The San Francisco call., 1899-10-28


Miss Anna Barrows. Mrs. Mary Roberts Smith.
nd Others,
| even for those grown up a few lessons in
colors will teach once for all which are
| ''cold," which warm and why. The
! erect on the eye of green versus red, the
meaning of complementary colors. the
place and use of harmony, with it's sense
of restfulness, and of contrast, with its
| stimulus, any intelligent adult can soon
! acquire. What art is to the household
and what the household is to art it is the
| province and business of the American
woman to know, and women have already
! made great advance in this branch of
knowledge. We take first
Floors, Their Finish and Treatment.
Let it be remembered first Of all that
! floor corresponds to the earth on which
! we tread, where. in spite of green grass
in its time, the general tint is a neutral
one, soft browns and grays predominant
/ ing. From dark to light is the ascending
| scale from floor to ceiling. AS to floor
| covering, sanitation adds its word to the
artists command, forbidding carpeted
! floors as the artist forblds the hideous
fowered creations on which former gen.
| Grafton loved to tread. Hardwood has be-
| come the ideal of finish; tiles, which are
| an even more perfect form, being as yet
| possible only to the wealthy, unless in
deed, an English form of mosaic is adopt
| ed, broken bottle and china and pottery
of all orders being laid in cement with q
very good effect for hall or vestibule But
| well cared for wood has its own lasting
! beauty, and this care means really less
| hard work than the constant sweeping
| of carpets If carpets are used it is an
excellent plan, where the rooms open into
| one another, to carpet in neutral shades
alike for all the rooms on floor, thus
giving the effect desired-the approxima-
=
| If rugs can be afforded there is nothing
of carpet nature so pleasing to the eye,
while their lasting quality is another ad-
vantage. In bedrooms mating can al
ways be used, and the Japanese jute rugs
will lend the necessary touch of color
The home of the future undoubtedly will
have tile or marble floors, to be covered
with rugs, since these floors mean all that
the hygienist demands, are beautiful to
the eye, easily cared for and as lasting as
the house itself. The modern parquet
| floor is objected to by the artist because
| of its crudely contrasting woods. The
| floor, it should always be remembered, S
merely background for what is placed
| upon it, and this at once puts out Of the
question brilliant colored designs, whether
in carpet or inlaid work of wood or stone
| For cottages denim is an excellent floor
covering and can be frightened by a rug
here and there, but hardwood or Georgia
pine should be used wherever possible.
Stairs require covering for the sake Of
avoiding noise, especially where there are
children, and carpets in this case should
be of strong, full colors and without pat
tern, If this be practicable. Patterns are
for horizontal surfaces, not for the ms
| and outs of a stairway.
Walls and Methods to Beautify Them.
It is taken for granted that an intelli-
! gent plan has arranged wall spaces with
some relation, at least, to the use of the
room. 1t is only recently, however that
the thought Of the best place for bureau
or bed, for the bookcases Of g. library,
for the sideboard in a dining-room has
been any part of the architects considera-
ton. The long narrow rooms Of city
| house are a great problem in this way,
| a fireplace being often in the center, with
a door directly opposite. The open fire,
which we must cling to for its cheerful
ness, has thus no privacy, and 1t is plain
at once that the door should be moved
| farther down, and, to balance matters, a
piece Of furniture nearly its height be
placed at corresponding distance. In
any really well-designed room there
| should be a dado not over two and half
feet high, finished for all simple houses
in sunken panelings and more strongly
marked holdings. The treatment of the
dado depends upon the furniture of the
| room, so that we have again reasons why
the mistress Of the house should under
stand what right building means. In all
noble edifices fresco painting, paneling or
tapestry hangings are the forms required
! by art. In the average house with
which we have to deal we trust to paper
for effects, and builders choose them be-
cause cheap plaster is thus hidden from
view. 1t would be better in every way
! to spend trif1e more on the best plaster
! and color the room according to our de-
sres. If this cannot be, the cartridge
! papers in neutral tints are all desirable,
and even the common brown paper used
! by butchers can be used with excellent
effect. But well-planned scheme of
! paneling preserves the architectural lines
and is far better, no matter how simple.
| Hangings of any sort, from chintz up to
satin, are unhealthful dust collectors and
| destroy the effect of solidity and per-
manency, which is part of the quality of
room. If possible panel with view
to the kind of picture that is to be hung,
since the effect of pictures is often de-
stroyed by massing different styles Of
| frames together. Where but a few
simple and fine pieces of furniture are to
| be placed in a room the walls may be
| decorated with design. Where the room
is to be like most of our modern rooms,
more or less of a museum. the walls must
be as unobtrusive as possible.
Ceilings and Their Handling.
Ceilings are of innumerable orders. We
| are familiar with the fiat one papered or
| frescoed. But we are beginning to learn
a few simple principles-for example, that
| a coved ceiling greatly increases the ap-
parent height of a low-studded room. A
heavy paneled ceiling must not rest on
walls without the coming between of a
strongly profiled cornice Wooden ceilings
are coming into favor, but are to be used
only in very high-studded rooms. Plaster
holdings we are outgrowing, and it is set
tied that we must not treat the ceiling
with wall patterns, since the angle of
view is different. Perfect plaster, we'll
! colored with a deeper neutral tint and
conventional border in fretwork or sim
| pie lines, is the best method for the ordi-
nary house. Stenciling can be used to ad-
| vantage, and the patterns are so easily
| done that a good many women have un-
dertaken the work themselves with great
success. But simplicity is always to be
! the law, no matter what the form chosen,
! leaving elaborate schemes to professional
| decorators.
/