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 COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Cornell Unlverilty Library 
 NK2115.P25A7 
 
 The art of home furnishing and decoratio 
 
 3 1924 019 525 470 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924019525470 
 
ii 
 
 I 
 
 THE ART of 
 
 HOME FURNISHING 
 
 and DECORATION 
 
 Frank Alvah Parsons 
 
THE ART OF 
 HOME FURNISHING 
 AND DECORATION 
 
 By 
 
 FRANK ALVAH PARSONS 
 
 President, New York School of Fine and Applied Art 
 
 Author of "Interior Decoration — Its Principles and 
 
 Practice," Etc. 
 
 Published by 
 
 ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY 
 
 LINOLEUM DEPARTMENT 
 
 LANCASTER, PA., U.S.A. 
 
K-^zw 
 
 Copyright 1918 by 
 ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY 
 
 Linolemii Department 
 Lancaster - Fennajrlvania 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 Frank Alvah Parsons, President of the New York School of Fine 
 and Applied Art, is the foremost American authority on interior 
 decoration. He long since has amply demonstrated his wonderful 
 faculty for turning his knowledge to the common good. We 
 know of no man who, with voice and pen, has fought harder or 
 more unceasingly for better taste, for richer, fuller home life. 
 
 Mr. Parsons hardly can seem a stranger to the average reader 
 of this book. Indeed, through his writings and lectures, he has 
 become guide and counsellor and the i)ersonal friend of thousands 
 of refined men and women, who have accepted the idea so well 
 developed by Mr. Parsons in the following pages, that "Man is 
 what he lives in ; " that, generally speaking, man can be no greater 
 or no less than the daily environment in which he works, thinks 
 and lives. 
 
 We take great satisfaction and pleasure in announcing Mr. 
 Parsons as the author of that section of this book which is entitled 
 "The Art of Home Furnishing and Decoration." It is written 
 in Mr. Parsons' typically intimate and forceful style, and every 
 paragraph is replete with information and suggestions of great 
 value. We are sure that this book will hold your interest from 
 the first to the last word, and that in the end you will look on 
 the possibilities of your home and your life within it in a fresh 
 and considerably enlarged perspective. 
 
 After you have spent an hour with Mr. Parsons on the general 
 theme of home furnishing and decoration, we believe that it 
 will profit you to read what is written by ourselves in the latter 
 part of the book on the specific subject of linoleum and its rela- 
 tion to the principles that Mr. Parsons has laid down. 
 
 ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY ni 
 
THE ART OF HOME FURNISHING 
 
 AND DECORATION Fra^c AIvJ. Pa^n. 
 
 Man is exactly what he lives in, for environment is the strongest 
 possible factor in man's development. One may be so long 
 among loud noises, bad odors, inharmonious colors and wrong 
 arrangements of things that one doesn't mind them, because one 
 has let them become an integral part of one's self. They are 
 there, and they are as bad as they were at first, but one has 
 become immune to them. This being admitted, it follows, of 
 course, that concordant sounds, agreeable odors, harmonious 
 colors and pleasing arrangements have their immediate effects, but 
 their tendency is toward refinement, culture and artistic appre- 
 ciation instead of toward brutality, ignorance and indifference. 
 
 It is certainly not hard to see what effect is produced by living 
 in any wrong environment. As a person accustoms himself to 
 it, he becomes like it. When he (s like it, he will admire only its 
 khid, and whatever he does will be as nearly like his environ- 
 ment as he himself is. 
 
 The importance of thoroughly comprehending this truth cannot 
 be overstated. The mental and artistic quality of the nation 
 and even its physical comfort depend upon it. This viewpoint, 
 being somewhat new to us, accounts for the upheaval in our 
 ideas of what a home really is. Looking a little into this matter 
 may perhaps stimulate us still further in our thinking, which will 
 affect our way of doing whatever we attempt in the future. 
 
 In the first place the home is the center of all 
 The Home Molds jjfg'g activities. We are born there, and long 
 ™ pastes and ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ gj^^p^ ^j^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ 
 
 church or even the school, our first impressions 
 of the fundamentals of life have become fixed. These are 
 exceedingly hard to efface. 
 
 The school can hardly hope to counteract in the child's mind the 
 effect of hearing incorrect language spoken at home for six years; 
 the church is greatly handicapped in its influence where wrong 
 principles of life have determined habits during the first years; 
 
 5 
 
the artistic sense is practically dead and refinement of taste 
 impossible in that child whose parents have given the usual 
 wall papers, rugs, hangings, pictures and other objects of modem 
 furnishing a chance to do their unrestricted work. Most of these 
 have been made to sell, but not to people who use any judgment 
 in buying. Occasionally we think of the durability or the com- 
 fort of an article, but how seldom of the colors, the patterns, 
 the combinations of diiferent periods with different meanings, 
 all of which unite to make an unthinkable, inharmonious jumble 
 which produces a reaction on an impressionable person little 
 short of criminal. This being the case, is it any wonder that 
 we are satisfied with inferior things or that we cannot compete 
 with other nations in creating better ones? 
 
 This view of the home as an educator places it above any other 
 institution in life and makes it worthy of the most careful and 
 scientific study from several points of view. It might be well 
 to consider here four of the most important of these. 
 
 „ „ The first requisite of a house is physical com- 
 
 Satisfv the Body ^^^' Not only is this true of each article of 
 furniture, but it is true also of the placing of 
 each piece as it relates to the other pieces. 
 
 Take, for instance, a divan, a chair, a table, a lamp, some books 
 and a footstool. It is not enough that the chair, the divan and 
 the stool should each be comfortable to the body, but comfort 
 demands that each be so placed that one can use the divan or 
 chair with the stool, while the books on a table with a lamp are 
 placed so that one may lounge or sit and read without effort 
 and without expending energy to assemble what is required. 
 The best possible arrangement, you see, demands more skill 
 than at first appears. 
 
 „ M t Mewto? com/orf is even more important to man 
 
 Satisfy the Mind ^ ^^ home than physical comfort. He must, 
 or should, find in his home an intellectual 
 stimulus and a refining influence to complement the activities 
 and struggles of his life outside, to calm and rest the tired nerves 
 and to relieve the material or commercial stress which threatens 
 6 
 
entirely to destroy his power to see or know anything else. 
 Unconsciously driven by this need he rushes from home to the 
 club, to the theatre or elsewhere for diversion, amusement or 
 rest. This is not as it should be, for in the right environment 
 the home should furnish the rest and intellectual refreshment 
 needed. Let us consider that there must be an expenditure of 
 thought and skill in furnishing a home if it is to play its rightful 
 part in the scheme of life. 
 
