National Republican., 1882-12-20
- THE WHITE HOUSE.
A Faw Visitors Permitted to View It's Newly
Decorated ParlOrs.
The More Notable Changes Made in
Furnishings and Frescoings.
The Work Representing the Equivalent Of Twelve
Hundred Days Labor.
Tha Whole World May Have n Look on
New Years Day.
THE WHITE HOUSE.

of associated artists, who invited limited
number to inspect the newly decorated in
terror and the improvements that have been
made in the suite of state apartments during
the past two months. A certain mystery has
been attached to the work that has been
going on in.the mansion for this PERIOD and
Mr.. Tiffany's request that no one should be
allowed to inspect the work until it was COM
pleted has been vigorously adhered to.
Visitors have been denied admittance to the
lower floor for many weeks, and sightseers
have been obliged to depart without prom
enading the great east room, a privilege which
tradition has made the inherent right of every
American citizen who comes to Washington.
Yesterday tho apartments, with the eXcep-
tion of the state dining room, were lighted up
brilliantly and the artists in charge of the
work were kept busy pointing out
THE CHANGES MADE
in the different rooms, and receiving the fat
tering compliments paid them upon the sue
cessful results attained
In September Col. Rockwell, as superintend-
ent of public buildings and grounds, made the
arrangement with Mr.. Louis G. Tiffany to
decorate the walls and ceilings of the state
dining room, the red and blue parors, and the
main corridor of the white house. For this
work, together with the glass screen between
the corridor and vestibule and the necessary
furniture for the rooms there was only
$4,000 available from the annual appropra-
tion, and in view of this fact, the result is all
the more wonderful. The designs were pre-
pared with especial reference to the character
of the mansion, and in making them the
artist was guided by different ideas from those
that would have been employed for a strictly
private residence, or for q building of more
public character. National emblems and
symbols have been introduced wherever they
could enter harmoniously into the
designs, and in this respect the work is
unique. The amount of labor required to
carry out their plans is hardly to be appre-
ciated, as the artist themselves and the work
men have staid at the white house until and
10 o'clock at night for weeks. The equiva-
lent of
TWELVE HUNDRED DAYS LABOR
has been given to this work here, and the men
in the mosaic and stained-glass departments
in New York have been at work night and day
to complete the pieces that were to be shipped
to Washington at once. The great haste with
which the designs have been executed has been
a novel feature in Tifany's decorative work,
and instead of the four or five months gener-
ally allowed them for such designs the actual
working time, after the surfaces were prepared
and the platforms erected, has not been seven
weeks.
In the east room no change has been made
in the walls or furniture, a new carpet for the
floor being the only addition which it has re-
ceived. In place of the vivid red and gray
carpet which has covered the floor for some
years back, there has been laid an English
Administer of the finest quality, chosen with
special reference to the decorations and fur
nishings of the room. The groundwork is
pale almond tint, strewn with conventional
designs, in which the softest tints of pink,
lemon, and pale blue harmonize so evenly
thaty onl the warm neutral effect of the ground
color is given to the eye. The bordering is
an antique blue, with foliated branches and
conventional pomegranate blossoms wrought
in pale pink and yellow. With the amber
plush furniture and curtains, and the white
and gold walls, this carpet corresponds ad-
mirably. The portraits of George and Martha
Washington hang on the east wall, and the
three large crystal chandeliers shine from
the ceilings with increased luster after the
thorough cleaning and polishing that has
been given them.
THE GREEN ROOM
remains as it was after its renova-
tion last fall, with furniture of pale
celadon plush and gold brocade and carpet in
olive and neutral tints bordered in deep
green. The walls are papered in light green
and gold, and the large temperance portrait
of Mrs. Hayes occupies position on the west
wall pair Of tall gilt candolabra bought
during Gen. Jackson's occupancy flank the
mantelpiece, and the Hiawatha boat of silver
graces the centre table.
IN THE BLUE ROOM
a complete transformation has been effected,
and, as the special audience chamber of the
official mansion, the artist has given greater
attention to its decorations. The ancient
mazarin blue has given way to a softly toned
robin's-egg blue that by gaslight has the effect
of a celadon green. So many half tints tones,
and suggestions of colors are presented that a
new vocabulary is necessary to accurately
describe the shades employed by the artists.
The carpet is antique-gray blue dotted with
drifts of pale seaweed designs, with small
dashes of gray here and there, as if to repre-
sent water. The wainscoting, of color
shading from the deepest tone of the carpet
extends about four feet from the floor. Above
that the wall is pale robin's-egg blue in
solid color. Half way from the ceiling the
decoration, in delicate lacework and geometri-
cal designs, forms a rich trieze, each figure
being raised in silver and touched up in pale
gray and gold. Interlacing ovals, with flat
rosettes, in metallic designs compose the
frieze that becomes closer and more elaborate
toward the top, where it joins the ceiling that
is the masterpiece of decorative work. A
checllered ground, in pale gray and blue is COW
cred with interacing ovals in silver that con-
verge toward the center. In each of these
silver ovals is a small shield in silver and gold
lusters, and between these outline panels there
are dogwood blossoms in relief studdng the
surface. Eagles in raised outline surround
Une oval panels over the Chandelier, ana CluS-
tiers of dOgwood flowers are between them.
On either side of the two large mirrors in this
room are fiat sconces of glass mosaic bearing
branches of lights From each light depends
cluster of glass balls and the background of
jewelled and Opalescent glass set in leaden
framework sparkles with a thousand lights and
lusters. The fireplace has been set with glass
tiles, surmounted by band Of glass mosaic,
in the same pale blue and opalescent shades,
and the same fine mantelpiece of Italian
marble has been retained. The old furniture
frames, regilded in many successive admins
trations, have been FURNISHED over and are
covered with silk canvas in changeable blue.
This canvas is designed and made for Mr..
Tiffany, and produces singularly rich effect
as furniture covering. The curtains are of
the silk canvas, with a deep border of gray
blue plush, caught back with bands of plush
and silk mornie cloth in the same shades.
The mantel ornament of the blue room is an
onyx and gold clock, selected by Mrs. Grant
some eight years ago.
THE RED ROOM
retains the same gray and olive carpet Grim
son plush curtains and furniture of gold and
ebony upholstered in crimson plush that
were added to it last fall. The walls have
been tinted dull Pompeiian red, with vain
scoting of o deeper shade. The ceiling is dec !
GRATED in concentric circles of stars, done in
silver, gold, and copper lusters on light
ground, surrounded by border in which the
national stripes appear as a groundwork for
other groups of stars. The open fireplace
Is laid with small teapot brown tiles and
fSpad with Ulass ti1ag ,oI aud lrn,t+p t;pfs