
 
 9 
 
 [ 129] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 Another use for shelving when we do not 
 want to go to the expense of a sideboard is to 
 make use of a serving table, and above this 
 build shelves, which must be stained to match. 
 Cups hanging by the handles on screw eyes 
 at the edge of the shelf, and a row of plates 
 on each shelf, make an artistic arrangement 
 at a purely nominal cost. This simple form 
 of carpentry work is within the scope of 
 the growing boy, and making such things 
 will make him appreciate his home more 
 fully. 
 
 Many houses show signs of excellent taste 
 in regard to color schemes and furniture, and 
 fail miserably when it comes to pictures and 
 their frames. The reason is partly that, unless 
 great expense is gone to, it is not easy to find 
 good pictures suitably framed. Many good 
 pictures can be found, but it is another matter 
 to frame them suitably. The frame must not 
 only suit the picture, but, what is more im¬ 
 portant, it must suit the place where it is to 
 be hung. 
 
 Hall pictures should be strong in tone, 
 having large masses of lights and shadows, so 
 that a person walking through a hall can see 
 [130] 
 
Shelving, Pictures, and Bric-h-Brac 
 
 at a glance the meaning of the picture. Sculp¬ 
 ture or architecture are suitable subjects. The 
 Parthenon, the front of Amiens Cathedral, 
 Antwerp Cathedral, Bruges Cathedral, are all 
 good subjects A Roman gateway in Orange, 
 France, and Pont-du-gard, a Roman aqueduct, 
 are all favorites of mine. These should be 
 framed in broad, flat frames of gray or brown 
 that tone with the print or photograph. 
 
 In a sitting-room, reproductions of famous 
 paintings, Braun photographs, platinotypes, 
 photogravures, and plaster casts are always 
 decorative. The Singing Boys, framed in sec¬ 
 tions in a broad wide frame, makes a beautiful 
 subject above a mantelpiece. It is a part of a 
 frieze executed in the fifteenth century by Luca 
 della Robbia for the cathedral in Florence. 
 Another cast which is extremely decorative is 
 called the Aurora. This is also improved by 
 being framed. Casts can be bought in the 
 white for very little. The tinting of them is 
 not difficult, and is interesting to do. They 
 require a coat of white shellac. When this 
 is dry, a mixture of burnt umber and turpentine 
 is painted over the cast, and when this is partly 
 dry a cloth dipped in turpentine and rubbed 
 
 [ I 3 I 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 from right to left over the surface removes the 
 color and gives it the appearance of old ivory. 
 
 A vendor of casts will always tint them if 
 requested. 
 
 Few pictures are necessary in bedrooms; 
 prints and photographs in narrow black frames 
 are suitable when the pattern of the wall pa¬ 
 per is not too pronounced. Carbon prints in 
 brown or blue and platinotypes and etchings 
 can all be used in a bedroom. The use of a 
 passe-partout tape is an inexpensive method 
 for framing pictures, and as the binding can 
 be bought in black, green, white, red, and gray, 
 a note of color can be introduced on the wall 
 
 which may be of value. 
 
 A lover of old masters will enjoy the repro¬ 
 ductions of portraits from Reynolds, Van Dyck, 
 Holbein, and Rembrandt, and many appre¬ 
 ciate the half-tone engravings from the works 
 of modern painters—Burne-Jones, Millet, 
 Rossetti, and Corot. Sargent’s picture of The 
 Prophets is particularly well suited to a library, 
 and Burne-Jones’s Golden Stairs is invaluable, 
 not only on account of the subject but on 
 account of its shape, as a tall narrow picture 
 frequently creates a delightful bit of decora- 
 
 [ I 3 2 1 
 
Shelving, Pictures, and Bric-a-Brac 
 
 tion in a long, narrow space which needs 
 accenting. 
 
 Magazines from time to time have repro¬ 
 ductions of celebrated illustrators. When 
 these are collected and framed together they 
 add a bright touch of color and good drawing. 
 McClure’s published five colored pictures by 
 Jessie Wilcox Smith of the five senses, and 
 when these are framed in sections it makes a 
 really beautiful group. Harper s colored pic¬ 
 tures by Howard Pyle, and the reproductions 
 of the Shakespearian paintings by Edwin 
 Austin Abbey are all worthy to be saved and 
 suitably framed. The International Studio 
 brings out from time to time the most beautiful 
 colored pictures, each of which is a work of art. 
 By looking out for these special things a much 
 more individual collection of pictures can be 
 obtained than by keeping entirely to a groove 
 and being content to buy the commonplace. 
 
 Japanese prints are invaluable when framed 
 with narrow, black, round frames, and add a 
 touch of color to a neutral wall, often lighting 
 up a dark corner in the most interesting man¬ 
 ner. Small pictures are best hung in groups, 
 and those of a kind should be placed together. 
 
 1 133 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 These groups must be carefully distributed at 
 intervals rather than placed too near together. 
 The parts of the wall where the strongest light 
 falls should have pictures in the lowest key, 
 while the dark spots can be brought into relief 
 by colored pictures in bright tones. Large 
 pictures do not look so well in small rooms, as 
 they need distance to give the right perspective. 
 
 A great deal of care is necessary in the 
 method of hanging pictures. Wire cord 
 gilded or silvered~~-is usually made use of, and 
 may either be carried to the picture moulding 
 and hung at an acute angle, or two separate 
 wires may be run perpendicularly and fastened 
 to two separate hooks. This method is nec¬ 
 essary for large pictures, but whenever it is 
 possible, do without these cords. They are 
 ugly, and it is far better to mark the wall by 
 nails and have no visible cords than to have 
 too many wires visible. A very practical idea 
 is to use the fasteners which can be secured 
 by three slender nails, scarcely heavier than 
 pins. Three of these nails hammered into 
 the wall to each picture make hardly any per¬ 
 ceptible mark on the paper, and yet do 
 away with the necessity for a long wire. Such 
 [ 134 1 
 
Shelving, Pictures, and Bric-a-Brac 
 
 fasteners are strong enough to hold medium¬ 
 sized pictures. 
 
 I need hardly say that in these days pictures 
 must be hung flat, or almost flat, against the 
 wall. In order to make them hang in this 
 way, have the rings near the top of the picture. 
 
 A good rule for the placing of pictures is to 
 bring the centre on a level with the eye. 
 
 If these truths are remembered when the 
 choice of pictures is made, the house will 
 assume an artistic appearance, even though 
 the furniture is not of the best. 
 
 There are many pitfalls for the unwary 
 when choosing bric-a-brac. That should be 
 the last addition to the house, and each piece 
 should be thoughtfully bought for a certain 
 spot. They must be chosen for their color 
 value, use, or fitness. This fundamental prin¬ 
 ciple should be remembered when purchasing 
 them. The majority should be useful as well 
 as ornamental. Jardinieres are not only val¬ 
 uable for hiding flower-pots, but, when of the 
 right kind, form a beautiful bit of decoration 
 in themselves. Hammered copper adds a 
 gleam of color that is distinctly valuable in 
 
 sunless rooms. Holders for flowers can be 
 
 1 135 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 bought in beautiful modern pottery—Grueby, 
 Rookwood, Teco, Volkmar, or Newcomb— 
 and as these modern American potteries can 
 be obtained in practically any coloring, they 
 must be chosen to accent some particular color 
 which is needed. 
 
 Crude foreign potteries, such as Spanish and 
 Bruges, add a sturdy touch of decoration in 
 their barbaric lines and color, and they are 
 invaluable for certain places. 
 
 Pretty bowls in which roses may be placed 
 are in themselves a thing of beauty when the 
 flowers are removed; and often such simple 
 things as ginger jars in blue or green fill a 
 want in color or form. 
 
 It is important to remember where to go for 
 these potteries. Arts and crafts salesrooms 
 are a rich source of supply not only for the 
 American potteries mentioned, but for candela¬ 
 bra, bowls, and trays in copper or brass. Some 
 garden pottery can be used for large jardinieres 
 in a hall or for the floor in certain rooms. 
 Those with the dull-glazed surface are more 
 appropriate for indoors than the rough clays. 
 
 When choosing pottery, we must not over¬ 
 look the Van Briggle, Robinneau, Poillon, and 
 
 [ * 3 6 1 
 
Shelving, Pictures, and Bric-a-Brac 
 
 the latest products from the handicraft shops 
 at Marblehead, Mass. It is interesting to 
 note that most of these potteries are made by 
 women. One of the most beautiful of the 
 decorated potteries is that from the Newcomb 
 College, New Orleans, made by the women 
 students. It is noted for its originality of de¬ 
 sign and harmonious blending of colors. The 
 designs are carried out usually in pale blues 
 and greens, and the flower motifs are taken 
 from certain flowers of local origin. 
 
 We can hardly call waste-paper baskets 
 bric-a-brac, but they can be ornamental or 
 very much the reverse, according to their 
 characteristics. Indian baskets are always in 
 good taste and last a lifetime. Japanese chip 
 baskets in deep, rich colorings always look 
 well; but avoid the unstained willow sold in 
 such quantities. Beautiful Oriental baskets 
 can be picked up at Eastern rug shops or 
 Japanese marts. There are many beautiful 
 kinds of waste baskets to be found at arts and 
 crafts salesrooms, and too much care cannot 
 be taken in the choice of these. 
 
 1 137 1 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Lamps and Candle Shades 
 
 One of the most perplexing problems when 
 completing the furnishing of a house is that of 
 deciding what kind of lamps to buy. Within the 
 last few years there has been such an improve¬ 
 ment in lamps and candelabra that the choice 
 is much more difficult than heretofore, when 
 artistic ones could be found only after a diligent 
 search. Ten years ago it was the exception to 
 come across a really pretty lamp, but to-day 
 the choice of good ones is bewildering, be¬ 
 cause so many attracti ve novelties are displayed. 
 
 Our illustrations show some lamps selected 
 at different stores. 
 
 We are all familiar with the beautiful 
 Tiffany lamps, but few realize what charming 
 little lamps they make for reading or desk use. 
 
 Some are made of dull green metal with 
 heavy, rough cut-glass panels in green. These 
 can be used only for electric lighting. Others 
 have a heavily weighted ball which allows 
 [138} 
 
tiffany lamps of greened bronze 
 

Lamps and Candle Shades 
 
 for adjustment at any angle. The green 
 iridescent shade is one of the most beautiful 
 of the Tiffany products, although it is not 
 always easy to discover these shades as the 
 supply is limited. 
 
 One of the bronze lamps is for oil. For 
 so small a lamp it gives a wonderfully bright 
 light and is so well proportioned that it could 
 not be overturned easily. The bronze is 
 treated with an acid which makes it a beauti¬ 
 ful tone of green. 
 
 An Etruscan vase can be used for a base to 
 advantage. A fount of brass can be fitted to it. 
 A vase made of rough cream clay while very 
 decorative, is not expensive. The shade se¬ 
 lected to go with it should be one of the new 
 cut brass ones so popular at the arts and 
 crafts exhibitions. Sheets of brass with the 
 design carved out with a jeweller’s saw make 
 an effective and easily made shade, if the 
 homemaker is interested in doing metal work. 
 These shades are usually lined with silk. A 
 yellow silk diffuses the light and is suitable for 
 general lighting, while green reflects it and is 
 used for reading lamps. 
 
 An innovation in shades is the making use 
 [ 1391 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 of Japanese baskets, and the brown wicker- 
 ware harmonizes particularly well with dark 
 brown oak of the mission lamp, while the silk 
 lining can be selected to go with the color of 
 the walls and furniture covers. 
 
