Home Interiors by Allan Kirspuu

3"^

C/C-T,.-*' X

St^LO

THE SAME AUTHOR.

HOMES, AND

How to

Make Them

;

or,

Hints on Locating and Building a House.

ILLUSTRATED HOMES, Describing Real Houses and Real People.

Each

"There

Beautifully Square i6ino. one volume. and bound. Price, each, $ 1.50.

illustrated

hardly a matter connected with the work of building a

'home,' which is not treated of wisely nnd well, from the choice of a site or the adaptation of a building' to a site, throu;jh all the stacjes, from the strongf, drains and foundation-walls to the modest completed building", but beautiful tasteful, but not merely ornamental: a little earthly paraChristian dise, but yet not too grand for every-day enjoyment or use." Intelligencer.

—

;

*»*

For

sale by Booksellers.

Sent, post-paid, on receipt 0/ price by the

Publishers,

JAMES

OSGOOD &

CO,, Boston.

c.-^'^^iee^tsoa^^

'^J'^

^.^^-tz^-

THE SAME AUTHOR.

%* For sate by BooRsetcers.

:ienr,

posr-paia,

rectrtj't.

ty ^rt-.c

publishers,

JAMES

OSGOOD &

CO., Boston.

PUBUC UBBAMI

-svr.^

TILOEN

A CALM OUTLOOK.

•

ii'i^v/- V*

HOME INTERIORS BY

E. C.

GARDNER, author of

'homes,

and how to make them," "illustrated homes,' ETC.

W\\\\ ^Uttstrationfl.

•»

BOSTON: JAMES

OSGOOD AND COMPANY,

Late Ticknor

Fields,

and Fields, Osgood, &

1878.

Co.

1878.

JAMES IR. OOOOOD

a GO.

THENEWYORK PaBLIC LIBRARY VJ"

^52

University Press Welch, Bigelow, Cambridge. :

Co.,

PREFACE. HAVE indicate

a royal road to the summit of

art in

the

houses,

but

fine

stepping-stones

for those

somewhat behind

these pages to

not attempted in

finishing

rather

who

and decorating

plant

simple

are likely to be left

the headlong

race for greater

refinement of taste and a higher degree of aesthetic a race not without its dangers and drawculture,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

backs, but, though sometimes false in always hopeful in its promise.

its

motives,

Without the aid and encouragement of her who many years has been the light of my own home, neither this book nor its predecessors would have been written and any helpfulness that may be found

for

;

any merit they may have, either in style matter, is due to her careful suggestions and

in them,

or in

faithful criticism.

E. C. G. Springfield, December, 1877.

CONTENTS FIRST DAY. Page

Paper-Hangings

•

SECOND DAY. Walls, Floors, and Blinds

THIRD DAY. Blinds.

— Wood

vs.

Paint

FOURTH DAY. Wall-Painting and Paper-Hangings

FIFTH DAY. 103

Doors and Screens

SIXTH DAY. Casings, Caps,

and Window Seats

129

CONTENTS.

Vlil

SEVENTH DAY. Stairways and Tiles

152

EIGHTH DAY. Fireplaces and Big

Windows

177

NINTH DAY. Renovating Old Houses, various Decorations and Furnishings

BY How

207

WAY OF APPENDIX.

John's House was Painted

....

242

—

ILLUSTRATIONS. -•

A Calm

Outlook

Frontispiece.

Page 19

Despair

Pictures and Pictures

"The

Lilies,

how they Grow!"

Nothing but Paper Weighed in the Balance Oak and Walnut, Striped Centre

•

....

3^ 41

Practical Jokes

Two Kinds of Oak What the Blinds Prevent

Waiting for Orders

Painted Panels

Not according to Rule

Aspiring Storks

Stencils

°5

Wood, Paper, and Paint to Worcester

On the way

Square Toes Morse's Alphabet

§9

99 '^'^S

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Where

shall the Pictures ee

109

A Strong Defence A Door

113

Cautious, but not Convenient

117

Another Door Screen Above One of Warwick's Brown Linen Background Visible Means of Support Fantastic Heads Help for a Rough Road

116

120 121

125

133 I37 141

Buttress and Brackets

i45

A A

Leaf from the Prophet

149

Swift Descent

^53

Substitutes for Balusters

i55

Strength and Lightness

i59

A A

163

Broad Landing Hidden Staircase

167

A Long Walk

171

Too costly for every Room

The Beginning of A Simple Niche

Civilization

....

i75

179 183

Centre of Attraction Swinging from a Crane

187

Impartial Simplicity

191

Brass

Watchmen

Ornamental Shams

190

i95

i99

Suited to all Seasons

203

John's Window-Boxes

215

ILL USTRA TIONS.

Company Clothes

219

Homemade Fireplace One Evening's Work Noah's Ark

222

Borders of Plain Paper

229

Safe Mirrors and Paper Caps Ghostly Grains and Grasses

237

223 225

233

Sheets and Pillow-Cases

247

An Exasperating Color

251

Anti-Evolutionists

255

Taking Notes

259

Mud-Pies

263

266

Cool Grays Babes in the

Wood

268

^^Ci^

HOME INTERIORS: LEAVES FROM AN ARCHITECTS DIARY.

FIRST DAY. PAI'ER-HANGINGS.

T may haps tion

be owing to the hard times, perit

nothing more or

the result of " Art Educa-

Massachusetts, less

or,

possibly,

than the working of the

everlasting law of growth that none of us can

help or hinder, but, whatever the immediate or

remote cause, we, the people, seem possessed at present with a mania for " Interior Decoration "

;

not of our bodies, nor yet of our souls, but of

HOME

INTERIORS.

our domestic habitations.

When

dogmatisms on the

structions and

read the in-

subject, listen

the discussions, look at the pictures, witness

the achievements, and try to answer the queries

propounded,

wellnigh distracted, and thank

stars that the

windows of

study look out

into the calmness of an impenetrable

impenetrable by sight, or a turret can rustic

chair,

see, not

mean

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not

forest

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

a chimney

even a rail-fence or a

only the gray boles of the trees

hiding and retreating in dim perspective, dark ferns,

and the inimitable canopy of green leaves

and golden

sunlight.

But these art-yearnings relating riors I

must not be quenched.

would

tent

if I

stir

them

to greater activity

could, and

here and now.

to our

may

inte-

Quite the reverse.

and discon-

as well begin to-night,

Every day brings

drum, the solution of which

its

own conun-

more important

than prognosticating the future, or prodding into

PAPER-HANGINGS. the past.

It is

therefore resolved that the actual

month

experiences of each day for a single

be herein

Not

chronicled.

artists, architects,

orators, those

for

shall

the benefit

amateurs, or professional dec-

who

are wise or famous or both,

nor yet for the " great unwashed,"

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

until a

man

has learned the practical art of cleanliness, finer pearls are worse than wasted before him, for the " great unthinking," to

whom

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but

has never

occurred that they can do otherwise than follow

meekly

in the paths

decessors imitate

the

;

w!io

of their uninteresting pre-

do what they are taught, and

what they

see,

without asking whether

teaching and the examples are wise and

right

chiefly,

short,

for

those

gratify the longing for pleasant

and interesting

homes without incurring burdens honesty, or degrading

Dante was,

who would

of debt, dis-

toil.

doubtless, a

person, being a poet, but

most neat and orderly it

certain that he

HOME

knew nothing about

INTERIORS.

house-cleaning, neither had

he any personal knowledge

The two taken

weather.

infernal result, than in the

way

New

which nothing more intense

of purgatory could possibly be desired.

House-cleaning, like death and taxes, the inevitables.

among

also periodically invaria-

the monsoons of the Indian Ocean and

ble, like

Encke's comet. wise, but how,

phase will

The weather

inevitable like-

when, or where any particular no

appear,

safe at twenty-three

erably at twenty-four.

being can

mortal

twenty-four hours beforehand. is

England

together produce an

and a

tell

Old Probabilities half,

but

fails

mis-

This year two or three

weeks of May have dropped out of the calendar, and the last of

ing

first

May

is all

For

May

weather.

right,

house-cleaning comes in the

Of course

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the weather

this reason I

all

the house-clean-

wrong.

have made a masterly retreat

into the northwest corner of the house, in a vain

PAPER-HANGINGS.

endeavor to hide from the abomination of desolation

that

within and the sweltering

prevails

heat without, from which there

About eleven came

this

morning, Mrs.

fanning herself with her

in,

no escape.

Douglass hat

last year's

retrimmed with mandarin yellow, and sank exhausted into the only unoccupied chair in the house.

Could

and would

come over and

her what to do with Aunt Mary's room is

to be Mollie's

room now, and must

}

tell

" It

of course be

repapered, redraped, and rejuvenated altogether." "

To-morrow

will

To-morrow

will not

the house **

answer

" .-'

answer.

Every room

topsy-turvy."

Excellent

them right

Then why side

wife should call to-morrow " I will tell

not put one or two

up to-day,

you why,

the goodness to listen.

lest the governor's "

precisely, if

We 've

you

will

have

bought new mat-

HOME

INTERIORS.

ting for the drawing-room, to begin with, the old

matting is

be laid in our room, and our carpet

going into Aunt Mary's

I 've

Mollie's.

new

for

the

Then

I shall

put

set into the guest-room,

and

given that to Mollie.

the north-chamber sret

mean

furniture in the guest-room needs painting,

The and

—

north chamber.

Israel

de-

termined to move the two small book-cases from the library

— which

you know

into the drawing-room, and

some

transfer

overflowing

he does that

— into the

— they ought never library,

Do you comprehend

that

it is

and carry the large

the situation

waiting for that room

row of tumbling bricks.

paper."

fruit-

There

Do you

see

impossible to touch a thing in the house

is n't

entire

I shall

have been

piece from the hall to the dining-room.

that

—

of the vases and engravings from

the dining-room there

household are

The

It is like

operations of the

blockaded

by a

roll

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY! ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

PAPER-HANGINGS.

We in

found Mollie sitting on a Saratoga trunk

the middle of her newly acquired territory,

and looking very much the ruins of Carthage.

The

Marius surveying

old paper positively

refused to be peeled from the walls, and Mollie

wept old,

at the

thought of putting the new over the

dark hangings

have been absorbing

that

mould and damp, germs

of disease, contagion,

nobody knows what other

invisible

and

and obnox-

ious elements, for a quarter of a century. " It

must and

shall "

tracted maiden.

not be used as old stuff. I

come

off,"

beautiful

a mere overskirt

may

cried the dis-

new paper

shall

for this horrid

not actually show through, but

shall think I see

have a skeleton he

it all

the time,

shall not

and

if I

be spread

all

must over

the walls, but hang in the closet where he belongs."

For once sentiment and common-sense are sweet accord

;

the walls are to be douched with

HOME

INTERIORS.

hot water, and scraped with cold steel until they

Dutch

as a

clean

are as

favor

decision

reached,

we gave

This wise

kitchen.

having been

cleanliness

ourselves up to a rapt study

of the beautiful, as

embodied

in a

dozen or two

and detached samples of paper-hangings.

rolls

What

a delightful thing

would be

the ques-

tion of cost never entered into a matter of taste

But even with paper, that most abundant and democratic material,

makes a perceptible

ference whether the price per lars

or cents, a

than in actual will

results,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

roll is told

in dol-

estimates

rather

difference for

dif-

paper

paper and

be nothing but paper to the end of time,

however much

may

be illuminated with gold

and mica, poisoned with paste,

feathered

righteousness looks upon

voyant.

with

arsenic, polished with felt.

Lilce

filthy rags at best,

anything better

our

own

and whoso not

clair-

PAPER-HANGINGS. However, Mollie's room or not,

and

be papered, rags

until the selection

the bear begins to bite

made

the dog — there

—

until

a dead-

lock in the reconstruction of the household. I

suppose

omitting the foolish following

that,

which

after fashion

which fashion

the normal condition of

most human beings

regard to

things in

all

possible, the next mortal

weak-

ness that prevents a wise and tasteful selection of paper-hangings

the inability to imagine the

effect in gross of that

meal.

By way

which

only seen piece-

of moral instance, most sensible

people would be appalled habits, meannesses,

by universal

and

their

frailties

own

little

pet

were multiplied

humanity and displayed on the

broad canopy of

heaven.

Mrs.

pressed a perception of this fact

Douglass ex-

— as to paper —

by saying that she has "most generally always" found papers that look well in samples to be ugly

on the

wall,

and

vice versa.

This

quite true

HOME

by those

INTERIORS.

" that look well in

sample

she means

those having pretty and interesting designs in bright colors. several

Lining the walls of a room with

hundreds of such pictures

artist

and disquieting

PICTURES

AND

painful to

to everybody.

Before

PICTURES.

chromos and heliotypes were invented, and before

rustic

walnut frames grew on blackberry-

bushes, as they do now, to

see

landscapes

and

was very entertaining architectural

designs,

sporting scenes and brilliant bouquets, sprinkled

PAPER-HANGINGS.

around the room

at regular intervals

;

but to

cover the walls with pictures of one sort with-

and

frames,

out

overlay

with

these

of another kind with frames

pictures

destruction to

Happily Miss Mollie appreciates

both.

eral principle,

this

gen-

and has set her heart upon a quiet

sort of a

drabbish-brown without a conspicuous

figure of

any

sort.

talked of plain papers,

but the cheap, plain papers are not what they

promise to be, they

soil

so easily, the joinings

dab of paste

an incurable

will

show, a

blot,

and the

may

as well have plain paint or even kalsomine.

little

tints

plain paper

tion

made,

was vetoed, and a pretty

twenty-five cents

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a small

are apt to disappoint.

set figure

per

roll

One

selec-

was quickly

having only two colors,

almost but not quite one shade of the same.

And now came set her heart

cause

a new

Mollie has

the tug of war.

upon a dado, mainly, revelation

think, be-

the

use of

HOME

paper-hangings,

INTERIORS.

— new

her

;

fact,

an old

fashion revived, and a very good one, too, though I

'm not sure that there can be any logical rea-

son for

in a

One can

in order.

cession

—a

bedroom,

bed and watch a pro-

lie

seems more

frieze

pilgrims, peacocks,

hippopotami

around the top of the room with great comfort, but the dado, especially behind wardrobe, and

the

the bed,

dressing-table,

the

thrown

away.

looking through

samples of

the

may be

hangings that

collected at

ately extensive estabhshment,

that

appear.

color, cost, style,

But just try

rience of to-day learn

quickly chosen, to

the

one would suppose

he has only to wave a wand, when,

any required

paper-

any moder-

— the

once.

all.

furniture, for

From

will

the expe-

wall-screen was

quiet drabbish-brown that

form the background tall

The

and pattern

for the

pictures, for

Mollie herself

when she

PAPER-HANGINGS.

home, and which

will

2"/

cover the wall from

within three feet of the floor to sixteen inches of the

Below

ceiling.

must be darker, richer harmonious with ing.

Then

this

screen the paper

in appearance,

and either

in color, or happily contrast-

there must be a band of some sort

The

separating the two.

sixteen-inch zone at

the top must be, like Mollie herself, pretty, delicate,

and

top and tion

lively.

with

must have a border

some bond the

of color to indicate

wall-screen.

easy to describe

how

found the work

itself

several of

them

in heaven.

ought to be done.

a more complicated

matched

affair.

itself,

admirably, and

paper-hangings do match the match

made

junc-

wonderfully

Every pattern we had was good by "

at the

its

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

when surely

But though we rung as many

changes on them as could be rung on a dozen Swiss

bells,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; several

have just come home

hundred

millions,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

in disgrace, leaving Mrs.

HOME

Douglass

despair,

whole house in a

To-morrow we paper warehouses.

INTERIORS.

Mollie

" state to

are

tears,

and the

behold."

make

a raid

on the

SECOND DAY. WALLS, FLOORS, AND BLINDS.

EDIOCRITY

as easily attained in

paper-hangings as

and pray,

fight

the result I

rise

think

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

work

everything

else.

One may

prayer.

Whether

may

be a question,

as well

go and be a

worth the pains

is.

above that we must watch and

brother to the sluggish clod at once as to take

passage

the freight-train of " commonplace."

must have made ourselves

paper-dealers, this

terrible to the

morning, by our persistent

research and positive refusal to accept what was

not satisfactory.

was

true,

course

admitted, what

that the hangings were elegant

and

HOME

INTERIORS.

but most salesmen seem incapable of

tasteful,

comprehending the

may be

infinitely

paper

fact that a fifteen-cent

more appropriate

purpose, and therefore

that costs ten times as

for a given

one

beautiful, than

much, nor could they

conceive the state of mind that decidedly prefers

an unfashionable

der

how

retain

color.

happens that the

their

popularity

the way,

lilies

without

won-

of the field

changing

the

forms and colors in which they are arrayed

found that the paper selected yesterday central part of the walls

for the

fell

in love at

sight with a dark brown, having a delicate gilt scroll

running over

it,

and we performed the

nuptials on the spot with stripe cut

roll.

Its color

and we were quite indifferent

perfect, quality.