 H M t B Even then, there is another thing to consider. 
 Sanitary -^ ^^^ ^^^^ succeed in accomplishing wonders 
 
 in the realm of physical comfort, yet so com- 
 pletely ignore the question of sanitation as to menace the health 
 of his family, if not to offend their sense of decent cleanliness. 
 The horrors of Victorian plush upholstery, chenille portieres and 
 nailed-down carpets are still fresh in the memory of some of us, 
 and we have not yet been able to get a clear idea of a really 
 clean thing because of the bad impression made on us by these 
 conditions. Probably we never shall, until we succeed in effacing 
 their memory by discarding the traditions they represent and 
 adopting wholly different ideas in their places. Let us think of 
 the question of sanitation as a second necessity in considering 
 any household problem. 
 
 Costly Things ^^ ^ perhaps unnecessary to look at this mat- 
 Not ^waysBest ^^^ ^^^^ *^® viewpoint of economics, but to 
 me it seems very important. We cannot all 
 afford to buy eversrthing we see, desire or even appreciate. 
 Realizing this, we lose enthusiasm and take almost anjrthing. 
 This is not necessary, nor is it wise. Good things are not all 
 costly, nor are all cheap things equally bad. One might also 
 add that frequently very costly things incline to be bad; at any 
 rate, there is far greater danger of their being so because of 
 the greater opportunity they afford for the expression of bad 
 taste. 
 
 Knowledge furnishes the greatest defense against bad things in 
 any form. The more one knows, the more capable he is of 
 selecting the best for his money and of using his selections in 
 
such a way as to suggest that much more was paid for them 
 than they really cost. 
 
 Intelligent selection — ^the art of buying the 
 An Artktic Home most appropriate furnishings and decorations 
 Means Lnjoyable f^^ ^^le home-leads logically to intelligent dec- 
 ™ oration, the art of arranging the furnishings 
 
 and decorations so as to make possible a thoroughly attractive 
 home and keenly enjoyable living for the family. 
 
 The introduction of the word "Art" always opens up a new field 
 fraught with unpleasant possibilities. So many things mas- 
 querade under this name that we are almost deceived as to 
 what it really is. Shall we not attack and dispose of some of 
 these fallacies before attempting to see what it actually is? 
 
 Because it is an art to decorate we are apt to think that anything 
 attached to or hung on to another thing is decoration, therefore 
 artistic. Nothing could be further from the truth. Principles 
 control decoration, and decoration is only possible when it con- 
 forms to these principles. In order to be decorative there must 
 be something that requires decoration; that is, which is incom- 
 plete in itself. As soon as material of any kind is added after a 
 thing is complete, the result becomes an aggregation, not a 
 decoration. 
 
 Most houses belong to this class because the owner refuses to 
 stop when he is done. He may also have erred through having 
 no place to decorate, his background being of such a kind that, 
 struggle as it might, nothing could compete for attention, there- 
 fore could not become decorative by contrast. Simplicity in 
 backgrounds is the foundation of decorative possibility. 
 
 Oversentimentality is as bad as overdecoration. 
 No Room for Sentiment is not only commendable but is an 
 Sentimentahty essential element that makes for human 
 decency, but sentimentality, which by most people is thought to be 
 the same thing, is unpleasant and unhealthy. Admiration, 
 affection, veneration— each of these qualities has its place with 
 all of us in its particular situation. This is well; but when, 
 through association, we mistake an impersonal object for the 
 
 8 
 
real qualities of a person and begin to bestow adoration on it, 
 then it is time to stop and think. 
 
 To be sure, one respects some things in his grandfather and his 
 other forebears. He is not insensible to the excellent points in 
 his friends and associates. But if he is a wise man, he does not 
 apply all his grandfather's good qualities to all the furniture he 
 uses, nor the excellent points in his friends to all the objects 
 they have felt impelled to give him at one time or another for 
 some sort of reason. If half the rubbish in every house in Amer- 
 ica that exists for solely sentimental reasons or because of a fear 
 of being detected in its destruction were to be burned now, the 
 next generation would have a much clearer vision of what art is, 
 unhampered by sentimental misconception. 
 
 A sentimental and an aesthetic feeling are quite distinct from 
 each other. Who is there among us who does not love Tmture? 
 The trees, the birds, the flowers — ^they seem to be a part of the 
 great Divine scheme which calls for especial appreciation. This 
 is also well; but nature is not art, neither is man's imitation of 
 it. Sometimes his interpretation of it is art, sometimes it is 
 not. Not infrequently his conventionalization of nature and its 
 adaptation to the material in which it is to be used become a 
 decorative art; yet, even if this is accomplished, the thing may 
 be spoiled in the use, and an inartistic whole may result. Just 
 and reasonable homage to nature has impelled people to try in 
 all sorts of ways to imitate it. This is not art. Art is creation, 
 not imitation. One has but to reflect, and amazement must 
 result when one realizes to what this impulse has led in every field 
 of expression. Flowers have been painted on everything Imown, 
 from the kitchen floor to the plush sofa pillow. The more like 
 nature these decorations have appeared, the more artistic they 
 were thought to be, when the truth was actually the reverse. 
 The more natural these are, the more inappropriate they are 
 as seen from any viewpoint. 
 
 Art is Creative ^^^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^^* would not hesitate to sit 
 
 down on, or put his foot on, a perfectly natural 
 
 rose or lily? Where is there a human being that would care to 
 
 lie down on a pillow with the painted face, even of an Indian, 
 
 9 
 
in the center? Who can see nature insulted in various objects 
 by the sticKing-in of pins or the driving-in of nails? The whole 
 thing is too simple. Nature has its place, but it is not art, nor is 
 the imitation of it art. 
 
 This is so intimately associated with another fallacy that it 
 should suggest it without comment. The appetites of man are 
 ever insistent for attention. The desire for food, drink, shelter 
 — ^these are physical appetites. They make their assertions 
 naturally, and when normally treated bear their relation to the 
 rest of life. But neither these nor the sensations attendant on 
 them are art, nor should these senses be confounded with the 
 artistic sense. 
 
 Apples and pears look well on trees, in suitable receptacles or on 
 tables. They are to eat. Imitations of them painted on plates 
 seem to win admiration at once for their likeness to the real thing. 
 The saliva flows in the mouth, the digestive organs begin their 
 natural functions, and, while our sensations are purely physical, 
 strangely enough many think this artistic. It is the hunger ap- 
 petite being appeased, not the aesthetic. 
 
 The atrocities committed in this field are innumerable. Exact 
 copies of everything, from a bimch of grapes to an ostrich, 
 may be found in one winter's millinery display, while the real 
 or copied forms of everything, from a dried fish to a gigantic 
 moose head, may be seen in one dining-room at one time. This 
 is not art. It is natural history and botany illustration in 
 museum effect. 
 
