Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-06-22
To BRIGHTEN DARK ROOMS.

1t must not be forgotten, in fitting
up rooms, that the color and texture
of the wall finish or paper has very
much to do with the results. The soft
surfaced papers, in the various shadea
of terra Gotta most affected by artists,
are simply dungeon-like when used in
rooms in which the light is defective.
A light-colored, rather glossy surface
should therefore ,be selected, and
care should be taken to consider
whether the room is large or small, as
upon this depends the size of the figure
and the general result of the finished
Job.
Very light paper, with bits of gold,
while not as desirable as a background
for picture and the like, is much more
satisfactory in dull light, provided
one has anything 10 do but idle. The
dim religious" is not the color for the
| industrious. 1t belong solely to art
exhibitions ana quiet contemplation.
OF course, 1t is restful, but Is not by
any means all of life. White and gold
are the most cheerful colors for ordin-
ary rooms, and gold. finished papers, il
carefully bought, are but little more ex-
peEsive than some of the hideous ones
/ y
have rooms expressly for leisure, and
in which they may arrange the art
treasures of the household, they may
revel in terra Gotta TO their hearts con-
/ tent. In this case a narrow picture
m molding of gold, or, as some prefer, of
ebony, will be the preferred wall fin
! ish.
A new and rather taking style of hall
] 1aaArofiAr, .
ranged on the wall, shows enormous
patterns-life- size hunting scenes, land
scapes with animals, and the like.
! There are revivals of the old-fashioned
/ cottages and pagodas, with fountains
very old china. These are shown in
| Iife-size, and are, of course, suitable
only for large wall spaces.
| The mistake of putting large figures
into small houses must not be made.
1t suggests too close quarters to be
| pleasant or comfortable.
There are very pretty Japanese
papers, with figures, fountains, and the
! quaint characters with which we are
| familiar. Some of these designs re-
! duire two widths of paper to give them
in their completeness, but are not large
and aggressive, like those previously
mentioned. Indeed, conventionalized
| japanese is rarely obtrusIve, but is
J quaint and restful, as well as illustra-
tive of the artistic and painstakine
| peculiarities of this curious people.
There is a great deal of attention
Just now given to withdrawing. This
is very pretty as well as very simple.
kalsomine of soft coat, about the
consistency of the last finish of wall
plaster, is put on, and instead of being
made smooth, as is usually the case, is
laid on rough, and If desired, may be
parted with trowel or stiff brush to
give still more roughness. When this
Is dry or nearly so, the figures may be
laid on with q brush and stencil die.
set of stencils may be obtained al
any large color shop. They come IN
various figures, and are useful for diff
ferent purposes; or one may, after ex-
amining a single pattern, cut stencils
after ones own fancy. A wreath,
figure, flower, or any design, may be
chosen, and the cutting done on the
same principle as will be observed in
the purchased design. This is very
simple, and one or two experiments
| will enable the amateur to produce
fairly good results. OF course, prac-
tice makes perfect in this as in every
thing else; but for an ordinary wall,
with ordinary material, there is no diff
ficuIty whatever in the work.
A very light gray ground, with blue
or gold fieur de-lis, will make pretty
wall. A dado, extending up from the
base board about two or two and hall
feet, may be put in slightly darker
gray Au edge of overlapping leaves
as band, next to the main field of
the wall, will make a neat finish.
The frieze should be about eight to
sixteen inches from the ceiling down
the wall, depending on the beIght OF
the room. A very high ceiling will
permit a much wider frieze than q low
one.
1t should always be borne IN Tnind
that the lower portion of the wall
should be IN a darker shade than the
upper portion; that is, if there is any
difference at all. Otherwise the room
will have an upside-down look, which
is very difficult, if not impossible, to
manage in an artistic fashion. .-Nea,
York Ledger.