Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-09-02
DECORATIONS OF TIE HONE
Beauty and Comfort Combines with Use
Convenience and Strength.
SOME SUGGESTIONS ON HOUSE HARDWARE
Designs in Door Knobs and Other Fit
n tinss that HarmOnize with Archi-
lecture and Decorations and
Add Elegance to AN

Aua Eiegnnce to All
As the art Of building has developad
through the various stages from the crude
primitive shelter from the elements dug In
the hill side or rudely fashioned from
boughs or stones, to the great variety Of
modern day structures built for every use
and equipped with every device that human
ingenuity can devise for the convenience
and comfort OF men. the combination Of
beauty and utility has been more and more
accumulated until today there lie scarcely a
device In the whole catalogue Of such con-
veniences that is not in some degree
ornamental. The conveyance of every
utility that is introduced into the building
that Is exposed to view, the lighting, the
heating or the plumbing-must to meet
modern approval be a thing Of beauty. The
necessity of knob or a lock Is made the
occasion for some decorative attachment,
while the real hinge upon the door swings
Is effectively disguised under some fancy
hinge plate that is purely a surface at
tachment and serves only an ornamental
purpose.
And not satisfied with merely concealIng
the necessary unattractiveness of the con-
veyances of these utilities, the modern
builder demands that each and all of them
shall enter into general harmonious
scheme that in turn must follow some gen.
eral style of architecture employed In the
building. or at least in the room where
such fixtures occur. From these larger
fixtures that afford opportunity for a more
elaborate working out of the ornate to the
smallest details Of the minor fittings this
n.
extent that has come to make the hard
ware, heating, plumbing and light fixtures
among the most important and costly de-
tails OF the building. especially of the
modern residence. 1t has been estimated
by practical builder that these supplies
consistently used will aggregate about one
sixth to one-tenth Of the cost Of the
residence.
And in no part OF the house is profess
sionnl judgment more essential than in the
selection OF these fittings and fixtures.
Consistency IL the main essential and only
educated judgment can be relied upon to
secure this. Many a handsomely finished
room has been hopelessly marred by an in
consistent chandelier or Inappropriate hard
ware More than almost anything else will
-,this sort OF discord destroy the harmony of
q room and the selection of these furnish
tngs Is as much an art as the selection of
the draperies. the furniture or the wall
decorations, for they are the subtle touches
that can cheaper the handsomest interior
finish beyond redemption or rescue even an
inferior room from conimonplec eness-
The person who insists upon installing
fixtures merely because they are handsome
or costly does so at great risk. such things
are not to be considered independently. and
It IL their careless selection that Is often
responsible for the hopeless oheapening OF
many home that has cost enough to have
secured better results.
Considering the time. the money and the
intelligence that is expended on the produce
ton OF this branch of interior decoration,
there seems little excuse for anything but
perfect harmony, and some small idea of
this expenditure may convey to the average
person better appreciation OF it's value.
1t does not occur to everyone for instance,
as he puts his hand on his front door knob
for which, with the lock he may have paid
from $50 to -. that the design on that
knob and plate together with its production
represent an outlay OF all the way from
$1,000 to $4,000. The designing Of almost
anything is an art, and of hardware par
ticularly. is art that has to be we'll
paid for. That is the first item and when
the design has been worked out It has to
be applied and the article costs in proper
ton to this design and the material upon
which II is used.
One design or pattern may be modified
for use on every bit OF ornamental hard
ware employed In a rooul-the door knobs,
plates and hinges the window lifts and
locks or the drawer pulls There is a gen.
erous variety OF patterns to suit every style
Of architecture and the person who can
not make a selection from among these,
for an ordinary house. may rely upon 1t
that the fault lies with his own taste
Not infrequently, however. these trimmings
are especially designed for certain uses as
In some OF the moro costly lodge and fra
ternity houses. for instance. where the In
sigma of the order or some of its emblems
are employed In a general decorative design
There are to be had at least a dozen DIFF
ferent styles OF colonial fixtures for combi-
nation with colonial architecture. The
delicate graceful French designs are also
TO be had IN as many different patterns and
periods while the Italian and Greek. and the
Gothic In French. German and English, af-
ford a variety that leaves no possible ex-
euse for discord.
These various designs are carried out in
from ten to a dozen different finishes and
metals. There are the wrought steel, the
cast iron. the wrought bronze. the cast
bronze, brass and even glass. and these are
treated TO variety Of finish. The detail
work Of the cast fixtures Is necessarily
inner than that OF the wrought as that
process admits OF stronger relief. In conse-
quence they are more expensive
But whether the most costly fixtures be
used or the very piainest. there is no need
nowadays for inharmonious effects.
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