Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-03-22
ENGLISH HOMES.
A GLANCE AT THE INTERIOR OF THE
ENGLiSHMAN'S CASTLE.
Where the Englishman Builds His Castle
Dull and Uncheery Decorations
Furniture and Arrangement Of
the Rooms Generally.
Robert Laird Collier in Chicago News.

Robert Laird Collier in Chicago News.
In the midst of this landscape world the
Englishman builds his house. And his house
is his castle. 1t is the center Of his life and
of his interests. His house is usually Of
red brick and of two stori,s, with higA
wall all around it. An Euglishman likes to
be shut in. The sea shuts him in. and he Is
therefore born to it The best part of his
house is at the back His drawing room
and dining room front back. In all the
houses where have been, except, perhaps,
two very modern ones, the front Of the
house is taken up with the kitchen or offices
of the house, such as buffers pantry and Law
atory. Most suburban and country houses
are square. with a central hall and rooms
arranged around it. The doors are small,
and. indeed, the windows and all openings
are small. The rooms are larger-larger
than in this country or in France or Ger
many In the middle-class houses there
would be drawing room, dining room, sitting
room, and perhaps billiard-room on the first
floor, besides large space given to kitchen
and pantries The outside Of the house Is
almost uniformly without architectural
decorations The dullness Of the climate is
seen in the somberness Of the furniture and
the uecpratlOns OF tno nOuSe.
cannot say Iadmire the inside of most
English houses, for they are dull and un-
CHEEKY. 1t is perfectly true, as the French
say, that nothing screams" and it is also
perfectly true that that nothing sings
There is no joy, no slight and sweetness,
in the color. form, and expression of the
house. Matters are mending, and the
more modern, or rather the quite re-
cent fashions in house decoration, are Of
lgher and more brilliant tones Up to
within five years the woodwork was all
dark, usually grained in walnut or
very dark oak, and the furniture was ma
hogany, of very heavy and ungainly con-
struction. This. however, must be said,
that the chairs were for use, and were very
comfortable. There is spirit Of comfort
about an English home that is very marked
that is, if one can only dissociate the idea
of art from that of comfort. The sofa is
easy and big, and just the thing to lie down
upon. There is sofa cushion and a sofa
rug or wrap; the cushion is soft and the
wrap is warm, and the whole arrangement
is snug and inviting to rest and ease. But
the cushion and the wraps are almost sure
to be offensive to the eye Of art The colors
are almost sure to be atrocioua Nine times
in ten there will be a dash Of lavender and
Of purple in both The common people OF
England have no sense Of proportion or Of
color. The wealthier classes have more
taste, but the nation has more pronounced
merits than esthetic ones.
All English houses that Irsmembsr to
have seen are papsred. The walls are never
PAINTED, as in this country and on the con-
tinent. The papers used are very dark and
OF very large patterns. The colors used in
upholstering are dark and the effect, there
fore. of the room is heavy and. in fact
ploomv The baavv sk;es and duil atmos-
ao,,rs ond oh.srs, Sso,..,o". s h,,. ,..,,t ~
.oos anu en ue. .1t", S1' nn'oa" W
oeiiis masters Oh the chmate lney are saves
10 IL Inc masslveness OF tne furnisure Is
its prime and most noticeable character
istic This is peculiarly 20 of the
furniture of the dinin1.room The sideboard
is always a mos, anor,,ous and urv;.Idlv.s.
60 "a 80 ;. ~ -. a.. - .Sa..:~ -.
.In ana upu ~ sno a nes- -o.s enu
'ue aInoi'ionS oi us iamiy. nn quiDe usu-
any the most expensive piece OF furniture In
the house, and it IS not only very big, very
high, very wide, and very long, but it is
carved and orpamented with bras trim.
minus II is in some s.n.. tba .vmhol ~
bosr;t.E,v Tna h;..,,it - :. 49,
~
s'ana'hs upon IT, ana the oecantes OK
spirits ana wines are always at nand. Tho
papering OF the dining room is always dark,
and on its walls are to be found most Of tho
oil paintinp belonging to thu family. Ths
tables and the chairs are Of a Kind With th.
s;dsbo.r,i-varv 10 rra .na 80 49,.
T,N 70. 81 ~ .e.y navy.
ne afa" soom rs nimoe' away e' ue
oacK oI the mouse and iooks out upon ths
garden, Tor II must be known that, however
large the grounds, the house = built quits
near the road and there is little or no front
garden; and there is almost sure to BE- quite
q high wall at the ut, so as to shut ofi the
house and grounds from the gaze and eyes
of the common herd. Many houses, indeed
all through the provinces, have gates
in these high walls with bells, and
the servant comes from tho house
to the outside gate to answer tho bell
The papsring OF the drawing room Il
of somewhat lighter color than that Of tie
other rooms Tne furniture il also les mas.
sive, and has just a tendency to decoration
and art The line is strictly drawn at water
color painting upon the walls. In no we'll
ordered English family does one ever see an
oil painting on the walls Of the rawin4-
ROOM have never been able to fully take
in the reason for this custom. l conjecture,
however, that the walls of the drawing-room
being lighter and Of more expensive paper
ing that it is deemed bad taste to cover them
up with great pictures and frames Water
C lors, moreover, are more in keeping with
the lighter tors of the room. So it il; you
never, under any circumstances, $50 oil
paintings in tie salon OF an English house.
The bedroom furnishings are Of like
brass bedstead has taken the place of the old
.four-poster," but the canopy is retained
The curtains are drawn for the night when
the bed is OSened. Day coverings and "pl-