But

tried to find

first

would

the aid of a brown

from a fifteen-cent

officiate

was its

'm getting ahead of the story.

ready-made borders that

uniting, for better or worse,

WALLS, FLOORS, the grand divisions,

They

all

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; dado,

BLINDS.

screen,

and

frieze.

proved "for worse" with one excep-

'the

tion,

AND

which

lilies,

cost

Twenty-five cents

how they grow!"

twenty-five is n't

cents

large

yard.

sum, but

the border must go two or three times around

HOME. INTERIORS.

the

room, at twenty or thirty yards

the

final

roll

of cheap striped paper will furnish several

result

bands more or

time,

somewhat formidable.

and

decorated,

less

One

far

serviceable than the gaudy, self-asserting bor-

ders that are "gotten up for the gardless of expense."

If the

paper-hangings would only give

gilt,

buyer

black or velvet at one edge, and leave the

to cut

them up

to suit his fancy,

be a grand thing in a small way of interior

art

The

decoration

plain paper will not

because

entire

that can be bought

common

us, in

simple belts of color, with perhaps a line

rolls,

occasion re-

manufacturers of

needed,

and

for the noble

by means of paper.

answer as

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the â&#x20AC;&#x201D; may be roll

chiefly

greater difficulty of cutting

would

well, partly

smallest quantity five

times as

on account it

much

the

into strips of uni-

form width.

For the

frieze, that is,

the sixteen inches at the

NOTHING BUT PAPER.

s(0^

^t>^'

^^^v\^

^-"fdfo^ ,t»*

^vv-o;

WALLS, FLOORS,

AND

BLINDS.

top of the room, Mollie found a paper, the ground

darker than

trifle

and clear

lively

the wall-screen, the

there a dash of crimson

from the fifteen-cent with the paper below at the top,

and

roll

is itself

wood

spots

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

finished

stars, or

The

frieze

has no cornice

stripe at the top of the

something of the sort

There

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that

making a kind

also a

narrow

fret

be cut from the inexhaustible fifteen-center,

that

appended

to the " regular " border at the

top of the dado, and tion of the

this

by a narrow band

The room

be cut out alternately,

of dentil course. to

unite

will

and

stripe cut

under the crimson has a row of small

frieze

are

or plaster.

gilt.

another bounds the frieze

;

of plain crimson flock.

figure

in rich browns, with here

another marks the junc-

dado with the wood base

usual, the

spared,

still

at the floor.

most expensive item could best be

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the orthodox

border.

A simpler

would have been more harmonious and

band

less likely

HOME

INTERIORS.

become

some. to

weari-

answer

her mother's

lusion

this

al-

ex-

travagance, Mollie,

who had

staked her

happiness on this belt of golden scrolls

and shining dragon-flies,

proposed

make

THE BALANCE.

the accounts balance.

up the cost

as follows

net

2 rolls

dado

80 1

5 c

crimson flock for borders at 35

25 yards dragon-flies for borders at 25 c

Net

cost

% 2.00

Less spring bonnet

order

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

40 c striped paper for borders at

2 yards

sacri-

She then summed

8 rolls for wall-screen at 25 c 2 rolls for

a spring bon-

fice

WEIGHED

promptly

30 70 6.25

% 10.05 6.25 % 3-8o

WALLS, FLOORS,

"As

AND

BLINDS.

the pieces will be short

myself," said Mollie, " but cost four dollars more.

Call

might put

man

hire a

if I

7)7

will

eight dollars for

the room."

We lay,

agreed that this was a very moderate out-

but

suggested an additional item of twenty-

seven dollars, which ought to be included to pay

and

for the time, board, travelling expenses,

tal-

ents of three persons one and a half days each.

"What

a base

idea!"

said

would think of pecuniary reward pating in a work of art

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "who

Mollie, for

thing

lovely

room

has been a rare and blessed privilege.

of beauty

would

have been possible without

n't

a joy forever, and

tracted and distracting study of tints

hues

and movements.

umphant

success, our

We fame

have

all

came home happy,

this pro-

and

tones,

made

established

no mercenary thoughts intrude

So we

partici-

This painful research

tri-

;

let

" !

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Mollie

an-

HOME

INTERIORS.

charming room, Mrs. Douglass

ticipation of the

because the stone that blocked the wheels of

Juggernaut was

at last

was hungry and

removed, and

because

was dinner-time.

Instead of trying to invent a license law that will

make

a crime for one

quite right for

another,

would establish an hour the

Commonwealth should

friends are those

who

one friend

to another,

some one who has

home

To-day

citizens of list

midday meal

at one, it

of at

and so on is

time for

could easily dine

hours by going from

and seldom

finish

a square

without being interrupted by

home

dinner at

to get

all

On my

p. m.,

for six or eight consecutive

do what

which

hour and half-hour until

honest folks to be in bed.

dine.

take their

twelve, M., twelve-thirty, at every

man

wish our legislators

either dined already, or expects

in season for dinner.

was

called

stairs just before des-

WALLS, FLOORS,

AND

BLINDS.

and found Mr. Jackson with a lamentable

sert,

tale of four or five

must step

workmen waiting

him

to look at the dining-room floor.

into his carriage

old house in which a

new

finish of

whether

It is

hard wood

and the ques-

to replace the old painted work, is

for orders,

and go with

and

tion

remove the old

which

floor,

somewhat shrunken and

of pine, wide boards,

uneven. I

might as well have given directions and

ished

right to do

Take up the pine

and repair the lay one,

fin-

dinner as a Christian gentleman has a

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; put

floor,

straighten

lining, if there is one, in extra

supports

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

not,

the joists are

too far apart, lay a solid hard- wood floor of parquetry, and throw carpets to the dogs.

gave

Mr. Jackson this advice before we had gone forty rods, but

he was

madam would feared

full

n't

would be

of misgivings.

it,

feared

cold, feared

the

would

feared

expense, n't

wear

HOME

Yet he

well.

given

Now, on is

No,

all,

perfectly level,

that I

hard-wood

heart

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but

it.

floors

is fixed,

Like Susan Nipper,

may

a brave, not

fears,

must go and look

this subject of

science clear.

and

man and

a good

weak and womanish

" bare " floor

head

INTERIORS.

con-

say to some

not be a flat-head Indian, and

would not so become, but choice between living

if I

all

had got to take

life

on a Turkey

carpet or on the bare ground-floor of a barbarian

wigwam,

the wigwam.

should take the bare ground of

Of course

civilized

heathens don't

agree with me, and cling to their flesh-pots as

the salvation of their nerves, their comfort, their social

standing, and

their

moral character de-

pended upon the thickness of the wool carpets under their

feet,

and retaining I told

and their capacity

dirt.

think

it is

for

absorbing

actually true, as

John the other day, that a carpeted room

would be cleaner and the people who

live in it

OAK AND WALNUT, STRIPED CENTRE.

ff«t"^^/T',ftR;.'S^'

WbUC

WALLS, FLOORS, would be longer of

dirt, if

time if

the

AND

consuming

BLINDS.

peck

their allotted

the carpet was never swept from the

was put down

till

was taken

up, even

should occasionally drop their

children

step

fragments of gingerbread and wax-dolls, and

for-

butter

bread-and-butter,

side

down,

get to pick up the bits of paper and other that

evolved spontaneously where

children are.

ages

who

litter

men and

only wish the enlightened sav-

believe in wool carpets the year round

were required

put them down and take them

up every year, and hold the inquest on

the

remains. I

made some such

son, and,

hemence.

fear,

She

observation to Mrs. Jack-

shocked her greatly by

ve-

did n't like to be called a bar-

barian,

and could

finally

compromised the matter by deciding on

n't

give up her carpet.

So we

a smooth hard floor for the centre of the room,

with a parquet border about two and a half feet

HOME

44 next

wide,

the walls, a simple

The

colors.

INTERIORS.

pattern of two

carpet will be a large rug that can

The

be taken up every day.

entire floor will be

waxed, and kept clean and bright.

While we were discussing the matter, Lady Jane came

and began

to observe in her

most

languishing manner that, of course, 'twas a matter of taste,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

for

her part

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

did n't wait to

hear what "her part" might, could, would, or should be.

know

not a matter of taste

merely, but of common-sense and of eternal ness.

Without again referring

of cleanliness,

from an

pilasters

plaster, solid

view than walls of hard

wainscot of oak or maple,

and columns, heavy

book-case, and bronzes,

what can be more incongruous

artistic point of

wood and

all

table,

furniture,

piano,

marble mantel, busts and

resting or appearing to rest on a soft

cushion of spun and woven wool

may

fit-

to the disi^egard

.-'

Gentlemen

cry peace, but there will be no peace

till

AND

WALLS, FLOORS,

some of the

first

principles of

observed in our interior

BLINDS.

common-sense are

finishino-s.

Every one of Mr. Jackson's

fears

groundless, except, of course, the

sable for

above what

Its first cost

any

floor will not

one good Brussels carpet house

who go

warm

barefoot,

won't

and

Rude, clumsy people

;

wholly

prop-

hundred indispen-

be more than that of it is

feel

first.

erly laid parquet floor will outwear five carpets.

not cold,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

the

except to those

so,

makes no noise

at all

in hobnailed shoes will raise

a tumult anywhere, either with their feet or with their tongues, but

no one could imagine the gods

holding their dignified councils

peted with velvet tapestry.

and stamp and slam doors. are people

who ought

salons car-

Neither do they tramp

have

Doubtless there all

their salient

angles protected with rubber cushions to save

from damage and destruction everything with

which they may come

in contact.

Careful and

HOME

4.6

INTERIORS.

well-bred occupants of civilized dwellings do not find

necessary to cushion

the floors, or put

pantalets on the piano.

Mr. Jackson doubts the cost.

Fortunately

can send him to at least one shop in the State

where

solid parquet flioors of

eighths of an inch

and

thick,

grooved, perfectly

"sound,

smooth," can be furnished for

hard woods, seven

every piece tongued

one shilling per square

foot.

patterns

There may be

others where the same thing can be had for I

and

seasoned,

in various

less.

can show him floors that have been in use for

years treated occasionally to a coat of benzine

and wax, applied with a large brush, and now as smooth, clean, and glossy as any be.

floor

ought to

course a hard-pine floor laid in stripes

three or four inches wide, the alternate

boards

stained with turpentine and asphaltum, will

much cheaper than

this,

and, after deducting the

cost of the cheapest floor that can be laid, there

PRACTICAL JOKES.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND

nUDEN FOUNDATIONS.

AND

WALLS, FLOORS, is n't

rug

much

will

left

for carpet.

BLINDS.

Mrs. Jackson's large

allow the centre of the floor to be laid

in this plain fashion,

and

the stripes happen to

show around the edges there

be no harm

will

done.

There floors

another attribute of these parquet

which proves them

with the eternal verities

to ;

grand accord

the most simple and

natural patterns are also the most beautiful. can't imagine

who

idea that a

wood

possible like

tile,

like oil-cloth, like

and

must look

floor

tile floor

oil-cloth as

Merrimack

promulgated the insane

first

much

Beyond

print.

much

as possible as possible

all

question

those designs for parquetry that are most consistent with the natural facility

of working

walk upon,

grain of the

wood and

are pleasantest to look upon,

to prepare, to lay

facetious persons

and

pay

for.

sometimes hang a curved

mirror where a plain one

expected, so a pattern

HOME

INTERIORS.

wooden

triangles

composed

may be

laid, that,

and trapeziums

and

trick of form

of the floor appear like a lot

make

color, will

cubes

little

of troughs or miniaset cornerwise, a succession

ture mountain-ranges.

Such ought

upon as practical jokes, not sober

and smooth.

would be

actually rough and uneven

cause or even to allow

;

striving to appear

know

they ought

Mr. Jackson

Walnut

it is

foolish to try to

who

so.

But then

court admira-

what they are not and

not to be.

will

quantity

difl"er.

must be well seems

make

folly to

use Georgia pine and black-

not always hard enough for

much

tastes

alone for the centre. for the border, pine

walnut

realities.

to appear

there are multitudes of people tion

be looked

that a floor shall be

have a right to demand level

too dark

for

floors,

and

fancy, but

Red and white oak are good, but Even then oak oiled and waxed. incurably

afflicted

with

chronic

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY **TOR, LENOX AND

TXCEN FOUNDATIONS.

WALLS, FLOORS,

AND

BLINDS.

rheumatism, joints troublesome in

damp

weather.

Cherry and maple are good, so

black birch,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

the heart and

sap of the birch, one dark and

the other light,

making a good

contrast of color.

These last-named, however, though smooth and hard,

lack

the

life

of the

pine, oak,

and

ash,

which have a more conspicuous grain, and either

one of which alone makes a handsome

floor,

the

design being sufficiently marked by the natural fibre,

without other variety of color.

Plain strips surrounding the border next the walls form a suitable finish, and have the im-

portant merit of being easily fitted to any irregularities in

was

the outline of the room.

a quandary as

Mrs. Jackson

whether the border

should follow the outline of the hearth or stop against

it.

The

grate being at the side of a

room already narrow a diminished border

will

encircle the hearth, the rug will be rectangular,

leaving the small quadrangles at the sides of the

chimney uncovered.

HOME

On my

return

sert, this letter

INTERIORS.

found, instead of the lost des-

from Harry, Junior

dear Architect,

on account of the

— We

be hung upon the

—

are in great

How

blinds.

distress

upon earth can they

window of the dining-room,

triple

on the wide window of the south chamber, and on the

bay window, so as

be opened

blind must be opened, or

and the dumps.

Mother says the

shall die

of the dampness

I can't afford inside shutters.

Mrs.

Harry won't give up the triple window, and there

'11

you don't help us out of

it.

be the Old Harry to pay

Yours,

Harry, Jun. This

among

importuned reviled

the delights of the profession

accomplish

pretenders

impossibilities,

plead

;

and

inability.

Three pints, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, must be poured into the that.

bosom

And

of a quart cup, this is

— wine

measure

the form of consolation

WALLS, FLOORS, get

" I 've

genius.

been

you

AND

told, sir, that

are,

You

terfly.

and

you are a man of

you can make windows as

wide as a barn-door, and that will open

BLINDS.

fit

them with blinds

close like the

wings of a but-

can build stairs wide enough and

easy enough for a cart and oxen to traverse in the space occupied by a ninety-nine-cent stepladder. feet

You

can make windows and doors ten

high in rooms that are but nine and a half

You

can build huge fireplaces in the thickness

of a four-inch partition, place doors and

all

windows

four sides of a fifteen-feet room, and

still

have large wall-space for piano and pictures.

You

can make dark rooms

light,

shady rooms

sunny, low rooms high, small rooms large, and

you can make is

five

thousand dollars pay for what

worth ten thousand

cannot accomplish

some one who I shall

all

dollars.

you say you I

must

find

can."

answer Harry's

the morning.

these things,

letter

about blinds in

THE THIRD DAY, WOOD

BLINDS.

KS.

PAINT.

May

EAR HARRY,

Jun.,

—

i6, 1877.

wish your blinds

would contrive to lead themselves or be led into somebody's ditch

They things,

are a great nuisance,

frail,

and stay

there.

shaking, quivering

never staying open or shut as they ought,

standing stupidly in the

way of

progress,

and by sheer

obstinacy preventing any change from the

Your chamber needs

and commonplace.

square southern window

and charming room

;

with that

rest

the

great

a dignified

but the blinds prefer two small

ones with a pier between for themselves things —

humdrum

— the

upon when they are open.

dining-room has only the eastern

light.

lazy

The

The wide

WHAT THE

BLINDS PREVENT.

/THE

PUBLIC ilBRAR' rTn?"'

'-^''O^

AND

BLINDS. — WOOD

vs.

PAINT.

opening formed by the group of three sable to the best interior effect the

room must be

side bb'nds.

Haman

sacrificed in order to

wish they were

hang the

southern

chamber above.

out-

hanged higher than

all

window, and a

library

window

blinds would

n't

small balcony for flowers in front of the the

indispen-

be a hood resting upon

There should

brackets over the

but the beauty of

;

But no

— the

open.

Please to understand and remember this supreme decision folks are

have no rights that white

outside blinds

bound

to respect

They

are simply screens

They may be

keep out sunlight.

nailed

up,

screwed up, tied up with strings, hinged at the top or bottom, sides or centre, cut in two, doubled up,

chasseed down the middle, shoved to the right or left

on rings or

the windows.

the

rollers,

summer sun

that these will not

the

attic,

— anything

advice

most

to put

accommodate

them only where

intrusive, and, if

open conveniently,

let

happens

them

lie

except during the hot weather when you do

HOME

not care to open them

fully.

them

inside fold

for all the

when open.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they

I forgot,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; you

would make the room look

out of sight or

down over the

and remain

entire

will

will slide

window

the slats

you cannot afford

make a shade of some heavy draping

exclude the

;

any desired angle, and they

never quarrel with the curtains. these,

like a

Venetian blinds

They

accommodating.

are pretty and

cannot afford

Well, don't hang them

cheap school-house or a restaurant.

will roll

windows, hang

and provide with boxings into which they

inside shutters with boxings.

without,

sake of seclu-

for the

If,

you must have shutters

sion,

will

INTERIORS.

light, let it

cloth that

be suspended from a large

up by pulling a

rod at the top, and contrived to

roll

cord or to slide upon large rings.

