The morning news., 1892-03-27
A THING OF BEAUTY.
How to Make Your Home "a Joy
as Forever"
(C0pVrf0ht)

| cleaning Is close at hand, and carpets will
be torn up. pictures taken down, walls re-
decorated and everything undergo a gen.
eral Transformation. At such a time sug-
gestions as to the latest and prevailing
styles for decorations will not come amiss.
or course the swells make their own styles.
They never copy any one else's, no matter
how magnificent it may be. And the
decorations OF walls. ceiling and floor are
all OF one period, be 1t one Of the Louis, the
renaissance or some other. Fabulous
prices are paid for this sort of thing, run
ming up from 50 500 TO $500 for one room,
as 1 was Informed by a well-known
decorator in this city.
The library of a mansion in this city,
owned by one of our millionaires, is deco
rated exactly like the library of an old Ger
man castle. The walls have a waiDscoting
Of oak six feet high, which Is black with age
Above the wainscoting the walls are CO 7ered
with Cordova leather in its natural buff
color. studded with heavy bronze nails
The ceiling has huge crossbeams OF the same
oak.
Joe Jefferson's drawing room Is paneled
and ceiled in oak, with bas-relief In plas-
ter of Bottom and the fairy Queen
| Titanan
HIS dining room walls are paneled in diff
ferent colored woods, aud the ceiling is laid
in square compartments In which are set
| Dutch tiles each painted In q different
| Hover or fruit.
Another magnificent residence In this city
has drawing room with walls covered in
| brocaded silk OF rich maroon. The freize
is in hand-painted stencil work, done in
feathery scrolls interwoven with ribbon ef-
fects on pale gold ground. The ceiling is
In fresco work in panel style, with mold
| ing in dull gray, and the panel renaissance
scrolls Of buff, cream and old gold. The
border lie also composed Of panels with the
pale gold ground, but painted with delicate
| sprays Of flowers.
A new style in decorating walls is to have
them laid with panels of tiles They are
done in figures and designs Of Louis XIV.
and Nv and also some of the Henris. The
| ground is fiat and the design brought out in
raised work. Tiles Of plain color make an
| effective bordering. If the border Is in dark
| green the walls between are covered with
heavy material Of the same color, snch as
| jut evelour. 1t gives an exceedingly rich and
striking effect. An extremely handsome
effect for drawing room is given by a satin
covering. 1t is woven into paper at the
back so that 10 can be applied as ordinary
wall paper. The groundwork is generally OF
/ rich creamy satin, and the flowers also iu
satin, are raised high from the ground
work. Handsome friezes adorn this aud
the ceiling is also in fresco work. The
frieze must always correspond with the
ceiling before the wall covering is at all
considered. Stripes are coming back. In
tact. many Of the styles that pre- rallied
twenty-five years ago are once more IN
vogue. These stripes make beautiful effects.
They come in rich, dark colors and are
made up in satin or silk finish, some in
moire. The curtains are always Of ma
terial 60 correspond exactly with the walls
in both shade and material. Stripes are
most effective In the Newport and summer
white and where they stand out strong In
bold relief
Materials for wall covering are very
popular at present. especially silk Very
dainty effects can be secured in this way,
aud although one eau be very reckless in
this direotion-paying from $9 to $40 per
yard for material-it is possible to get as
| good general effects on a very much lower
| expenditure. For rs cents very good silks
can be obtained. II the inmates Of the
house be clever end ambitious, they can
cover their own walls with materials
at a very small expense. Some of the
cretonnes come in rich. handsome col
orings and produce very fine effects. OF
course abe measurements must be taken
with great care before the work can be
commenced, but If that is done properly II
is easy enough. All the tacking must bs
covered with gimp. cord or molding. For
light summer rooms it is extremely pretty
TO cover the wall first with sileaia or cam.
brio of the desired shade. and over that
draw cream or white madras or sheer mus
lin. The old French style of covering the
walls in a series Of shirred panels is being
revived with festoon friezes.
or wall papers there is such great vari.
ETY. in both design and quality that it /,
difficult to particularize. Paper can be
bought from cents roll up to very steeE
prices, and the styles must be selected with
| a view to the other decorations and furnish
ings. But after the color has been decided
upon good rule to follow is TO have the
walls OF medium shade. the frieze two Oh
three shades lighter and the ceiling lighter
still. All-over patterns are used to great
extent. In some cases the frleze is repeat.
ed on the ceiling for a border; but this
should never be done unless the ceiling 1,
sufficiently high 10 stand it. Sometime.
the frieze is put at the bottom Of a dado
and simply gold molding at the top, which
gives the effect OF woven hanging. Ever
the cheaper papers are made in imitation OF
fanrics-moire, ohangeable and gros grain
silks, velvets, satns, brocades and tapes
tries
Although it sounds little somber, very
good effects can be had from black wood
work. The one thing TO avoid is having
the color dull. Sufficient shellac must be
applied to give it luster. and then, with
pale, tinted walls, the effect is extremely
beautiful. A wall looks well, also, covered
from skirting board to within about {
feet OF ceiling in plain color with richly col
ored papers as frieze.
| An original ceiling for dining room is
covered with finely woven mating, which
Is secured by narrow strips Of bamboo
placed at regular intervals.
Very delicate papers may be had for ups
per rooms, in fine patterns of pale oolorings,
intertwined with gold. Bridal chamber.
are broad fields, where the art OF the dec.
orator may come into very full play.
simply the wall covering for one now be-
ing furnished in this city will cost $1,000.
There Is almost as great variety in floor
coverings as in walls Decorators make
great efforts to do away with carpets for
hoors, as 80 much inner artistic effects can
be obtained with an inlaid floor aud rugs
But, In spite of this fact, carpets continue tc
be greatly In demand. There Is charm
about the feeling Of a rich carpet as the foot
sinks down into It that can ba equnled by
no hoor, however polished, or no rug, how.
ever antique aud costly OF texture. An.
other polnt ia favor Of the carpet also, Il
its moderate cost, although this would
weigh very little with the fnrnisher Of 4
royal mansion. An extremely rich AKmin.
ster can b. had for ~ 90 or e. per yard
aud II the room takes hfty yards - cover Il
the expense would 10 only also, Of oourss
| thR AnmfuEfags that sra ,..ua.a. ss.ttt, f.-s...