 The hardest thing in the world to combat is a 
 All Pictures Not -muyersal belief in the infallibility of pictures. 
 Coed These are necessary to convey ideas and they 
 
 have a function to perform. They are into-esting, they may 
 even be amusing, but they are by no means always artistic. So 
 great has been the belief in and admiration for pictures, that we 
 have, as a nation, pretty nearly surrendered to the idea that 
 drawing and picture-making alone are art. No greater mistake 
 than 'this has ever been made. There are a thousand more bad 
 pictures than there are good ones and a hundred bad ones used 
 
 10 
 
in houses where one good one appears. This is because we seem 
 to have a kind of fear that there may be a vacant place on the 
 wall and also because the picture idea has become a mania. 
 
 " Silence is golden, " but a blank space on a wall is often diamonds 
 and emeralds compared to one filled with the average pictures 
 that are hung, not to mention their frames. What shall we say 
 of this phase of human dissipation, particularly when the frames 
 in question are gilt ones? A person who allows himself to deco- 
 rate his house with picture frames instead of pictures should be 
 expected to hang his wardrobe in the front hall for the same 
 purpose. The results of this mania should not be charged up 
 to the credit side of art. Rather, the man afflicted with it is a 
 slave to tradition. 
 
 For the most difficult thing in the world is for a person to change 
 his established way of thinking or of doing anything. It is so 
 much easier to think as one's grandfather did and to do as one's 
 father did than it is to think and do for one's self. For this 
 reason we are somewhat handicapped in getting at the essence 
 of art and its practical applications to ordinary life. If mahogany 
 was the favored wood in the last half of the eighteenth century, 
 of course it is a good idea to use it for anything, anywhere, for- 
 ever afterward, even though a much better substitute is at hand. 
 If floors were hardwood or soft wood or stone, or even plastered 
 with Oriental rugs bearing no relation to the rest of the house, 
 there seems to be no reason why people should change the rugs 
 or have another kind of floor. 
 
 Examples of this adherence to tradition are so frequent and so 
 deadly that to cite more would be a waste of time. Traditional 
 belief that antiques are always good or that the work of some 
 particular man is forever praiseworthy or that some particular 
 article should always be used in some established way, has 
 blinded us to the possibilities in the right use of new things in a 
 progressive way. All this hinders a clear perception of what 
 art really is. 
 
 If these things which have been misnamed art are carefully 
 removed from consciousness permanently, it is easy enough to 
 
 11 
 
see what art is, and then it becomes almost an unconscious 
 process to apply it, whether the application is made to the 
 house, to clothes or to other personal forms of expression. 
 
 Art is Expressing ^^ *^® ^^^ place, art is creation. It is the 
 Yourself personal expression of the individual in any, 
 
 material or combination that completely con- 
 veys his conception of what he is trying to project. 
 
 This connection generally expresses a need which he himself 
 feels. It may be for a house, a living-room, a divan, a hat, a 
 footstool, a typewriter or an automobile. In any case, there is 
 a need for something for a particular use. This need should 
 be the reason for the art expression. Spurred on by the need, 
 a man creates something which will fill the need. 
 
 This need is both functional or material and mental or artistic. 
 One bar to seeing what art is rests in not recognizing this two- 
 fold element in it. Insofar as one is able to make a chair that 
 fits the body, fulfils its special function as a dining-room chair, 
 or a study chair, he has succeeded in creating the first artistic 
 element. An object which does not do honestly and truthfully 
 and sensibly what it purports to do cannot be artistic, no matter 
 
 Art' Beautv ^^^ second element that enters into art is 
 
 appearance or beauty. This element or quality 
 is a little more difficult to define because it is relative, just as 
 heat is, or as goodness is. What seems warm to one seems cold 
 to another; what seems good to one may be bad to some one 
 else; so, then, the standard of beauty depends entirely upon one's 
 own conception of it. This does not mean that anything that 
 anybody considers beautiful is so, any more than it means that 
 it is a warm day when the thermometer is at zero because some- 
 body does not feel cold. It simply means that the person who 
 judges may or may not have a right mental standard of what 
 beauty really is. This standard may be acquired approximately 
 by anyone, for it is determined by certain principles. If the 
 principles of harmony are understood and applied, beauty will 
 result. 
 
 12 
 
Take, for instance, the problem of a particular 
 The Function of pooj^^ The first question to ask one's self is: 
 a Room »^^^^ jg ^^ds room for?" If it is a dining- 
 
 room, it is a place in which to eat in peace. If it is a living-room, 
 it is to live in and should have a quiet, restful, refined and other- 
 wise pleasant atmosphere. If it is a bedroom, it is to rest and 
 sleep in. From whatever standpoint the room is viewed, the 
 question of use comes first. Anything in the dining-room that 
 interferes with eating in peace is in bad taste. Whatever appears 
 as decoration in the living-room that is unrestful, tawdry, com- 
 mon or unessential, is inartistic. If the bedroom contains any- 
 thing that is out of tone with its general spirit, if it contains 
 anything that makes for other than an atmosphere of calm 
 contentment and deep, sound sleep, it should be removed at 
 once. Let this point of view spur us on to make an investiga- 
 tion of our houses — ^room by room — and alter or remove every- 
 thing that strikes a jarring note. 
 
 Let us start with the bedroom. Are there spotted fabrics or 
 papers on the wall, the spots on which one involuntarily counts, 
 even after going to sleep? Are there a half dozen small pictures 
 in black frames against a white background, so hung that 
 successive steps are formed which resemble the front hall stairs? 
 Are there other diverting and disturbing arrangements in the 
 room that seem to invite us to close our eyes to avoid further 
 annoyance? Much can be done in house decoration by elimina- 
 tion, and the strongest argument for this process will be found 
 in submitting each room to the test as to the performance of 
 its proper function. 
 
 These elements, fitness to use and beauty, which 
 f Art*"^^^ when combined make what is called the art of 
 
 quality, must be made comprehensible by facts 
 and truths which can be expressed in a language form that all may 
 learn to understand. This art language is made up of color, form, 
 line and texture, and depends for its efficiency on a knowledge of 
 the principles which govern it and upon an appreciation for the 
 niceties in its use. Anyone can learn the principles and will 
 grow in appreciation as he makes a right use of what he knows. 
 
 13 
 
Of the qualities mentioned, color is the most interesting; at 
 least, it is the easiest to see. At the same time it is the most 
 misused. This is much too small a space in which to demonstrate 
 with any thoroughness the color language idea, but two or three 
 of the most important facts must be emphasized. 
 
 -. . Nothing is more personal than color and 
 
 Color to Express ^^^^^S admits of expressing personality with 
 Personality clearer or more manifest charm. The normal 
 
 colors— yellow, red, blue, green, orange and 
 violet — ^may be used in illustration of this statement. 
 