These shades should

fit

the

The left

window and hang

material

straight

and

may be cheap and

flat

or nearly so.

coarse

;

may be

quite unadorned, or decorated with simple hori-

zontal bands of various widths, or other designs in applique' thirty

or embroidery.

Coarse

jute-cloth, costing

or forty cents per square yard, answers very

BLINDS.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WOOD nicely.

The

vs.

PAINT.

browns are most available

rich

colors,

and the mere ravelling of the edges makes an appropriate fringe,

which may be knotted or

Even common

left straight.

money

burlaps, with a small outlay of

and a large outlay of ingenuity, may be made very charming

effect.

After these there

cretonnes, crashes, and other fabrics

no end of

among which you

can choose when the time comes, and you happily inspired

may be

use something that has never

before been devoted to this purpose.

Just

now you

only need to be assured that, by omitting to provide for a full set of regular outside blinds,

danger of

falling into

you are

a pit from which there can be

no escape. Yours,

That

will

perhaps

set

him

etc.,

to thinking,

worst comes to worst, even the five-feet will

and

window

not be wholly unmanageable.

Just before dinner Mollie

came

in to ask

what

can be done with the wood-work of her room.

HOME

INTERIORS.

In contrast with the old paper the paint looked bright and fresh, but the

moment

pinned upon the wall to try the truth burst upon

the

effect,

new was

the doleful

them that the ceihng must be

distempered and the wood repainted. "

This discovery threw

into a

most

dis-

WAITING FOR ORDERS.

tressing

seems

state

of mind.

likely to destroy the

household.

The

unfortunate room

peace of the entire

painters say

will

take

two

coats to cover the old paint, and the carpet can't

be put down

men and

till

all

dry.

There are three

nineteen cans of paint waiting for

BLINDS.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WOOD to

Now

choose a color.

bow "

shall

which hue of the rain-

" ?

How much

wood- work

there in the

room

except the floor and the doors "

PAINT.

rs.

Not any, nothing but a band around next the

floor

and the pieces that go up beside the doors

and windows." " Is

any of

this

Ornamental

possible, but

it 's

ornamental

way

Almost, not quite

rounded, cover

"By

It 's

useful, I suppose.

entirely plain

No, indeed.

covered up in some " Is

as ugly as

Can't

" .''

" }

;

there

think, at the edges.

a sort of band,

But how can you

.-'

applying colors that will prevent

from

being the most conspicuous thing in the room. It

should

n't

be entirely covered, only debarred

from occupying the prominent position to which positive beauty

alone entitled.

Give

a color

HOME

similar to the

ground of the paper, but a

darker, and

make

two darker

still.

the

INTERIORS.

rounded part a shade or '

Paint the doors the same,

but the panels, which should

by myself

all

match the ground

of the furniture and be decorated " Decorated

little

yourself."

" !

" Yes,

ma'am, decorated by yourself.

just as

much

A door

a piece of furniture as a wardrobe

or a wash-stand, and should be treated accordingly." **

But

the panels are to be decorated, they

should have beautiful paintings

none but an "

Not

artist

all.

vine in outline or

own Is

portfolio

Alas

oil,

which

plain stripe, a fret or an ivy

fiat color,

an arabesque of your

Pray why did you study drawing

design.

your talent to

own

can execute."

be hidden in the napkin of your

a boy without a genius.'

could n't originate a design

from destruction."

save

my room

PAINTED PANELS.

BLINDS. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "

There

WOOD

vs.

PAINT.

no absolute need

6y originality.

There are plenty of graceful and appropriate de-

signs that you can adopt.

to the

woods and

pick up a spray of wild-blackberry vine,

hills,

a cinquefoil, or a fern

any color you

like.

and copy

leaf,

its

form in

your free-hand practice

won't enable you to copy these to your satisfac-

darken the room, or take advantage of a

tion,

when

rainy evening

suspend the object

there

no danger of

selected

callers,

within a pencil's

length of the door, set a bright light at the opposite side of the

shadow

room, and trace the outline of the

The

in the place desired.

convolutions,

veining, and overlapping can be filled in after-

Tracing shadows

wards.

is n't

strictly

artistic

study, but gives an admirable foundation for

and saves time, â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a great point

it,

in this fast-mov-

ing age." "

little

the

dear

chamber

Roman

what a work !

to finish

one

don't believe the founding of

nation was anything like

it."

HOME

58 "

Probably not, but

INTERIORS.

have yet to learn of any-

thing worth possessing that does not cost the

owner much time, In

peril.

fact,

labor, thought,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

yes, pain

and

no one can justly claim ownership

except upon these terms."

Ah me

sure!â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I

what a dreadful world

is,

and the painters are waiting."

forgot to

tell

her that the ceiling must not

be white, but a subdued gray or an invisible blue.

She

will

probably

It is certainly

ple casings

make

the discovery herself.

a mistake to try to render sim-

and band mouldings ornamental by

applying bright or striking

colors.

slight

change of shade or the blending of two low uniform tones will prevent the tameness of a

prominence neutral tint, and not result in giving to constructive features that

ought to remain in

the background.

while a happy coincidence, later in the day

BLINDS. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the subject was tine

came

still

WOOD

fresh in mind, St.

Augus-

discuss the matter of finishing

I'm pleased

his chambers.

PAINT.

vs.

wholesome disgust of graining most universal.

takes

observe that a

becoming

man

a bold, bad

al-

calmly assert a preference for streaked brown paint in futile imitation of oak or walnut instead

of the genuine wood, the claim that

it is

cheaper

and more easily kept clean being proven It also requires

some boldness

false.

an hon-

to assert

est preference for paint rather than the natural

surface

and color of pine, ash, or any of the

more common woods. throughout " villa." St.

" is

Finished in hard wood

the crowning boast of the

modern

Paint smells of turpentine and heresy.

Augustine

soul

bold, but

of candor and

from him

not bad, and

Even

courtesy.

better than

the

differ

agree with

most

men. "

The

truth

is,"

said

he, " I

afraid of too

HOME

much wood, certain

sense

woods are but

know

INTERIORS.

disguised.

some

cases,

room which

will neither

Do you

all

that

in a

many

and shading

want a color

;

harmonize nor contrast

with any available wood.

and on the walls of a

prevail in the furnishing

" Paint,

know

beautiful in grain, tint,

suppose, in

work

that painted

What

then

" ?

means."

really

mean

}

thought you

despised paint." "

Far from

it.

There

a solid comfort in

the permanence and genuineness of unconcealed ash, oak, walnut, or pine that paint to give,

powerless

and there are certain apartments and

offices in a dwelling in

which the essential

finish

rightfully dictates terms of peace and harmony to the carpet, the curtains, the

the walls.

upholstery, and

But when the furniture and the other

movable and variable accessories hold absolute sway, then every part of the structure should

surrender

BLINDS.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WOOD

vs.

unconditionally

gilding, as the case

may

PAINT.

paint,

There

be.

polish,

we may

a great variety of woods from which

choose

;

>^ m

but to obtain from them

ings and combinations of color

in truth,

is,

miKg BAO

is dif

say impossible." "

Now

this is

to me.

most delightful

awake nights trying

lain

decide

whole cabinet of specimens, and have pictu before

mind's eye the chambers in walnu

in oak, in ash, maple, cherry,

may

my "

and

pine,

and

wooden-ness.'

If I

be allowed to paint them in delicate

tints,

oppressed with a sense of

trouble on that point

over."

need not remind you that this painting

must be

artistically done.

white, and blue,

however

You

cannot use red,

delicately laid on, nor

other striking, obtrusive, and inharmonious col-

These

ors.

iness

will

instead of

give an '

impression of

wooden-ness.'

paint-

HOME

72 "

And

trouble.

INTERIORS.

that reminds

necessary to have so

Must the casings be

of another

much wood

so very wide

but suppose, i'indows will

and prom-

have curtains, the

all

prevail in t? ^^ portihes or screens of

room

^^"^^

elaboration

" P;-

quite

<olly

abolished."

The

unnecessary.

sort,

wish

might be

There

no sense

clearer view than

foggy professional

obtained is

wood-work

of this

non-professional standpoint often com-

mands a wider and

for

some

whir'roni a non-professional standpoint, any

with an'

in a

can be

atmosphere.

mathematical limitation

the width of these casings or base-boards,

and, though a substantial protection

where they are found,

it is

required

most unreasonable

treat them as ornamental in a room whose

gitimate decoration

to le-

has no affinity with huge

beams, posts, and pilasters of wood, either bare or painted.

So you may

cast

off"

your burdens,

PAINJED

_-__/^^

f-RIEZE:

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY! ASTOR, LENOX AND TILOEN FOUNHATIONS.

BLINDS. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

WOOD

sleep the sleep of the just,

as light as to

please,

your own sweet " I shall

you

vs.

PAINT.

make

the architrave

and paint them according

will."

be only too happy to paint them just but

direct,

could not be content in the

thought that everything in and about the room

must pass under the yoke of conformity

to the

unyielding demands of unpainted wood."

To one

less fastidious, or in a

house of fewer

rooms, a judicious selection from the " cabinet of specimens " ought to furnish a sufficient variety.

The

heavier, coarse-grained

questionably, give a sense

nonconformity that

of "

woods

do, un-

wooden-ness

and

sometimes oppressive, but

white maple, white pine, holly, poplar, for light effects,

black birch, cherry,

have each a hues.

fine grain

If well

managed, the

their individuality

they

may be

mahogany

for darker,

and readily assimilating sacrifices

made

do not appear, however great

in fact.

HOME

â&#x20AC;˘j^

More and more upon

my mind

forcibly the fact

that the ability to

Beauty

rare one.

INTERIORS.

borne in

combine

such a wayward element,

so appealing, so selfish, and, withal, so jealous.

Even among those who

are fully sensible that a

color, a design in paper, paint, or fabric, that

intrinsically lovely,

may become

harmoniously placed, few can

hideous

resist the

tion to adopt a beautiful thing because tiful,

not

tempta-

it is

beau-

without considering the weightier matter

of fitness. I

often

think of the ingenious painter who,

finding no perfect model of the

human

face, but,

as he supposed, perfect features scattered about

and misplaced, conceived the sublime idea of

composing a face by borrowing the heavenly eyes of one,

the bewitching

the rapturous mouth

cealing

the

features

nose of another,

of a third, as

soon

and so on, conas

they

were

painted until the whole countenance should be

BLINDS.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WOOD complete.

When

vs.

PAINT.

at last this eclectic production

was unveiled, the revelation was so horrible that the poor painter fainted at the woful sight. I like to

show

box of samples of wood to

enthusiastic lovers of such things, listen to their

exclamations to

of delight,

and hear

them long

have a whole house finished with somethins:

that would throw

them

into convulsions

wishes could be gratified.

their

THE FOURTH DAY. WALL-PAINTING AND PAPER-HANGINGS.

HIS

has been one of the " red letter Business called

days.

and plenish

prophet.

Mecca, to re-

stock of ideas by waiting upon the

Since

tive genius,

improved the opportunity

are not

all

possessed of posi-

would be a happy thing

uninspired were wise enough

the

to follow the brill-

iant lights that are steadily burning in various places. in

There

Worcester.

illustrations

fail

one such illuminating shrine

When to

all

other arguments and

convince

obtuse client

honesty, good taste, economy,

that

simplicity,

and

originality are

still

possible in this effete

;

WALL-PAINTING AND PAPER-HANGINGS. and

The prophet I

be the better

for

tations,

fice I

send him on a pilgrimage to

sinful world, I

that city.

but

from these

visi-

persuaded that the world

will

altar of

domestic

false

many

kind

genuine, and not one of

whom we

these latter days.

promised

are

Some

tell

what ought

to be,

nothing else happens, possibly

people have

a notion that the mission of prophets

and prophesy, if

art.

found the prophet hard at work, a sure sign,

by the way, that he the

suffers

them, and unhesitatingly sacri-

on the

friend

preach

and what,

will

be,

but

never to put their own shoulders to the wheel all

of which

a mistake.

not only without honor

The

among

true prophet his

kindred,

he does not even suspect himself of inspiration.

too busy with works to be talking about

his faith. fully

wears an old blouse and an aw-

dirty pair of pantaloons,

and shows how

things ought to be done by doing them himself.

HOME

least, that

INTERIORS.

the state in which

prophet to-day, and

found

time was devoted to a

amstudy of his work, having in mind certain

young women who possess more time

bitious

and talents than they can profitably employ, and which flirtation,

therefore,

is,

flounces,

and

given up to croquet, other

satanic

devices

to whereby the rising generation are being led

perdition.

My The

first

inspection was of the staircase hall.

entire walls of this,

plastering, have

which are of ordinary

common

oil paint.

arrival the prophet

was deco-

peculiar shade of blue, with

the time of

pale, rather a

been painted a

balustrade, and to rating the wall opposite the

of imabout the same height, with a succession

panelled stairs.

der of

pictures

The buff,

monochrome

following

the

panels have a black

and upon each one

ascent of the

field

with a bor-

depicted in

leg, a blue stork standing on one

O H

WALL-PAINTING AND PAPER-HANGINGS.

— as

becomes a careful fowl who

wetting his feet

wood capping is

— among buff

reeds.

afraid

Above

the

the top of the painted, panels

a stencilled border of buff and blue, and the

spaces between the stork pictures have the same blue ground, bestrewn with stencilled geometric

figures.

the top of the

room

a buff frieze

with blue figures showing through. screen

a graceful, leafy vine, but

of rectangles is

wall-

quite covered over with a vine pattern

conventionalized after Eastlake it

The

and right-angled

;

that

say,

composed wholly This

triangles.

monochrome, a darker shade of blue

also in

than the wall surface.

this,

with his

and much more, the prophet has done

own

time, patience,

patience,

Of course

hands.

and genius,

— but being done

has taken

—

forgot, genius is

permanent as

have no doubt,

an old master, which,

one day be reckoned.

The

prophet, as

will

appears,

HOME

84 not

does

water

INTERIORS.

approve of calcimine, distemper, or

colors,

for

the excellent reason that the

cost of material for either water or

oil

colors

a small matter compared with the labor involved.

The

latter

once applied

will

remain as long as

any reasonable mortal would wish

to abide in

earthly dwelling, while the former figured, and,

easily dis-

defaced, restored with difficulty.

In the dining-room the wall-screen

a sort

of buff brown with a dark red figure stencilled

upon

The

it.

dado, a dark red, with panels of

very bright, very prim, very ing

stifi",

and

jolly-look-

red squirrels in vis-a-vis pairs, with roseate

borders in the same colors marking the panels.

Egyptian

liHes in red

and umber shading, with

an occasional dash of white, and

the most

dignified and Pharaonic attitudes, form the

frieze,

perhaps eighteen inches or two

which

wide.

When

frieze did not

asked the prophet

make

the

room look

this

feet

wide

low, solemnly

STENCILS.

IPUBLIC LlBRARVl AND

ASTOR, LENOX T.inFN FOUNDATIONS.

WALL-PAINTING AND PAPER-HANGINGS. he answered

high look and a proud heart

and the ploughing of the wicked were going

wished

affair

by whose propor-

produce an overpowering

should build as high as

room of

enough

for

fact,

possible.

yards square

five or six

effect,

could reach, in

and double the height in appearance

When

If I

sin.'

a cathedral, a state-house

to build

dome, or any other grand tions

high

comfort and convenience, who, that

hath a good understanding, an upright soul, and a chastened

spirit,

would care whether

peared to be high or low

ap-

was much im-

pressed by the text and by the prophet's dis-

The

course.

been hurled

question which

one

asked him has

form

about

seem first

five

high

assertion,

thousand times, and they who ask

rest

duty of a "

another,

sometimes as an inquiry, oftener as an

an immovable

human apartment

possible.

faith is "to

They would pay

that the

look as tithe of

HOME

mint,

anise,

INTERIORS.

cummin,

and

disregarding

the

weightier matters of harmonious proportion and

thoughtful adaptation to legitimate use.

The

billiard-room

noticed (the prophet plays

an excellent game), because both paper and paint

The

are used on the walls.

pattern in

large

checks,

dado, an innocent or eight

six

inches

square, alternate red and brown, each having a

simple figure of the opposite color, a plastered wall.

Above

this

there

painted on is

a screen

of the most astounding Chinese paper, display-

ing

all

the

of the

colors

forms of the antipodes.

but serene

rainbow and

Still

above

all

this a

the

wide

frieze, also of paper.

