The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1892-05-20
TO BEAUTIFY CHEAPLY.
HOW TO GIVE PLEASING TONE TO
A ROOM AT SLIGHT COST.

OF walls and ceilings hard nut to crack,
even when the house is their own, and g
moders te expenditure of money for tn
purpose quite within their reach. But
when the apartments are rented with the
prospect ef fitting to some others at no
very rem ,te period staring one In the
face, the question what to do with the
Ilank vdGite walls becomes almost On
ungursSbls conundrum. 1t is even
worse wien an attempt at decoration.
resulting in an atrocious combination OF
colors, has been made.
Where economy is the prime object.
distemper. may be resorted to, although
it is doubtful if anything SO pershable
as distemper is really economical. Flat
ted oil paint is far better on account of
the readiness with which it lends itself
to thorough cleansing with soap and
water Having settled upon either one
OF the other the question of tint suggests
itself. Here the situation Of the room,
its size and height, and, with old house
Keepers who have many furnishings to
which the walls must serve as back
ground, the question of harmony and fit
ness enter in. Shall the tint be light or
dark, positive or broken color?
/ What is the color of the wood work
These are questions which each one must
ask and answer before settling upon any
/ tint or tone.
1t is safe in our Climate to decide upon
warm rather than a cold tint of n me-
dunn depth of stone, and a broken rather
than a positive color. Another safe
guard is to make the walls lighter than
the wood work, and the golden rule to
have the coloring always become brighter
as 1t ascends must not be ost sight of.
Thus, If the frieze is strong and deep in
coloring tue walls must be somewhat
darker and tile floor covering darker still.
1t is best also to lean toward harmony of
analogy than to contrasts when dealing
with large surfaces
After the wall is tinted simple STEM
Gil pattern may be applied all over, or
merely as frieze. If the latter is used
1t must be purely conventional, picked
out with gold or some Of the colored
bronzes. Here another point should be
observed. To many persons gold is gold,
and they have vague idea that it is vel.
low. Yellow gold answers admirably in
many cases, but with olive, or gray, or
blush greens the effect will be decidedly
better if the. gold inclines strongly to
red. 1t is better, too, to confine the gold
to delicate lines or touches than to splash
1t all over the walls, which causes them
to appear to be closing in. The stenciled
frieze is more troublesome than to apply
frieze of paper. These are, even the
cheapest Of them, good in color and de-
sign. Another advantage in using the
paper frieze is that length Of it may be
pinned or tackled to the wall and the ef.
feet studied before it is permanently ap-
piled.
The ceiling, must, Of course, be lighter
than the side walls, and, unless the room
be very small, border Of the same or
similar border to the frieze, but Of a lighter
tint and less decided pattern, is desirable.
In this matter the individual taste Of the
decorator will assert itself and one will
with these simple and expensive means
bring harmony where another would
only succeed in working discord.
The foregoing outlines cheap method
OF dealing with walls and ceilings, but
the cost of even this method is serious
matter in some cases. The white walls
are grievous. The prettiest Of furnish.
ings appear at their worst against such
background Where the coarse gray
mortar is left without finishing" coat
OF hard finish" it is somewhat better,
but even then it is bad enough. Some.
thing must be done. II one is blessed
with the coarse gray plaster, fringe of
paper or stencil extending to the picture
rail will do much to mitigate the bare
ness Of the walls. A similar decoration
on the ceiling will help matters. II the
walls are hard finished" the whiteness
must be gotten rid of. Perhaps the
simplest and cheapest way to do this is
to cover them with common brown pack
ing paper. This, with a cheap paper
frieze. or with simple conventional
stenciled frieze, may be made to work
wonders. Because q thing is cheap it
need not be inartistic. and a harmony in
color may be worked out in the most in.
expensive materials.
To still lessen the expense one may se-
lect some of the pretty papers offered by
dealers in paper hangings, that if well
chosen are very effective. The best,
which may also be the cheapest, are those
in which all the colors of the rainbow are
mingled in such manner as to produce
an effect Of gray, or brown, or terra
Gotta, or olive, or any tint that is re-
quired. Two Of these may be combined
with good effect Cheaper still, and by
no means ineffective, is tiuting the
"whitewash" the desired shade. This
makeshift, however, can not be recon-
mended except for rooms that are very
little used. The white, or whatever
color wash, will rub off with the slight.
est provocation, will spot with water,
even the slightest dampness will discolor
1t, and vexation Of spirit will be the result.
Still, it may be made to a4e.ver as a der.
nier resort, and is better1A bare, white
walls. which are sepulchfM in the ex.
treme. Schemes Of color will suggest
themselves to tile artistic eye, and the
economical mind will find ways and
means To cnrry then out in ono UNIV or