 There is something very charming about 
 candle light, especially for the dining-table, 
 and a great many kinds can be seen every 
 season among the new shades. These always 
 seem expensive for such perishable articles, 
 and it should be an opportunity for deft fingers 
 to make them at home. A large lamp-shade 
 is quite expensive, and yet if made by home 
 talent would practically cost one-third of the 
 price. It is really surprising how easy it is 
 to make a lamp-shade if only a good model 
 has been seen first. French lamp shades are 
 made over a good quality of cream silk. The 
 medallions with which they are embellished 
 are printed on the silk, and can be bought at 
 a lamp store. They are outlined with fine 
 gold lace, finished off with a silk flower and 
 fringe trimming. Sometimes they are made 
 in pink and green, and the same colors are 
 carried out in the silk fringe at the top and 
 
 bottom of the lamp-shade. The alternate 
 
 [ 140 ] 
 
BEATEN COPPER LAMP AND 
 CUT BRASS SHADE 
 
 TIFFANY READING LAMPS 
 
Lamps and Candle Shades 
 
 panels have a tassel decoration which is some¬ 
 what of a novelty. Gold lace is also in¬ 
 troduced between the silk-tassel fringe and 
 bead fringe. Such a shade could not be 
 bought for less than fifteen dollars, and yet 
 it could be made at home for five dollars. 
 
 Ribbon embroidery is one of the new ma¬ 
 terials introduced into the making of candle- 
 shades. Cream silk shades are made with a 
 simple decoration in ribbon embroidery. A 
 neat little silk gimp outlines each panel, while 
 the shade is completed with a pretty beaded 
 fringe. 
 
 There is something very charming about a 
 heavy lace shade. Some are made of cream 
 lace stretched over heavy corded yellow sdk 
 which is edged top and bottom with a cream 
 silk gimp, and a bead fringe matching the silk 
 lining. The same idea can be carried out 
 by using an open Japanese brocaded silk, and 
 makes a lamp-shade very Eastern in appear 
 ance. Several of the new lace shades have the 
 flowers stained pink or yellow, while the leaves 
 are tinted green. These are very beautiful 
 when the light filters through them, and at first 
 it is difficult to realize of what they consist. 
 
 [ 1411 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 A good linen lace is usually made use of, as 
 a poor quality looks tawdry. Such a shade could 
 be easily made by an amateur. Frames for the 
 shades are supplied by the lamp stores, and when 
 the wires are covered with cheese-cloth it is a 
 very easy matter to sew the materials on them. 
 
 Among the shades ornamented with ribbon 
 embroidery, some have a kind of ribbon 
 resembling the coronation braid, and most of 
 the new French shades are made use of in 
 some form or other. White ruching for ladies’ 
 dresses is also used on some shades instead 
 of silk trimming. The fluted shades of heavy 
 corded silk with a design in water-color, which 
 is painted on the silk before it is fluted, are 
 very dainty-looking. 
 
 The new stencilled shades are very artistic. 
 They are made of white silk and photograph 
 mounting paper in the form of a stencil. 
 Strong notes of color are added by the ground¬ 
 work of the silk being stained the color desired. 
 These shades are made by a New York girl, 
 who has patented her clever idea. 
 
 There is a wide field for amateurs in this 
 direction, and a good income is awaiting the 
 brainy girl who can evolve something really 
 
 [ 142 ] 
 
Lamps and Candle Shades 
 
 original, like the above-mentioned candle- 
 shades. These shades can be obtained in 
 several sizes for candles, and also for lamp¬ 
 shades. As they are always used over isinglass, 
 they are not unserviceable. 
 
 [ 143] 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 Needlework in the Hands of a Crafts¬ 
 man 
 
 The development of decorative needlework 
 of all kinds has been very marked within the 
 last few years, not only in the quality of the 
 work itself, but especially in the original and 
 clever designs that are thought out by intelli¬ 
 gent craftworkers. Often the simplest kind of 
 material is selected, depending upon effective 
 stitchery and the individuality of the designer. 
 
 The revival of many old stitches has given 
 abundant scope, both for the needleworker 
 and designer. A material much used to-day 
 is the Russian hand-made crash. It only 
 comes about fifteen inches wide, but this 
 narrow width serves as an impetus to the 
 craftsman for evolving some pleasing lines in 
 the embroidery. This was done by four 
 trees in a panel being darned on this crash, a 
 solid mass of stitches hiding the seam which 
 joined the panels. The design darned in silk, 
 [ 144 1 
 
DARNING 
 
 DARNING 
 
A Craftsman’s Needlework 
 
 in soft tones of green and old rose was one 
 of the most charming pieces of needlework 
 sent from Newcomb College, New Orleans, 
 to the recent exhibition of the National Society 
 of Craftsmen. 
 
 An interesting sideboard cloth was made of 
 coarsely woven gray linen and was ornamented 
 by a bold design of trees. Instead of the 
 darning being flat, each stitch formed a loop, 
 giving a raised effect which was very pleasing. 
 The trees were in green, while the darker spots 
 were red. The same idea could be carried 
 out for a portiere, the foliage appearing at the 
 top of the curtain and the trunk being con¬ 
 tinued to within a foot of the bottom, when it 
 was finished off with the suggestion of a root. 
 
 The Deerfield Society has done much inter¬ 
 esting and beautiful embroidery of late years 
 in blue and white. An effort has been made to 
 keep as closely as possible to the spirit of 
 colonial designs, varying them somewhat, ac¬ 
 cording to the judgment of the designer. 
 Hand-spun home-woven linens are used for 
 most of the needlework. Owing to the un¬ 
 satisfactory character of commercial blues, 
 
 the Deerfield Society has done most of its own 
 10 [145] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 dyeing with indigo dyes. Further develop¬ 
 ments resulted in the dyeing of the hand¬ 
 made materials for the groundwork and in the 
 introduction of charming color schemes for 
 these old-time colonial designs which were 
 first seen only in blue and white. 
 
 Cross-stitch is very characteristic of the 
 Deerfield work, and is particularly well 
 adapted for sideboard cloths and bureau-cov¬ 
 ers; and when worked on a coarse material 
 is not tedious to do. At first glance it is 
 difficult to tell whether such work is embroi¬ 
 dery or Swiss weaving, as both have the same 
 characteristics. 
 
 An attractive portiere could be made for the 
 summer home stencilled on undyed burlap, or 
 applied on denim or canvas with a narrow 
 black braid to outline the design. 
 
 One of the most attractive materials for 
 portieres is craftsman’s canvas, made in a 
 wonderful range of colors, which include dull 
 shades of pomegranate, warm yellows, many 
 shades of blue and green, and rich foliage 
 brown. Being woven of jute and linen and 
 then dyed in the piece, the quality of the tex¬ 
 ture shows a delightful variation on the surface, 
 
 [ 146 ] 
 
A Craftsman’s Needlework 
 
 caused by the way in which the two threads 
 take the color. It lends itself to almost any 
 kind of needlework, hemstitch, applique, and 
 quaint patterns of cross-stitch. A portiere of 
 brown canvas has an applique of tan linen, 
 outlined with two rows of embroidery done 
 in heavy green linen flax. Green stitchery is 
 also introduced on the canvas itself, while the 
 applique is accented by some deep red spots 
 being worked on it. 
 
 Applique 
 
 Until a year or two ago the word applique 
 suggested luxury. Costly hangings embel¬ 
 lished with applique work were seldom even 
 seen by the average person. They were read 
 of in books as adorning the mansions of the 
 wealthy. 
 
 The expensive materials upon which the 
 work was done, and the enormous cost of 
 labor expended in applying intricate designs, 
 placed the hangings at a price far beyond the 
 reach of the person of ordinary means. Now 
 we constantly come across good work in this 
 line done on linens and mercerized cottons in 
 excellent designs, and entailing only a mod- 
 
 [ 147 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 erate amount of labor. Such work can be 
 undertaken by many who wish to add to the 
 beauty of their homes. 
 
 Most women have some skill with the needle, 
 and many have a natural taste in the choice 
 and arrangement of colors. The charm of 
 modern applique work lies in the use of good, 
 bold designs and in the selection of simple and 
 effective colorings. The frank use of a wide 
 stitch here and there gives a pleasing variety 
 to the outline of a design. The knowledge of 
 how to do applique work is really a combina¬ 
 tion of needlecraft and color sense, and is not 
 at all hard to acquire. 
 
 In many cases, especially where it is used 
 for wall decoration, the design is first stencilled 
 and then outlined with embroidery. This is 
 especially effective for portieres when time can¬ 
 not be spared for more elaborate ornament. 
 
 As an example of this work, a bedspread 
 of yellow linen used in a yellow and brown 
 bedroom was made in five strips. All the 
 seams were concealed by a stitching of heavy 
 brown embroidery which also hid the hem 
 line. Above this hem appeared a tiny tree 
 ornament in outline at the base of the valance. 
 
 [ 148 ] 
 
APPLIQUE TABLE CLOTH 
 
A Craftsman’s Needlework 
 
 The same motif was again repeated in the 
 window curtains. 
 
 Another decorative piece of needlework was 
 shown in a table square made for a craftsman’s 
 dining-room, of white linen, on which corn- 
 colored linen was introduced in the couching 
 which held the applique in place. 
 
 Couching is a thick strand of linen flax or 
 crewels laid round the applied design, and 
 stitched at regular intervals by threads crossing 
 the couching line at right angles. Cord is 
 applied in the same way. The couching may 
 be made of filoselle or embroidery silk, ac¬ 
 cording to the texture of the material used. 
 Some workers prefer the linen flax or mer¬ 
 cerized cottons on coarse linens, but many 
 find the silks easier to work; the effect is so 
 much the same that it is best for the worker 
 to use her favorite material. 
 
 One of the best ways of preparing designs 
 for applique work is to trace the outline upon 
 the material to be used as the applique, and 
 fasten it securely with drawing pins upon a 
 table. Then lay red or black transfer paper 
 face downward upon the linen, muslin, or 
 other material to be used. Place the design 
 
 [ 1491 
 
H ome Decoration 
 
 upon this and go over the outline firmly with 
 a blunt instrument. After removing the paper, 
 if the design is not sufficiently plain, strengthen 
 it with a pencil. Then cut out the shapes and 
 lay them on the groundwork. It is best to sew 
 them on at once, before the material begins 
 to fray, with cotton or silk exactly the color 
 of the ground. These stitches are afterward 
 covered by a line of cord or couched silks, 
 but when very neat workmanship is required, 
 the edges are worked in art or satin stitch. 
 A child’s coverlet could be done in this way, 
 yet in a portiere it would seem a waste of time. 
 If the design were outlined by couched threads 
 it would look quite as effective and be a 
 quicker process. The stems are worked in 
 crewel or stem stitch as a rule, but every now 
 and then designs can be seen with stems of 
 tiny silk cords. 
 
 Stem stitch is the best stitch to use for 
 stems and places where no applique is needed. 
 It consists of a long stitch forward on the 
 surface of the material, and a shorter one 
 back on the under side, working from left to 
 right. 
 
 Art or satin stitch is the same on both sides, 
 [ I S° 1 
 
A Craftsman’s Needlework 
 
 and is done by passing the thread evenly from 
 one outline of the pattern to the other. 
 
 The child’s coverlet referred to above was 
 made of two pieces of coarse Holland, the 
 back being cut larger than the front, brought 
 over and joined four inches from the edge. 
 This join is concealed by a line of blue-green 
 embroidery worked in satin stitch. The leaves 
 and stems are cut in one piece and are made 
 of olive-green linen. Some of the flowers are 
 peach color, while some are a tomato red. 
 The flowers are all outlined in the deepest 
 shade of red, worked also in art stitch, the 
 leaves being outlined with the blue-green used 
 on the hem line. This piece of work is very 
 beautiful, though nearly the same effect could 
 be gained by the use of couching. 
 
 A tray cloth would require a light couching, 
 stitched about one-quarter of an inch apart, 
 while on an Arras-cloth portiere of large de¬ 
 sign the couching might have six strands of 
 heavy linen flax and be stitched an inch apart. 
 