In other rooms

found other combinations of

paper and paint, the paint being, most appropriately,

near the

soiling

floor,

influences

where

damaging

course, paint on plastered walls

exposed to the to paper. is

by no means

invulnerable, being especially liable to fatal as-

WOOD, PAPER, AND PAINT.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOn, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

WALL-PAINTING AND PAPER-HANGINGS. sharp

from the

sault

Hence

corners

chair-backs.

the imperative need of a band of

at the right height to receive the

attacks.

wood

course, too, a wainscot of

work and a If I

with

certain class of workers.

serving, I

my command

would

to induce a

to put peas in their shoes

once make a pious all

the eloquence

company and

start

Worcester, then and there to learn

tiful,

in-

were not weakly and wickedly cumbered

much

sible to

been in behalf of a certain class

missionary of myself, and use at

wood

brunt of these

often desirable, but, as before mentioned, terest to-day has

make a house homelike,

of pilgrims

how

foot for

it is

pos-

interesting, beau-

by the thought of one brain and the labor

of one pair of hands.

ought, in justice, to say

two brains and two pairs of hands that think and act as one.)

prophet

do not say that the work of the

perfect, that the style

he has adopted,

the colors he has combined, the forms he has

HOME

INTERIORS.

chosen, are the best possible I

;

in order to

must know more than any one ever

can know.

But one thing

this temple,

—

perfect

home can be

it,

— has

communicates

this rare

found,

power

;

its

satisfaction

Better than

envy.

certain

ever

home,

this

more sacred temple than a

say that

did, or

else,

all

should like to see

glory

and

— and

the demonstration of true prophecy,

consciousness of inspiration,

contagious,

delight,

it kills

here comes

—

stirs

arouses not only

the desire, but a sense of power to go and do likewise.

•

flock of pilgrims will doubtless protest that

they cannot draw and paint and choose colors, like the prophet, even

very

likely,

require half as

much

to paint a piece of

color as to

— and,

they had the time,-

most of them cannot

does to

training of

wood

make

but

;

does not

mind or muscle

or plastering in a plain tatting.

choose colors for a dado and a

It is as

easy

frieze as for

o •2,

X > •<

o ^ o :d

o n w H M »

THE NEW YORkI PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILOEN F Mr> ^T,o^(s.

WALL-PAINTING AND PAPER-HANGINGS.

The

a belt or neck-ribbon.

patterns that are

most satisfactory are usually the most simple and most simply arranged, while as cessary time

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; my patience

takes to put one

plaiting" (that I

off

how long "

box

the only kind of dress-trimming

how

and something

trimming

for the ne-

think

row of trimming, say

know by name), on

then to think

a long trailed dress, and

long else

lasts before

put on

But

will last for generations,

ripped

it is

and

this wallis

art,

too, not fashion. It is

strange

satisfaction of

little

that

comes

how few have

at a time, but is

for

learned the solid

working toward an

ideal, in

doing that

little

a constant joy, adding, as it,

one feature

time

may never be

reached, but by a route so charming is

the

after another, steadily

advancing toward a goal that

end

doing

so well

that the

quite forgotten.

By way

of practical, matter-of-fact illustration.

HOME

INTERIORS.

take any family sitting-room having the usual plain casings

and a bare plastered

In the

wall.

place the band of wood to protect the plas-

first

tering from the sharp elbows

of the furniture

must be put around the room. the rest of

painted black, or of unpainted

may

This

may be

the wood-work.

be absolutely plain and

hard wood

flat

;

may have

bevelled or rounded edges

;

grooves in the face of

or incised "figures

it,

be brought out with bright it

any carpenter's shop

is,

few cents a put

foot,

colors.

will

Whatever

furnish

for a

This with the base-

boards at the bottom and the door and

of the dado.

simple

and an ordinary workman can

in a few hours.

casings, against

may have

which

stops,

window

forms the frame

If vertical bars are inserted

sub-

dividing the long spaces into short panels, the labor is

somewhat increased.

to paint the plastering

The

next thing

underneath the chair-

WALL-PAINTING AND PAPER-HANGINGS. the chosen color, which

rail

from

the

fashions

latest

may be borrowed dress-goods, from

out-door hues of earth and sky, or taken from

Owen

a sample card of colors or

mar

factory in shades, the second

needed

Jones's

If the first coat

Ornament.

—

for

Gram-

not satis-

two

will

— can be changed.

Even

the work

thus far absorbs

spare time and funds of a whole

be well worth doing.

The

year,

all

the

will

next spring get at a

bookstore some oiled paper, such as artists use for sketching, select a pretty pattern for a border,

— or out,

design one,

and

chair-rail.

stencil

— trace

effective.

with the same,

wood This

;

will

on the paper, cut

darker shade of the

always be safe for be more

above the base and below the

this, a

first

color will

contrasting color

may

Divide the dado into panels there are no vertical bars of

there are, carry

up each side of them.

occupy another year, maybe, and mean-

HOME

while the room and in grace together.

paper, or the

INTERIORS. occupants are growing

its

same one

another sheet of the oiled big enough,

if it is

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

be drawn,

prettiest design possible

be very pretty, but the prettiest

let

the

may

not

possible.

better to have loved and lost than never to have

loved at

but

it is

One who

all.

may have

especially rich in fancy

a different picture upon each panel,

not necessary, and the more formal they

are the better they will " wear."

Let the dogs

have square toes and block heads

let

the curves

and the peacocks'

of the owls' wings

angular, and the leaves of the

lilies

Abjure

square and compass.

shading and

;

perspective

all

effect.

tails

be drawn by attempts at

makes

This

another year.

A will

wood moulding be the next

at the

detail,

bottom of the

and application of the paper above annual

revolution

will

frieze

and during the selection

this,

another

accomplished,

after

SQUARE TOES.

R^S C^vi"-'FOUNDa

TlONS.

WALL-PAINTING AND PAPER-HANGINGS. which nothing remains but

hang upon the

some one

rest of the wall surface

of the beautiful

paper-hangings, which, thanks to the Kensington

Art Museum, are now within the reach of everybody, designs

and pattern. for

and

really I

discovered one day in

papers what was

familiar

made

truly artistic in

others,

new

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that

in plain oil tints

color

rummaging

me, but, possibly,

paper-hangings

are

which the dealers solemnly

swear are as impervious to injury as actual paint, that

can

they

streaked

with

daubed with boot-blacking,

bread-and-butter

fingers,

jected in fact to any indignity in the

and

still,

way

sub-

of dirt,

by a judicious use of hot soap-suds, be

brought out as bright and smiling as a freshly

washed school-boy. statement, and,

such paper

may

if it

cannot, in honor, doubt the is

true, see

no reason why

not be used as a background for

painted decoration, and

have some advantages

over the painted plastering, especially for those

HOME

I02

whom

INTERIORS.

painting with a big brush seems a large

undertaking.

course

energetic

souls

will

say months,

weeks, days, instead of years, but there are

homes

that

after the

people a day,

would rejoice

at such

longest period.

who do

sheer

even for

folly

not work more than twelve hours

who smoke

are able to

many

results

much

as once a week,

buy more than two

who

calico dresses or

one new bonnet in a year, who can write their

own names, and send school

till

their children to the public

they are twelve years

old, to

that they have not the time, ability, or gratify a taste for such

home

decoration as

suggested, and which has led

to a

quite

description of the temple and

description

pretend

means

its

have

away from prophet

;

whose continuation must be deferred

more convenient season,

for

grievously cumbered as aforesaid.

am,

in truth,

FIFTH DAY. DOORS AND SCREENS.

EAR

SIR,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Please

send plans

and give me something,

for doors,

you can, besides

the old, old pattern that must have been in

use ever since straight lines and square corners were invented.

I don't care vi^hat

they are

they are only

doors.

Yours,

" Warwick."

usual,

Warwick

If I

the verdict will be

hits the nail

on the head.

should ever be sat upon by coroners,

square,

think are

They worry me beyond measure.

bete noir.

The

They

" died of doors."

stiff,

mising things

selfish, inhospitable,

Harsh

in character

uncompro-

and ugly

HOME

I04

INTERIORS.

They always suggest

design.

the telegraphic

al-

— a long panel and a short one, one short

phabet,

and two long, two shorts and one long, three shorts, a short

two

shorts,

between two longs, a long between

and so

forth,

to allow

two well-dressed persons

abreast,

which they seldom

are.

through

Why, when

bridal party were

was married, the whole

file,

coman

of vanquished barbarians passing under a

Roman entered I

wide enough

to pass

pelled to enter the parlor in single

army

Then

infinitum.

they are so heavy and obtrusive,

yoke.

Of course no such comparison

unsophisticated soul at that time, but

could not help stepping on the bridal

unless

had waited

nobody knows what

disaster

a blunder committed critical

the next

for

train,

veil,

might follow such

under circumstances

and absorbing.

—

— and less

be sure, that was in

the days of expansive skirts, a fashion liable to return at any moment.

2 o

> r

IpUBLIC LIBRARYJ

DOORS AND SCREENS.

To be more

explicit, a

107

swinging door, three or

three and a half feet wide, monopolizes thirty or forty square feet of wall space, to

twenty square

five,

feet of floor

or six feet wide, as

much

there

left

to be

two or three such doors, dozen, â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

If there

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

doors

how

kept in-doors

speak mathematically,

opening into a room

cover, absorb, sequestrate,

happen

Ve seen

scribes the condition of the inmates

four,

on the side of a sixteen-feet

for furniture or pictures

rately.

fifteen

it is

often ought to be,

room

rooms with half a

and from

room.

most accu-

feet square,

totally demoralize

just thirty-three per cent of the

whole apartment.

Thirdly, they are so intensely " wooden."

an elegant drawing-room where peries, delicate

de-

five three-feet

fifteen

and

small

ornaments, and

In dra-

fine

rich

rare

paintings

abound, can anything be more grotesque than to see the

owner complacently point

at the

huge

proportions, the monstrous mouldings, and the

HOME

I08

INTERIORS.

gold-plated trimmings of a pair of mahogany, or

rosewood doors, as

these big barricades, with

the long and short panels in rectangular triplets,

were a sublime work of

art hardly

second to the

bronze doors of the Capitol

their sole claim to notice

anywhere consists

their

a matter of fact

surfaces,

and the amount of wood they contain

at twenty-five cents per square foot,

that

sound workmanship, their carefully polished

would indeed appear

to great

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; quahties

advantage in

the shop where they were made, and give great satisfaction

chine that scape

the

man who

made them. oil,

invented

engraving,

;

French burl

especially

must hang behind the door or be in

ma-

even a family

portrait, these six panels of "

an impertinent intrusion

the

rivals to a fine land-

the garret because there

are

the picture

left to

moulder

no room

for

below.

advice

Warwick

is,

firstly,

bestow

LJ _

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOK "^D TILDE N FOU"

-'IKj-'S.

DOORS AND SCREENS. some of

These

upon the missionary

his doors

and substitute

own

his

for

society,

use heavy curtains.

be used for doors of communication

between chambers en other

I I I

for

suite,

closets, or

where the impassable

situations

Secondly, to

not necessary.

those doors

let

that are usually open slide into the walls, for

sake of furnishing and

the

for

barrier

and

occasional

for

use as a screen, provide hangings as charming

and elegant If the

his

and purse

taste

opening to be covered

seven feet

by nine, these

dollars upward,

ways or

rise

and

fall

will

from four

cost

contrived to

easily,

allow.

will

not more than

move

side-

fancy the sliding

doors will very rarely be drawn from their hiding-places.

they are tolerably heavy

are not they can easily be " padded

blankets

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; these curtains

will

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

they

with coarse

be found as perfect

a protection against changes of temperature as the heaviest door that ever grated on

its

hinges.

HOME

112

The They

INTERIORS.

outer doors will take care of themselves.

are properly intended as a strong defence

ao:ainst

unwelcome intrusion from without.

But

mad

dogs,

for tornadoes, tramps, burglars, gossips,

and other vicious

beasts, our dwellings

Since we

as free from doors as a Bedouin's tent.

must

made

have outer doors, they should be

at least to

strength.

appear what they are and to show their

There

is,

surely,

no good reason

making the entrance door of a

private

consist chiefly of plate glass, as though

end were

much

to display as

interior in the

manner

licensed beer-saloon.

within a border of glass

mental fancy

chief

of a miUiner's shop or a

be good sense

small for the aperture,

house

Yet a limited amount of

the appearance of solidity. to

its

for

as possible of the

glass, especially if in small lights,

seem

might be

in ;

may emphasize

Neither does there setting a solid door

makes

appear too

acknowledge a

senti-

for a wide, low, single front-door,

A STRONG DEFENCE.

PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ^STOR, LENOX TILOEN rOUNV'TlONS.

DOORS AND SCREENS. two horizontally, by which

cut in

I I

means the

upper half may be opened while the lower

re-

mains closed, in the fashion of the good old times

when

was necessary and

creeping out

Nowadays

the

keep the babies from

dogs

from

the babies, what few

coming

there

are,

in.

are

too well bred to creep on all-fours in the front hall,

and, even

any one wished

must

of the door, there

which

spoils

the

hospitable opening.

spot,

open a part

be a fly-screen on the pleasant effect I

suppose

this

of the

kind of

double doors must be set down as a vain protest against the prosaic present

by a bald imita-

tion of the poetic but inconvenient past.

For the needful inner

doors, the stout frames,

technically speaking the " stiles,"

must be straight

and rectangular, but instead of the telegraphicalphabet panels,

have given Warwick a screen

of narrow sheathing,

matched and

bevelled,

not

beaded, with irregular and somewhat decorated

HOME

ii6

bars crossing

INTERIORS.

in the direction of strength,

have made a small, plain panel, or

one corner,

be decorated

and

shield, in

bright

The

colors.

intense

" vvoodenness "

of the unpaint-

ed doors

may

be further mitigated by painting the bevels, the

chamfers,

grooves, or any

icwmmwiiwii HDnSQl

notchings incised

with

work, bright,

honest colors.

Since

the

making of plain panelled

doors

has been reduced to such a simple, mechanical

CAUTIOUS BUT NOT CONVENIENT.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC

LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

DOORS AND SCREENS.

119

operation that a door one and a half inches thick, three feet by seven and a half

the

feet,

can be made

best

stock and in the

most

perfect

manner

half,

for

and

dollar

cannot

be reckoned an

unreasonable extravagance to

add a few lars'

worth

interest riety

dol-

and va-

this

necessarily con-

spicuous piece

of furniture.

For furniture

ANOTHER DOOR it

is,

and

justice until this fact

never

will

recognized.

receive pretty

HOME

120

and

efifective

INTERIORS.

treatment consists in making

all

the upper part of the door within the stiles in

one large

panel of plain unfinished wood, the stiles

being in such

form

that

dependent

in-

frame

covered with some fabric, either orna-

mental

itself

susceptible

decoration, can be

covering

set

in,

the

bare

This screen

wood.

movable can

SCREEN ABOVE.

taken repaired or changed,

need

be,

out

and

and of course

ONE OF WARWICK

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

DOORS AND SCREENS.

may be made

the opposite side of the door

and

solid

most

the

conventional as

stupidly

punctilious could desire. I

screens, pure

wonder that

not more often found

common plain,

clear,

main-

all

four

and either with

the wood-work required.

this a great variety of materials

paper,

linen

any

thick, furnished with feet to

without casters,

For covering

wide

three

upright position,

its

linen,

made

frame

inches

board

and one inch

be used

the furniture of our

rooms, both for ornament and use.

rectangular

hard-wood

tain

among

and simple, are

common

tracing-cloth

cotton (for

cloth,

may

brown

transparencies),

crashes, canvas, cretonnes, damasks, silks, satins,

and

velvet.

Upon

these

may be

pasted, painted,

sketched, traced, stitched, embroidered, embossed, or otherwise applied, attached, and depicted in

paper, ink, paint, in worsted or

silk,

bugles, or buttons, in threads of silver

in beads,

and

gold,

HOME

124

INTERIORS.

works and devices that may be executed hour or occupy the leisure of a year. frame

made

two or three

upon the

folding one feet will not

other,

These

vertical

be necessary, and the whole

be more valuable than

are a few of the

may

such screens

its

many

be employed

its

affair

room

company.

uses for which :

midday sun from an exposed spot carpet without

the

parts,

understanding

the

can be more snugly banished whenever

happens

Keeping the in

a favorite

excluding his beneficent beams

from the room, protecting sensitive " neuralgists

from perilous drafts of

air

by day or night, shad-

ing from gas or sunlight weak and weary eyes,

temporarily closing draped openings that have

no doors and prefer to have none because there is

no room

for

a door that

them

swing or

slide,

concealing

not often used, but which cannot

be permanently abolished, dividing a large room into

two parts when

happens that two small

BROWN LINEN BACKGROUND.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

;

DOORS AND SCREENS. chambers

will hold

12/

more people than one large

one, or fencing in a corner of the hall for those

emergencies that are constantly occurring pitable families.

made little

And what

one corner of the sitting-room

folks

what pavilions and palaces keeping and

life.

Even

for the

What warehouses and museums

pating the

in hos-

a paradise could be

trials if

for

playing at house-

other ways delightfully antici-

and tribulations of grown-up

many days were consumed

in fab-

ricating them, two or three such delicate, movable partitions in the

whom

way

would prove an unlimited resource

of leisure time' to

any mother upon

rests the sacred duty of caring

for a family

of children.

Saide has just finished a screen

made from

breadth of an old brown linen duster, smoothly stretched upon a walnut frame.

