Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-05-17

Many of the fashionable rugs NOWADAYS are of
Rome manufacture, and although woven in imi-
tation OF those imported from the east can be
easily distinguished from them by the greater
brightness or color. 1t seems as If the harmony
oil eastern design coloring would never be fully
attained by the western manufacturer. Penn
syivanla rugs, In imitation of those imported
from smyrna, are very effective, but little too
ootrusive In color. 1t being now generally recog-
nlZed that floor coverings have no business to
force themselves upon the attention. AS mat
ter of artistic decoration, the carpet should at
tract no particular attention.
A room is badly furnished, IL the first thing
that strikes person upon entering it is the car
pet, and modern taste is SO far educated that In
well-appointed homes one is seldom called upon
to admire parterre of brilliant flowers upon
the drawing-room carpets or to tread upon trees
whose branches shelter humming birds. The
esthetic movement has had one good result in
modifying scarlets and green's and If we are
sometimes inclined to wish that the favOrite
cOlOrs were little less somber it Is fault i'm
the right direction as far, at any rate, as car
pets are concerned.
Neutral tints are to be preferred, and If the
walls OF room are dingy, or there is any other
reason for wishing to introduce little bright
ness, the coloring should be i'm the border of the
carpet rather than in the center. In these bur-
ried days it seems absurd to talk of homemade
carpets. yet carpets have been made by ladies
that are marvels Of patience and skill. Carpets
are often made by hand. In the exquisite chapel
erected by Russian Archduke in memory of his
wife, in Wiesbaden, there is carpet which at
first sight looks exactly like Turkish One
which was worked entirely by the ladies of the
Russian court, and which is large enough to
cover the entire floor of the chapel.
But while such an undertaking will hardly
commend itself to our busy women, there are
certain efforts of the kind that will repay the
time bestowed upon them. For example, a
Hnv fCrf of d;,.;v,<
certainly need not be carpeted all over. could be
homemade OF coarse canvas. worked in tapes
try stitch in some arabesque design in contrast
ing shades of color.
Eastern rugs vary good deal in style. Those
from India are usually sOmber in color and of
intricate and even confused design, while those
which come from Turkey are bright and vivid in
outline. and have the inestmable merit of be-
coming more valuable after they have been,wOrn
1t is difficult to distinguish between those made
in Turkey and those brought from Persia. They
are rarely initiated with any success but the
Smyrna rugs known in the trade as Oushak,
are of such strong cOlOrs and striking designs
that it is often difficult to detect limitations. AS
rule they have deep crimson or bright scarlet
centers. with geometrcal markings and borders
In which every shade of color is tremendously
blended.
Some few Of them, generally the smaller ones,
are OF less decided cOlOring and fashion has
lately been introduced of covering staircases
Will tHeul, n rug the exact WlQCn OF eaCn stair
being kept in place by brass rod across either
end. 1t is difficult to see what object can be
gained by this innovation, unless it be that of
novelty, for velvet pile stair carpets answer the
same purpose as far as deadening sound is con-
cerned. and look great deal better if sufficient
margin is left at either side; starways covered
without this margin never look WELL q refiec-
ton which may sOlace those whose purse is lin
tied and to whom wide stair carpets are denied
There is. indeed, an obvious compensation for
the multtudes with limited incomes in the fact
that the harmony and comfort Of home do not
really depend so much upon money as people
suppose. 1t is an unpleasant fact certainly that
good carpet costs good deal, but then Is it
not mitigating circumstance that q little of it
Is as fashionable. looks better and is decidedly
cleanlier and healthier than a great deal. There
is additional consolation in the fact that floor
partially covered with rugs is infinitely more
useful in showing up furniture than the hand
soonest carpet that ever left the loom. Such a
reflection should reconcile us even to the
scratches on a dark-stained floor, and all things
considered it is useless to tighten the purse or
burden the mind with extensive floor coverings
when the home will look just as well with rugs
and when every consideration of health requires
that they should be done away with.