 Color has its source in light, and natural light comes from the 
 sun. Yellow looks most like the sun, as it expresses the quality 
 that the sun seems to give out. From the sun we are cheered, 
 made light-hearted and receive new life. Yellow in a room 
 should, under normal conditions, produce the same feelings 
 where it is the basis for the wall color or is used in curtains or 
 in other spots. Red suggests blood and fire. It is associated 
 with activity, aggression and passion. It heats and stimulates. 
 One who faUs to react to color is not normal or is immune from 
 overcontact, while one who simply likes or dislikes a color and, 
 therefore, uses it or never does, misses the real chance to express 
 ideas. If one prefers red, there is no proof in the fact that 
 makes it incumbent on him to live surrounded by it. He may 
 be erratic enough without it, or possibly he doesn't need a stimu- 
 lant. Need is the fundamental question rather than liking. It 
 is a question of what one ought to have. 
 
 It is interesting to know that the aggressive quality of red 
 makes a room in which it is used smaller in appearance, and 
 there are times when this is not desirable. Its warming quality 
 is not needed in hot climates or during a warm season. 
 
 Blue has an opposite effect from red. Its reactions are restraint, 
 coolness, repose and distance. By association one thinks of a 
 clear blue sky and the cool breezes from the blue waters of the 
 ocean. This makes blue a suitable antidote for hot weather and 
 a temperate force, useful in modifying some people's dispositions. 
 Green, which is a union of yellow and blue, expresses the quali- 
 
 14 
 
ties of both. Nothing could be more restful, soothing and 
 agreeable than the cheering and cooling effects of a seat in the 
 shade upon the green grass under luxuriant green trees, in the 
 middle of a hot day. It is easy to see the practical application of 
 this in decorative art. 
 
 Violet or purple has the qualities of red and blue, while orange 
 has the qualities of yellow and red. It is interesting to study 
 the natural reactions shown by people of all ages and conditions 
 to these colors as environments under different mental conditions. 
 Incomplete as these suggestions are, they are probably sufficient 
 to establish the point that personal qualities or individual 
 character traits can be definitely expressed in color terms and 
 that antidotes for an excess of certain qualities are just as possi- 
 ble where a knowledge of color exists. 
 
 There is a second color quality that we must not ignore. If I 
 think of one group of colors containing light pink, delicate blue, 
 lavender, canary yellow and white as representing one idea, 
 and dark crimson, heavy, dark green, blue with a rich, dark 
 purple and black as another group, I have a basis for compari- 
 son. If my problem of expression is the qualities that we gener- 
 ally attribute to youth, or the proper colors for a yoimg girl's 
 bedroom, or for the lighter and more delicate things in life, I 
 have no hesitation in choosing the first group. If, on the other 
 hand, the problem is one of clothes for a person of mature age, 
 or a color scheme for a library in an old English house, or some 
 other problem in which the qualities required are dignity, quiet- 
 ness and stability, there should be no question as to the prefer- 
 ence for the second group. 
 
 This quality of light and darkness in color is called value and 
 must not be forgotten in using color as a language. 
 
 There is no doubt that the third quality, called intensity, is the 
 most important of all to a right understanding of interior deco- 
 ration. This quality determines how brilliant or how forceful 
 a color tone is. Softer and less aggressive tones are called 
 neutral or neutralized colors. The most important question in 
 using color decoratively is that which relates to the distribution 
 
 15 
 
and correct placing of neutralized colors in their relation to 
 the more intense ones. The grossest errors in the whole realm 
 of color used in decoration are committed in this field. One 
 or two principles that relate to this matter must always be 
 carefully observed: "Backgrounds should be less intense in 
 color than objects that are to appear against them in any deco- 
 rative way." From this it obviously follows that walls, ceilings 
 and floors of houses must be less intense in color than hangings, 
 upholsteries, small rugs, pictures and other decorative material. 
 This is one of the most important points to remember in every 
 color problem. 
 
 There is a corollary to this which is equally important: "The 
 larger the color area the less intense it should be, and the smaller 
 the area, the more intense it may be." According to this prin- 
 ciple, hangings and large rugs must be less intense in color than 
 sofa cushions, lamp shades and decorative bits of pottery and 
 other materials. Keeping this relation of areas in mind is an 
 aid in selecting any article for the house, as well as a help in 
 choosing those things that are concerned with one's personal 
 appearance. A red necktie is more appealing than a red suit, 
 so is a red flower or ribbon more decorative on a black hat than 
 a gray one would be on a red hat. 
 
 The slightest attempt at using color must disclose its power to 
 express personality, its natural value feeling and its decorative 
 dependence upon a proper distribution of intensities. 
 
 While the principles of form are a little less 
 
 Useof *orm apparent in their illustration to most of us 
 
 to Express Ideas .11 . , , , . ... 
 
 '^ than color, yet they are no less important m 
 
 producing a harmonious whole. One of the first premises of 
 decoration is the assumption that there is a definite form or 
 shape upon which a decoration is to be applied. The direction 
 of the bounding lines of this form determines the direction of 
 the principal lines of the decorative matter which is to be applied 
 on it. 
 
 The boimding lines of a floor are generally straight and at right 
 angles to each other. This fixes several important points regard- 
 
 16 
 
ing the disposition of rugs and furnitiire. Rugs that are placed 
 at all sorts of angles on the floor and by their positions bid one 
 go in any direction save the one he started to take are among 
 the most disconcerting and distracting lines in a room arrange- 
 ment. Place all rugs in accord with the bounding lines of a 
 room and harmony is at once restored. 
 
 One must conform to this principle also in placing furniture. 
 Most pieces should be parallel with the sides of the room, even 
 though they are not against the walls. Curved line chairs or 
 other small objects sometimes lend themselves naturally to a 
 diagonal placement. Care should be taken in grouping furni- 
 ture to give the appearance of harmony with the room structure. 
 Let us look after the piano that is placed catacomer in the 
 living-room and the bed, in the same position, in the bedroom. 
 
 It is not unusual to see pictures strung over the walls in such a 
 way that the line indicated from the top of one to another is a 
 zigzag that illy suggests harmony with the structure of the wall. 
 Triangular pictm-e wires are ugly and distracting. Unless a 
 picture is small enough to be hung with an invisible attachment 
 at the back, it should be hung with one long wire passed through 
 two screw eyes, one at each top comer of the frame, with one 
 wire paralleling each side of the frame and going over a hook 
 above. This not only harmonizes the wire with the frame, but 
 with the doors, windows and the room structure. 
 
 The choice and arrangement of essential materials in the room, 
 so far as the aspect of beauty is concerned, will be treated in 
 detail later on. 
 