 A design which can be adapted for sideboard 
 cloths or portieres is one used at the top of the 
 curtain in a lattice window. It is made of 
 cadet blue and deep olive linen on a ground of 
 
 [ I 5 1 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 white, and is embroidered like the child’s cover¬ 
 let. This clever design should be used on a por¬ 
 tiere with the base to form a three-inch band of 
 deep color on the side of the portiere, and the 
 same piece of linen for stems and leaves. The 
 fruit, however, should be of a contrasting color. 
 
 The same design, enlarged, could be used 
 for a frieze treatment on a blue Arras-cloth 
 portiere. Applique also in two harmonizing 
 shades of blue linen is attractive in a blue room 
 with mahogany furniture. The design is so 
 simple that an amateur having little technical 
 knowledge could draw it from the illustration. 
 
 A cushion design on blue gray linen has an 
 applique of blue linen for the leaves, couched 
 with the same shade of linen flax. The bird 
 is in ecru linen on a ground of blue a shade 
 paler than the leaves. This design is also 
 available as a stencil. 
 
 A table-cloth of gray blue has the ground¬ 
 work left for the leaves, the applique being 
 one large piece of dull green linen. This is 
 an intricate piece of work, as every leaf and 
 all the green surroundings are outlined in 
 satin stitch exactly the shade of the ground¬ 
 work. 
 
 [ 152 ] 
 
A Craftsman’s Needlework 
 
 A curtain of Arras cloth, with the design 
 outlined in cord, and the flower motif held 
 in place by blanket stitch, shows that quick 
 needlework can give an effect of good applique 
 work with much less labor. An inexpensive 
 curtain can thus be made of green Arras cloth 
 with a tapestry border obtainable at any up¬ 
 holsterer’s. It has alternate flowers of old 
 rose and yellow, with green leaves on an ecru 
 ground. It can be used either on upholsterers’ 
 velvet or on a good shade of olive velours. 
 
 Tapestry borders are always in evidence, 
 but these, with their appearance of needle¬ 
 work, are by far the prettier, and can be used 
 in almost any sitting-room. 
 
 It must, nevertheless, be borne in mind that 
 applique work is dependent on its outline for 
 much of its beauty. The outline, therefore, 
 should be well defined, and form part of the 
 design, as lead lines do in stained glass. Well- 
 blended colors and an intelligent appreciation 
 of needlecraft are the sole requirements of the 
 worker in successful applique. 
 
 [ 1531 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 Finishing Touches 
 
 Nothing adds so much to the finishing 
 touches of a room as pillows that are really 
 beautiful, both in design and workmanship. 
 They should accent some dominant note of 
 color in the room, and should always be in 
 harmony with their surroundings. Coarse 
 material must be utilized for mission rooms, 
 while dainty boudoirs will call for pillows of 
 silk and satin. Some of the most decorative 
 pillows are made from the cheapest material, 
 and a few suggestions on these lines should be 
 helpful, not only for all-the-year-round pillows, 
 but especially for those for porch and summer- 
 cottage use. The city home may be trans¬ 
 formed, and yet the colors of the room retained 
 by covering heavy velours pillows with dainty 
 cottons, instead of uninteresting striped Hol¬ 
 land with their cheap buttons plainly in 
 evidence. If the room is furnished in red, 
 what could be more effective than a check 
 [ 154 1 
 
Finishing Touches 
 
 gingham with squares at least an inch wide ? 
 When these are made neatly with a double frdl 
 they will not only serve as a protection to the 
 expensive pillows, but will give a fresh and 
 dainty appearance to the room, impossible 
 when the funereal Holland covers are 
 
 used. 
 
 Short remnants of cretonnes may be picked 
 up for almost nothing in the spring and fall, 
 and the wise housekeeper will do well to lay 
 in a stock of these for her summer pillows. 
 Even a yard will cover a twenty-four-inch 
 pillow. To do this, place the pillow diagonally 
 in the middle of the yard of material. The 
 corners should meet in the centre of the back, 
 and when neatly sewed together the effect is 
 
 good. 
 
 For bedrooms it is always well to cover 
 window-seat cushions and pillows with some¬ 
 thing dainty. White Swiss, frilled, looks cool 
 and sweet, and pretty cheap cretonnes can 
 be used if the pillows are not already covered 
 
 in cotton. 
 
 It is important that really decorative pillows 
 should be used on the porch, and not, as is 
 often the case, with soiled rubbish from the 
 
 [ 155 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 house. The piazza being the summer sitting- 
 room, the making of suitable and artistic 
 pi lows is of paramount importance. It is 
 best to have them of inexpensive materials 
 not only for economical reasons, but because 
 they are more suitable. Even floor cloths can 
 e utilized for the making of these pillows. 
 e S ra y yarn with which they are woven 
 makes a charming background for either sten- 
 C1 . in g or applique. Such a pillow requires no 
 trimming, but the corners should be rounded. 
 Art ticking can be procured in biscuit color- 
 this, too, makes an excellent background for 
 applique or stencilling. Woven grass from 
 Madagascar in two contrasting colors are also 
 useful for making into porch pillows. The 
 best way to make these is to sew the square 
 inside out and then turn it the right way and 
 run a row of machine stitching half an inch 
 from the edge. This gives a finish all-sufficient 
 for the purpose. Gray Russian crash is in¬ 
 valuable for such pillows. It is sold for tea 
 towelling, and as it is only fifteen inches wide 
 its use, however, is limited unless a seam is’ 
 not objected to. This material is charming for 
 stencilling, and can be further embellished by 
 [156] 
 
THE PIAZZA—THE SUMMER SITTING-ROOM 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Finishing Touches 
 
 the outline of a narrow cord or a coarse outline 
 of chain stitch. 
 
 Summer is a good time for fitting out and 
 planning for winter furnishing. A pillow top 
 is a very handy piece of needlework for fancy 
 work, and a busy woman can often be making 
 these when it would be impossible to give the 
 time to it in winter. 
 
 Many interesting pillow tops are sold at 
 the art needlework departments, often with the 
 design indicated in color. These can either 
 be worked up with long and short stitch, or 
 outlined only by a cord. 
 
 I am afraid that many of us fall short of 
 our ideals in homemaking when we come to 
 the beds. It is so easy to go to a department- 
 store and get a ready-made Marseilles quilt, 
 and we salve our conscience by telling our¬ 
 selves that, after all, there is nothing like white 
 on a bed. We do not honestly believe this, 
 as is proved by the way women gush over 
 decorative bedspreads made of colored ma¬ 
 terials that they see in the homes of their 
 friends. We have expended so much energy 
 in getting the right wall-paper and rugs, and 
 in evolving successful curtains, that by the 
 
 I! iS7 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 time we come to bureau-covers and bedspreads 
 our decorative energy is exhausted. Another 
 reason for carelessness in this direction is that 
 in the spring we think we will put it off until 
 the autumn, and in the autumn we think of 
 the dirt made by the furnace, and decide that 
 we will put it off until the spring, and so we 
 delay getting pretty bedspreads. 
 
 There is no end to the variety of beautiful 
 things that we can buy from which to make 
 them. The bedspreads should either match 
 the bureau-covers or the curtains, or be a thing 
 to itself, in which case it must centre the 
 decorative qualities of the room. Several very 
 pretty materials sold for bedspreads can be 
 obtained. Cream Madrases, seventy inches 
 wide, are beautiful when a deep frill is added 
 to form a valance. These are very pretty over 
 a cream sateen slip. They also come in floral 
 deigsns in many dainty colors, the ground 
 usually being cream. Inner curtains to match 
 the bedspread would be appropriate, if one 
 of these Madrases were selected. 
 
 Some unique bedspreads come from Java. 
 They are made of a coarse, open material, not 
 
 unlike Madras, and have narrow, crinkly 
 
 [158] 
 
Finishing Touches 
 
 stripes woven up and down. The widths are 
 only basted together in true Oriental fashion 
 and the whole is bordered with a beautiful 
 hand-made fringe. These are called the Ana¬ 
 tolian bedspreads, and can be boug t y 
 themselves, or with the three-an -a a yar 
 curtains. They are inexpensive, as a bed¬ 
 spread costs only five dollars, this also being 
 the price of a pair of curtains. It is necessary 
 to remake them, and when the edges are neat y 
 seamed by hand, the bedspread, to all intents 
 and purposes, is in one piece. The Anatolian 
 bedspreads come in cream with white fringes 
 and white stripes. They can also be bought 
 with red stripes, blue stripes, or yellow. e 
 
 fringe is always white. . 
 
 Linen sheets can also be utilized as bed¬ 
 spreads, and can be trimmed with Anatolian 
 fringe, which is sold separately at thirty- 
 five cents a yard. Another very attractive 
 material is dimity in dainty little designs. One 
 of these consists of stripes of colored flowers, 
 and has a very old-world appearance, it is 
 a yard wide so that the cover must have 
 two seams for the three widths. If the bed 
 is a small one, one width can be split 
 
 [ 1 59 3 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 in two and joined to either side of the mid¬ 
 dle width. 
 
 Fresh white Swiss can also be used for bed¬ 
 spreads. It is a yard wide, and would need 
 to be made in the same way. A deep frill of 
 the same material is a pretty finish; a counter¬ 
 pane hangs better for having the frill. These 
 are usually made over a colored slip carrying 
 out the predominating color of the wall-paper. 
 White Swiss with spots as large as twenty-five- 
 cent pieces may be used, instead of the plain 
 material. A touch of color may be introduced 
 by outlining the spots with herringbone. If 
 preferred, each spot could be outlined with 
 crewel stitch, but the other is more decorative. 
 This, also, should have a frill, the hem of 
 which would need a touch of herringbone. 
 
 The most serviceable bedspreads are made 
 of linen, as they do not require ironing so 
 frequently. The linen can often be bought 
 fifty inches wide. They can be embroidered 
 or darned, and when well designed are among 
 the most effective covers. Not long ago I saw 
 a very pretty cream linen spread of conven¬ 
 tional design. The leaves were outlined with 
 green, while the bell-shaped flowers were out- 
 
 [ 160 ] 
 
Finishing Touches 
 
 lined in yellow. The room for which this 
 bedspread was designed had curtains, table- 
 covers, and bureau-covers to match, the design 
 varying in size according to its use. Another 
 cream linen bedspread I admired was dec¬ 
 orated with a border of “love-in-the-mist,” 
 mostly in outline. The flower was worked in 
 turquoise blue, while the leaves were in two 
 shades of willow green. A slightly gathered 
 frill of linen formed a deep valance, and was 
 finished off with a piping of blue. It was one 
 of the most beautiful bedspreads I have ever 
 seen, and did not take as long to embroider 
 as would be imagined. 
 
 An effective spread had a border of em¬ 
 broidered roses. The stems formed two 
 straight rows with a group of three roses half 
 an inch apart. The petals and the stems were 
 worked solid, but the leaves were only out¬ 
 lined. It was worked in old rose and green, 
 and the strong touch was given by the stems 
 being worked in brown. It was made of heavy 
 cream linen. 
 
 An original all-white bedspread can be made 
 from pique, darned and outlined with white 
 crochet cotton in a bold art-nouveau design, 
 
 ii [ 161 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 and would be quite out of the general run. 
 There is a wide field for the designer of good 
 inexpensive bedspreads, and this idea is 
 worthy of being copied. 
 
 Many suggestions come to us from Germany 
 and England. In these countries bold decor¬ 
 ative effects are aimed at, and much of the 
 work consists of an outline only, usually done 
 in a heavy linen twist. Relying on the design 
 rather than on the material, they get quite 
 interesting effects at a minimum amount of 
 labor. 
 
