The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-06-12
C0L0RS FOR ROOMS

-
WHY SOME ARE REGARDED AS
MORE DESIRABLE THAN 9TH
ERS.
A man who has given the subject much
thought has laid own a few rules which
are worth thinking about. Il have not,
said he, put yellow into a sitting room
In 10 years with the exception Of the lit
tie that gets into a gold paper, and when
I hear about whistler's yellow room it
makes me shudder.
"Yellows are all right for a hall or YES
Thule, but they must not be used in any
room in which one rests or reads or
works. Why? Because yellows do not
absorb n light, but are strong reflec-
tors, and the reflected rays Of light are
not only trying to the eyes but posltlvely
affect the brain and the spirits, creating
a distinct disturbance Of the nervous
centers. So the modern scientific decor
ator, at any rate, tells us. and we believe
him.
ION the other hand buff n creams
| are recommended for the nursery and
children's sleeping rooms, because OF
their tonic qualities. The are better
than white, which is apt to disturb the
young optic nerves of it's brilliancy, and
| are calculated to impart a cheerful but
not too boisterous temperament as Well
as a good complexion to the youngsters.
For the library or work room there is
no color like coffee. Coffee, in fact. is the
most soothing thing in the color world,
it seems. 1t induces a pleasant nlrVana
feeling such as nothing else does; in con-
duces to habits of speculative thought;
it produces a philosophical calm, ana II
is eminently successful as a mild lncen-
tive to literary efforts. Indeed, there
seems to be some delicate and abstruse
| connection between coffee as a beverage
and coffee as a color for domestic decor
alton. I suggested something OF this sort
to the handsome and interesting young
artist who was experimenting the dec
grafton, and he condescended to agree
with me.
IT have learned one really important
fact about colors, however. | used to
imagine that there was no color SO cool
as white, but 1 nave been taught that, to
the contrary, the coolest Of all colors is
red-not the f1aring, glazing red, but the.
dull, Pompeiian red and terra Gotta.
These are cool because of their peculiar
ly absorbent qualities. 1t is almost i'm
possible to light or warm them, ana !
a today a most convincing object les
son of this fact-that while the cool
white room Of the Wordsworthian poem
is all very nice to read about, ana does
at first sight impress one as being such,
it does not begin to compare in DIN
with one in red. A visit to the two
rooms had just the same cooling effect
on me that is produced by passing from
sunshine into shadow. OF course you
know l am speaking all the time of inte-
rior decoration, although I am not sure
whether a terra Gotta town would not be
considerably cooler than a whitewashed
one. So you see the old Pompeiians were
right when they cooled off their atria
and patios by painting the town red. The
only other color which approaches Pom
peiian red for GOODNESS, so the elegant
and artistic young workman told me, is
dark green. but it has been found to have
so depressing a mental effect on most
people tina it is very sparingly used.
Then l was told lots about mass effects,
distance shadows and length lines, and I
don't know what else, but quite enough
to convince me that the decoration of our
house interiors is conducted upon a plane
so lofty that it is impossible to say
whether it is an artistic science or a sci
entifc art."-From the Upholsterer.