 The principle of consistently related shapes 
 
 ofOb^cts a^^^ ^"^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ °^ applications in the 
 Factor**' ^ ^ arrangement of a room. Who has not won- 
 
 dered what to do with a round clock, when 
 everything else adjacent to it was either square or rectangular 
 in form? Where is there a house in which there is not a round 
 or oval picture to be placed, or a chair of wholly curved lines, 
 where all others are straight? The attempt to place one isolated 
 round object on a wall is generally a failure, because there is 
 
 17 
 
nothing to relate it to any other nearby lines. Oval and curved 
 objects must be repeated by others similar in form in other 
 positions in the room if they are to become in any sense a part 
 of the design. 
 
 The second part of this principle — consistent sizes — ^is even 
 more important and far-reaching than the first. To the architect, 
 the decorator or the creator of any art object, this is a vital 
 matter. Every interior, as well as exterior, architectural feature 
 is thought of in relation to every other one in the matter of size. 
 
 It is not uncommon to enter a room and find a chimney large 
 enough for an Elizabethan banquet hall, while the room itself, 
 in size, suggests a city flat. Nor is it less common to find a table 
 or divan of gigantic proportions being required to live in harmony 
 with chairs or other articles of various pigmy types. These 
 unusual and unhappy relationships cannot conform to the prin- 
 ciple of consistent sizes. 
 
 In our use of hangings, upholstery, rugs, etc., the lack of feeling 
 for consistent sizes is still more often apparent. Before dis- 
 cussing this, let us look for a moment at patterns and motifs 
 as they are used in textiles, wall papers and rugs. 
 
 For some unknown reason we have come to believe that there 
 is no beauty in anything in which there is not a pattern plainly 
 visible, forgetting that three-fourths of all wall and floor spaces 
 are backgrounds on which to show other more important things, 
 including people, who have some right to be exploited even 
 against wall paper. There are some phases of the motif running 
 through a design, that may be considered here in some detail. 
 
 There are three distinct varieties of motif. First, the motif 
 which aims to reproduce identically a natural object. Such 
 things are rarely successful. The second is known as the abstract 
 type, where the motif is of a form and color not derived from a 
 natural source, being a matter of space and line arrangement, 
 often resulting in geometric forms. The third, known as the 
 conventional motif, takes a natural thing and attempts to 
 translate it into form and color suited by its appearance and feel- 
 ing to some particular material in which the design is developed. 
 
 18 
 
In the conventional design, beauty is attained by harmonizing 
 the motif with the material on which the design is made, while 
 the naturalistic motif strives to represent some natural thing and 
 takes a chance on its being appropriate in the material in which 
 it is to be rendered. Harmony in motifs means, first, a relation 
 in this particular, from which it follows that a rug or floor which 
 is entirely geometric in pattern cannot be used successfully 
 with hangings which show a purely naturalistic design. 
 
 Another opportunity for harmony is found in consistently 
 related motifs as to size and shape. It frequently happens that 
 the floor motif, for example, is small and delicate in size a,nd 
 refined in line treatment. If a person is naturally sensitive to 
 color rather than form and he finds a rug or hangings pleasing 
 in color, he is often satisfied. For harmony in relationship, 
 however, he must ask if the motif in the rug and that in the 
 hangings are consistent in size and shape with the floor and 
 
 wall motifs. 
 
 A third principle of form is known as bdance. 
 Elements ip^g jg ^^g principle of arrangement whereby 
 
 Bafan^r™ attractions are equalized and through this 
 
 equalization a restful feeling is obtained; that 
 is, a feeling of equilibrium or safety. It is somewhat discon- 
 certing to enter a small room and find a black piano across one 
 comer and a delicate Hepplewhite chair in the opposite comer. 
 One instinctively rushes to the aid of the chair. Attraction 
 may be of color, size, shape or texture, and one learns only by 
 constant practice to see and feel the attraction forces in different 
 objects used. 
 
 There are two types of balance to consider. The first one, 
 known as M-symmetric balance, is the equalization of attractions 
 on either side of a vertical center by using objects the same size, 
 shape, color and texture. This is formal, dignified and safe, 
 but lacks in some ways the delicacy and subtlety resulting from 
 an attempt to get a less formal placing. Consider a vertical 
 line drawn through the center of a chimney-piece placed in the 
 middle of a wall space. On either side of the chimney-piece and 
 equally distant from it may be placed two pictures similar in 
 
 19 
 
size, form and color, and the result is bi-symmetrical. If two 
 similar candlesticks are placed one at either end of the chimney- 
 piece and equidistant from the end, with a portrait in the center, 
 there is still bi-symmetric arrangement. So long as this arrange- 
 ment is maintained, bi-symmetry results. 
 
 A second kind of balance is known as occult balance. This term 
 is used to signify that the balance is rather felt or sensed than 
 exactly determined. If the same vertical line is drawn through 
 the same chimney-piece, one picture is placed a certain distance 
 from the left and two smaller pictures of unequal size are used 
 on the rightto balance this. The two pictures must be so placed 
 that their attraction equals that of the larger one at the left. 
 Similarly, if one large porcelain jar and two or three other articles 
 are to be used, there must be a feeling of equal attraction on 
 either side of the vertical line. 
 
 To explaui briefly the primary laws of balance we may give the 
 rules: "Equal attractions balance each other at equal distances 
 from the center." And, conversely: "Unequal attractions bal- 
 ance each other at unequal distances from the center." 
 
 A third and a little more complic£ited law is stated as follows: 
 "Unequal attractions balance each other at distances from the 
 center which are in inverse ratio to their powers of attraction.'' 
 Translated, this means that objects with the strongest attrac- 
 tions tend to gravitate toward the central line, while less attrac- 
 tive ones tend to draw from this line. 
 
 The application of the rules of balance not only to objects on 
 the wall, but to the furniture when seen against the wall or 
 against the floor, is essential to room composition. It is also 
 essential that the floor, in its general appearance, should bear 
 a balanced relation to the walls and to the hangings. 
 
 There is no better place, perhaps, than at this point to make 
 clear the relations of these three bounding surfaces. The ceiling 
 should be unobtrusive, but keyed in color to the rest of the 
 room. A perfectly white ceiling, except in a white room, or 
 an over-ornamented ceiling anywhere is an annoyance to him 
 
 20 
 
who would see his friends or furnishings. A too-aggressive wall 
 paper or other wall covering makes a bid for attention quite out 
 of proportion to its rights as a background, while aggressive and 
 over-assertive floors or rugs are in bad taste, particularly when 
 they assume the prerogatives of the hostess in their attempt at 
 attraction. 
 
 The ceiling should be about as much lighter and less attractive 
 than the walls, as the walls are lighter and less attractive than 
 the floor. This is a balanced arrangement of ceilings, walls and 
 
 floors. 
 
