The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1903-11-14
CONTRAST Or HARmoHY.



Consciously 81 unconsciousiy, the
tendency. IS to be ruled by contrast in the
decoration and furnishing Of ones house.
+ one has mahogany furniture one ID
inclined, and very naturally and juati-
nablys 70 emphasize IT'S Eicn tones ~ 3
soft green oil light coIored wan for con-
trast; with Old oak, one would have 3
RED or blue wall paper for the same rea-
son, says the Brooklyn Eagle. One COM
trasts purple with amber. rose with
greens cream or ivory with some icate
but decided color from kind Of Instinct
tnat contrast means variety and variety
gives interest The instinct Is BY no
means wrong, for q jUdicious contrast
can hardly fail to be pleasing, and We
have natures own warrant for making
use Of contrasts, her own being more
varied than those Of the Kaleidoscope ia
their endless combinationsan and read JUST
ments Of color, Still, there are oecas
stons, on which monotone is to be chosen
rather than several colors, and this Is
particularly the case where rooms Of
limited size have to be dealt with, In
which variety, too strongly insisted
upon, would prove destructive to any.
thing like restfulness Of eject. An in-
stance that may be recalled as. a con-
vtncing case In point is that OF a dining-
room In which the furniture was Of par.
ticularly fine mahogany Of just the tone
wherein q deep, rich note Of red makes it.
self felt Instead Of bringing this out by q
background Of contrasting color, or EN-
phasizing the somewhat massive plain-
ness Of the furniture By an assertive de-
sign in the wall paper, the owner made
a singularly happy choice, for the latter
was Of delightful shade Of plain red
This, as it we're, drew into ITSELF the
red Of the mahogany, so creating a beau-
tiful harmony Of color, and giving an
effect Of space to the room. Another
successful illustration Of this principle
\ was to be seen in the drawing room Of
the same house, which was papered with
an exquisite French silk paper in a soft
shade Of green. A choice collection OF
sevres and other delicate china formed
one Of the chief adornments Of the room,
enshrlned IN cabinets of satin wood. II
\ order 10 accentuate the eloring Of the
i porcelain, In the opinion of some, a back.
ground Of rose or Of dark colored velvet
or silk was called for. Here, again, how.
! ever, the advisahility Of monotone was
demonstrated, and the lining selected fol
the cabinets was a brocade Of the same
shade. Of green as the wall paper, This
/ eve was thus directed without distrac.
don to the lovely coloring Of the china
while, egain, an effect of space was OBJ
tanned which is but too seldom thought
OF In the ordinary, medium-sized room
Touches of subdued rose or clear ivory
were Of course introduced in the up-
i holsteries and accessories, serving, how
ever, purely as a foil to the predominat.
ing green which impaired to the room its
charm Of restfulness and yet gave the
fullest value to every detail Of its orna.
ments.
Where broad spaces, demanding effec-
tive color and striking decoration, have
to be treated, contrast is an invaluable
auxiliary, but examples such as those
just given prove the contention that, in
many cases, harmony and unity Of ef-
feet are Of equal or even Of greater
worth.