 There is nothing in the way of finishing 
 touches that makes or mars a home more than 
 the textiles that we put into each room, 
 whether it be the draperies, table-covers, or 
 furniture covering, and therefore too much 
 pains cannot be given to this all-important 
 subject. We are much more handicapped in 
 getting beautiful table-covers than we are 
 in finding draperies, as every season there are 
 new things for curtains as well as the good old 
 standbys, but the choice in table-covers is 
 always limited, so that a good deal of thought 
 is necessary to make these at all distinctive. 
 The majority of table-covers are distinctly 
 
 [ 162 ] 
 
Finishing Touches 
 
 commonplace, and have little artistic value, 
 and over and over again bare tables are seen 
 because the right kind of covering cannot be 
 found. As a matter of fact, it is very hard 
 to improve upon a surface of dull-knished 
 mahogany, but as we do not all possess tables 
 which are beautiful in themselves, we have 
 of necessity to resort to coverings for the table. 
 Another thing we cannot always rely upon is 
 that our maids will dust the table tops every 
 day, and nothing looks worse than a dusty 
 table. 
 
 A well-designed and well-made table-cover 
 is a splendid opportunity for adding a dec¬ 
 orative note of color to the room, either by 
 accenting the color of the curtains or some 
 tone in the rug that we wish to repeat. 
 
 Almost all our illustrations are the work of 
 individual craftsmen, and a description of these 
 will, I hope, give our readers some suggestions 
 for evolving beautiful table-covers. Their beau¬ 
 tiful blue and white needlework is well known, 
 worked in blue on white or cream grounds; but 
 their recent work shows a new departure 
 in their needlework. These are vegetable- 
 dyed linens of exquisite colors, all of which 
 
 [ 163 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 are fast dyed. On these they embroider, in 
 the same style as in their blue-and-white work, 
 dainty stitchery in soft harmonizing colors. 
 These cloths are intended for small tables, and 
 so beautiful in coloring are they that any one 
 seeing them would not forget them. Some of 
 the large ones have a flower worked in several 
 shades of old rose, while the leaves are in two 
 shades of green. The linen itself is a deep 
 tone of rose red. These embroideries can be 
 found at the various arts and crafts exhibitions 
 throughout the country. 
 
 Many beautiful table-cloths can be made 
 in applique. There is something very dig¬ 
 nified about them. A very pretty one has 
 the centre of the cloth in linen color, sewed 
 in panel form on a green background. The 
 design repeats the color of the border, but 
 is accented by a line of embroidery worked 
 in outline stitch. Many beautiful designs can 
 be made at home in this way, as the work is 
 quickly done, and can be taken up at odd 
 minutes. 
 
 There is nothing new about burnt leather 
 for table-covers, but there is a great diversity 
 
 in the quality and design. The soft brown 
 [ 164 ] 
 
Finishing Touches 
 
 burnt tones of the design on the leather 
 skin left in its natural shape, just outlined 
 with a border, is extremely decorative. 
 
 A stencilled cover intended for a dining¬ 
 room table can be used on the bare wood or. 
 as a centre over a white cloth. The grapes 
 in dull purple and the leaves in green, are 
 appropriate, but the design is just as effective 
 when carried out in one color. 
 
 Very beautiful table-cloths can be made by 
 weaving, and these can either be woven in a 
 rag-carpet loom, with fine warp and narrow 
 strips, giving a fine even texture to the fabric, 
 or beautiful covers can be made on a Swedish 
 loom. It is woven in linen thread, the design 
 in pale blue and green, on a gray background. 
 Those who do not possess a loom, or who have 
 not the opportunity of buying hand-woven 
 stuffs, could carry out the same idea by darn¬ 
 ing the design. This table-cover is very bold 
 in its treatment, and must, of course, be used 
 in a room of pronounced character. With 
 heavy mission furniture and modern hangings, 
 it would be extremely decorative. 
 
 To-day we can find in the shops charming 
 
 little printed covers, very English in their 
 
 [165] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 design, and they often give the right touch of 
 color needed in a bedroom or an up-stairs 
 sitting-room. A little time spent in going over 
 the dark lines with coarse embroidery stitch 
 is well worth while, and converts an inexpen¬ 
 sive printed cover into an individual piece of 
 needlework. They have all the appearance of 
 an applique when outlined and veined. These 
 printed covers are usually fast in color, so 
 that they can be washed from time to time. 
 As they have a white or a cream ground, it is 
 important to remember that the outline stitch 
 should be done in washable flax or mercerized 
 cotton. 
 
 A great variety of these printed covers are 
 procurable, and their use need not be confined 
 to table-covers, as they make very pretty 
 coverings for wicker chairs, or may be used 
 for the seats of bedroom chairs. So many of 
 them harmonize with the wall-papers that we 
 must not overlook them when adding the 
 decorative touch of table-covers to our homes. 
 
 [ 166] 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 Ornamenting Fabrics by Means of Sten¬ 
 cilling and Block Printing 
 
 When furnishing a home the money seems 
 to melt away in a most unaccountable manner, 
 and by the time the main things have been 
 purchased there does not seem to be enough 
 money left to buy the necessary details which 
 add so much to the house. Curtains, pillows, 
 bureau-covers—all have to be purchased, and 
 generally the cost of these is curtailed by 
 some unforeseen yet necessary purchase. When 
 this is so, the use of the stencil or block print 
 makes the purchase of expensive hangings 
 unnecessary, as simple, cheap materials can 
 be purchased in their place and ornamented 
 by applied color. This will frequently be the 
 means of making the home a great deal more 
 individual, and I will give a few directions as 
 to how this can be accomplished. 
 
 The work of applying color on a given sur¬ 
 face by means of a stencil is comparatively 
 
 [ 167 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 easy, as this part of the work is merely mechan¬ 
 ical, requiring practice to acquire deftness in 
 handling the stencils. Considerable care is 
 necessary to keep the work clean, for the con¬ 
 stant moving of the stencil is apt to leave spots 
 unless great vigilance is exercised. 
 
 There are many ways of doing this kind of 
 work, but it is absolutely necessary to adapt 
 the designs to inevitable conditions common to 
 all practical designs. In planning a stencil 
 it must be borne in mind that the design 
 should be broken up into small parts; the 
 smaller they are the better. The “ ties ” should 
 never mar the design, for they are an essential 
 part of it and can be brought into the pattern 
 in such a way that they do not obtrude them¬ 
 selves at all. 
 
 The intentional effacing of the ties should 
 never be done. The frank acceptance of the 
 limitations of a stencil print is craftsmanlike, 
 and makes the stencil more interesting. 
 
 In making designs for stencil treatment, it 
 will be found that the most successful are 
 those that are simple and conventional. In 
 the drawing of leaves, for instance, the veining 
 will become part of the ornament, and the 
 
 [ 168 ] 
 
STENCILLING WITH DYES 
 

 $ : 
 
 * 
 
 
Stencilling and Block Printing 
 
 natural form of the flower will become more 
 or less conventionalized, if treated judiciously 
 with reticence and self-restraint, thereby in¬ 
 suring artistic strength. 
 
 Many persons lack originality, and when 
 this is so it is well to study the designs woven 
 in fabrics and embroidery patterns. By copy¬ 
 ing these and by changing and simplifying 
 the designs, and by adding the necessary 
 “ties/’ they will be altered completely. Before 
 long the hand will have become accustomed 
 to drawing good lines and curves, and origi¬ 
 nality will soon follow. People with no knowl¬ 
 edge of drawing have frequently become good 
 stencilers. 
 
 There are various ways of making stencils 
 after the design is perfected. First it must be 
 traced off on to the prepared stencil paper. 
 Manila paper is often used after it has been 
 saturated with a solution of equal parts of 
 linseed-oil and turpentine, to which has been 
 added an amount of Japan drier equal to one- 
 sixth of the combined oil and turpentine. The 
 design is then cut with a sharp knife. Some 
 prefer a small board, but a heavy piece of glass 
 is more practical to cut the stencil on. 
 
 [ 169 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 The process of cutting is tedious, as care 
 and accuracy is required to avoid slips of the 
 knife on the ties. A thin coat of shellac 
 applied to the stencil protects it from the wet 
 pigments used in applying color. Very satis¬ 
 factory results are obtained by making use 
 of the prepared stencil paper, but it is not as 
 durable as the treated manila paper. It is 
 well to rule horizontal and perpendicular lines 
 through the centre of the designs, so as to 
 insure accuracy in matching the pattern when 
 the stencil is moved. 
 
 Oil paints'or dyes are used for stencilling on 
 fabrics. If oil paint is used it should be 
 squeezed on to blotting-paper, which will 
 absorb some of the oil, so that when it is 
 applied to the fabric there is not an outline of 
 oil around the design. The drawback in using 
 oil paints is the difficulty in matching colors 
 when the dark is not done at one time, for if 
 enough material is mixed one day and it is 
 left overnight it changes somewhat and needs 
 turpentine, which will change the color slightly. 
 
 Dyes are much less troublesome to use, as 
 they can be bottled, and each time they are 
 
 used are exactly the same shade. I have ex- 
 [ 1701 
 
Stencilling and Block Printing 
 
 perimented with most of the commercial dyes 
 and find that they are usually fast in color, 
 but many people do not find them so, as they 
 will not take the trouble to carry out all the 
 necessary directions. All dyes do not require 
 the same kind of fixative, but they all require 
 covering with a damp cloth and pressing with 
 an iron when dry. Directions are sold with 
 each make of dye. 
 
 When applying the colors, take a small quan¬ 
 tity in the brush and rub it into the fabric with 
 a round stencil brush not too large, so as to 
 stain the fabric without clogging the mesh of 
 the material. It will be found by experience 
 that scrim and bobinet need a lighter touch 
 than crash or linen. Some fabrics, like sash 
 curtains, require the design to be equally 
 strong on both sides, which is accomplished 
 by going over it twice. If the stencil is two 
 feet long, by the time the end is reached 
 the part done first will be dry enough for 
 another application before the stencil .is 
 removed. 
 
 The work is extremely fascinating to do, and 
 practice soon makes a good stenciller. Stencils 
 
 can be used for many purposes, but are espe- 
 
 [ 1711 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 dally attractive on curtains of muslin, nets, 
 denims, linens, and velvets and portieres. 
 Screens also may be ornamented by this 
 method. 
 
 The Japanese have made stencilling a fine 
 art; the breaks in the lines, the crossing of 
 stems, are all turned to account. Sometimes 
 a shadowy effect is [given by first stencil¬ 
 ling a strong design, and afterward ap¬ 
 plying a second stencil or a series of vertical 
 lines. 
 
 For curtains a simple continuous border 
 design looks better than one with isolated 
 figures. A running vine, a geometrical pattern, 
 or a composition of waving lines all make 
 good borders. 
 
 Block printing has some advantages over 
 stencilling in that dark materials look better 
 done in this method. Then again stencilling 
 does not require the same amount of skill, and 
 is therefore sometimes rather monotonous 
 when a great many yards of the same design 
 have to be done. I honestly believe one reason 
 for the preference being given to block printing 
 by those who are familiar with both is that 
 
 the patterning with a block has the charm of 
 [ 172 ] 
 
SIDEBOARD CLOTH—STENCIL WORK 
 
 SCARF OF TUSSORE SILK—STENCIL WORK 
 
Stencilling and Block Printing 
 
 uncertainty about it as to the result of each 
 impress. 
 
 Some workers hold that the fabrics thus 
 ornamented have an added attractiveness 
 when the depth of the impressions is not 
 entirely uniform. Certain it is that a piece of 
 material can be much more rapidly decorated 
 with the block than with the stencil, as it can 
 be moved so much quicker. The latter has 
 to be fastened in place, and needs blotting- 
 paper adjusted below every time the stencil 
 is moved, and all this is a little tedious. 
 
 A block is made from a fine, close-grained 
 piece of wood, such as boxwood or holly. 
 Maple is also a good wood, and has the ad¬ 
 vantage of being easily obtained, as children s 
 building-blocks are made of it. As these come 
 in just the sizes that many craftworkers use, 
 they are a great convenience, at any rate for 
 the beginner. 
 