 Operating exactly opposite to the principle of 
 "Crawly" Pictures jja^lg^jjgg js q^q known as movement. This is 
 
 and Patterns calculated to cause imrest, excitement and 
 
 Are Had . ., j.- i. x- • x a. 
 
 smailar sensations, by creatmg an mterest 
 
 which causes the eye to move from one thing to another. It 
 is very desirable in many cases that movement, particularly of 
 a violent type, should not occur. Allusion to stair arrangements 
 in picture hangings has abeady been made. This is not con- 
 ducive to sleep. Erratic crawling vine patterns, creeping up 
 the curtains or the wall paper, are a little suggestive in the early 
 morning hours if one chances to awake. Violent contrasting 
 lines, created by bad furniture placing or by spotted wall papers 
 or floor covering, also become tiresome and disturbing, except 
 to those who by long contact with such things have become 
 immune to their influence. Even such may suffer a subconscious 
 disturbance, though they do not realize it. 
 
 There is a certain monotony attendant on the continual presen- 
 tation of one sound, one color or one form, for mental considera- 
 tion. On the other hand, there is a complete disorganization of 
 the powers of the human mind if a host of colors, forms or sounds 
 are presented at one time. If one is poverty, the other is cer- 
 tainly gluttony, and neither should be accepted. It is through 
 a judicious selection and arrangement that sufficient variety is 
 obtained to give pleasure, while restraint results in making life 
 humanly possible. It is very rarely that we err on the side of 
 simplicity, but it is not at all unlikely that we may become 
 flagrantly sumptuous, with an uncomfortable, tawdry result. 
 
 21 
 
The principle known as emphasis is one which 
 Emphasize Only we must regard as important. In a bedroom 
 J™P^'^*^^^*"S'one ought to see a bed; it is vastly more 
 
 important than the picture exhibition hung 
 about it. In a dining-room a well-set table is the emphatic note, 
 not the chenille curtains nor the products of the chase hung upon 
 the wall. In the living-room the easy-chair, the divan, the book- 
 case, the beautiful portrait, lamp or picture— all these things 
 should be emphasized by color, form or line, that their importance 
 as related to other things in the room may be apparent at sight. 
 
 Knowing this to be true, is it not strange that we still find people 
 who are willing to emphasize the wall paper or the floor or the 
 unpleasant ceiling decorations, to the absolute exclusion of any- 
 thing else that may have to be used in the room? The relation 
 of background to decorative objects cannot be insisted upon 
 too much. 
 
 The final principle of form is known as unity. 
 
 ^®JP*^***^ In this limited discussion only a word can 
 ^eWh^e House ^^ ^^^ ^f j^ ^ ^.^^^^ ^ ^ ^^^ ^ gj^^^l^j ^ 
 
 should Be the , . t^. • • -1.1x11 -ix. 
 
 Spirit of house be. It is mipossible to look with equa- 
 
 Each Room nimity from an Old English dining-room into 
 
 a Louis XVI sitting-room. These styles are 
 
 very far apart in their meaining and can only be harmonized by 
 
 those who know how, when, where and how much of each 
 
 element to use. 
 
 It is just as impossible to make a unit out of a mixture of Fif- 
 teenth, Seventeenth and Nineteenth Century furniture, unless 
 one knows how. Every article used in furnishing a house not 
 only has its conventional value, but its design also. If one knows 
 thoroughly the exact meaning and power of a Louis XVI chair, 
 an Elizabethan table, an Italian console or a William and Mary 
 bookcase, there is no doubt that these may be used successfully 
 in one room. 
 
 There are so many considerations in such a problem that it is 
 insufl&cient to choose single objects for their value alone. Each 
 thing must be chosen with a clear understanding of what room 
 it is to go in and with what other things it is in the future to 
 22 
 
be associated. A failure to do this will certainly result in pande- 
 monium. 
 
 What shall we do with the things we have? Use them if we have 
 to, destroy them if we are willing to — at least eluninate every- 
 thing that is nonessential. The pernicious practice of giving 
 everything one learns to dislike or that has become worn out, 
 to the poor, does more to prevent them from enjoying a personal 
 growth than any other one thing. 
 
 Perhaps no better way to think of the principle of unity can be 
 suggested than to quote the definition of an eminent Nineteenth 
 Century historian: "A unit is that to which nothing can be 
 added and from which nothing can be taken without interfering 
 materially with the idea itself." 
 
 The question of texture as a form of expres- 
 ObjectsSjhould gjQj^ ^^^ jjQ^ jjg omitted. Texture is that 
 Look the Way tj_ j- i.- j. i • i ±. 
 
 They Feel quality of an object which seems to convey 
 
 the idea of how it feels. It is a combination 
 
 of a degree of solidity, strength, roughness, coarseness, etc. One 
 
 finds this quality in the grained effects of wood, in the weaves of 
 
 different textiles, in the appearance of braided straws, and even 
 
 in feathers and other materials. 
 
 It is this sense of fitness in textural feeling that forbids the use 
 of hard, harsh-grained oaks with the finer textures of mahogany 
 and satin-wood. Disregarding this quality, people often com- 
 bined the coarser, heavier and more-resisting woolens or linens 
 with soft, impressionable and destructible silks or fine cottons. 
 Harmony in the texture quality cannot fail to contribute to 
 harmony in the finished unit. 
 
 Such is the language of art expression in color, form, line and 
 texture. The principles which govern the right selection and 
 combination of all materials that go to make a house are the 
 real guides to growth in artistic appreciation. 
 
 Good Taste the ^°°^ t^ie, which is the final criterion in all 
 Final Criterion ^' '^ Cultivated or improved in most people 
 by a constant study and application of the 
 principles which control artistic expression. 
 
 23 
 
Should we not, all of us, do well often to take time to remind 
 ourselves of certain great established principles and to endeavor 
 constantly to see more clearly and completely the principles 
 that govern the expression of these truths? Thereby we may 
 unconsciously form habits of thinking and of doing things that 
 will not only make for broader and better personal growth, but 
 will contribute to a higher type of national civiliigation. We 
 have not to worry if all the powers of science are not directed 
 to the development of so-called efficient service, in lines that 
 are wholly material and commercial. 
 
 We are extraordinarily committed to this propaganda, as a 
 people, and we might ask ourselves whether we may not be 
 developing this idea at the expense of mental and spirtual ideals 
 that, after all, are the real things that not only determine what 
 we actually are, but are the only things that are truly perma- 
 nent. Life is certainly something beside machinery, raw mate- 
 rials and money, even granting these to be essentials. 
 
 If we will acknowledge this dual claim of commercial materialism 
 and a better mental or spiritual ideal, we shall find no difficulty 
 in seeing that materials can only be refined and made better in 
 quality through their possession of the art quality, and this art 
 quality is only a harmonious relation of each of the elements used 
 to express any idea, in any field in which a man is working. 
 
 Perceiving the desirability of the art quality results generally in 
 an effort to possess it, and that entails immediate action in two 
 distant ways. First, go out to find the simple, fundamental 
 principles that control the language of color, form, line and 
 texture; second, apply these principles at once in the home, in 
 the shop, in clothes, in printed paper or in any concrete thing 
 where interest and possibility are found. Through every appli- 
 cation growth is assured. 
 
