The Portland daily press., 1883-10-15
Novelties in Room Decorations.
Garnishments of Burlaps and Manila
Money Spent on Walls and Cur
tains.


In. l. AhlDuiaSsJ
s'Here is new kink in room-decoration,"
observed one of the designers in large es-
Enlistment on Union Square, and he led
the Tribune reporter in and out a bewilder-
ingly magnificent aggregation OF parlor fur
niture, which covered the third floor of the
bailding, and entered small room at The
further end. The apartment was superbly
furnished, and the light, filtering through
two exquisitely stained glass windows, lent
additional beauty to the rich coloring of the
chairs, couches and carpet.
"Look at the walls.''
On inspection the walls were found to be
covered with what is known in the trade as
burlaps, familiar to the public in its coars-
est form as sacking, which is used for ballng
purposes and fer potato bags. Appropriate
lengths OF MANILA rope, new and bright, di-
yided the wall into panels. The dado which
ran around the room and was carried to a
height OF TWO feet and half above the floor,
was made of a material described as six-cent
calico. 1t was red. The dado was divided
from the upper wall by MANILA rope twice
as thick as that indicating the panels; and
the line where the wall ended and the frieze
began was marked in the same fashion. 1t
was the frieze, perhaps, which illustrated
the utmost development OF the idea. This
was composed of diamonds, squares devised
by crossing lengths of the smaller MANILA
rope obliquely, and the points of intersec-
ton were made picturesque blythe insertion
of large fiat-headed nails of polished metal
technically known as anvil nails. Over the
frieze dropped at intervals quaint and pretty
tassels, fashioned from manila rope by I'M
twisting the strands. And an additional or
nament was secured along the line OF the
ceiling by continuing the larger ropes,
which emphasized the divisions of the entire
wall into dado, central wall and frieze, SO
that they marked out the outlines of the
middle door and by allowing the ends to dis
port. theulsrlxss s.boat-the ceraers--ia--the
shape of hearts.
Elbow much?'
"We recently completed small breakf asst
loom in this style for $3.50, but in that case
wood panelling did away with the necessi-
ty OF dado, and the ceiling was not high.
Observe what marvellously effective back
ground it makes for this rich furniture
"Aside from this Sink," continued the
man of decorations, "walls will be finished
in much the same fashions this year as
heretofore" And in another portion of the
building he afterward displayed resplendent
dados of silk plush, ornamented with feurs-
de-tis in gold, friezes of various kinds of rich
material, deliberately embroidered, and all
manner of coverings for the central space,
from gorgeous wall papers to the choicest
productions of foreign looms. Where the
walls are gotten up in so costly way as any
OF these, the divisions are observed by hand
some mouldings, and in such cases, too, it
becomes necessary to treat the ceiling ID
some one of the dozen or more fashions
which the HORSEPOWER will find are adopted
by the "best people,
In the matter of hanging curtains and gen.
orally OF disposing draperies, there is dis
tinct departure from the set and formal
fashions which have hitherto prevailed. The
idea of matching has departed from the art
OF decoration. The use of two curtains of
similar size, which fall from central point
to either side door or window will gradu-
ally be abandoned. One curtain will be
longer than the other, and they will be
draped from point foot or two to one
side or the other of the centre. By the en-
ployment of handsome silk cords and tas-
sells, curtains of soft materials will be caught
from various heights and at various angles
and will be arranged in variety of lovely
and fantastic folds. And in many cases,
long lengths of richest plush or other goods,
ed into graceful and mysterious results, will
form the most novel and unique of draper
les for windows, doors or bed canopies. A
design for one series of windows treated
thus with plush, called for thirty-fve yards
of the material for each curtain.
The variety of draperies for curtains and
windows is very large. The material usu-
ally seen, which is made in imitation of
Turkish goods and to match Turkish mats,
is known as jute Uelours, and handsome
pair of curtains may be had of it from $25
to 500 pair. In the silk. plush and en-
broidered curtains prices seem to have no
limit. One gentleman recently paid $4,000
for the draping of two parlor windows and
a door, and this was not considered an ex-
travagant expenditure by the firm filling the
order. In short, it will be seen that a par
lor, dining-room or library may now, and
generally does, represent large outlay to
its owner before stock of furniture goes in
it, and in a direction, scarcely known. The
business which has grown in connection
with it has grown up within the last ten
years, and is now one of the greatest, most
extensive and most opulent in the city.
Where rooms were once fitted up for hun
dreds of dollars, they are now fitted up for
thousands. The furnishings of w. K Van
derbilts mansion cost about $3,0W,000.