 The block can be cut with a sloyd knife 
 costing thirty-five cents, but the carving is 
 more easily and quickly done with chisels and 
 gouges. A set of six tools can be purchased 
 for one dollar. These vary slightly—some 
 beine more curved than others. The chisels 
 [ 1731 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 are used for cutting round the design and for 
 smoothing the background, while the gouges 
 are used for digging out the spaces. 
 
 For the first attempt a simple, geometrical 
 design should be chosen. First make the 
 design on paper and then trace it carefully 
 on Japanese tracing paper and paste it on 
 the block. Shade the parts that will be cut out. 
 This small help will save many a block from 
 being spoiled. It is so easy to carve out the 
 wrong space, unless there is something to 
 indicate which is to remain. When carving, 
 the lines may become obliterated, so go over 
 them with a thick lead-pencil. 
 
 It is best to place the block on the table, 
 on which a cleat or piece of wood has been 
 nailed. Then press the block firmly against 
 the cleat and nail another on the other side 
 of the block, thus keeping it perfectly steady 
 while being carved. 
 
 Make a channel with the gouge a little dis¬ 
 tance from the design. Then take the straight¬ 
 edge chisel and cut vertically into the wood 
 close to the design. When a curve is reached 
 use the curved chisel. Go slowly when near 
 
 the edge of the design so as not to split the 
 [ 1741 
 
Stencilling and Block Printing 
 
 surface. When all the design has been out¬ 
 lined with the chisels, the background can be 
 cut away with the grooves. Small pieces 
 should be removed. If too large pieces are 
 attempted, the pattern may be chipped. Cut 
 to the depth of from half an inch to one and 
 a half. If the wood is too tough to remove by 
 pressure, use a small hammer for striking the 
 tool. When the block is all cut, the Japanese 
 paper must be washed off and sandpapered 
 on both sides. While care is advised for the 
 beginner, some craftworkers cut a block on 
 their hands with a sloyd knife in less than 
 half an hour; but of course much depends 
 upon the individual, and those who do this 
 are skilled craftsmen. 
 
 Some block printers prefer to cut the design 
 out of thin wood by means of a fret-saw and 
 then glue the fret on to a block. This is ad¬ 
 visable when a very delicate design is used. 
 Japanese frets can sometimes be purchased 
 and made use of for block printing. The ques¬ 
 tion of the nature of the block must be left to 
 the choice of the worker. If a craftworker is 
 proficient with the saw and has no wood-carving 
 tools, by all means let the fret-saw be used. 
 
 [175] 
 
• Home Decoration 
 
 Paint is generally used for block printing, 
 moistened by turpentine. The diluted color is 
 spread on a pad with a paint brush until the 
 felt is saturated. It must not be too wet. Try 
 it by turning it upside down. It must retain 
 the color without dripping. If there is too 
 much, place the pad on blotting-paper. If 
 dyes are preferred to paint, the directions sold 
 with them must be carefully followed, and the 
 necessary fixant used—either dextrine or gum 
 trajacanth instead of mucilage. Either the 
 powdered dye or the moist, sold in tubes, may 
 be used diluted with hot water. 
 
 When fabric has been printed with dyes a 
 damp cloth must be laid over it and pressed 
 with a hot iron. 
 
 Having now got all in readiness, the fas¬ 
 cinating part of printing is the next process. 
 At first the block is too new to take up the 
 color, so it must be laid face downward on the 
 pad and wiped off a number of times with a 
 cloth, until the pores are filled. Stretch the 
 fabric on the table, and hold in place with 
 thumb tacks. Then take the pad in the right 
 hand and place the carved side in the color. 
 Examine it when lifted, and if a fine, 
 
 [ 176] 
 
 even 
 
BLOCKS FOR PRINTING 
 
 BLOCK-PRINTED CHEESE CLOTH SASH CURTAIN 
 WITH COPPER BACKGROUND 
 
Stencilling and Block Printing 
 
 color is all over the surface, press the block 
 firmly and quickly on the fabric. If a fine 
 cloth is being ornamented an ordinary pressure 
 will make a good impress, but if the material 
 is of coarse texture, like Russian crash or 
 canvas, the block must be hammered with a 
 mallet. Strike fairly in the centre of the block 
 to insure the point being even, not dark at 
 one end and light at the other. It takes a little 
 nerve at first to print, as, of course, the block 
 cannot be moved when it has once touched 
 the fabric. 
 
 Printing by block does not make as dense 
 an impression as the stencil, but it gives a 
 porous appearance, allowing the texture of the 
 material to be seen through the color. 
 
 There is a long list from which to choose of 
 suitable fabrics for ornamenting in this way. 
 Linens of all kinds are excellent, and espe¬ 
 cially hand-made Russian crash. A visit to 
 the kitchen-towelling counter in any large store 
 will reveal all kinds of inexpensive linens in 
 gray or tan color, many of which are excellent 
 for the purpose. When dark materials are 
 needed for portieres, denims, art ticking and 
 domestic Monk’s cloth are all suitable. A very 
 1 1771 
 
 12 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 beautiful portiere for a studio was made of 
 tobacco-brown denim ornamented with a 
 square rose in copper. The imported Arras 
 cloth, which can be obtained in such a wide 
 range of colors, comes in admirably for por¬ 
 tieres. Cheap materials like mummy-cloth 
 and cotton crepe lend themselves admirably 
 to block printing. 
 
 [178] 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 Arranging Flowers Artistically 
 
 In this restless age of whirl and rush it is 
 more than ever necessary that our homes 
 should be simple and beautiful and serve as a 
 halting-place where we can find peace and 
 artistic surroundings. It is, as I have often 
 said, the small things—or what seem to some 
 the small things—that are the chief factors in 
 making a home what it ought to be. 
 
 There is something that appeals very 
 strongly to us in the simplicity of the lives of 
 the Japanese. The repose in their home life, 
 the gentle way in which they bring up their 
 children, their soft, low voices serve to conjure 
 up a picture of their homes—beautiful, restful, 
 free from trivial things, and possessing that 
 simplicity which we Westerners are just be¬ 
 ginning to realize is so all-important. 
 
 We cannot live without chairs or thrive on 
 rice or saki , but we can hang one good picture 
 on the wall instead of a dozen, and place a 
 [ 179 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 few decorative pieces of pottery on suitable 
 shelves instead of grouping worthless ones 
 anywhere. The flowers must be arranged 
 with some knowledge of their natural growth. 
 
 A Japanese never crowds a mass of flowers of 
 various colors in one vase, but deftly places 
 one flower with its stem and leaves in a recep¬ 
 tacle designed for just that kind of flower. 
 
 We may not feel that we have progressed 
 far enough to be able to value the single-flower 
 decoration, but the idea is a good one. 
 
 Flowers must be firmly placed so that they 
 do not require a high vase to support them. 
 Any hardware store will sell a sheet of lead 
 which can be cut into strips an inch or an inch 
 and a half wide. These may be six inches or 
 eight or twelve inches long. One of these placed 
 in a low dish makes a splendid flower-holder 
 and can be pinched around the stem of a 
 flower, and will keep it from falling over. 
 Two or three irises and six or seven leaves 
 look well arranged in this lead grip, just as 
 they grow. The leaves, uneven in height and 
 cut from the bottom, give variety in color. 
 The buds also should be shown. These care¬ 
 fully, though apparently carelessly, placed in 
 
 [ 180 ] 
 
Arranging Flowers Artistically 
 
 a low Japanese bowl, give a more beautiful 
 effect than a bunch of ten or fifteen would in 
 an ordinary vase. 
 
 A good deal depends on the knowledge of 
 how a flower grows. What could be more 
 beautiful than nasturtiums? How they wind 
 and trail when left to themselves! When 
 placed in a glass bowl near the edge of a 
 mantelpiece, they should be allowed to keep 
 their wealth of trailing growth, which, over¬ 
 hanging, makes a beautiful bit of decoration. 
 
 Do not overlook ordinary jars. I find 
 common gray-blue stoneware a suitable recep¬ 
 tacle for golden-rod or bunches of dogwood, 
 a good-sized pitcher costing only twenty-five 
 cents; and the jars about six inches high are 
 convenient for a few large flowers when the 
 lead holders are used. A variety of flower 
 vases can be bought in any Japanese store. 
 Imagine nasturtiums or climbing ivy planted 
 in the little Japanese green buckets, sold in 
 pairs, suspended by green cords. These, with 
 fern balls here and there hanging from a beam, 
 would make a charming feature for the piazza. 
 A small iron crane with a ginger jar hanging 
 
 from it is another effective flower-holder. 
 
 [ 181 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 These ginger jars are encased with wicker, 
 and are suspended by the handles. 
 
 I have always loved flowers, and yet I have 
 pitied them, taken from their natural sur¬ 
 roundings, with shortened stems and shorn 
 leaves and stacked into a vase far too small 
 for them. They are expected to look beau¬ 
 tiful! Poor things! They do their best, but 
 how can they retain their beauty with such 
 limitations ? 
 
 In many homes flowers are a dismal failure. 
 When I first had my own home, I managed 
 my garden alone, with the exception of a man 
 to cut the grass and keep the paths neat and 
 the beds weeded. The garden was only about 
 twice the size of the house, but out of it I had 
 vegetables, strawberries, raspberries, pears, 
 and flowers of hardy nature, nine months of 
 the year. When we took the house the garden 
 was only a ploughed field with beautiful old 
 trees in it, so we laid it out with wide beds all 
 around the house. My special joy was a huge 
 horseshoe bed. It yielded flowers in plenty. 
 I have never since heard of a garden that had 
 so many flowers in it; when everything seemed 
 to have finished blooming, bushes of Michael- 
 
 [ 182 ] 
 
Arranging Flowers Artistically 
 
 mas daisies still kept merrily on. I well 
 remember the yellow marigolds! How ex¬ 
 quisite they used to look arranged in quaint 
 Scandinavian bowls placed on a low table, 
 or on a shelf high up. I never liked their 
 scent, so rarely placed them on the dining- 
 table, but I cultivated them for their color, 
 and because they bloomed when other flowers 
 were over. I always cut from my garden with 
 a lavish hand for my home and friends, yet 
 it never seemed bare, and I learned, while 
 working among the flowers, to arrange them 
 as they grew; and although I had not at that 
 time heard of the Japanese arrangement of 
 flowers, their way of doing them came to me 
 by watching their growth, and by heeding 
 nature’s lessons I learned much that has been 
 useful to me in my life’s work. 
 
 [183] 
 
PART TWO 
 
 HOME DECORATION 
 

Part Two 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 What to Avoid in the Home 
 
 It is comparatively easy to start afresh and 
 buy carefully and wisely for a new home, yet 
 for those who have already all they need, but 
 are conscious of needed improvement, a few 
 suggestions may be helpful, and a few “do 
 nots” may be of practical use. It is very clear 
 that if a house has been lived in a long time, 
 and the furniture and pictures have always 
 been kept in the same places, year after year, 
 the occupants will have grown accustomed to 
 their surroundings, while the casual visitor 
 will marvel that such delightful people can go 
 on living in such an environment. Who is 
 not familiar with the parlors with colorless 
 felt paper on the wall, without a break of 
 moulding, frieze, or dado, with high ceilings 
 and heavy cornices picked out in many colors 
 and centre pieces to match; on the floor also 
 
 [ 187 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 a pale carpet with roses as big as cabbages ? 
 The doorways, nearly as high as the room, 
 have long plain chenille portieres flanked on 
 either side by a half-door flat against the wall. 
 The gas fixture is out of reach. There are 
 good pictures on the walls in heavy carved 
 gilt frames, with huge white mats out of all 
 proportion. They are, moreover, hung far 
 too high. A whatnot full of useless trash 
 stands against a wall, topped by a couple of 
 books placed crosswise on the shelf. 
 