Its decoration

consists of figures cut from bright-colored cre-

tonnes, arranged in original and thoroughly artis-

HOME

128

designs,

tic

course

and

the-

and simply stitched upon the its

chief excellence

feeling with

selected

INTERIORS.

affair is

familiar.

a most successful rival of the

its

now

so famous

Its practical office is to

refrigerator in

the dining-room, but

own excuse

of asking what

skill

This being well done,

beautiful Oriental screens that are

and

linen.

in the

which these pretty patterns are

and arranged.

whole

lies

for being,

behind

it.

hide the

its

beauty

and no one thinks

SIXTH DAY AND WINDOW

CASINGS, CAPS,

SEATS.

" Lord, what a thoughtless wretch was

To mourn and murmur and

repine,"

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

as I did only last week, on account of the trials

profession

of a dyspeptic

and

must have been the

attack, for

right

mind

when

my work

result

well-dressed

a delight to

me, with only this cause for grief: the actual

performance tion.

falls

sadly below the ideal concep-

The combined

perplexities, the

unexpected

and unreasonable requirements, the meagre and doubtful pecuniary recompense, are mere passing

shadows over the sunny delight of tion.

this,

as in

all

human

artistic crea-

affairs,

no man

HOME

130

liveth

While

unto himself.

some task

INTERIORS.

to try to satisfy the

this light affliction

is,

indeed, an irk-

Wandering Jew,

vanisheth before the exceed-

ing satisfaction of striving in behalf of a fellow-

man

and the

of cultured thought

gentleman. colonel

Augustine

St.

instincts of a

one of these, the

Without intentionally wan-

another.

dering from the path of impartial duty, the per-

formance

rises

more nearly

the conception, for such

dom

to the sublimity of

— of whom

Heaven — than

for the

the king-

more grovelling

and earthly-minded.

The Colonel came up

to-day with the designs

door and window casings, which are not

for his

quite

satisfactory,

Now,

there

are

through lack of

persons

who

terror of anything original, it

all in

original It is

the family sin.

—

first

stand

seeming

originality. in

to consider

cousin at least

Others delight

mortal

— with

nothing

else.

a mistake, by the way, to suppose there

AND WINDOW

CASINGS, CAPS,

nothing new under the sun.

SEATS.

131

the contrary,

notwithstanding our inherited apishness, an exact

copy of anything

found nowadays obstacles to

rarely seen

hand-work."

newness of design

century are

of the nineteenth

;

it 's

never

The

chief

the products

the

inventions,

possible to

wickedly sought out, that make

reproduce by the million fac-similes of every

manufactured that

article

on the face of the earth

a popular want or strike

happens

fill

the popular fancy.

The Colonel wishes ings," that

to exclude

" mill

mould-

have been in use ever since moulding-

machines were invented. '

There

making means

all

no more propriety," said he,

" in

door and window frames

(he

the

casings)

alike

than there would be

selecting picture-frames of one unvarying style

no more reason

for

;

having half a dozen doors of

the same pattern, than in hanging half a dozen

;

HOME

132

INTERIORS.

Each window

pictures of the Yosemite Valley. discloses a picture, a magnificent

one,

and the

views are not only unlike each other, but each has a changing beauty, new every morning and

fresh every evening.

ought to learn some-

thing from Nature's infinite variety. ble conformity in style

formity It

all

wrong."

makes one

feel

second

}

give one door a square top,

a semicircle,

its

left-hand

Herod

would not answer its

much promise

strangle a new-born hope of so

but what could

its

A reasona-

right, a stupid uni-

right-hand brother

sister

ellipse,

and

neighbor opposite a segment, just because

a spruce-tree

pepperidge

flat

pointed, an elm domed, and a as a

pancake

;

neither should a

beaded casing join hands with one that fered, or carving

sit in close

or incised surfaces. logic

on his

side,

The

cham-

communion with

plain

Colonel has Nature and

but in the middle course

VISIBLE

MEANS OF SUPPORT.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

CASINGS, CAPS,

safety.

It is

AND WINDOW

not quite

fair to assign

rank to the window-casings as frames, though the former

They are

similar purpose. structure,

ariid

SEATS.

the same

the picture-

may seem

to serve a

a part of the essential

have no claim

be considered

decorative, but the picture-frames, although not

themselves ornamental, supplement and complete the most distinguished decoration in the room. It

only requisite that the window-frames and

other related work shall be consistent, honest in construction, and not obtrusive.

reason

why

dows should

start

from the

good

means of support

from the base,

floor or

even when they are entirely visible

There

the casings at the sides of the win-

plain.

to the

They

give

whole window,

which otherwise has the appearance of being stuck upon the

face

of the

pended midway between the ing.

plastering,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; sus-

and the

ceil-

This forms a panel underneath, which

may

be of wood or plastered

floor

like the rest of the wall.

HOME

136

The

INTERIORS.

Colonel asked whether these casings and

those of the doors might not extend to the

ing as well.

To which

provided there

there can be no objection,

a belt of

wood around

of the room to receive them.

an elaborate cornice

;

ceil-

the top

This .need not be

mere

few inches

strip a

wide and no thicker than the casings themselves will suffice.

Of course

for decoration,

it is

a legitimate subject

and being superior

the pictures

band,

ten,

may be

may be fifteen,

position,

From

should not be inferior in quality.

this

suspended, or a subordinate or twenty

inches below

put up to form a frieze and

knobs or hooks that sustain the

carry the

pictures.

This

notion also found favor in the eyes of the Colonel,

and instead of carrying

all

the casings to the top

of the room, he decides to

above

let

them merely

this subordinate belt or architrave,

rise

having

a decorated, quaint, or fantastic terminal, and crossing the belt in such a

manner

that cracks

FANTASTIC HEADS.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

AND WINDOW

CASINGS, CAPS,

not be

will

space between

color, or a

This

seem

two horizontal members

brought out

with a positive

conspicuous decoration of some sort.

most important, otherwise there be a gap in the wall-finish, such

set forth great things

when

be quite right provided the

the

occupied and

fully

by the shrinking of the

opened

This

stock.

SEATS.

little

small,

will as, to

sometimes appears

boy's stockings are too short at the

top and his pantaloons too short at the bottom.

This

being

settled,

the

Colonel

introduced

said he,

"one thing

another topic. "

want and must have,"

more, for which you have no provision, namely, window-seats." "

The

" I

some

ject

walls are not thick enough."

'm aware of places,

into the

that,

and

room.

inches more, even

but they can be

in others the seats

made

may

pro-

better to invest six

the amount must be taken

HOME

140

INTERIORS.

from the capital stock of the room, than window-stool

the

already

hand.

waste

well-

cushioned seat by the window, low and wide,

because

always popular, and none the in

less so

nowise prevents an unlimited indulgence

easy-chairs seats

project

some

cases,

near vicinity.

the

into

Where

these

room, as they must in

have a fancy that the curtains

should be brought out over them, making a sort of canopy, and reaching quite to the ceiling." " Certainly

your fantastic " Precisely,

may, but

little

this

will totally hide

heads."

and that

my argument for making

these window-frames (he meant casings

according to the

of the case.

For

in the library

must

exigencies

instance, this wide

window

again)

have the permanent seat and the canopied curtain or lambrequin.

work

will

Every vestige of the wood-

be as completely hidden as

behind the plastering.

Why,

then,

if it

must

were waste

HELP FOR A ROUGH ROAD.

THE NEW Y0RK| PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILOEN FOUNDATIONS.

;

AND WINDOW

CASINGS, CAPS,

hard-earned dollars upon

SEATS.

it ?

narrow,

plain piece answers every purpose." "

But the canopied curtain

not a fixed fact

you may change your mind." " I

change

can't

my mind

mathematical demonstration. pensable,

curtain

will

indis-

be built with the house.

The

now

love would n't be half

is."

aware of

also

whom you is

But the man

that.

may

the house

sell

were more

tete-d-tetes

common, the course of true

course

seat

a necessary consequence of the seat.

as rough as

"I'm

the face of a is

cosey and retired

If such

The

think the rough

the best, or have other good reasons for

dispensing with the drapery." " I shall

never

leave

" Well, well,

sell

the house."

your sons

make them

.'"

all

alike if

but as simple as possible, and to

disclose

the nakedness of

you must,

sons see

my work

fit

after I

HOME

144

gone,

will

INTERIORS.

be at their own peril and ex-

pense."

The

Colonel touched here upon what

one of the most interesting points Usually the main

chitecture.

the exercise of individual taste fixtures of the certain,

his

house.

may

house

pass

domestic ar-

opportunity for

movable

in the

Even when a man

humanly speaking,

own permanent

that he

feels

building for

abode, the thought that the

own

out of his

hands, and the consideration of

its

into

strange

possible value

in case of voluntary or compelled sale, deter

him

from indulging in any personal whims and fancies,

his

which would make

own than

ing of the

Herein

bills.

lies

home

value which other

;

the

and truly

never.

the

home

the difference be-

The house may be

tween a house and a home. sold, the

really

can possibly be by the mere pay-

The house has

same above

one

all

man

price to

a market as to an-

him who

BUTTRESS AND BRACKETS.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

CASINGS, CAPS,

creates

own

SEATS.

who has wrought

for himself;

a part of his

into

personality.

Blessed are they

who have homes.

appeared concerning the casings

further

AND WINDOW

that their faces need not always be clean shaven,

that

is,

If the

in the

same

vertical plane throughout.

width of the window-seat or the thickness

of the wainscot or base requires

lower part

may be augmented

buttress fash-

may be brought forward

ion, or

they

— not

by way

of ornamental

window casings should house,

more room, the

— but

in the

n't

wear

cap,

at the top,

— door

and

their caps in the

form of brackets

for the sup-

port of the rod or bar that carries the curtains

;

which rod or bar may be as simple as a broomhandle or gorgeous as an Indian diadem.

The

provision for hanging pictures, which

also discussed, in

was

a matter of absolute necessity

The

these artistic times.

pounding the plastering

all

old

fashion

around the room

of to

HOME

148

INTERIORS.

find a spot that gives a solid

sound, then punch-

ing holes with a scratch-awl

all

hope of finding a stud, driving a a screw into the crack laths

and

about

it,

nail or

in the

screwing

between two springing

finally trusting

a heavy

gilt

frame and

a big sheet of glass to the treacherous support of

crumbling mortar,

Neither

not popular.

older fashion of nailing a " cleat "

the

two or three

feet long across a couple of studs in the region

where the one picture or the looking-glass

be set up, adapted to the wants of the present generation.

How many

room, or what

light will

cannot be foretold.

new

pictures will bedeck a

be required

for

them,

Every Christmas brings a

one, every auction sale furnishes a

"gem"

a "bargain," for

which a place must be found.

Hence the need

of an

unbroken

line of support.

Instead of making this a bald, bare obtrusively stuck up, and

a moulding can

say,

" I

necessity,

saying as plainly as

'm a gallows whereon

A LEAF FROM THE PROPHET.

iT'^rTNEW YORK Ipubuc ubraR^I ACTOR

ueNOX AND

CASINGS, CAPS,

AND WINDOW

pictures are to be hanged," ten

it is

times more delightful to

SEATS.

just as easy

make

151

and

a compo-

nent part of the essential work, either of the constructive casings and cornices, or of the color decoration, or of both.

SEVENTH DAY STAIRWAYS AND TILES.

has been

an unfortunate thing for

country homes that, instead of devel-

oping the inconveniences and discomforts of old-fashioned buildings

by natural growth,

answer the needs of the higher

civilization

and more refined demands of domestic the present time,

many

life

of the most important

attempts at improvement have been blind imitations of city dwellings.

some

them awkward

want of space and other transplanted to the open

Customs and

styles,

necessities, entailed

limitations, fields,

have been

where only

their

STAIIiWAYS

AND

TILES.

153

awkwardness remains. Staircases are a notable

The

example of old

this.

fashioned

steep and narrow steps,

with their short runs and frequent turns, have

not

been allowed to develop

by-

natural selection

and a hap-

py survival of the

fittest into

broad,

easy avenues of ascent,

filling,

perhaps, entire

square

room,

but

dwellers in the "

unpaved

tricts "

dis-

have

persisted building A SWIFT DESCENT.

long,

slender, precip-

HOME

154

Step-ladders,

itous

INTERIORS.

swelling out

the bottom

with a flow of curved platforms, making a pretence of breadth where there

no breadth, and

terminating at the top in a twisted vortex, a dangerous trap for old people and

These

little folks.

things are often inexcusable in city houses,

where, owing to their more greater extent, there

and

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

constant use and

the utmost need of ease

In the country they are always an

safety.

unpardonable offence.

man

Until a

can afford

space for an easy progress toward the upper

re-

gions he should abide below. In remodelling the old house,

aimed

first

secure an ample

St.

Augustine

staircase,

and

generously set apart one of the main rooms for

These

the purpose. esting

study,

and

stairs

have been an

designs to the satisfaction of

they were the

first

common

inter-

have to-day completed the parties.

all

under discussion,

When

argued against

turned balusters, which seem to

SUBSTITUTES FOR BALUSTERS.

STAIRWAYS AND most appropriate

TILES.

some material

for

of uniform

grain and color that will show to best advan-

tage the lights and shadows of carved, turned, or

moulded work, or iron.

the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as

stone, ebony, painted wood,

This staircase

to be of

Western

ash,

marked graining of which would mar the

beauty of form

suited

Furthermore, there are so

separate

many

symmetrical figure a couple of two, three,

baluster.

of them feet

long,

or four inches in diameter,

A and

should

be very beautiful to justify the existence of a gross or two of isolated specimens exactly alike, " all in a

bunch."

wearisome

to think of

the thousands of stairways with a turned walnut

post at the bottom, a flattened walnut

rail

hav-

ing a shepherd's crook at the top, and tapering

walnut sticks

Whether

pairs

all

was the plea

eternal fitness that

the

way up

the side.

for variety or for the

prevailed

have forgotten,

but the turned balusters were given up.

HOME

158

On to

INTERIORS.

delivering the plans this morning

dismay that they contained one

The

fect.

steps were satisfactory,

The

high and twelve inches wide.

was

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

sufficient (five feet in the clear)

for the balustrade,

found

fatal de-

six

inches

entire width

the design

;

that can be called a balus-

trade which has no balusters, was approved

the

;

newel post, that most trying feature, passed examination creditably

its

and the broad landings,

;

on two of which are windows with wide seats beneath, and on the third a old

Dutch clock

forever," alas

where the

solemn,

will repeat its

Never,

were reckoned a decided success.

But,

being panelled

in the

the back of the

stairs,

most orthodox fashion, looked

Augustine

like the

be suspended,

tween the

cellar

in the eyes of St.

under side of the top berth

and the upper

in a sleeping-car,

unless

recess

tall

Mahomet's

and the

we walked

roof.

flight

coffin, I

seemed

midway

be-

protested that

the antipodes, with our

STRENGTH AND LIGHTNESS.

^^sr.

:!^.;";^^A.,

>0a

'/Vs.

;

STAIRWAYS AND

TILES.

l6l

heads toward the nadir, steps on the under side

were

useless,

and that the

flight,

apparently held

in critical suspense, would, in fact, safely carry a

regiment of soldiers to his battlements sion required.

But he was

occa-

persistent, the treads

must show from beneath and the "turning newels"

must reach from the ground-floor

topmost

flight.

accordingly, and

be excellent. less

the

The

plans have been changed

satisfied that the result will

The whole

ponderous than

staircase will appear

finished at the

the usual way, and will seem what

back is,

light

and strong. " In the elder days of

art,

Builders wrought with greatest care

Each minute and unseen

part

For the gods see "

straight

through

lath

and

plaster,

and

stone

walls hide nothing from their penetrating sight. I

think

we may sometimes get

the better of the

HOME

INTERIORS.

by contriving our work

inquisitive gods

so that

there shall be no unseen parts, letting the actual

house

construction of the furniture,

its

itself,

as well

be apparent, not only to

as of

celestial

but to mortal eyes.

course a staircase contains

ments of grandeur, but to

upon

thrust grandeur

intrinsic

ele-

a mistake to try

by starting with a

huge post or column, which, according would be no sin

to the old

worship,

interpretation,

since

the likeness of no created thing

below or above, continuing the exercises on the

back of a hand-rail that would carry an express train

;

setting a colonnade of solid balusters at

one side

match a

solid

wainscot at the other,

and backing the whole with deep panels of hardwood, attached

all

some mysterious manner

sloping surface behind and below.

the

this is

hall,

When

crowded into a straight and narrow

one can't help thinking that the broad road

A BROAD LANDING.

LENOX AND

rorHVoONO^T^ONS.

STAIRWAYS AND more

to say the least, the

is,

there

TILES.

that these useful

members safe

humble

it is

lift

many rooms

desirable to have as

communication with the

also with the stairs, the

tains the other, but the

hall

one commonly con-

same convenience

results

the main or central hall and the staircase hall

are contiguous, though separated. is

some

simplicity

of the household to a loftier place

as possible in direct

far better

retire to

and easy steps.

