Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-17
A Small Living Room.
BY GENEVIEVE HENDRICKS.

More and more people are coming
to realize the possibilities that lie in
the old houses to be found all over
Washington. Certainly there can be
no more interesting work from a con
structive artistic standpoint than this
remOdeling of houses that have once
been lovely. but through disuse have
fallen into decay.
On a downtown street which is now
i'm the first commercial zone there has
stood since 1909 little three-story
brick house. 1t was carefully built
and planned and must have been
JOY TO its owners for many years. FL
nally, however. it must have housed
careless tenants and no longer re-
ceived the attention it needed When
the writer found the little old house
behind a forest of weeds and over
grown bushes and behind a tottering
porch that had been added in the Vic
torian era, it was in almost hopeless
condition, filled with rags and papers.
After two months of work spent on
it. the little house smiled once more
and now it is as charming as ii ever
could have been in its earlier days.
Living Room in Blue.
A living room opens with two win.
dows and a door on to the street. The
sunlight streaming through these
southern windows gave cause for the
walls TO be painted a lovely robins
egg blue. and the woodwork a few
tones deeper. AT the windows ruffied
marquisette curtains of beige color
soften the light and make pleasing
harmony with the heavy gold-colored
linz
to the floor.
The fireplace is the center of great
est interest in the room, and about it
the furniture has been placed for com
fort as we'll as beauty. A long Hep
plewhite sofa, heritage from discern
ing cabinet makers Of a century ago.
stands at right angles to the fireplace
and faces the windows. This is COW
cred in deep gold color and holds pill
lows of old brocades in soft crimsons
and blues and greens. Back of the
sofa stands a wonderful old hand
painted Chinese screen, which the
owner found in a Paris attic several
years ago. In this screen are to be
found all the shades of blues and
greens and crimsons and browns.
Against the blue wall it is a SYM
phony of color.
IN lIOIlL Oh IIlB SOld anu Pal dlIGl "
the fireplace is a low bench, placed
there for comfort as well as beauty.
Facing the sofa and close by the fire
place are an old Italian side chair. 4
| little French table and a comfortable
armchair of modern American make,
which is restrained in design and COW
cred in a striped material combining
the colors in the screen.
AT the end of the sofa opposite the
| fireplace, stands an early American
| table showing in it's design the work
/ of the early Dutch settlers. on this
| table, as on the little table a the fire.
place end of the sofa, stands an ala
baster lamp with a pleated paper
shade tinted soft rust colors to give
delightful contrast with the blues and
greens. An old Hepplewhite chair
brought from England this, past sum
mer stands at this end of the sofa. It's
seat is covered in old green bTocade.
Wall Carefully Treated.
| The wall opposite the fireplace has
| been carefully treated so that its fur
nishings might balance in bulk the
| fireplace and it's surrounding furni
| ture. An old chest of drawers. long
| the pride Of a Maryland family, oc
| cupies the center position. Above it
| hanging to the ceiling, is an old bro
caded satin curtain of rich dark
| green, which once hung in the Pal
| ace of Fontainebleau. Against it and
rejecting the portrait that hangs
over the mantelpiece is a round mir.
ror in an old gold frame. Miniatures
in their original frames hang over
each other at either side of the bro
cade and give color as well as in
terest to the wall Thanking the ole
chest are two very fine Chippendalt
side chairs, which came but recently
from Ireland. The old corner cup
board by the door leading into {
quaint stairway hall holds a wealth
of Lowestoft and other old English
chinas.
Between the windows on the south