 The room is scrupulously clean, the steel 
 fire-irons and grate shine with careful polish¬ 
 ing, the chairs are covered with figured ma¬ 
 terials of many and various designs, and resting 
 lightly on the top is a crocheted antimacassar, 
 with small ones to match on the arms. All 
 has been costly and good in its day, so that 
 nothing shows the signs of wear, nor will it in 
 this room that is so little used and carefully 
 preserved. The windows have long curtains 
 of design alien to that already in the room. 
 These meet in the middle and are looped 
 tightly back with tasselled silk loops. Against 
 the glass at each window are dead-white Not¬ 
 tingham lace curtains of monotonous design. 
 
 [188] 
 
What to Avoid in the Home 
 
 A ponderous round table, marble-topped, with 
 a tall onyx lamp in the centre, crowned with 
 a pink and gold globe, occupies the middle of 
 the room. The sofa against the wall has a 
 waving line of wood with fruit carefully carved. 
 The two ends form easy chairs, and are cov¬ 
 ered with “tidies” to protect them from the 
 head. To complete the picture, there is a 
 black-marble mantel of correspondingly bad 
 design. In truth, there is not much to be done 
 if all these decorations are to remain. Yet 
 there are many people, comfortably off, who 
 own just such rooms, and though they do not 
 think of improving their surroundings, are 
 not averse to spending thousands of dollars 
 on an automobile. 
 
 Good advice for such people who can afford 
 it is to make a clean sweep; redecorate and 
 furnish under careful advice. To those, how¬ 
 ever, who are conscious of needed improve¬ 
 ment, yet have not the means at their command 
 for many needed purchases, a few improve¬ 
 ments can be suggested. The mantel must be 
 painted to match the woodwork. On it have 
 a cover of plain velours with dull gold braid 
 trimming. A frieze of paper of good design 
 
 [ 189] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 can be added above the felt paper if it is still 
 too clean to be renewed. Hang pictures on a 
 level with the eye, as far as possible, and add 
 others to form little groups tastefully arranged. 
 The large table need not assert itself in the 
 middle of the room, but can be pushed toward 
 a corner. On it place a round cloth of velours 
 with dull gold braid to hide the join. A brass 
 student-lamp might replace its onyx prede¬ 
 cessor. Possibly hangings for the doors can be 
 found. If not, buy Arras cloth, which will not 
 need lining. Have the chenille curtains torn 
 apart and woven with other colors into rag- 
 carpet rugs, to be made use of in one of the 
 bedrooms. The carpet can also be sent to a 
 good house, where it can be made into pretty 
 reversible rugs. There would be about fifteen 
 yards of rugs if your carpet measured sixty 
 yards. After staining the floor, a few Eastern 
 rugs could be bought, or, if this is out of the 
 question, have the carpet dyed green and 
 made into rug shape, with the floor stained at 
 the edges. The heavy curtains must hang 
 straight, and if too long must be shortened. 
 There should be a low seat near the fire. 
 The piano can be placed with its back to the 
 
 [ 190 ] 
 

What to Avoid in the Home 
 
 room, and have a soft, plain drapery on the 
 back, hanging from a sash rod. Against this 
 a stand, on which a palm or Boston fern may 
 be placed, will add to the general improve¬ 
 ment of the room. 
 
 If there is a tea-table in the room set out 
 with cups and saucers, banish it. The maid 
 can bring all in from the pantry if it is the 
 custom of the house to have afternoon tea, 
 and if it is not the custom, no longer put up 
 with such a ridiculous sham. If there are 
 little knicknacks around, put them away, 
 and keep only the pieces of good proportions, 
 good designs, and good coloring. Avoid all 
 things that belittle a room and give it a fussy 
 appearance. 
 
 [ I 9 I 1 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 Cottages by the Sea or Lake 
 
 Among the most successful inexpensive 
 summer cottages are those covered with 
 shingles stained to harmonize with the sur¬ 
 roundings. At the shore, on an exposed bluff, 
 a soft gray will melt into the horizon, while 
 among the mountains browns and greens 
 seem more appropriate. To-day many sum¬ 
 mer cottages are built without plaster, often 
 even with bare boarding between the scantling, 
 and a filling of narrow strips. 
 
 What a wealth of color can be brought into 
 these homes by the judicious use of stain! 
 A dining-room panelled up to the plate-shelf 
 can be stained green below the shelf, while 
 against this green background some Spanish 
 pottery and gleaming Russian brass will bring 
 into the room all the decoration needed. The 
 beams and floors can also be stained green, 
 while mission furniture of the simplest con¬ 
 struction can be finished in silver gray. Large 
 [ 192 ] 
 
Cottages by the Sea or Lake 
 
 blue-and-white checked gingham curtains with 
 a valance across the wide window lend an 
 added attraction, and the window-seats, cov¬ 
 ered with Arras cloth in that exquisite shade 
 of turquoise blue, harmonize well with the 
 green. On the floor a large Martha Washing¬ 
 ton rug of turquoise blue with Indian designs 
 in greens and grays would complete a most 
 charming room. The chairs might have seats 
 of rush or woven squares to match the blue 
 in the rug. This is one of the latest ideas for 
 bungalow chair seats, and is worthy of 
 consideration. 
 
 If portieres are needed, blue Arras cloth 
 should be obtained, and with this blue china 
 would make a good combination if the right 
 shade could be found. In such a room 
 quaint sponge china of many colors would 
 not be amiss. 
 
 The living-room walls should be treated in 
 much the same manner as those in the dining¬ 
 room, by using browns of strongly contrasted 
 shades, tobacco-brown above the shelf and 
 between the beams in the ceiling, and the 
 rest of the woodwork a rich dark brown. 
 Book-cases can be built in the large spaces, 
 *3 [ 193 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 and in the small spaces also one might have 
 a shelf eight inches below the shelf that ex¬ 
 tends around the room. Where the double 
 shelf is put, the wood-bracket supports should 
 be below the bottom shelf. 
 
 The furniture in this room should be mission 
 style stained tobacco-brown, with cushions of 
 old gold Arras cloth and portieres of the same 
 material. Have window-seats wherever pos¬ 
 sible, and for cushions the same old gold 
 Arras cloth carries out the color scheme. 
 Two low wicker chairs of deep red, with 
 Morris velvet cushions in red and yellow will 
 give bright color to the room. The rugs may 
 be Oriental (or domestic copies), but they 
 must be artistic. Ugly rugs would spoil all, 
 and, unfortunately, inexpensive rugs in good 
 colors are not easily found. If strict economy 
 must be enforced, Moodji rugs in yellows and 
 reds are suitable and artistic. Either raw-silk 
 curtains of old gold or coarse scrim stencilled 
 with red and brown would be appropriate. 
 
 Most necessary in homes of this sort are the 
 fireplaces. Sometimes they are built of brick, 
 but oftener of stone found in the neighborhood. 
 In a summer house on the Maine coast the 
 1 194 ] 
 
Cottages by the Sea or Lake 
 
 lichen was left clinging to these stones, and it 
 still grows, although it is now several years 
 since it was put into the house. The same 
 mantel has one long stone forming the shelf, 
 supported by corbels. 
 
 The bedrooms do not require shelves, and 
 the walls can be stained a lighter shade than in 
 the rooms below. The walls in one room 
 might, for example, be painted in water-color 
 either pale green or old rose, if a change is 
 desired from the stained wood of the other 
 rooms. The beamed ceiling, however, must 
 not be stained too dark. The best shades 
 would be neutral tans or grays for the stained 
 walls, since the colors of the room will be 
 furnished by the curtains and furniture. The 
 latter must be simple and yet well made. Two 
 hundred and fifty dollars will furnish about 
 eight rooms in cottage mission furniture, which 
 can all be stained to order in less than three 
 weeks. 
 
 Half the beauty of cottage-furnishing lies 
 in quaint, pretty curtains. Omit shades and 
 use curtains with rings sewed on the inside 
 hem, running on a small sash rod. Choose 
 colors that will stand the sun, such as muslins 
 [ 195 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 of a good quality with small vertical bands of 
 flowers; Turkey red is not to be discarded if 
 the exposure is north, and is very suitable for 
 a boy’s room or a den. Oriental prints, in 
 blues or reds, also wear well. 
 
 A house such as I have described ^an be 
 furnished for five or six hundred dollars, 
 omitting Oriental rugs for the living-room. 
 Few pictures and ornaments are needed. 
 Japanese prints framed in tiny bamboo frames, 
 some plaster casts, and many and various 
 crude pieces of pottery for flowers are in 
 keeping with the surroundings, and lend a 
 distinct air of novelty. 
 
 [ 196 1 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 The Decoration of a Modern Suburban 
 House 
 
 In deciding on the color scheme of a house, 
 we must remember that the rooms must be 
 studied in relation to one another and be in 
 harmony. We will take, as an example, a 
 suburban house containing eleven rooms, with 
 a large porch and surrounded by a small 
 garden. We will suppose the living-room is 
 13 x 18, and has windows on three sides; 
 next to it is a small parlor 8 x 10, which opens 
 into a hall about 11x15. The parlor is di¬ 
 vided from the hall by pillars, so the color 
 scheme of hall and parlor must be the same. 
 
 The first point to be considered is the fur¬ 
 niture. Having decided on mahogany in the 
 hall, living-room, and parlor, we will choose 
 yellow papers for the first- and last-mentioned, 
 with cream-tint ceilings and ivory-white wood¬ 
 work. The treads of the stairs and banisters 
 
 are all to be of white with a mahogany hand- 
 1 197 1 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 rail. The walls of the hall would look well 
 in a pure colonial yellow, which can be found 
 among felt papers. A burlap of golden brown 
 could be used, as it will be found to be eco¬ 
 nomical in the end, as the burlap protects the 
 walls where they get the hardest wear. Usu¬ 
 ally the shape of the hall admits of very little 
 furniture: a chair, a small table, and a mirror 
 are about all that are necessary. Against the 
 staircase the wide seat should have a mattress 
 covered with brown leather. The coat closet 
 in the rear provides room for coats, hats, and 
 umbrellas, and is more practical than a hat- 
 tree. 
 
 If there are hardwood floors throughout the 
 house, it is advisable to have rugs. Hardwood 
 floors and rugs are always preferable to car¬ 
 pets, and should be used in the hall with long 
 runners on the stairs. 
 
 The parlor with its white-ivory woodwork 
 can have a two-toned fabric paper of a deeper 
 shade of yellow than the hall. Never select a 
 smooth, shiny paper. It is always hard and 
 repellent, holding no light, and softening no 
 reflections. Among the English papers can 
 
 be found dull flat surfaces that give the feeling 
 
 [ 198 ] 
 
Decoration of a Suburban House 
 
 of texture. They do not come in pale yellow, 
 but have a suggestion of brown. Mahogany 
 furniture and yellow-brown velvet hangings 
 harmonize well with this scheme, together 
 with soft-toning colors in the Oriental rugs. 
 The same yellow-brown velvet could be used 
 on the sofa, and a variety of colors in the 
 pillows, as long as they are in a subdued key. 
 When a sunny yellow is used for wall covering, 
 pictures and pottery have a charming setting. 
 
 The living-room should offer a complete 
 contrast. The walls could be green, either of 
 burlap or crepe paper, with a soft green for the 
 woodwork, which must not be too olive, or it 
 will look brown by artificial light. If a figured 
 paper is preferred, a gray, blue, and green 
 clouded peacock-feather design would make 
 a suitable wall-covering. The one I have in 
 mind is made by Sanderson of London. It 
 is blurred and dull, with no definite design, 
 and it makes a fascinating room if carefully 
 carried out. Hangings of toning color would 
 be very beautiful with it. Many good fabrics 
 can be stenciled. The silk tapestries of apple 
 green shot with blue, however, blend best 
 
 with this cloudy paper. If the burlap scheme 
 
 [ 199] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 is used, Arras cloth or velours would be utilized 
 for hangings and furniture coverings. On the 
 ceiling a faint-green paper would be advisable. 
 