Because

and

members should

quiet corner, and there in

When

attractive.

not room for a genuine magnificence in

the getting-up-stairs department,

the

165

fact,

often no need of a staircase "hall" at

small houses, especially,

them completely with doors

them

at top

inch on

the

of encroaching

contracted

and bottom, exposed in

fully

narrow length, gathering their for fear

better to enclose

than to compel them to stand, their

there

all.

skirts

about

by one precious

passage

one

side,

HOME

which

hall."

Back

called

INTERIORS.

exaggeration a "front

vain

stairs are frequently

and are usually

thus enclosed

and narrow, hence

steep, dark,

a prejudice against enclosing the prin-

there

cipal

flight

manner.

in a similar

erly graded, well lighted,

But

prop-

and furnished with a

hand-rail at each side, such a stairway

most

convenient and sensible, as well as economical in construction

that

ten times

when not

cut up

in the saving of heat

Likewise, the

desirable.

entry

and

little

when or

hall

more pleasant and valuable

and blockaded by the

Instead of a door at the

foot,

with a movable curtain

stairs.

an arched opening

may be used

good

purpose, and, of course, the doors at the top

may

be omitted.

Falling pation

for

down

stairs is not a legitimate occu-

adults, but the

hability to

fall,

and

the danger in case of a slip

or a misstep,

much diminished

has at least one

each

flight

STAIRWAYS AND

TILES.

These came

broad, square landing or turn.

Augustine's plan admirably, though

St.

stairs I

169

had been narrower and the

into

the

ceilings higher

would have introduced a long, horizontal walk

next the outer wall, not only as a diversion and a rest in climbing, but for the sake of a pleasant

The room which they occupy

interior effect.

being nearly square, there

virtually

floor

the second and third stories, only a gallery

of about

the

giving

selves,

same width access

the

stairs

them-

various adjacent

chambers. I

may

see

no reason why both these

not be available

small houses of the sim-

plest construction without loss of

venience,

without

latter features

much

increase

room

or con-

of cost,

and

with great gain in appearance.

My and

days with

this has

to be

St.

Augustine are busy ones,

been no exception.

no end of "points"

There seems

the thorough

fin-

HOME

I/O

INTERIORS.

Having disposed

ishing of a large house.

we attacked

stairs,

the

Here there

kitchen.

be a dado four and

a half feet high, of plain white six-inch a

brown base

The bath-rooms

border at the top.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

will

The

with

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

are to be tile

small,

floors.

woolly

weather and after

fireplaces are lined fully with

to the exclusion of soapstone, fire-brick, or

Some

and the hearths correspond.

iron,

mantels have borders next the the

have

also

be needed

for bare feet in cold

a hot bath. tile

and

these, rugs will

islands

tile,

bottom and a blue and white

at the

similarly dadoed,

of the

beginning with the

tiles,

tiles

fire,

and

of the in

one

extend above the shelf in an unbroken

mass. In selecting and arranging these there

same

difficulty as with

paper-hangings,

the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; combi-

nations cannot be judged by isolated specimens.

Yet

find

little

the combinations.

anything but

tiles

are sometimes

satisfaction

Separate

/THE

NEW

mUC

YORK^ LIBRARY

ASTOR, CE^.ox AND

J2!:££i:2^oAT,or;s.

STAIRWAYS AND

TILES.

very beautiful, well worthy of being set up as

ornaments, is

like vases or other pottery,

certainly an incongruity in using

orations for

wood-work

durable quality

in situations

of no value.

but there

them

as dec-

where

their

Inserted in the

top of a sideboard, a heavy table, or a wooden

cover the entire surface or for an

shelf, either to

ornamental border, next the

and

fire,

in a

at the base of

chimney-piece made of wood,

other locations,

various

a newel post,

their hardness

their position, but they should not be

justifies

set scattered

about "promiscuous like" in

ters, corners,

and prominent places where they

pilas-

have no meaning except by reason of color and This

pattern.

garment

;

worse than new cloth on an old

a cast-iron fence around a

country door-yard, a binding of brass on a velvet

gown.

If color

brush and

and figures are needed, paint-

picture-books

more consistent form.

will

supply them in

HOME

174

INTERIORS.

Tiles will also be used as a setting for the fur-

nace registers, which stand, as they ought, walls near the floor

Some

them

and not

in the

the floor itself

occupy conspicuous

situations,

and although no wealth of ornament

in bronze,

will

nickel, or gilt will

add one gleam of picturesque

sentiment to the "hot, black breath" of an

indi-

rect heating apparatus, the registers are impor-

tant features, and are entitled to certain

of distinction.

The

debatable ground

the hot iron and the combustible it

properly

material.

filled

marks

between

wood around

with some non-conducting

Soapstone borders are common, mar-

ble or slate

may be

used, but tiles are of course

more ornamental than

either.

TOO COSTLY FOR EVERY ROOM.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC

LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

EIGHTH DAY. FIREPLACES AND BIG WINDOWS.

"IKE ')

the undevout astronomer, the

who does not stand

man

awe before the

marvellous growth and the wondrous

works of humanity

a fool or a cynic.

Among

grander in

its result,

these achievements, what

grander in good-will in

sounds,

its

among men, than

the fact that, sitting

human

sights

and

can yet speak with the tongue of

men

room, away from I

evidence of peace on earth and

and angels

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

if I

all

understand the language

every mortal being

who has

tation in the civilized world

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

a recognized habi?

can

call living

HOME

178

spirits

INTERIORS.

from the vasty deeps of restless activity

on which the sun never

sets,

and they

Though dwelling

call.

parts of the sea, they are

munication with me, and

with

come

immediate com-

all

will

in the uttermost

The

them.

magic wand that summons each individual

presence,

the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

"open sesame"

audience-chamber of mankind,

postal-card or a stamp. result, glorious in

its

wonderful

in its

Talk of writing

promise.

the book of Job on a half-dime

that admits

Why,

could

write a whole library of moral reflections on a

postage-stamp.

The most

serious danger in these days of epis-

tolary correspondence

that the art of clear

truthful speech will be forgotten.

If a

and

man has

any important communication to make, even to his next-door neighbor,

letter.

he writes him, or

her,

he has a message for the public, he

spreads his thought upon paper, and the mails

^tetri-

X m a m

z 3 n o

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; FIREPLACES AND BIG WINDOWS.

In business, the fashion of

spread the papers.

correspondence

The

man

to write his

own name

His wishes and opinions are

established. to

some decided advantages.

has

ability of a

l8l

likely

be more accurately and briefly expressed by

writing than through of vocal

black and white"

memory, oring.

or,

the

medium

facile

Likewise, statements "in

utterance.

are

less

liable

fade from

chameleon-like, to change their col-

all

events,

find business transacted

wholly "by mail" quite as satisfactory in sults as that

which has the benefit of the

re-

its

word-

o'-mouth" encounter.

One lives

familiar spirits,

a neighbor

who

only six or eight hundred miles away, spoke

terday,

this

and

morning, I

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

heard

or, rather,

he spoke yes-

cry

morning,

his

about the fireplaces.

made, and the margin

His left

every room but the pantry"

this

estimates

are

for

a fireplace

insufBcient.

fully

" in

HOME

INTERIORS. he exclaims, " the grates

the lowest,"

alone will cost fifteen dollars and the mantels

average twenty-five dollars more.

will

can, in-

deed, set up in two or three of the rooms the

mantels without the grates, letting the summerpiece serve as a register for the furnace heat, but

even then they

may

forty

average nearly forty dollars

will

So, unless

each.

you can explain how ten times

be made to equal one hundred and

must give up

fifty, I

fireplaces."

"I wish the multiplication-table would always be as accommodating," of

postage-stamp.

reply on the under side "

With wood

dollars a cord, the fireplaces sive luxury to feed, but if

back self

For

to first principles,

which

Indian's

twelve

you are willing

you need not deny your-

an unlimited indulgence the

may be an expen-

the article

wigwam, an

itself.

institution

for

have great respect, a bare spot of earth,

two or three

feet in diameter, is the sole requi-

Ifr.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDE.N FOUNDATIONS.

FIREPLACES AND BIG WINDOWS.

In the log cabin of the pioneer, which

site.

hold in

higher reverence, a hollow pyramid

still

of durable stones, roughly heaped together

and

pointed perhaps with clay, diffuses the warmth

and comfort

which the germs of a higher

civ-

For the home of an

begin to grow.

ilization

honest man, than which no worthier object of veneration can be found on the face of the earth,

a simple niche of any incombustible material with

smoke and a hearth

an outlet

for

and

household

the

gods,

essential of that feature, without

complete.

deed,

That

not think of giving

finish

gant manner fill

In-

up.

up the house and keep the

strong advice

test its soundness, build a

please,

fundamental

which no house

you can have but one, the house or the

fireplace, give

for the ashes

the

and furnish

known

;

but

fire.

you wish

house as big as you it

the

most

ele-

modern extravagance,

the rooms with fountains and

flowers, per-

HOME

INTERIORS.

fumes and pictures, and heat them with hot from the regions below,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

all

but one.

air

In that

one build upon an ample hearth a glowing

fire

hickory-wood, and in the presence of that genial

upon the bare

blaze

congregate

will

all

floor of the unfinished

that

the house without

them

Which

}

will

good and kind and

Which

lovely of the household. these,

will

you have,

or the fireplace with

be most like home

.-'

time in the dim past

we were

all

and

be absorbed

in the far future

room

shall

Some

fire-worshippers, in the

glorious brightness of which the feeble flickering

blaze of our mortal existence

Our

love for the

fire is is

a typical spark.

warmth and brightness of the

not a thing to be cultivated or analyzed,

instinctive, a part of every healthy,

unperverted

nature. " I

suppose the sumptuous treatment of the

place and

its

accessories

ute paid to the beauty of the

fire-

the involuntary tribfire,

but the attempt

> >

n H 3

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILOEN FOUNDATIONS.

FIREPLACES AND BIG WLYDOWS. to

enhance

this, or

any other innate beauty, by

ornamental surroundings able failure.

commonly a miser-

glows as brightly, sheds

ance as freely and as

far,

its

radi-

from the uncouth chim-

ney of the backwoods cabin as from the polished

and plated bars of the grand salon; and although that

may be reckoned

a crude taste which prefers

the uncouth chimney,

which of

all

fails to

surely a narrow view

see the comparative insignificance

surroundings, whether coarse or

fine.

Given a chimney starting from the ground, as

every chimney ought, and five dollars will a fireplace in each

Common

room through which

bricks well laid are

not

make

passes.

incompatible

with the finishing and furnishing of a family

ting-room or chamber.

They may be

painted or coated with Portland cement.

sit-

left bare,

If con-

stantly used, the

back

will

unless protected

by a

slab of soapstone, a lining

burn out

of fire-brick, or a plate of cast-iron.

after a time,

If coal is to

HOME

INTERIORS.

be burned, a cast-iron basket or some form of grate must stand in the recess. in the brick-work, rest

upon

its

This

own

legs or

from a crane, and should cost four or a pound.

That

is,

may be

five

set

swing cents

form of

in brief, the simplest

SWINGING FROM A CRANE.

It is all that

a fireplace.

necessary for the

highest beauty and comfort that a fireplace can give.

made

Its

modifications

are

endless.

of wood, slate, marble, or mnlachite

placed above

shelf

may be

to hold fanciful match-safes, dis-

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX »ND TILDEN FOUNDATIOMS.

FIREPLACES AND BIG WINDOWS.

torted bottles, photographs in straw frames, dust

and ashes.

mirrors,

plate

may be surmounted by Frenchflanked by panelled

buttresses,

carved owls, or allegorical pictures

But these tial to

the fireplace, which

unadorned simplicity, casings.

upon

tiles.

delightful surroundings are not essen-

may

safely

left

our accustomed eyes the tablet and

ornamental adjuncts seem indispensable. fire will lose

door and window

like the

nothing

they are

left in

The

the shops

where they were made. "

fireplace for

burning wood

der or a watchman.

It is

will "need

fender should be of solid brass, handed

some

a fen-

not necessary that the

colonial governor's library.

down from

modern wire

netting on a frame of gas-pipe, a sheet of thin brass with simple perforations

chine-shop, or any

made

any ma-

other expedient of

Yankee

ingenuity, to let the heat out and keep the sparks in, is

equally efiective.

Whether the hearth

194

HOME

INTERIORS.

pressed bricks,

slates,

the less carpet and so "

Your notion

much

ply atrocious.

the

be dark in

be so

will

much

more comfort.

of building a monstrous mantel,

by way of mouthpiece

let

tiles, let

There

color and vast in size.

to a furnace-pipe,

If a shelf

needed

sim-

for bric-a-brac,

there be a shelf for that purpose.

required for a large mirror, build

If a rest

If the fur-

it.

nace-pipes for the rooms above, or for the room itself,

must be covered by some

sort of case pro-

jecting into the room, let the case appear, and treat

such fashion that

shall

be a pleasant

feature and not a conspicuous sham.

that the furnace heat often

pseudo-grates by that only ating.

makes

Why

way

true

comes through these

of a

summer-piece,' but

the deceit the

more exasper-

not buy an upright piano with the

inside arrangements

all left out, in

order to look

musical, a thousand or two of book-covers glued to blocks of

wood

that your library

may have

^ !T^ />*

iTi]ppiip.B»in^smi;[iD[][][[nii

^f^^-

^'^>>.^>'-f^-'^^-^-' ill

BRASS WATCHMAN.

FIREPLACES AND BIG WINDOWS. literary appearance,

and keep a

lot

and wine

When

you begin

shams you cannot draw the all

of wax-work

and colored water on your sideboard fruit

to imitate

to indulge in

line arbitrarily.

They

belong to the same family, and a free pass for

one

good

for the

whole crowd.

you are

pleased to consider these useless mantels as decorative objects, pure

and simple,

can only say,

tastes differ.

For myself,

of setting up,

by way of parlor ornament, a sec-

should as soon think

ond-hand tombstone, or the carved head-board of a two-story walnut bedstead." I should not

have

felt justified

such a reckless indulgence in open

in suggesting fires

without

giving the preliminary caution that their constant

use as the sole means of supplying warmth in

very cold weather will prove an expensive luxury. In a furnace-heated dwelling they

may

well be

furnished to every room in which the social meet-

ing even of two or three

liable to occur, or in

HOME

198

INTERIORS.

which a suffering invalid may ever be compelled to abide.

Where each room

dependent upon

resources for warmth, an isolated stove

more economical,

own

much

everybody knows, than a

These patent

fireplace.

its

iron

heating-machines

with oil-cloth underneath and Russia pipe above,

with their clatter of shovel and tongs, poker and ash-pan, are often looked upon as necessary evils

while

cold.

use, this

and unmitigated nuisances when account the horrible custom has

arisen of "taking the stove

carrying

weather

off to

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; on

the

down"

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which means

grow rusty during the warm first

generous heat of the sun

spring days fills

house with an ardent but mistaken

summer has come.

Out of

when the

the mistress of the

this

faith

that

custom proceed

coughs, colds, neuralgias, and " rheumatics," soreness of the joints and blueness of

spirits.

present the most practicable

mode

mak-

mil ^ili

o 2!

> PI

z > r K >

iji

^!-

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC ASTOft,

LIBRARY LENOX AND

TILOtN FOU.Mr-ATIONS.

FIREPLACES AND BIG WINDOWS.

20I

ing a stove charming in December, inoffensive in

August, and ready

for use at all times, is to build

accommodation a recess or alcove either

for its

the corner or at one side of the room.

be arched at the top

;

This

may

very narrow, the sides

should be of brick or of extra-thick plastering

upon

Shelves or brackets, for non-

iron lath.

may

explosive ornaments,

per portion, and the stove as if

partially

occupy the up-

may have

itself

open and cheerful as any grate such stoves can be found.

course,

when

there

a positive

They

stove, hidden

will be, of

demand

In August the recess becomes

a face

in the land,

for them.

closet

;

the

by a pretty screen or a short door,

occupies the lower part, while the ornaments before

mentioned look serenely down from above

may be

or the whole interior violet velvet curtains,

golden rod.

housekeepers as

A "

;

gracefully hidden by

swung by

silver

mosquito bar,"

hooks from

known

may be used

for

simpler material,

HOME

202

The amount

of heat

thrown

room from a stove thus situated

will de-

economy's sake. into a

INTERIORS.

pend somewhat upon the form and construction of the recess, but will

much more

certain that

be saved than with a

common

from

grate,

which so much speeds away up chimney

to its

everlasting source, the sun.

For the home, ject,

neighbor, nearer

benefit of another

have just been discussing the same sub-

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

sun and

its light.

the blessed decree by which he

were not

for

compelled to

shine upon the just and the unjust with a benefi-

cence that not even blue glass can wholly intercept or avert,

would not be strange

withhold his beams from us tion at our ingratitude.

he should

righteous indigna-

Not through

wide, free

openings and with thankful hearts do we receive the

fulness

conceit,

of the

blessing, but with

ignorant

and through windows narrow and

low,

blinded and curtained, stained, painted, and unclean.

SUITED TO ALL SEASONS.

