The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-03-31

furnishing, and decoration in It's gar
dens and grounds. am not salts
fled to suggest a certain style by the
architecture of my houses and then
3disappoint the Investigator on every
side; on the contrary. am urged by
the artistic impetus Of the times to
carry out the suggestion in rounded
and beautiful completeness. a vast
amount OF culture5and forethought now
goes into the design OF a house. The
builder is no longer satisfied with a
&nondescript house which gives him
merely 8 comfortable home to live IN,
but he must have something in CO.
lonial, Spanish or Italian style. In
building Colonial house the amount
of actual space which the structure Is
to cover is of less Importance than
in the case OF Spanish or Italian archi-,
lecture. It is. therefore, better fitted
for city house than either OF these.
other styles. Beautiful Spanish houses
are now to be seen at Newport and
near Boston, while the Italian villa Is
becoming a popular model for tho
country home Of America. The Colonial
house may, upon occasion, be made to
spread its wings and porticos over
much ground, or Its lines may be 4un-
broken and compact, but It never ram
bles. Also the grace and dignity Of
classic simplicity should Invest 1t; yet
| there are architects-alas, great
Inumber of them-Who mistake the
bare, hard lines of an unfinished ex-
terior for this characteristic. They APP
! pear to consider that scantinesB and
| meagreness in ornamen tation means
artistic restraint, and they succeed in
| convincing the thoughtful observer
/ that they have failed utterly to catch
4 the true spirit Of the Colonial house.
The old Colonial mansion. as seen
! throughout the South does not sug-
gest a prison-house Of forbiddlng as
4 pect, but Is cheerful and spacious. Its
i rich front entrance Offering welcome
porticos and balconies removing eff
/ fectually every thought Of stiffness
4 from an outline which Is singularly
i pure and unworried with trifling de-
tails.
In the fitting and furnishing of q
Colonial house the difficulties which
confront the decorator are akin te
those which the architect has to face
TO make q drawing room furnished
on purely Colonial lines comfortable
4 easy and luxurious in effect when the
furniture shows the severity Of Shere
ton, Chippendale and HippleWhlte do
signs requires absolute genius. There
q are, however, so many accessories .tt
this style of furnishing which may bt
Z made use of to modify the baroness
and lessen the stiffness Of the effec
that it Is possible to render such}&t
Il lEroom absolutely charming and salts
II factory. These accessories are not al
ways known to the uninitiatcd, ant
Lat might be we'll to- enumerate then
here. There are certain features, ais
of interior architectural work which
are necessary and are sometimes neg
q lected. Tho elliptic arch, for example
Is far more beautiful and appropriat
in the finish of such q house than tn
square opening between apartments
and While elaborate ceiling decoration
are out of place and do not confor1
to the simplicity which Is the key
note of the style. there should Away
lie a cornice fitted into the angl
Il formed by the side wall and the cell
ing,
There arc several ways of treatln
q Colonial han, all of which are equal
effective. Alphabetically IT may
arched and pillared or It may be mere
Y Is a wide passagsway through ~
I house, In all cases AZ should be spa
q cious and tnYitlng, and should shol
! fine stairway The characterlstl
! points which mark q Colonial stairWa
4 arc; The broad and easy 'treads
z which may be either painted whit
IS and carpeted or of polished mahog an