 In arranging the furniture, have large roomy 
 chairs on either side of the fireplace, and before 
 the fire a wide sofa, with an ample supply of 
 cushions. Behind the sofa a library table 
 with the usual appointments would be well 
 placed. A large Oriental rug should be chosen 
 in tones of dull blue and old reds. 
 
 At the opposite end of the hall we usually 
 find the dining-room. The furniture for this 
 room could be mission. The room would look 
 well in a shade of soft Venetian red. A two- 
 toned striped paper could probably be found 
 in this color. Have the ceiling of ivory white. 
 The woodwork could be stained dark brown 
 or black, to match the color of the furniture, 
 and against this background the silver would 
 look very effective. A wide window probably 
 takes up much of the wall space, and the fire¬ 
 place may be placed in the corner. Curtains 
 of raw silk, undyed, would tone in with the 
 red-and-black scheme. 
 
 The bedrooms would be pretty painted 
 
 ivory-white; the large room over the dining- 
 [ 200 ] 
 
Decoration of a Suburban House 
 
 room might have a two-tone yellow-striped 
 paper, with chintz hangings of yellow roses 
 and green leaves; chair-covers and bed- 
 valances should all be of the same material. 
 Here, as at all the windows, sash curtains of 
 fine-dotted Swiss would be suitable, and would 
 give an appearance of uniformity from the 
 outside. 
 
 Many people like shades of green sun-fast 
 Holland throughout the house, but white with 
 a green lining would also be very appropriate 
 for the sleeping-rooms. 
 
 The floors all being of hardwood, Martha 
 Washington hand-woven rugs would be eco¬ 
 nomical and suitable for the bedrooms and 
 bathrooms. They come in beautiful colors. 
 A set of small green rugs, with bright yellow 
 borders, would be very attractive in the yellow 
 bedroom. 
 
 Another room could have bird’s-eye maple 
 furniture and a white enamelled bed. A gray- 
 blue cheviot paper could be used with the 
 love-bird frieze; the scheme could be carried 
 out in gray-blue cretonne for the furniture 
 covers and hangings. 
 
 The guest-room might be in lavender 
 
 [ 201 ] 
 
 or 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 green with paper of clematis or wistaria. A 
 high base of green felt paper could be used, 
 and if the room is high enough, the flowered 
 paper could extend on to the ceiling about two 
 feet, the rest of the ceiling being left the same 
 shade as the background of the figured paper. 
 There is a lovely white linen taffeta fifty 
 inches wide, with a shower of wistaria, which 
 makes a pretty bedroom-hanging. The bed, 
 if preferred, could have the spread and 
 valances of the same Swiss as the sash cur¬ 
 tains, and this over lavender sateen would be 
 ideal for a guest-room. The furniture would 
 be effective in bird’s-eye maple; the bed 
 could be white enamel. At present it is the 
 fashion to cover the pillows with a long strip 
 of the same material as the bedspread, trimmed 
 on the four sides. It is laid over the pillows 
 and hangs down at each side the same length 
 as the spread. I prefer this to any other 
 pillow-cover, since the bolster rolls take up 
 so much room when not in use. 
 
 The rugs in this room would be very artistic 
 if made of green material and tan warp. The 
 borders could be the same shade of lavender 
 as the taffeta, or tan. 
 
 [ 202 ] 
 
Decoration of a Suburban House 
 
 If the nursery is on the west side of the 
 house, the color scheme could be ecru with 
 a dado of Cecil Aldin’s charming poster pic¬ 
 tures. “Noah’s Ark” or the “Chickens and 
 Ducks” are a never-ending delight to children. 
 If there is a low dado of plain paper, and just 
 above this the frieze, the children would have 
 the pictures within their range of vision. They 
 are apt to forget them when they are placed 
 too high, whereas at the height suggested they 
 are high enough to be seen but not destroyed 
 by chubby little fingers. On the plain spaces 
 above, simple framed pictures of Cecil Aldin’s 
 can be hung to give the right balance to the 
 room. Have the rugs fairly heavy and larger 
 than in the bedrooms, so that the children 
 cannot trip when romping. 
 
 In the bathroom have rugs that can be con¬ 
 stantly washed, and tiled walls and floors. 
 
 Let the maids’ rooms be pretty and attract¬ 
 ive, with dainty curtains and pretty, cheerful 
 wall-papers; the furniture may be inexpensive, 
 but let it be artistic. They know when a room 
 has been carefully furnished, and give better 
 service in return when they see there has been 
 much thought for their comfort. 
 
 [ 203 ] 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 Describing Some Interesting Rooms 
 
 A visit to England reveals many ideas and 
 hints on home decoration. The following 
 chapter will deal with a few interesting rooms 
 which may be of service to American home¬ 
 makers. 
 
 The Hall 
 
 The front door opens into an entrance hall 
 which is unique in its treatment. The leaded 
 glass in the vestibule doors, treated in a most 
 original way, strikes the eye with richness of 
 color and offsets the burnished-copper orna¬ 
 ments on the shelves. The woodwork is of 
 dull oak panelled to the tops of the doors, 
 where it joins a frieze of plaster stained a rich 
 copper, with a design of black animals. This 
 was so strong that it would have been weird 
 and uncanny in a sitting-room. Yet it just 
 suited such a house, and prepared one for sur- 
 
 [ 204 .] 
 
Some Interesting Rooms 
 
 prises ahead. This frieze joins on to a vaulted 
 roof. 
 
 The main hall was treated somewhat differ¬ 
 ently, although the woodwork was of the same 
 material. The panels, instead of being solid 
 oak, were left with the rough plaster showing, 
 and stained pale brown to match the color of 
 the wood. Above this panelling the walls were 
 stencilled up to the ceiling, which was laid out 
 in sections, with a flat moulding. The very 
 strong supports to the ceilings were a dis¬ 
 tinctive feature. The wall panels themselves 
 were first stencilled in outline in blue and brown 
 on a white ground, and afterward filled in 
 with red and green. 
 
 The furniture is large, massive, and covered 
 with bright-green leather. The mantelpiece, 
 simple but effective, was made of gray Hopton 
 wood stone, unpolished, with metal work of 
 burnished iron and polished brass. The rugs 
 carry out the color scheme of the walls, and 
 are thick and heavy. 
 
 The Dining-room 
 
 The dining-room is the most beautiful room 
 in the house. Although very simply furnished, 
 
 [ 205 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 the decoration of the walls is extremely decor¬ 
 ative, owing especially to the large panels in 
 fresco from Tennyson’s “Princess,” painted 
 on to the rough plaster at either end of the 
 room and over the mantelpiece. The arches 
 over the two end panels and the pilasters at 
 either side of the mantelpiece are stencilled in 
 green, black, and red on an ivory-white back¬ 
 ground. The remainder of the wall space is 
 decorated in two shades of green, with touches 
 of brown, on the rough gray plaster. There 
 are tables so constituted that they can be put 
 together and used as one. When the family 
 is small and only one table is used, the others 
 can be placed around the room with crystals 
 or vases on them. This seems a very good 
 plan, because had there been the ordinary 
 table minus the extra leaves, it would have 
 been too small for the room. The lines of the 
 furniture are delicately graceful. The chairs 
 are covered with brown leather to match the 
 plain rug of brown. 
 
 The room is well lighted by an electric 
 fixture of glass and copper hung from the 
 ceiling and many side brackets of similar 
 design. 
 
 [ 206 ] 
 
Some Interesting Rooms 
 
 The Drawing-room 
 
 The drawing-room is very large, with pre¬ 
 dominant colors of cream, dead pink, and 
 green. These were most delightfully blended. 
 The room gives a feeling of rest and quiet 
 through the medium of its indescribable qual¬ 
 ity of color. Everything in it is artistic, and 
 each piece has been made for its especial use. 
 The rugs are thick and soft to tread upon, 
 with centres of old-rose color and narrow 
 borders of green and cream. They were made 
 to order in Scotland, and deserve to be more 
 widely known in this country, where they 
 have not yet been introduced. 
 
 The walls are of small oblong panels 
 painted ivory white to match the rest of the 
 woodwork. At each end of the room a panel 
 of bright silks on an iridescent purple back¬ 
 ground gives a splendid color effect. The 
 ceiling and frieze are cream, with a faint 
 stencil design in old rose on the frieze to bring 
 the walls and ceiling into closer harmony. 
 Some of the furniture is of painted ivory, 
 although a few chairs, the tables, and cabinets 
 are of very brown English mahogany. 
 
 [ 207 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 The feature of the room is the mantelpiece 
 of unpolished cream marble. Above this there 
 is a panel of mosaics glowing with color and 
 decorative feeling. The chairs have loose 
 cushions of the same silk and linen tapestry 
 that is on the walls. The baum, or round 
 settee, is also so covered, while the settle by 
 the fire, as a contrast, has cushions of plain 
 material. 
 
 There are no shades in this room, but in¬ 
 stead linen curtains running easily on traverse 
 cords. Long curtains hang at the side of each 
 window, made of the same tapestry which is 
 used throughout the room. A few ornaments 
 and flowers prettily arranged give the finish¬ 
 ing touches to a room alike artistic, harmo¬ 
 nious, and homelike. 
 
 The Morning Room 
 
 This is another room possessing a charm 
 all its own. The ceiling frieze and woodwork 
 are white. The panels and the walls are filled 
 with blue linen, stencilled with a design in 
 green, purple, and white, which is extremely 
 effective. As the room is used as a library, 
 several glass book-cases have been built in the 
 
 [208] 
 
Some Interesting Rooms 
 
 lower part of the walls. The desk is an original 
 piece of furniture, very graceful in design, 
 with ivory inlay adding much to the beauty 
 of detail. Some green blown glass made on 
 the Clyde adds the necessary decorative touch. 
 There is a folding mahogany table with drop 
 leaves, which holds more of the green-glass 
 flower receptacles. The rugs are soft green 
 to harmonize with the brown-green tapestry- 
 covered furniture. The room is decidedly 
 dainty. The coloring is unusual, yet does 
 not impart a trivial atmosphere. 
 
 The Smoking-room 
 
 The woodwork is English oak, unfinished 
 and unwaxed. The mouldings are very heavy, 
 and give a feeling of support to the rich 
 frieze. The dado is filled with Japanese 
 matting. Above this the rough-plastered wall 
 is painted a rich cream. The frieze is stencilled 
 with heavy colors, and has for its chief charm 
 the daring introduction of metal work. Small 
 pieces of polished iron are hammered into the 
 wall, and yet smaller pieces of brass are intro¬ 
 duced at regular intervals, to constitute a rich, 
 jewelled effect. The bright fire in the grate, 
 
 H [ 209 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 throwing a reflection here and there on the 
 frieze, gives a most lustrous and rich appear¬ 
 ance. 
 
 The furniture is of oak covered with apple- 
 green leather. The same Scotch rugs are used 
 here as in the other rooms, the centres being 
 green of the same shade as the leather, with a 
 darker shade of green for the border. The 
 curtains are not heavy, being made of ecru 
 linen similar to those in the drawing-room, 
 two sets to each window, hung one above the 
 other. The windows have a border of leaded 
 glass introducing the colors of the room. The 
 feeling of color value has been as carefully 
 considered as the outline of every piece of 
 furniture. There is a feeling of completeness 
 here, as in every room of this most interesting 
 house. This is a house in which the colors 
 used would have produced an extremely garish 
 effect unless each room had been studied sep¬ 
 arately, and as one of a whole. 
 
 1 210 J 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 How Some Craftworkers Fitted Up Their 
 Home 
 
 Among the many young people who become 
 clever craftsmen, how comparatively few put 
 their knowledge to really practical account! 
 While the enthusiasm lasts, they will make 
 things for sale, creating beautiful articles for 
 the home till these become a drug on the 
 market, because so many other craftworkers 
 are making exactly the same kind of things. 
 If this knowledge could be used in making 
 useful and beautiful things for their own 
 houses, how much better it would be, and an 
 added interest would be given to the making 
 of each special piece for a special purpose. 
 