The new YORK PUBi.IC

LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND TlLOtN FOUNDATIONS.

FIREPLACES AND BIG WINDOWS.

It is not,

20$

however, the moral or sanitary con-

siderations that trouble Mistress Abigail.

anxiety

in regard to the interior

Her

arrangements.

How can I curtain a great square window How can I open and why not have two half as

.-'

it,

large

" is

And

the burden of her complaint.

the substance of

is,

that

almost impossible to arrange drapery with ease

and grace

That

anything

for

facility of

opening

but is

wide window.

not dependent upon

width, and that one

window

many

better than two of two and

cases as

much

five feet

wide

a half feet as the two are than ten of three inches each. for

Better for light, better for warmth, better

interior

furnishing,

better

better for the illuminating effect

for

observation,

upon the whole

apartment.

The

persistent

perpetuates itself absolutely

way is

which a stupid custom

most tormenting.

no reason

why

there

There

should

be a

HOME

206 " regular

size

for

INTERIORS.

window-glass or width

window-curtains, or any regular or finishing them.

The

mode

finest effects are often

the most irregular and unexpected.

Mrs. Abigail

ventures to have one wide window by periment. ter,

for

of placing

way

of ex-

Twenty-five years hence, her daugh-

remembering the happy incidents of her

childhood, will

have two.

So tedious

blows by which an ancient custom

are

the

destroyed.

NINTH DAY. RENOVATING OLD HOUSES, VARIOUS DECORATIONS AND FURNISHINGS.

RECENT

writer on the subject com-

pares the relation of architect and ent existing

its

personal

between a man

and

aspects his

cli-

that

family

phy-

sician, his legal adviser, or, perhaps, his pastor,

each of

whom

he reveals certain of his

pri-

vate concerns which he does not discuss freely

with others.

The more

ing of homes the more the dignity of the

first

rank

observe of the build-

inclined to maintain

profession by claiming for

in this respect.

Of course when

HOME

208

INTERIORS. or be tres-

find ourselves liable to trespass

passed against,

our designs or our

disclose

dangers to some representative of the stern majesty of law,

whose

and black white

ability to

" great crises,"

isn't

physical

the

seek those

normal

condition

brief,

call

can ease our

But trespassing of

may

much more common

man,

civilized

and small

say,

than big ones.

most men are more intimately affected

by the character of tions

spiritual

ignorantly

who

souls.

whatever the dogmatists crises are

pangs or

we vaguely and

and shrive our

bodies

Likewise

most renowned.

when tormented by woe, and in what

make white black

their

homes than by

the po-

they absorb, whether doctrinal, legal, or

medical.

It is true,

"houses" and "homes" are

not identical, but the relationship

and peculiar. counsel

In studying for

confess

inability to

between the material and the

very close

plan

or for

draw the

line

spiritual, the eco-

RENOVATING OLD HOUSES.

209

and the moral, the sanitary and the

nomical

and the

aesthetic, the useful

When

man

asks

beautiful.

for a plan

and design

without knowing

for a Jionsc, I

can furnish

whether he

the czar of Russia or an Iowa

want

and

If he desires a home, the case

granger. ent.

where

know who

wife

his

was

" raised "

church he belongs, or does

way he if

votes,

he thinks at

all

and punishments and prospective

his

treats

;

belong

n't

how he made

;

which

;

them

sumed

;

and

;

number his

silk

own

dresses

whether he buvs

sale or retail,

and

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

money, and rewards

of his servants, and business, and ;

all

how

whether they

are domestic, musical, literary, or stylish furs

what

the size of his family, present

the

;

his

in a future state of

daughters spend their time

many

was

and what he thinks of Darwin,

whether he believes

how he

is differ-

his grandfather

;

how

are annually con-

his jiroceries at

whole-

about the family plate and

HOME

210

other heirlooms,

INTERIORS.

want

know

number

the

whether he drinks

and quality of

his guests

wine with

his

dinner

questions

the state of his nerves and of those

;

his

;

belonging to the family

views on

general

sanitary

his

;

habits as to hospitality, as to cleanliness,

social

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with

special reference to wash-bowls, side entrances,

and

floors;

weed

;

and also

whether he

what hour he

a slave to the

seeks his

"vile

downy couch

;

he takes care of the furnace himself

and attends to the

chores."

Now,

a tenth part

of these questions put to a stranger or a casual

acquaintance would typical

Yankee,

can be found.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I

appall the most inquisitive

anybody knows where he

can only remove the

difficulty

by establishing as soon as possible such a degree of mutual confidence that

all

these things

"come

of themselves."

The cial

foregoing moral reflections have no spe-

reference to the work of to-day.

They were

RENOVATING OLD HOUSES.

who always

inspired by a visit from Sister Jane, fills

with a most solemn sense of in

responsibility " It

great

matter of home-building.

not the mere spending of money," quoth

she, "

the

211

it is

the shaping of

me some

brought

human

destiny."

raw material

She

work upon

the persons of her husband's youngest brother,

blushing

bridegroom, and

They came not

only for a

fact

awkward,

trived,

low

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

joints,"

done with the drunken too deep for

them

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; new

and what

sailor

more than a

to solve unaided.

reconstruction

civil

shall be

a conundrum

In general, the making over of

entire

live,

illy-con-

affair,

should be fought out on one of two

make an

to them,

the town where they

uncompromising

between

wife.

but for counsel.

They have bought a new house but old

pretty

his

visit,

old

lines.

that

houses Either

will

cost

war and leave only a small

portion of the original foundation-stones by

way

HOME

212

INTERIORS.

of relic of the former mansion, or else let the essential structure severely alone, relying for

all

desired improvements upon paint, paper, treat-

ment, and

little

adjuncts and accessories within

and without that can be appended without cutting

away

make room

for

them.

in-

clined to think that the dusting and trimming

and shaping of the holes in the old garment

make ready

for the

than to make a

But there

new patches

new garment

often costs

out of whole cloth.

great satisfaction in trying to im-

prove on the work of our predecessors.

Human

nature seems to exult in the visible triumph of pulling

down work

replacing

that has been outgrown, and

on the spot with something

better.

Sister Jane's brother-in-law adopts the second

course, the only visible addition to the old house

being an entrance

hall,

not to contain the

stairs,

but large enough to serve as a small receptionroom.

this will

be wholly new,

advise him

RENOVATING OLD HOUSES. and studs that constitute

to plane the joists

and then

frame,

may be

view to be

stock

in colors,

" cor-

sober

reasonably good, they

simply, and left to

oiled

with age.

them

he pleases, and painted If the

or gay.

its

and plaster between

lath

these timbers, leaving nered,"

213

grow darker

In any case there will be no incon-

gruity between the

new and

the old work, for

this visible construction belongs to all time, like

a black silk gown, and

rarely out of place in

This mode of finishing inner

any company.

walls and ceilings would be practicable and ap-

propriate for an entire cottage to be permanently

although

used,

popular fancy

by an unaccountable freak of is

not supposed to be possible

except at seaside and other

many

of which

all

that

summer

makes

life

resorts, at

charming

the fashion of ignoring formalities and conventional codes in building, as well as in other ters,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a

fashion

all

the

mat-

better part of which

HOME

214 might

safely

INTERIORS.

adopted

constant

for

home

use.

The

bride,

was unable

Hke many who are older and

things which

comprehend the

and the

nothing to actual

The most

she has never seen.

vivid illustrations

clearest

sight.

wiser,

actual worth of

theories are

therefore ad-

journed after dinner to John's house, wherein are to be found various and sundry specimens

home work

With the

bodily form.

lege of near neighbors

we walked

ment door and found ourselves dining-room.

privi-

in at the baseat

once

the

This apartment proved especially

interesting to the bridegroom, because, like the

rooms of

his

own

house, the ceiling

low.

The

substance of the lesson he learned ultimately

but indirectly upon this point, was fact

and divert attention from

ignore the

by introducing

other striking features that are quite indepen-

dent of height.

Naturally, the

windows were

o X z

a o a o X n

PS-^^' U3RARY

DECORATIONS AND FURNISHINGS. seen

first,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a

21/

group of three occupying

fully

three fourths of one end of the room, the central

window projecting

quite

beyond the outer

face

of the thick stone wall, and having deep jambs.

the wide stool stands a box

filled

with climb-

ing plants that cover the sides and hang from the top

hang

left

graceful to

festoons,

themselves.

vines

always

the two outer

corners of the side windows hang baskets also

with trailing plants.

filled

afiairs

of distorted

Not those enormous

knots and roots

like a large family of

look

that

reddish-brown serpents in

deadly conflict, nor yet the ornate receptacles for

which the only suitable tenants are the most aristocratic

and exclusive

exotics,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but

good

honest earthen pots that expect to be hidden,

and usually

are,

by a luxuriant growth of ver-

dure and bloom, that only asks a handful of rich,

moist earth with plenty of sunlight and

I pity

air.

plants that are imprisoned in stylish vases.

HOME

2l8

They seem

who

are always dressed

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not

objects of disinter-

like children

"company

INTERIORS.

clothes,"'

ested, deep-seated affection, but of shallow, selfish

vanity.

think those people should never

be intrusted with

flov/ers or children

love

and

grow

in or clothes they wear.

reverence

them,

who do not

whatever

soil

they

Directly in front of the three windows stands a long, narrow box dle of

which

in the ends,

filled

with earth, in the mid-

a bed of dark, rich ferns, and

geraniums, heliotropes, and grateful

nasturtiums,

that

perennially.

grow

freely

and

bloom

charged John with attempting

a vain deceit in covering the outside of the boxes with a pattern of oil-cloth that resembles closely as to mislead the uninitiated. tests

that

hangings on the material

for

semblance to

tiles

pro-

no more deception than paperwalls, that oil-cloth is the

covering flower-boxes, and tile

a mere accident.

proper its

Perhaps

reso,

z <

o •r o H s

'HE

NEW

VORkI

PUBUC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND -Li2iIJ_^NDAT(ONS.

DECORATIONS AND FURNISHINGS. but, is

221

whatever the motive, the whole arrangement

so attractive that the height of the ceiling

quite unnoticed.

The

fireplace at

one side of the room aston-

ished

the bridegroom,

like.

When

originally very large

tique model,

who had never

how

old grate

iron at a junk-shop, stole

its

built,

to the an-

and according

" the old thing

how he bought an

tar, laid

seen

John explained how he had

would

draw,"

n't

and a plate of cast-

some bricks and mor-

up a couple of thin walls as

far apart as

the length of the grate, supported the grate near

— — how

the bottom and put the plate on the top, inside the cavity of the antique original,

let

ject a

the top bricks of the two side walls prolittle,

set a short

wooden block on the top

of each pier like Patience on a

then clapped a shelf on these, fairly

all

monument, and

— the bridegroom

glowed with admiration and

delight.

declared he would have six exactly like

in his

HOME

222

own

house, which

INTERIORS.

is filled

with fireplaces too big

Without doubt

to use in their present condition.

HOMEMADE

he can so do

FIREPLACE.

he chooses, but

that he will vary the pattern.

to be

hoped

DECORATIONS AND FURNISHINGS. Opposite the fireplace stands an niture

because

John says must be a

that it

made

223

article of fur-

" sideboard,"

of boards and stands at one

ONE evening's work.

side of the room.

It is

a plain table, long and

narrow, with a drawer in the front side and without leaves.

Upon

this

John has

built, also

with

HOME

224

his

own

INTERIORS.

hands, a low tier of shelves, the work of

one evening and a

fret

tional piece of furniture, in design,

that

By way there is

but

It is

it is n't

all its

not a conven-

even " Eastlake

so hospitable

has a beauty

saw.

and convenient

own.

of wall-decoration in the dining-room,

a wide frieze of plain red paper, on which

depicted the most extraordinary procession of

men and

animals since the

flood.

fact, it is

supposed to represent that ancient but very miliar event,

fowls

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Noah's ark and

and creeping things on

refuge.

They

are cut out

order

arrangement.

actuated by the old himself.

whether ent.

Sister Jane

way

their

There

Each

counsel,

fa-

the beasts and

of black

pasted upon the red ground. in their

all

to that

paper and is

no law or

figure

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; every

seems

man

for

has never fully decided

to consider this frieze artistic or irrever-

If inclined to use a similar style of decora-

tion she

would probably choose a

different theme.

?-^

l/fv -'";:'• "a,^""'' •-'O',^

DECORATIONS AND FURNISHINGS. John declares

to be the only economical thing

about the house.

and forget

The

22/

The

guests look at the pictures

to eat their dinner.

bride was interested in

some of the

of the family room, which has a

details

"hand-made"

border, a fret cut from blue flock paper, lying on

a buff ground,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and

doors and mirrors.

row

stripe of dark

outlines of caps over the

These

brown and

are traced

medallion heads in the centres.

by a nar-

paper, and have

gilt

The hand-made

borders have several advantages over the " ready-

They may be much

made."

cheaper, they afford

unlimited opportunity for originality in

and

possible to produce with

design,

them more

striking effects as well as greater simplicity.

Instead of a single mirror in a heavy frame

suspended from the wall by a liable to

break any

in the family, there are two,

the broad window.

string,

moment and

They

which

cause a death

one at each side of

are set

flat

against the

HOME

228

wall,

INTERIORS.

and cased precisely

like the

In front of each one

the room.

dows

small,

low table or large bracket

ble pincushion

doors and win-

and other

for the inevita-

These

toilet-articles.

brackets or tables are permanently attached to the wall,

and are provided each with a drawer underBefore the

neath.

window and between the

tables stand a couple of chairs

The

covered with chintz. singular in

made

and a footstool

chairs are

somewhat

design, and John declares that he

the framework of

all

three articles out of

in just five

an empty soap-box

had said twenty-five

minutes.

than any soap-box

ever saw.

as the footstool are decidedly

unique,

of to

Mrs. say

larger

course, they

are exceedingly simple, and the chairs

Yet the group

should have believed him

as to the time, but the footstool alone

Some

little

"on the

well

square."

by no means ungraceful. John's

the

least-

wall -decorations

One room

are girt

5^ -H-r

I-

Te^1E£z^

BORDERS OF PLAIN PAPER.

DECORATIONS AND FURNISHINGS.

around with a zone of charcoal sketches on the This belt

bare white plastering. feet wide,

about two

and the walls above and below

are

In another, clusters of grains and

tall

grasses bend from the corners and beside

the

papered.

windows.

These are so true

that the apparent

skill

to nature, in form,

displayed

sketching

them was a source of great astonishment, it

was

until

ejfplained that they are simply copies of

the actual forms of the objects which they rep-

The shadows

resent.

are thrown

upon the walls

and fastened there by a brush dipped

They could not be otherwise than

in india-ink. true.

The

black ghosts of leaves and ferns are also caught

and grouped about in various places where

pic-

tures could not well be hungf.

The

bride urged

different

to prescribe colors for the

rooms of her house,

but, while this is

one of the most important points, and one of the

most

difficult

decide,

its

decision especially

HOME

232

She would not think

belongs to her.

INTERIORS.

choose the color of her gowns

neutral tints

safety

danger of the negative

In the

glaring sins, but

fault of dulness.

low rooms, more than high ones, life

of asking

of bright, strong colors.

But

will

Her

need the

here, too, there

a middle course of comparative safety, which

consists in following the well-known harmonies

and contrasts without attempting unusual and delicate combinations.

These should not be

troduced except by a master.

in-

composition of

Wagner's may be more exquisite and wonderful than an old English choral, but the latter

rendered

fully

blundering

incompetent,

skil-

be far more agreeable than

will

execution

the

former.

our return

upon the young eral

mood, two

" Firstly,

bestowed

benediction

couple, and also, being in a lib-

parcels

friends,

advice

follows

be honest and independent.

> m

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LE^fOX AND TiLDtN FOUNDATtOKS.

DECORATIONS AND FURNISHINGS.

235

not attempt to force upon your quaint, old

house an appearance of newness, or to hide

its

venerable peculiarities by bright, new-fashioned,

The one

self-conscious finishing and furnishing.

thing needful in your

home

ence of harmony and

the manifest pres-

fitness.

you are the

happy owners of a genuine Murillo or Rembrandt, a carved Chinese bedstead, or any other

kind of a white elephant, you

an entire apartment for

But

in general,

its

and behoof.

object

feature,

the

sentiment will dictate a close equality in

the various

room.

well set aside

though there may be a climax

of elegance in a single finest

may

sole use

elements

Tall

furniture

that

form and

under low

furniture in small rooms,

mahogany

fill

ceilings,

each big

chairs stand-

ing beside sheet-iron stoves, lace curtains sweeping above ingrain carpets, wide picture-frames

covered with shining gold-leaf, and coarse, cheap,

gaudy

paper

behind

them, heavy

hard-wood

HOME

236

INTERIORS.

dados supporting a white plastered

marble

ished

lamps and lovely,

shelves

tin

bearing

candlesticks,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; there

pol-

wall,

common is

glass

nothing

nothing comfortable even, in such combi-

Far better would

nations.

and buy poor

rich material

be to

sell all

exchange,

the

you can secure the nobler element of

so doing

harmony. "

These general features that are subject more

or less to economic and constructive conditions

being determined, the further details of form, fabric,

and ters

and color

afford endless scope for fancy

for study.

a great extent they are mat-

of individual feeling, like the color of the

gown, but they must not be Neither

to be.

man

Yet to

indulging

for certain things

chance.

his

hking

proves their right

might sometimes be wise

outgrow it,

safe to affirm that a strong

on your part

left

own crude

to allow

taste even

rather than to insist upon his ac-

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 'A-itd*^

iLlm^ AND

tiLOEN FGMX' OPTIONS.

