Evening star., 1924-04-11
ANNUAL CLEANING, PAPERING
AND DECORATING IN THE HOME

water must be used sparingly, be-
cause, II 1t seeps in, the paper will be
these rooms will make It more i'm,
nervious to moisture and steam and
will prevent it from peeline off.
The problem of decorating the
walls of a room. whether with wall
paper, paint or bangings, Is one that
requires more than taste. You Will
have to consider the exposure Of the
room; that 10, whether IL is to the
north, east, south or west; the height
and size of the room, and the amount
of light that comes into it.
1t is not safe TO decide upon wall
paper just from seeing a small sam
pie. After choosing the paper you
think you want, ask the dealer to
can get a look at a broad surface.
Then ask him to let you see 1T by
gas or electric light, whichever is
used in the room which is to be pa
by artificial light. Then, too, some
papers appear darker when on the
wall than off and others lighter when
on the wall than Oft.
It is not enough TO consider wheth-
cT the color of wall paper is warm or
cool. You must also decide whether
ii should be light or dark Color abb
serbs light, and the darker tho color,
want a room to look large, use light
paper. II you want it to look small.
use dark paper. Never put a. paper
with a large design on small, low
room. "A striped pattern with a small
lowered design is better for such a
room. A wall paper with vertical
stripes always gives the appearance
OF extra height to a room. Horizontal
lines. OF course, give room greater
apparent length. 1t should not be
question OF fashion whether you use
striped paper or not, but question
OF the shape and size of the room.
Attractive on Wall.
The new "putty"-coiored paper in
the roll or sample is rather unimpres-
sive, but on the wall il makes friends
al once. The softness of tone, warmth
of coloring and simplicity of design
there being almost no design at all
enable il to harmonize with almost
any furnishings. For those who live
in small rooms or apartments 1t Is
desirable to have a suite of rooms on
one floor with one kind of paper,
thus producing the effect of commo-
dious quarters. when in reality the
rooms are often cramped and small.
The severity of this mode OF treat
ment may be relieved by carrying out
different color schemes of furnishings
in the different rooms and regarding
the walls simply as backgrounds. II
followed in painstaking fashion this
method. which is growing in general
favor, will prove more interesting
of having q different paper for each
room besides the different forms of
furnishings and colorinE, often be-
wildering and never restfui.
" a wall is to be decorated with
paper only. a pronounced figure may
be used. but il pictures are to be hung
on it the paper should be perfectly
plain or the figure so unobtrustve that
1t will not detract from the charm OF
the pictures.
One woman has discovered new
use for a border. and that is to have
it placed just above the wainscot,
where wall papers get soiied from
the damp or oily cloths used for
border keeps the soil from showing
and it can easily be replaced without
the expense of a paperhanger. and
often this is the only part of a paper
that is really badly soiied. She
thinks such a border is more attrac-
tive than having it around the top
of a room. II is also a good plan
to have the border neatly pasted
around the metal part of the electric
push button. Soiled fingers reaching
make spots on this part Of the wall
This also can be replaced. The bor-
der of q paper should go on last, of
course. 1t must be as long as the
four sides Of the room added to-
gether. but strip of the full length
allow for- waste, cut it into four
strips, then join them at or near the
cornersSwith lap enough to match. !
Leftover Pieces.
Always be sure to keep all leftover
pieces of wallpaper, no matter how
small, as they may come in handy
some time for patching. Do not cut
the paper for a patch. Tear it of
instead. The irregular edges will
make the patch blend in better. With
a sharp knife shave the extra thick
ness of the new paper and the
scraggly patch will not show.
You will also find other uses for
remnants of wallpaper. They will
serve for covering lamp shades and
screens. When the paper is var
nished beautiful handpainted
effect is produced. Panel papers are
excellent for screens, and Japanese
leather paper will make an excellent
plain screen.