The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1899-07-22
CONCERNING FLOORS.
now They Can Re Covered to the Best
AdyRntnEe--A Mixture
for staining,


The shaped and fitted carpet has very
wisely been superseded TO a great eN-
tent, by the bordered square, which is
much more economical means of coy
ering the floor, and decidedly adyan'
tageous from a hygieuic point of view
The square carpet is lcss expensive
70 make, It is easily taken up and re-
laid thus being kept free from dust
II can be turned about in order TO equal
ile the wear, and can always be adapted
TO serve i'm another room.
Much of the effect of the square car.
pets depends upon the surround,
that is, the treatment of the margin Of
the floor, and il is very necessary that
in selecting we bear in mind the fact
that we really want a good background
for the carpet, something that will
show mp the colors as well as the design
For this reason plain materials are
the best, and the color should be as un0b
trusiye as possible. The usual depth
of the margin I'm room of medium size
is from Il 10 25 inches, but i'm small
room 70 inches win be sufficient depth
otherwise il dwarfs the apparent size
of the apartment. One of the very
incest margins lis of thin parquet, which
is exactly like the solid parquet in APP
pearanee, but much less expensive, be-
ing from five cents per square foot. u
can be laid over the existing floor
without any preparation, and can be
easily relaid and removed when necea.
sary. For dining or morning room II
is specially appropriate and looks eN.
ceediugly well as a surround to q
Turkey or any oriental carpet,
There are now many linoleums made
in the parquet designs, and there are
also excellent margins slightly less
expensive than the thin parquet or plain
cork carpet; very effective, and about
the same price. When this is used the
color chosen should be the same as the
predominating dark tone in the carpet
never lighter, or it becomes too no
ticeable. Felt is very often used as Q
surround, but its dust-collectiug pro.
pensities make it very unsuitable FOR
the purpose, and an equally good eff.
feet can be got with KalSuc, material
made of Lutte, which is quite inexpensive
and much more easily kept clean.
As a very rich surround plain Wilton
carpet can be used, but this, of course
is de luxe. Mattings OF various kinds
such as string, Chinese and Japanese
are all very nice margins, and the lasi
named for preference, as il is the finest
and wears the best. For bedrooms
these are particularly appropriate, as
they look so fresh and clearly, and they
can be kept nice with such a sma.
amount of labor by simply wiping with
a damp cloth every morning.
Light linoleums in mating designs
are good for the purpose, and only
slightly more expensive the eN,ra wear
compensating for the difference in
price. The most economical margin is
stain and varnish, which looks very
well indeed if the floor boards are in
good condition. The combined stain
and varnish can be employed for the
purpose, or we may have something
more durable II we use nome ludQt
mixture, such as the following:
One quart of cold drawn hnseed oil
half an ounce of rose pink and foul
ounces of alkanet root. Let the mix
ture stand three or four days by the
fire, stirring well occasionally and il
will then be fit for use.
After the floor has had a coating OF
thin glue water, the stain should be APP
piled with a large whitewash brush
and, when the first application is thor
oughly dry, not before, a second coat
may be given, and so on until the re.
quired color is obtained. The polishing
is then done with a flannel and bees
wax. Sometimes fluid is used as a stain
but it does not give quite the effect OF
oak or mahogany, or any of the various
woods which the prepared stain inii-
tates so successfully. A parquet effect
can be obtained by staining the margin
in geOmetrical designs with transp2r-
ent stain and afterward vanishing,
and this treatment is very durable and
decorative.
In bedrooms, where the woodwork is
painted white, the margin of the floor
may be treated in like manner, but
with dark paint it is entirely out Of the
Observation-Disclosures Times.