DECORATIONS AND FURNISHINGS. cepting the verdict

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; of a if

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

him incomprehensible

higher culture,

239

say

might be wise,

no one suffered from his blindness but himself. " Secondly,

Learn

and

to labor

finally,

and

be modest and patient.

Slow work

to wait.

not

always good, but nothing very good was ever

done

Don't attempt too

a hurry.

too fine work.

Better

good appetite than a

much

a dinner of herbs with stalled

choking with wrath and

evil

ox when one

Any

passions.

simple, quiet thing that you understand and appreciate,

which

and gives it

fills

its

place, but

never crowds

satisfaction without reference to

cost in time or

money,

unappreciated magnificence.

may be

a zone

of color, a shape or a shadow, a part of the itself or

something of

its

what

better than a costly,

room

contents.

not fear to imitate what pleases you

you are sure

worth copying,

for the selecting

from worthy models and adapting to your

own

HOME

240

INTERIORS.

use what others have originated requires fine

much

and common-sense.

discrimination

mistaken, however,

your highest delight in

you do not

am find

work

this direction, in

planned by your own head and executed by

your own hands, even

after the

friend Mrs. John, who, as

manner

of our

you have just seen,

has made her house delightful by means quite original, simple,

own time and "

and economical of

all,

save her

thought."

But / never can do such

things," said the

youthful bride with a sigh. "

You can

learn,"

sublime masculine ited

ability,

replied her

faith,

husband with

not only in the unlim-

but in the life-long leisure of his

better half " Perhaps, if I â&#x20AC;˘

have nothing

else to do,"

was

the doubtful response. "

This aroused Sister Jane, who proceeded to

give an address upon woman's place in the uni-

DECORATIONS AND FURNISHINGS. verse, the substance of

paramount duty

which was that

make

own house

her

interest-

That few would lack either

ing and attractive.

the opportunity or ability to do this

half the

care and labor were given to such endeavors that are wasted in efforts to learn and follow fashions in dress.

That these

efforts in the

way

of fash-

ion are wasted, because even at the end of a

devoted to them there

no purer

genuine fine

art.

crudest attempt

consequence of

improvement

devotion, no real ception,

is,

taste,

beautify their

homes by an

for true principles

sure to lead to a higher and nobler

work

per-

That, on the other hand, the to

and that the very perfect

artistic

no increased love of

humble and earnest seeking of art

life

this

dissatisfaction

life,

which follows im-

a sign of growth infinitely more

be desired than the complacent content of

fashionable ignorance.

WAY OF

HOW JOHN

APPENDIX.

HOUSE WAS PAINTED.

EAR JOHN, â&#x20AC;&#x201D; You valiantly battles

for

was brought down a favor in return.

nished

tale,

remember how

your architectural

fought

you when your

to terra firma

me,

Tell

air-castle

Now

in a plain,

want

unvar-

the story of your actual operations

in painting the outside of

of experience

your house.

worth a ton of theory.

pound

Give

the benefit of yours, but not for myself alone.

those

who ask me

for

advice on this inter-

esting subject, instead of laying regulations,

and trying

down

rules and

give verbal descrip-

HO IV JOHN'S HOUSE WAS PAINTED. tions of the indescribable, to wit, of color,

be able to say

shining example tell

Behold John

see

want

him and

That you have made a bright and

his house."

Now

243

all

of yourself,

about

do not doubt.

Let your

it.

light shine.

Don't exaggerate, or set down aught in malice. Don't hesitate to confess your errors

losophize, but

give

;

mistakes

Don't speculate and phi-

are our best teachers.

all

the facts you have

gathered while doing the work, and describe as concisely as possible the total result.

Sincerely yours.

My dear is

.''

Architect,

Well, here goes.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

It 's facts

Paint and

charity, cover a multitude of sins. full

the

you want, putty, like

The world

of sins anxious to be covered, consequently

world

Where abound.

sin

pretty

well

coated

with

paint.

abounds, paint and putty do more

Sin and paint

were born about the

HOME

244

same

The

time.

INTERIORS.

first

arbor that

painted white, though the ark

known

habitation

shalt paint

(Gen,

vi.

14.)

built for

Some

the

human

first

have been painted.

'within

and without with

Thou

paint."

versions read "pitch" in-

but the original Hebrew, which

stead of " paint," is

Adam

and Catawba grape-vines was probably

fig-trees

here translated "pitch," means boiled linseed

and English red

oil

This proves that the

lead.

ark was painted, and painted

why many

plains tions,

who

don't

still

pious people of later genera-

these

never

in streaks,

shall

John,

prefer their red paint

narrow streaks

speak further by and

saw Noah's

always had a fancy for houses.

the flood,

arks red.

old

their

more modern,

and their piety

also ex-

know anything about

except by hearsay, paint Others,

red.

ark,

either,

these

old

at that.

by.

but

have

red

farm-

So, one day, without consulting

brought home a gallon of

oil,

some

Mrs. ver-

HOW

JOHN'S HOUSE WAS PAINTED.

245

milion,

a whitewash-brush,

and prepared

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

house

first

make

step-ladder,

the second story of our

you know

like a red, red rose.

and

I 'd

of stone

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; blush

got about three daubs

on the house and two on the ladder, when Mrs.

John came rushing out I

like a distracted goddess.

supposed the inside of the house was

was, and

all

down on

little

in a

and she declared she thought the outside

blaze,

all

sat

the neighbors would think so too. the

we agreed

conversation,

paint to

make

step-ladder, and, after a to

save the red

streaks with, and to paint the red

furniture that stands out-of-doors for our neigh-

bors to look

at.

must be painted got

find

red, or

that sort of furniture

nobody knows you

've

it.

Afterward we held a mutual council to decide

what color of the rainbow we would adopt. our immediate ancestors, some of

whom

extant, a white house with green blinds

are

was

To still

in-

HOME

246

INTERIORS. ^

dispensable,

purity, the green of innocence.

were

ditto,

now and then

with

striking through.

being

white

the

emblem

Their churches a tinge of yellow

the emblematic part,

that would suit our case exactly, but Mrs.

John

and

flatly

just rose in the majesty of her wrath

refused to abide under a green-and-white canopy.

white house, quoth she,

a cold, dead, star-

ing, glaring, ghastly hole in the landscape.

— resque, — but

blots are

a blot,

Not

sometimes careless and pictu-

What

just a hole.

if all

the rocks

were white marble and the earth marble dust

What

if all

trees

.-•

were white birches, and people

were always and forever wearing nothing but sheets children

and

pillow-cases,

— men,

women,

and

What and

her gowns were bleached cotton

every day, and her hair like the drifted snow

For the sake of argument able solemnity, that

remarked, with

suit-

hoped some time to see her

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

HOW

JOHN'S HOUSE IVAS FAINTED. and waving a

clad in spotless robes

verdant palm, looking in fact

victorious,

much

very

249

white house with green blinds. " If angels are

composed of

flat-sided cubical

blocks with never a curve or a softening shadow, if

their

outlines

are

straight lines,

all

their

palms of victory are rectangular pieces of green pasteboard held up before their eyes,

they

stand forever in one spot poking out their sharp corners one,

John

till

dojit ;

the skies of heaven ache, then

want

and she was quite this point

you

Red houses belong

will

for

right, as usual.

note the following facts

to the

That color was adopted

Thus Mrs,

to be an angel."

antediluvian period.

former times in token

of affection and respect for Noah, latterly through a vain desire to express admiration for things that were

drowned out long

prepared to make sake,

great

and our admiration

ago.

sacrifices for the

were not

for

antique

Noah's is

con-

HOME

250 fined to the

INTERIORS.

and honorable, but from

relics old

intrinsically lovely.

to the ancient

and ugly we beg

be excused.

Red reminds

Dutch

barns, and the

of country school-houses, " the

back side of

There

house where

another objection to red

;

was born." it 's

terribly

No-

exasperating to bulls and gobble-turkeys.

body wants

to live in constant fear of

barded

his

own

by an

castle

whether he goes on two legs or on thermore, and worst of

house of Lancaster.

all,

being bomirate

brute,

four.

Fur-

red belongs to the

the other hand, white

belongs to the house of York, which bad.

pants of

just as

ascertained, moreover, that the occu-

white houses with

green blinds are

either cold-blooded formalists, prim

and

precise,

helpless tenants of greedy, grasping landlords, or

they are, in some other way, victims of painful circumstances.

very serious

fact,

also

found, and

this

that the congregations

which

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

HO IV

yOHiV'S

HOUSE WAS PAINTED.

253

cling to the old simon-pure white meeting-houses are invariably of the strait-laced-est, hard-shelledest,

biue-nosed-est,

decided

therefore

anti-evolution-est type.

unanimously,

holding

after

sweet counsel together, that, whatever else happened, our house should not be either white or red.

Then we made

a tour of observation.

travels extended over this entire

Our

community, and

penetrated the most exclusive and elegant portions of our city.

whose color we liked spot, take

this

home

intended to find the house

best,

copy the shade on the

tenderly and

make

our own.

end we carried a supply of tubes

squeezed, a clean piece of pine board about as

big as a

shelf,

and a handful of brushes.

houses Mrs. John ignored utterly. straight

through every one, as

They

White

She looked there was

n't

are mighty aggravating.

any house

there.

You

hang a rag of fancy or sentiment or

can't

HOME

254

romance

INTERIORS.

a white

Their spick-and-

house.

span, matter-of-fact brightness

and commonplace.

But we found plenty

Every time we discovered

made

little

wofully dreary

anything

else.

new, we

There were

patch on the board.

washed-out blues, and faded-out pinks, demoralized yellows,

and invisible greens, dirty

and indescribable browns.

much

like a

November mist

reds,

found houses so

that

could have

walked square through them without knowing it

the day had been foggy.

Mrs. John a

silk

gown

If I should

buy

or a pair of five-buttoned

kids of the same color that belonged originally to certain others, but which are

dust

from the

street,

now smeared

with

soot from the chimneys,

faded by the sun and streaked by the rain, Mrs.

John it,

her prudence would say

John, too easily soiled

able for an old

woman,

Mrs. John would be

;

besides,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; might

" Can't afford 't is

n't

suit-

do for a baby."

right, as usual.

We noticed.

:^*

Iks'

\';^'-v'*ss^

..-

—w .

TM NEW YORK

HOW too, that,

JOHN'S HOUSE IVAS PAINTED.

when

man

has been and painted his

house one of these weak and washy

and

lilacs,

257

roses and pearls,

tints,

purples

baby blues and peach-

blooms, and shortly discovers, as he surely

what a helpless thing little life

into

it is,

by striping

then he it

tries to

will,

put a

with vermilion and

other colors belonging to the poppy-bed.

discovered combinations that would drive

a French

dressmaker crazy and

her customers, and colors

were

nine

times

cost

her

bottom upward, the raised

dark and the sunken portions

all

out of ten the

light, as if

parts

the sole

mission of paint-pots was to upset and nullify

what

little effect

of light and shade there

found about a wooden building.

We down

came home sadder and to study the pine

an "old master."

board.

wiser, It

and

sat

looked like

There were seven hundred

and forty-three dabs of color on

it,

which we could use and be happy.

not one of

HOME

258

Then we

sent

turers of " paints

INTERIORS.

manufac-

polite letters to the

and

fine colors,"

and became the

happy owners of twenty-four packs of sample cards and

much

" practical "

number something

else

information.

had only to order number so-and-so for the

for the body,

trimmings, an-

other for the blinds, and the house was painted,

A 't

kind neighbor looked over the fence and said

was

very well to order,

all

we wanted, and we might

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we might get what get the very thing

despised, and, besides, these patent colors would

fade

cotton

wasn't true of

all

umbrella.

of them, but

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

knew

alas

that

that one

knave should bring discredit upon the whole fraternity order.

of honest

men

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we

were afraid to

Moreover, on careful examination of the

specimen cards, we discovered the origin of the samples we had collected on the pine board.

We "

held a conference-meeting.

The

trouble

is,"

said

Mrs. John, "

all

these

o z o PI

The new York! PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIOMS

— 1

HO IV JOHN'S HOUSE WAS PAINTED. are

Most of them are com-

colors.

artificial

pounded of the remnants of a score or more of exhausted

tin

them

tried,

must go

story of our house

first

should be

the second

;

— stone-color." "

What

Everybody knows what stone-color is

stone-color

is.

Stone-

— stone-color."

The argument was

too deep for me.

hammer and brought

rocks.

The

nature.

stone

color

mortal could duplicate

and no sane person would wish

he could.

cans.

laid out a chip of granite,

took

the testimony of the

a bit of old

red sandstone, a fragment of blue limestone, a

chunk of yellowstone from Ohio, a small

these were

all

John looked "

wrong

dear, to

slab

and a block of white marble,

of black slate,

at I

could find in

quarry.

Mrs.

them.

was

paint the

mistaken.

would

wooden part of our house

HOME

262

Stone-color

would be deception.

;

INTERIORS.

should

be wood-color." Just then

was struck by an

was the time of the

" sere

inspiration.

The

and yellow."

ground was covered knee-deep with leaves of

From

the forest in numberless shades of brown.

the pale lemon of the whitest of the white maples, to

the deep maroon of the darkest oaks,

there was every conceivable I

brought

leaves

fashioned feather-bed, and

ing the colors. breakfast.

intermediate

enough

make an

set to

work

we had

old-

assort-

began immediately

Before candlelight

tint.

after

just one

thousand eight hundred and seventy-six distinct shades, hues, and tints,

all

them

strong, clean,

healthy, natural colors, and every one of

brown.

as painted,

felt

that

them

our house was as good

and that night we slept the sleep

of the just and the unjust.

Next morning a wolf

sheep's clothing en-

r\ ^

"•*-

'<.\.

'^^

-r,i

;

'/-!>]!

•

;iiiiii|>f

i^'S.\-

BO IV JOHN'S HOUSE tered our peaceful fold,

sunny sky,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an

budding

our

called

upon

IVAS FAINTED.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a

265

cloud obscured our

east-wind from the west chilled

The

hopes.

schoolmaster's

She announced

us.

wife

that the color

of a house ought to assimilate with that of the soil

on which

The body should

stands.

re-

semble the earth when dry, and the same earth, wet, would give the proper shade for the trim-

mings.

were deeply impressed.

of Sister Jane's observations, this

upon

philosophy,

science,

all

seemed based common-sense.

and

took a dipper of water, and went out into

the middle of the road.

The neighbors thought

we were making mud-pies. side of the

plastered the

the effect

mud on

a shingle. ;

Then we wet one

house to make the dry

dirt stick,

and

to the corner boards with

retired a short distance to catch

was very

striking,

and Sister Jane

went home. Next day Mrs. Fred, who spends her winters

HOME

266

came

INTERIORS.

She informed us

that our

house should be painted a cool gray.

When

in Boston,

anybody says

over.

" cool

French gray

less.

gray

" to

intelligent

me,

'm speech-

and very

stylish,

COOL GRAYS.

but "

" cool

gray," with a

pure tone," strikes

remark or two about

me dumb.

in the presence of a superior being.

know

know I

a gray horse, in the daytime, and

think I

used

HOW to

JOHN'S HOUSE WAS FAINTED.

have a gray hat and a drab overcoat, but,

of course, these so

267

kept

thmgs were not

be mentioned,

still.

After our visitor had gone, we reclined upon the anxious seats and had a season of inquiry. I

asked Mrs. John

the dabs on the pine board

"John," said she,

were not mostly cool grays. " this time I 've

ket-basket straight

and

been inspired. pruning-knife,

from out the

Take and

the mar-

me,

bring

branches of the

forest,

beech and maple, of the butternut and

alder,

chestnut, hickory, and white birch, branches of

the elm and sumac, twigs of ash and wild black

and poplar.

cherry, twigs of oak and thorn

these

branches

side together.

Lay

all

together; lay them side by

the right hand lay the white

birch, at the left the wild black cherry,

and the

other shades between them." I

caught the

sticks with the

brilliant

idea.

bark on.

laid

gathered the

them

side

HOME

268

side

the

INTERIORS.

babes in the wood.

was about as long as a round as a pipestem.

Each

lead-pencil,

They made

and

stick

bi-

a corduroy

road in miniature the whole length of the

sit-

BABES IN THE WOOD.

ting-room.

The

lightest

end was white and the

darkest was almost black.

never counted

the shades between, but they were

The

all

gray.

foregoing facts are at your disposal.

can't send

you the

must come and see

total result

on paper.

You

it.

Yours,

John.

^\.

OCT 4-

1928