New-York tribune., 1878-07-06
nnI,sEHnLn DECORATION.
A ROOM DECORATED BY BHODA AND AGNES GAE-
RETT-wHIsTLER's "HaRMONY IL fEILo" AND
rn1l,r- rrNnrNcY 10 oYER-DECOKAlION BY

REIT-wHIsTLgR's "HARMoNY IS YELLOW AND
GOLD"-A TENDENCY TO OyER-DECORAllON Bl
SOME FIRMs-FLiMsY WORKMANSHIP
fTEOM NFF CORRESPONDENT or TIE TiiBUNE'l
PARIS. June ca little room furnished by Misses
Rhoda and Agnes Garrett offers complete contrast
70 tbo massive mapnificonoe Of Mcssrs. Glllows
work in the Princes Pavilion II is to be seen III the
furniture department of the British section not far
from the Indian gallery, and is very charming
piece of upholstery. find these two ladies set down
IN the catalogue as House Decorators ana CABINET
Makers No. 2 GOwer-st., Bedford Square. LONDON
and their contribution is tcrsely but not very satS
factorily described rs the Furniture and Fittings
Of Room" They are the authors of one of tho lit
tie books in Mcssrs. Macmillan's Art at Home
series can say nothing of the book except that |
hone it is better than Mr Lofties introductory tract
IL the same series OF their actual work as here
shown. may say that il deserves moro attention
than some other much more prctentious displays
Tho room is small and low, perhaps feet by H.
and hardly more than 5 feet high; the furniture
also of tiny proportions, and the room altogether
having the air of being done in miniature-OT Ol Dc-
ing very large dolls draWing-IOOm. Ii Is IN What
passes for Queen AnnGs style. The whole ceiling Is
supported by walls covered with stamped NeiNet III
delicate blue gray; Persian rug IN yellow OF small
pattern with dull red border, covers two-thrdS
of the floor: the furniture and mantclpece
are of unpolished rosewood the furniture
coverings of buff with greensh-ycilow pattern
carefully adjusted scheme OF color which gives
an air of refinement to the room quite Independently
Of the forms of the furniture. The curtains to the
one low, long window, filled with small pancs ol
grayish glass with heavy millions. hang from
thick brass rod in full folds of buit velvet EN-
bTodeTed in creamy yellows and primrose tnts,
f,4s. .pif tg Nj gl
YOU can confidently assign positive name; dreams
of shades says the lady to whom appeal ami
whose perception of color would make an artists
fortune and is almost equal to that Of an Oriental
She defines the yellow as the yellow on the inside
of a buttcrcup before it Is quite open and ripe.
| have tried to persuade her 10 describe
this room Tor you, hut she will not, and yon must
rontcnt yourself with the touch OF a heavier hand.
The broad low rose wood cLimncy-picce and man
tcl is distributed in dwarf Ionic UiastoIs ana
panels a wide shelf unfolding the frame OF a bev-
cllcd mirror, engraved in flowing pattern at the
top and lower corners. The rich tone of the rose
wood Is thrown up by the yellow marble border OF
the fireplace, which itself is brought ont more
clearly by a lining of olive green tcs inc!Oslng
grate in brass OpcnwOrb, which IS matched by the
fender The lines of the furniture are mostly
straight; with the exception of the sofa,
it is all so simple as to hc almost
severe. There Is none Of the scroll work
or wood flowers once So dear 10 the fashionable
upbolstcrcr; the wood Is channeled and groovcd in
the direction Of it's length, and that is about all If
YOU are used to French upholstery. with its springs
and sufing and studied conccameut OF the frame
Of chair OF -ofa-as if the sight of so hard sub
stance might Jruise your dainty boncs-you may
say these two or three chairs and the single lounge
don't look comfortable. But you will find If you
try them that the angles have been so carefully cal
culated that the human frame fits into them TO
nicely. while the springs and stuIing may be mace
as elastic as tie French. The sofa Is the one failure
of the room; pattern for which there Is no doubt
authority, and which see MS TO have been
chosen in a moment OF mental fatigue
for that sole reason. The lines Of The Ia
bic, stool, and screen are all right lines;
the stand for the candelabum i stand and moth
ing else; the scouccs are in plain brass, deriving all
their beauty from their outline. There Is bracket
not less simple, with blue iuc on il; corner cup-
board on legs; hanging cupboard Of which the
coIuicc ought to come of; a writing table with
shelf of BOOKS in various bindnas-aiI of the same
eIcrant simplicity. The screen, which you can lift
with two fingers, has two silk panels IN old gold
and pink, with peaeh-coored blossoms thrown over
tic stuff. And the impression which the whole
makes on You is above all others. an impression OF
pur1ty and refinement. The window ought to have
jasmine growing outside Of il, says the lady whom
have already quoted, and there should be blonde
beauty by the fireplace reading an ldyl Of the KING.
Not far of is a section Of a room for the dccora-
ton Of which Mr.. Whistler responsible Ever since
Mr. Whistler did the famous peacock room for Mr..
Leyland in Princes Gate, hc has had a reputation as
unique in upholstery IN higher walks of art. lie
is building a hOlsc for himself in Londou like no
other house. of course; meant perhaps, rs protest
against the sudden popularity Of Queen Anne fronts
in red brick, with their balconies and drawbndgcS-
a popularity which might end in a new form of
mOnotony hardly less tirCSome, though IN itself
immensely better, than the stucco horrors of which
so many square miles have come ont of the same
troughs and mouds. What Mr.. Whistler means,
alike by bis pictures, his peacock decoration, and
this last caprice in yellow. may be that there is
something good in the world of art outside of the
conventional world He calls this room Harmony
in Yellow and Gold. Against a yellow wall il built
ND chlnncy-iccc and cabinet in one; Of winch the
wood like all the wood in the room, Is a Curiously
light yellow mahogany something very different
from the flaming veneer known to the American
for generations past. with drank and straddhng pat
terms all over il. The fireplace is flush with the
front of the cabinet; the front panelled in gilt baIs
below the shelf and cOrniCe, ncIOsing tiles of pale
sulphur above the shelf cupboard with clear glass,
and triangular open inches at either side holding bits
of Kaga porcelain, chosen for the ycoWishncss OF
the red, which Is a characteristic Of that ware; the
frame Of the CRATE brass the rails IN polished steel
the fender the same. yellow yellow, gold on
gold. everywhere. The peacock reappcars, the eyes
and the breast feathers of him; but hercas in
Princes Gate it was always blue on gold, or gold on
blue. here the feather IS all gold boldly and softly
laid on golden-tntcd wall The feet to the table
legs are tipped with brass and rest on yellowsh-
brown velvet rug. Chairs and sofas are covered
with yellow, pure nch yellow velvet darker in
shade than the yellow of the wall and edged with
yellow fringe The framework of the sofa has