 _ _ Let us again remember that man is exactly 
 
 Influence i. a. i. t • * • i. • xi. 
 
 of Environment ^^^^ ^® "^^^ ^' ^°^ environment is the 
 strongest possible factor in man's develop- 
 ment. Let us not forget that what man really is, is what his 
 mind is, and this he must express in all he does. 
 
 24 
 
This places the importance of the home where it deserves to be 
 and makes its furnishing one of the most serious and at the same 
 time one of the most delightful things in life, never for an instant 
 minimizing what has always been desirable, but vastly enlarging 
 and ennobling the idea for which it stood. 
 
 In recognizing anew the part art is to play in this matter, let us 
 not forget that it in no way interferes with the three essential 
 qualities that are inevitably factors in every home problem 
 simple or elaborate, as the case may be. 
 
 Perfect physical comfort is necessary, if only from the stand- 
 point of more efficient service on our part and the relief it brings 
 us, not to be constantly thinking how hard the bed is, how 
 uncomfortable the chair seems, or how rough and uneven the 
 floor feels. Art in no way interferes with physical comfort; 
 in fact, it demands it, as an element of the eternal fitness of things. 
 
 The nation is awake to the power of cleanliness as a factor in 
 making an efficient physical, and thereby, indirectly, a finer 
 mental being, as a contribution to modem civilization. Every 
 article selected for the home should have this requirement con- 
 sidered. Including this in the art idea will remove the misappre- 
 hension under which some people labor, that art implies disorder 
 at home, a dowdy or unkempt person and a disregard of nature's 
 most obvious laws. The first law of Heaven is order; it is no 
 less so of art. 
 
 Expense is the constant excuse of those wh,o want better things 
 but cannot afford them. There are as many bad expensive 
 things as there are cheap ones. No home is too poor to have 
 much better things, much better arranged, than it has, and no 
 home is so rich that much of the furnishing might not well be 
 publicly burned and the rest rearranged. 
 
 Tradition binds most of us in absolute servitude. Let us not 
 be afraid to try a new thing used in a new way. That makes 
 for creative growth, which is art. 
 
 From any standpoint, comfort, sanitation, economics or art, 
 the home is to become the greatest moulding influence in human 
 life. Shall we remain apathetic and indifferent to this most 
 
 25 
 
vital problem satisfied to increase our bank account only, or 
 shall we awaken now and contribute our mite to a fuller national 
 life and a higher and happier existence? This certainly will 
 not decrease our power to increase the bank account, but will 
 enable us to do it with far less physical effort. 
 
 Traditions have generally obtained in each 
 
 Floor Styles generation and fashion as to what materials 
 
 Mige 1 e gj^Q^jjj ijg ^g^ jjj various parts of the house 
 
 and how to use them. The original ideas 
 which went to establish these traditions or manners differed in 
 their origins, but were always the logical outcomes of times in 
 which they were developed. For instance, the walls of the house 
 in the Italian Renaissance were of stone. Steel was not thought 
 of and wood unsuited, while in American Colonial days wood 
 was the most plentiful material and the quickest and easiest to 
 handle in building in the manner in which the people lived. 
 
 At various times climate, geography, religious and social customs 
 and the developments of science or art have changed conditions, 
 and with this, methods and materials have undergone similar 
 changes. 
 
 Floors, for example, have mostly been of clay, stone, tile or 
 wood, dictated by one or more of the modifying influences of 
 which we have spoken. Wood cannot take the place of stone, 
 neither should it try to pretend to do so, but there is no denying 
 that one is better than the other under certain conditions and 
 that neither is the only good floor under all conditions. 
 
 Linoleum as a floor is not a substitute for stone, wood, tile or 
 clay. It is another material, recent in conception and suited 
 to particular conditions, because of properties that neither stone, 
 clay nor wood have in exactly the same proportions. 
 
 Like other floors in modem houses, linoleum 
 Where Linoleum ^^^^ ^ combine the qualities of sanitation, 
 imd Desirable contort, durability to fulfill completely its func- 
 tions. When made to conform to these ends 
 — as it does if properly designed, and then selected and arranged 
 so as to harmonize perfectly with its surroundings— it is not only 
 
 26 
 
suitable but desirable. Linoleum is sanitary, because the most 
 obvious thing about it is the ease with which it can be cleaned 
 and kept clean. 
 
 Linoleum is comfortable, because it is soft, quiet and resilient 
 underfoot. It is economical, because it is durable. 
 
 In parts of Europe, the artistic possibilities of linoleum have 
 been developed to such a degree that many fine homes are fur- 
 nished throughout with floors of that material. There is no 
 reason why, in this coimtry, the development of the art side of 
 linoleum should not follow the general development of interior 
 decoration. For patterns and colors, suitable for any scheme 
 of house furnishing and decoration, seemingly can be produced. 
 
 THE END 
 
 27 
 
ARMSTRONG'S LINOLEUM 
 
 FOR EVERY ROOM IN THE HOUSE 
 
 While the principles and valuable suggestions on home furnishing 
 and decoration, set forth by Mr. Parsons in the previous pages, 
 are fresh in your mind, let us show you how well the idea of 
 Armstrong's Linoleum for every room in the house fits in with 
 all that you have just read. It will take only a few minutes to 
 go over your whole house— room by room — ^and the facts you 
 will learn will be exceedingly worth your while. Let us first 
 step into the living-room. 
 
 _ , We start with the living-room first, because it 
 
 LMnffJloom shows the possibilities of Armstrong's Lino- 
 leum at their best. The very name — living- 
 room — suggests comfort, ease, and beautiful and artistic sur- 
 roundings. You can procure Armstrong's Linoleum in patterns 
 and colors that will harmonize perfectly with the walls, ceilings, 
 hangings, furnishings and rugs. It will add distinctly to the 
 comfort and livable qualities of your living-room, and it will 
 make a floor there that you will be proud to show to visitors. 
 
 Say that the wall is of panelled wood (or suitably papered), 
 making an appropriate background for the tapestries, chairs, 
 table, couch, bric-a-brac, lamps and rugs. In that case, you 
 could ask for nothing better for your floor than one of the Par- 
 quetry Inlaid designs, or one of the new Jaspe (moire) effects of 
 correct color and pattern to match everything else in the room. 
 (See Colorplates Nos. II and IX.) 
 
 Such a floor looks like hardwood, can be polished like hardwood, 
 but is more practical and less expensive than hardwood because 
 it is easier to lay and easier to keep clean. It is just as durable, 
 and is much more comfortable because of its quiet, soft resilience 
 underfoot. Running an oil mop over it daily with an occasional 
 waxing usually suffices to keep such a floor clean and sanitary, 
 because it presents a smooth, unbroken surface with no cracks or 
 crevices for dirt and germs. Recent experiments have shown that 
 the linseed oil in genuine linoleum is poisonous to germs. It tends 
 to kill practically all the species that cause dangerous diseases. 
 
