Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-09
PLATE RAIL HARMONY

I have some really good Japanese or Chi
nese porcelain or china In blue ana
white, use IL, and use nothing else, un-
| less ii be some interesting little Japanese
| or Chinese knickknacks in brass-a gong
or tiny idol. perhaps
|
| Wedgwood is beautiful plate rail
| decorator If 1t is used alone; but I'M
| fortunately there are few of us who
possess enough Wedgwood to furnish
| a whole plate rail
| Brass can be effectively used on the
plate rail in a brown dining room. An
| tiaue brass can be mixed with modern
brass II it is carefully mixed, of course,
however good collection of small
brass-or bronZe-antiques would make
an ideal decoration for the brown din
ing room. The plate rail, furnished In
brass. can be brought into harmony
with the rest of the room if brass
andirons are used in the fireplace and
brass fern dishes and jardinieres are
used.
Modern pottery can be safely and
artistically used if care Is taken In its
choice and arrangement
If modern pottery is used. 1t is well
to choose the whole furnishing of the
plate rail at once. There is certain
brown and cream colored ware in the
market now that could be used eff
fectively In the room where yellow or
brown predominates. The ware is
decorated with peasant scenes.
For instance there is candlestick
showing a peasant woman, basket on
arm. silhouetted against an evening
| sky. There is plate with a man
blowing the brown EARTH outlined
against a yellow, early-norning sky
Another piece shows a woman driving
geese. and still another shows child
| leading a COW.
III TN
ground is always in the same tones-a
yellow sky and dark brown earth be-
meath. The figures are silhouetted in
dark colors against the bright sky
There are many good designs in
| Royal Doulton of various sorts that
can be chosen. Only they should be
chosen with definite idea in mind of
the other pieces with which they are
to rank and of the room they are to
decorate.
In the charming dining room of
man who has travelled much there is an
interesting collection of candlesticks
on the plate rail. But the candlesticks
gathered there are all brass, wood or
copper. They come from the ends of
the earth. There is even-branched
candlestick from Jerusalem. and a
rudeiy hewn. weather worn candle
stick from a peasant home in Holland.
There Is a highly wrought candlestick
from Florence, and lamp from
Pompeii They are as different as can
dlesticks could be, but they are all in
harmony because their color harmon
lies.
The owner of these brass, copper and
wooden candlesticks possesses many
others, of many different colors and
materials. He judiciously keeps these
in other places. apd groups them in
such way that they harmonic with
one another and with their surroundings.
That is the whole secret of making
the plate rail successful. No one likes
to see a private house furnished as
If ii were a museum. A conglomerate
collection of curios on the living room
table. relics of a forgotten past on the
dining room plate rail. a row of use
less knickknacks, interesting though
they may be, on the bedroom fireplace
mantel-all these things are strangely
suggestive of the old-fashioned corner
cabinet where stuffed canaries under
glass domes hobnobbed with babies
first shoes and gilded jars made of
putty stuck with shells and shoe but
tons.