 The writer came across a family who have 
 just succeeded in getting together an altogether 
 livable and individual home. Each member 
 of the family did his or her part. The father 
 
 and eldest son being engaged in business, it 
 
 [ 211 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 fell to the lot of the mother and two daughters 
 and a younger son to equip the house with all 
 its appointments, the greater part being done 
 in the summer months, which is a less enjoy¬ 
 able but a more useful occupation than simply 
 having a good time. 
 
 The two daughters had each taken a course 
 in handcrafts, and had acquired some skill 
 in making brass and copper, in stencilling and 
 embroidery, and the boy had already made 
 some excellent furniture of sound, simple con¬ 
 struction, showing some really good carving. 
 
 Having lived in the city while they were 
 being educated, they had planned when their 
 schooldays were over to live in the country, 
 and had found a house for sale very near a 
 farm where they had often spent the vacation 
 months. They spent the summer boarding at 
 this farm and made temporary workshops in 
 the hen-house, where they made everything 
 that was within their scope with their own 
 hands. 
 
 The new house was beautifully situated on 
 the side of a hill, among clumps of trees, and 
 overlooked the Hudson River. Its close prox¬ 
 imity to a railroad station made it an easy 
 
 [212 ] 
 
A Craftworkers’ Home 
 
 matter to reach New York in little over half 
 an hour. 
 
 The old home in Brooklyn had held a 
 medley of commonplace furniture, and gay- 
 colored carpets of deplorable design. These 
 they disposed of by sending to auction, re¬ 
 taining only the silver, glass, bed- and table- 
 linen, and a few pieces of mahogany furniture. 
 The least worn of the carpets were sent to a 
 place where carpets were torn apart, cleaned, 
 and woven into rugs, and came in very useful 
 as large rugs for the dining-room and living- 
 room. 
 
 While moving they came across an old hand- 
 loom that had been in the family at least a 
 hundred years. They remembered what beau¬ 
 tiful rag rugs their grandmother had woven 
 years ago, and how she had sometimes shown 
 them how to make intricate border patterns. 
 She had been somewhat of an authority on 
 color in her day, and made her dyes from roots 
 and barks that grew around the farm. These 
 recipes had been carefully put away, and it 
 was planned that their mother should try her 
 hand at weaving, as she had acquired some 
 knowledge of the art in her youth, as she had 
 
 [ 2131 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 often assisted her mother in the old days. She 
 also remembered how her mother evolved 
 beautiful colors from her dye-pot, and felt 
 that skill would soon come by practice. 
 
 The new house had never been lived in, as 
 it had been built for a newly married couple 
 who, on account of inheriting property in an¬ 
 other part of the country, had never occupied 
 the house. 
 
 Some of the walls were rough-cast, and the 
 woodwork had not been painted or stained. 
 Large open fireplaces of local stone were 
 already in the sitting-room, while the bed¬ 
 rooms were equipped with well-designed wood¬ 
 en mantelpieces, with red-brick hearths and 
 facings. 
 
 Two of the third-story rooms were turned 
 into workshops, and many happy hours were 
 spent in them. Arm-chairs, tables, and bureaus 
 were gradually finished and brought forth to 
 fill their allotted spaces. A glass closet built 
 to a recess and a sideboard built on mission 
 lines were especially interesting in the dining¬ 
 room. The glass doors were leaded, while 
 large polished-iron hinges and knobs were 
 made by one of the daughters. Andirons and 
 [ 214 ] 
 
A Craftworkers’ Home 
 
 fire-sets of polished iron, having the appearance 
 of pewter, gave the decorative note needed. 
 Some beautiful old pewter plates for the side¬ 
 board and mantel had been picked up for a 
 trifle in the slums of New York, and these 
 seemed just the touch of decoration needed. 
 
 The woodwork and furniture were stained 
 black, while the rough-cast walls were painted 
 a pure corn color. The ceiling between the 
 beams was painted a pale shade of yellow. 
 The dining-table was long and narrow, and 
 had tenons and pins to secure it at either end. 
 This had been made while the son was learning 
 carpentry in Brooklyn, and it was designed 
 so that it could be taken apart in a very few 
 minutes. 
 
 Window-seats and settles were made for 
 several of the rooms, and gave extra seating 
 capacity while not occupying much space. 
 With the help of a jobbing upholsterer, who 
 worked by the day, hair mattresses were made 
 for all the settles and window-seats at less 
 than half the price they would otherwise have 
 cost. 
 
 The daughter, Edith, did some effective 
 decoration in the hall. The walls were left 
 
 [ 215 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 the natural gray of the plaster, and were 
 rough-cast. The woodwork had been stained 
 almost black. At the sides of each door she 
 painted the trunk of an oak-tree, while the 
 branches extended above the doors and formed 
 a frieze. If two doors were twelve feet apart, 
 another tree trunk was painted in the middle 
 of the space to support the branches, making 
 when finished a clever and interesting piece of 
 decoration. 
 
 A living-room of ample proportions con¬ 
 tained a gray stone fireplace, surmounted by 
 a solid stone shelf supported by corbels. 
 Almost all the lower wall spaces were fitted 
 with book-shelves. Burlap in a soft tone of 
 blue green had been nailed on the wall, and 
 was held in place by slats of wood four inches 
 wide and half an inch thick. The burlap did 
 not extend along the back of the book-shelves, 
 though, as a matter of fact, a piece of the same 
 material was tacked on the back of each 
 book-case instead of a wooden back, before it 
 was finally put in place. The furniture made 
 for the living-room was of craftsman design, 
 and was held together by mortise and pin, 
 giving strength and dignity to it. 
 
 [216] 
 
A Craftworkers’ Home 
 
 The room intended for a reception-room or 
 parlor had a high colonial wooden mantelpiece 
 with dull-green tiles, so it was decided to have 
 this room different from the others. Instead 
 of making any of the furniture, they decided 
 to keep to antique mahogany of colonial 
 design. A couple of card-tables, four hand¬ 
 some chairs with claw-feet, belonging formerly 
 to their grandmother, made a good beginning. 
 
 The eldest son was a pupil in an architect’s 
 office in the city, but in the evening he found 
 time to make drawings of simple bedroom fur¬ 
 niture, and the younger brother made the 
 furniture out of chestnut wood from these 
 designs. The furniture for each room was 
 stained a different color. It was difficult to 
 say which was the more beautiful—the silver- 
 gray or the deep indigo-blue—while the green 
 set vied with the brown for popularity. 
 
 The hardware was especially designed by 
 the youngest daughter to suit each room. 
 Repousse copper and brass and wrought-iron 
 hinges and door plates were among the most 
 beautiful things that were made for this unique 
 home. The beds were severely simple, con¬ 
 sisting of strong, square posts with a head- 
 [ 217 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 board and footboard containing a panel in 
 each board. These were made to fit the 
 springs of beds that had formerly been in use 
 in the old home. 
 
 The trims were stained to match each set of 
 furniture; even the floors were like the wood¬ 
 work. 
 
 The mother had mastered the difficulties of 
 weaving, and had made rugs of all sizes for 
 the bedrooms. When the right colors could 
 not be obtained in new materials, she had 
 dyed unbleached muslin the exact shade she 
 needed. The rugs in the blue room were made 
 on white warp, while the weft was made of 
 deep indigo denim, three borders of which 
 at each end of the rug, with twists of blue and 
 white to outline the borders, looked especially 
 attractive on the deep blue of the floor. As 
 the rugs were all washable, it seemed advisable 
 to have them in all the bedrooms. 
 
 The curtains were made from large linen 
 sheets, as the family already possessed con¬ 
 siderably more than were needed for ordinary 
 use. One set was stencilled for the blue room 
 in a deep indigo design of field poppies, and a 
 full valance at each window showing a liberal 
 
 [218] 
 
A Craftworkers’ Home 
 
 supply of poppies gave an air of quaintness 
 to the room. Bureau-covers and bedspreads 
 were also made to match. The walls of this 
 odd room were covered with a plain white 
 paper, and yet there was not the chilly effect 
 given that one might expect, as the blue of the 
 woodwork had such depth of tone. 
 
 The green room had a figured paper of nas¬ 
 turtiums in reds and yellows on a cream 
 ground. The curtains were made of green art 
 ticking, and had a stencilled border decoration 
 of nasturtiums. 
 
 The brown room had plain yellow paper on 
 the walls, and curtains, bedspreads, and chair- 
 covers of a voyant flowered chintz, with yellow 
 flowers and green leaves. A large grandfather- 
 chair was also covered with chintz, which was 
 gathered at the bottom to match the curtain 
 valances. 
 
 The silver room was very unusual. The 
 tone of paper that was needed could not be 
 found, but one of the daughters, whose room 
 this was to be, decided to add a final coat of 
 paint to the walls. Two coats of white were 
 first painted by a painter, leaving a smooth, 
 glossy finish for the artist to work on. She 
 
 [ 219 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 painted quick swirls of the brush of deep 
 purple-green, with flashes of silver glinting 
 through the dark tones in waves of color. 
 This treatment made a most beautiful wall 
 surface. The curtains were of hand-made 
 Russian crash of a beautiful tone of silver gray. 
 They were decorated with outline embroidery 
 in a bold flower motif in shades of purple and 
 green. Some wicker chairs were stained gray, 
 and were supplied with cushions to match 
 the curtains, bedspread, and bureau-covers. 
 
 There were two bedrooms containing green 
 furniture, but each room was treated differ¬ 
 ently. The walls were rough-cast and tinted 
 a pale green, and were divided into panelled 
 spaces by strips of flat wood. Each of these 
 spaces was outlined with a checkerboard 
 stencil design in heavy green. The curtains 
 were of cream Oriental cotton, trimmed with 
 heavy hand-made fringe. The bedspread and 
 bureau scarf matched the curtains. The rag 
 rugs were made of denim the same shade of 
 green as the walls. A checkerboard design 
 was woven in the borders in cream and green. 
 
 All the bedrooms were particularly charm¬ 
 ing; each one was so unique that it was hard 
 [ 220 ] 
 
A Craftworkers’ Home 
 
 to tell which was the more beautiful. Each 
 possessed a charm of its own. When making 
 the furniture it was found to be more eco¬ 
 nomical to buy the bedroom chairs from a 
 factory. These were delivered in the rough, 
 and were stained to go with each set of fur¬ 
 niture. They had seats of coarse rush, and 
 were made from good designs. In some cases 
 small cushions were added to the rockers to 
 make them more comfortable. Most of the 
 furniture was made before the family moved 
 into the house, but they still have a consider¬ 
 able amount of work to do. More escutcheons 
 and hinges are needed, and several pairs of 
 curtains have yet to be stencilled. Portieres 
 are now under way, and promise to be works 
 of art. Those intended for the living-room 
 are being made of crinkled tapestry of a 
 beautiful shade of iridescent greenish-blue 
 with an applique design in shaded velvet. 
 Odd stitches, couching, and gold cord play 
 an important part in the decoration of the 
 hangings. Some antique Japanese silks are 
 introduced with wonderful effects. A dragon 
 or crepe is enriched with scales of cloth of gold, 
 
 worked with a few touches of long and short 
 
 [ 221 ] 
 
Home Decoration 
 
 stitches. When embellished with cloth of 
 gold and needle painting, the effect of the 
 Japanese applique is extremely rich, and when 
 the colorings are softly blended they fairly 
 melt into their surroundings. 
 
 Before long this delightful home will be 
 completed. The pleasure and interest it has 
 already given the young craftworkers will 
 not cease when the work is finished, as they 
 will feel a pride in the contemplation of their 
 handiwork. 
 
 [ 222 J 
 
the 
 
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 An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art 
 
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