The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-28
Have a Beautiful House
Does Not Mean a Costly One
An Artistic Home Is More a Result of Taste Than of Money
Iay-An Homes Nay be Anraetixe

of the lower panel is the counterfeit of a
carved wreath. The oak Of the wreath is
or a different color and a different grain
from that of the panel. The panel itself is
surrounded with some pressed oak molding,
while into It's surface has been stamped a
crude copy of one of the traditional orna-
ments. There Is a projecting piece of
clumsily nodded oak woodwork below the
glass. The design of the glass is foliated
and has more than one colored flower grow
ing from the same conventional vine. Some
OF IL is beveled, some cathedral glass, of
many inharmonious colors. all lined in cop
per tracery. This glass is as ugly as money
and bad taste can make IL. There are six
square feet of 1t, and the owner tells his
friends with pride that he paid $500 a square
foot for it. The glass in the beautiful door
cost to cents a foot.
What is said of the doors of these two
houses applies, in a general way. to the
staircases, the inside doors, the mantels,
the tile work. and the fittings and furnish
lngS. The pretentiouSly ugly house has a
tower, and in the roof there are dOrmers
which are in no way related to the general
design Or one side of the house is a fussy.
fragile little balcony. The end of the sit
ting-room has the corners rounded. The
glass is bent and catches the light uncer-
tainly.
MISPLACED DECORATION.
To continue the spirit of unrest, one end
of the porch is round. and the balusters,
posts, cornice and gables are Uttered up
with badly-jointed bits of turnings, jig
sawed work and a little rude carving. The
gables, each a little different from the 9TH
er, might be mistaken for triangular sam
pie boards of planing-mill jig-saw work.
There Is so much of this material, there
are so many features, counting the tower
and dormers, the gables. the impressive
chimneys. the balcony, the irregular porch
and roundc corners, that the general charac-
ter of the construction and elegance of
finish had TO be sacrificed in order to get
them all together in one house.
These people wanted what they called a
stylish house. They were ambitious and
energetic, but the energy was misdirected.
The very effort which they expended In an
attempt to make the house beautiful. in
point OF fact. made il ugly. If some of the
excrescences and trimmings were removed
and certain features and detail which rep
artistic value or the structure would be
increased.
Many people think they are decorating
their houses when they are merely adding
confusion and expense to both surface and
outlines. Ii is well to bear in mind that
no amount of decoration, even If good. can
add value TO a building which is not beau
tiful when considered in mass and proper
ton alone Good form costs no more than
bad form. Good proportion costs no more
than bad proportion. a mass pleasing in it.
self Is not more expensive than an ugly
mass. tremendously combined color is no
more expensive than inharmOniOus color.
Well-designed decoration, properly applied
viii add TO the artistic value of n house
which Is well designed in the mass and pro-
portion. But any amount of inartistic dec
GRAFTON makes more offensive. n poorly pro-
portioned structure and only lady de-
signed in the mass.
Our artistic house. the one with the rret-
~. well-designed front door, would have
been beautiful and attractive, would have
commanded respect and admiration from
every one had II not had one square inch
OF decoration on any part Of the structure.
The proportion and torm We're good. This
being accomplished the proper application
OF certain well-designed decoration had the
effect of adding a degree OF refinement and
simple elegance which could not have been
possible had not the elementary form in IL
self been beautiful and dignifed. Decoration
may emphasize uglinSss or IL may accent
uate beauty. Decoration is not necessary
10 any well-designed structure. but good
form aud proportions are positive. definite.
memorable requirements. II Is cutie as
important that the people should know this
= that the architects should know il.