Evening star., 1940-03-02
Exhibitions Reveal
Figured Carpets
Are'in Vogue Again
Purpose Behind Rooms
is Important Foctor
In Decoration
BY KRIKOR KRIKORIAN.

30 much does the charm of q room
depend on the carpet used in 1t that
the modern homemaker can hardly
use enough care In its selection.
Walls, windows, ceilings, doors and
floors are not SO easily replaced, but
We can change their character by
decorating them with different items,
or by painting over them. Not so
with carpets. For they are the
unifying factor of the furnishings
In . room. They are the key" to
the decorative scheme and we can
not change them without consider
ing q change in our original plan of
decoration. This is not an exagger-
ation, for the rug contains the DOM
lnant color Of the decorative scheme
which In some way repeated in the
furnishings that go with it, whether
the carpet Is domestic or Oriental.
Even In the choice Of plain carpets,
unless We select neutral color, the
problem is quite Identical
Most people look upon interior
decoration as a magic art given to
q few. What the decorator really
does is to consider a few simple
principles Of line, proportion and
color and uses them in such way
as to produce unified expression,
which may be summed up as beauty.
The magic which she uses to ac-
complish this effect may be called
good taste, faculty which I am
sure all my readers possess to
certain degree. The decorator real
ICES that If room is too large a
small rug is out Of place and If a
room is very small then a rug that
covers the entire space will not
show the room to advantage. This is
the law of proportion applied in its
one angle In the use of carpets.
Likewise If the curves of the room
are rounded, If the furniture used is
Chippendale, Sheraton or Hepple-
white, 1t is a mistake to use a rug
with strongly geometric patterns.
This Is the principle of line.
AS for the use Of color, it is suffi-
cient to have knowledge of colors
that go with each other. This will
produce harmony. And to save the
color scheme from monotony an oc-
casional contrast may be employed
with complementary colors. A sudden
shift in pattern will produce this
effect in line provided the change
is not too violent. Emphasis is used
by repeating color and in a limited
way design note in the other fur
nishings Of the room or their ar
rangement.
One Rug in Ideal Room.
The ideal room should contain
only one rug placed bisymetrically
and In line with the furniture. This
does not mean that carpet cannot
be placed in other positions, or that
small rugs cannot be used in q large
room, but these problems require
special experience, or advanced taste
Of beauty. Covering the floor from
wall to wall where the floor is at
tractive is an injustice to the floor
and may even produce a monotonous
effect. 1t is, for this reason that
many decorators use small Oriental
rugs on top of plain broadlooms-a
practice which can be saved If ROOM
size Orientals or figured carpets are
used. BY doing so we may even save
double carpet cost. A beautiful ORR
entail rug on q bare floor, in fact,
gives the room almost a completely
furnished appearance, so important
Is the role of q desirable CARPET.
Style. of course, influences interior
decoration. The present style trend
in home decoration may be said
to be 18th century Colonial, Re-
gency and Victorian. There is a
trend to streamline these periods
to make them appropriate with the
trend which we call modern. AS
students of Colonial America know,
Americans OF 18th century did not
only use hooked and braided rugs
on their floors. but Oriental car
pets as well. The totally plain rug
covering the floor from wall to wall
was unknown to them and is the
result of a skyscraper civilization.
Eighteenth century furnitures were
Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Shera-
ton. Duncan Phyfe created his own
conception of American furniture
based on these styles, but many