 28 
 
For the Hall "^^^ ^^^ ^^ *^® ^^ place that visitors see in 
 
 your home. It must be kept specklessand 
 spotless. Under ordinary conditions, that means constant 
 sweeping, scrubbing and polishing — tasks beyond the strength 
 and inclination of most women. But it is so easy to keep Arm- 
 strong's Linoleum fresh and inviting that a hall floor composed 
 of that material proclaims the neatness of the housewife to all 
 visitors the moment they cross the threshold. Yet it is no tax 
 on any woman to keep such a floor looking that way. (See 
 Colorplates Nos. I and IX.) 
 
 No matter what the decorative treatment of your hall, we remind 
 you again that Armstrong's Linoleum will provide rich, polished 
 floors in mellow tones that will harmonize perfectly with rugs, 
 walls and furniture. The range of colors and designs for halls, 
 dens, libraries, sun parlors or conservatories is amply wide for 
 all purposes, all tastes. The durability of good linoleum is 
 another factor. The number of footsteps it would take to wear 
 it out could never be estimated, and dripping umbrellas and 
 wet rubbers do not damage it. 
 
 p, ^ An attractive place to eat in is half the sauce 
 
 Dining-Room ^^ appetite and good digestion. You may 
 enter such a room jaded, dispirited, with no 
 desire for food. But if your sense of artistic fitness is gratified 
 by the furnishings and decorations — ^if the general spirit of the 
 room is one of invitation and good cheer — ^you are refreshed and 
 re-stimulated. And you find yourself turning with real relish 
 to your food and table companions. On the other hand, uncon- 
 genial, disquieting surroundings are sure to have a depressing 
 effect on your appetite and digestion. 
 
 Here again, the problem is to relate the floor to the walls, the furni- 
 ture, the rugs, and everything else in the room. Fortunately, how- 
 ever, the wide variety of Armstrong patterns simplifies the problem 
 with regard to any type of dining-room. The plain linoleums (with- 
 out any pattern) can be had in tan, blue, green, brown, rose, light 
 gray or dark gray. The Jaspe patterns show grains running through 
 them as charming and fascinating as watered silk. The designs 
 range from the simple and unobtrusive to the most elaborate. 
 
 29 
 
Armstrong's Linoleum floors are smooth, and, of course, their 
 sanitary and long-wearing qualities, and the ease with which 
 they can be cleaned and kept clean, especially commend them 
 for dining-room use. Remember that your servants, as well as 
 yourself, will appreciate Armstrong's Linoleum floors throughout 
 the house. (See Colorplates Nos. Ill and IX.) 
 
 F r th B d ^^ °^® ®^ *^® preceding pages of this book, 
 
 Mr. Parsons has well pointed out that sound, 
 refreshing sleep is most possible in a bedroom, the atmosphere of 
 which suggests coolness, restfulness and perfect aloofness from 
 the busy, noisy world outside. And he also points out that such 
 a room should be softly beautiful and refined. And, of course, it 
 is obvious that the room in which you sleep should be kept ab- 
 solutely clean and sanitary. 
 
 With these considerations in mind, you yourself must often 
 have thought of linoleum as the natural, logical floor for a bed- 
 room. For if the general furnishings and decorations are softly 
 beautiful and refined, you can obtain Armstrong's Linoleum in 
 colors and patterns that also are softly beautiful and refined. We 
 call your attention particularly to the matting and carpet 
 effects, and the Plain and Jaspe Linoleums in light shades of 
 tan, gray, rose and blue. You will find linoleum not one whit 
 colder than hardwood, since naturally you will continue to use" 
 fabric rugs beside the bed, in front of the dressing table, etc. 
 
 If the present coverings on the floors of your bedrooms are so 
 hard to keep clean that they are seldom thoroughly deaned, they 
 are in themselves the most powerful argument for the cleanly 
 and sanitary qualities of Armstrong's Linoleum that possibly 
 could be offered. Remember also that Armstrong's Linoleum 
 is relatively easy to install, and that in the long run it makes the 
 most economical floor for every room in the house. (See Color- 
 plates Nos. V and X.) 
 
 For the Bathroom Water is always being spilled on the bath- 
 room floor. It rots carpets and rugs. It gets 
 into the cracks of tiling and in time may cause the tiling to come 
 up. What is most needed in a bathroom, therefore, is a floor 
 
 30 
 
that is proof against moisture, easy to clean, sanitary, comfort- 
 able and exceptionally durable. And it certainly should not be a 
 floor that you would be ashamed to show visitors. Rather it 
 should not suffer from comparison with the floor of the room 
 from which it leads. 
 
 The designs of Armstrong's Linoleum which are offered for the 
 bathroom combine cleanable, sanitary, comfortable, durable and 
 beautiful qualities in the highest degree. (See Colorplates Nos. 
 
 V and IX.) 
 
 Your first thought for the nursery, or children's 
 or e ursery playroom, is that it shall be sanitary. Most of 
 the time, the chilch-en are running, romping, rolling or tumbling 
 over the floor. If there are cracks and crevices there to hold 
 dirt and germs, the health of the little ones is imperiled. But 
 Armstrong's Linoleum is practically germ-proof and has no 
 cracks for dust and dirt to lodge in. It is a tough, elastic floor 
 that wears well under scuffling feet, that breaks falls, and that 
 has no rough edges to damage dainty dresses. We want you to 
 know the cheery, dainty colors and patterns especially designed 
 for the children. (See Colorplates Nos. VI and X.) 
 
 p , Many people do not consider a house complete 
 
 Sun Parlor and nowadays Unless it has a sun parlor and a 
 Sleeping Porch sleeping porch. And here again, to secure a 
 thoroughly satisfactory floor is a troublesome 
 problem, but linoleum solves it nicely and economically. Laid 
 properly (as explained further on in this book) linoleum is well- 
 nigh waterproof, and the wide range of colors and patterns makes 
 it easy to select a floor that will harmonize with the furnishings 
 and trim. Granite Linoleums, which resemble terrazzo, or some 
 neat tile effect, will be found especially pleasing in sun parlors. 
 The colors in Granite Linolemns go tlu-ough to the back. (See 
 Colorplates Nos. VIII and IX.) The use of linoleum on open 
 porches constantly exposed to the weather is not recommended. 
 
 For the Kitchen ^P^^^^^s ^^^ sanitary are adjectives that asso- 
 
 and Pantry ^^^^ naturally with the nouns, kitchen and 
 
 pantry. If your kitchen or pantry floor is the 
 
 kind that requires frequent long and hard sessions with the 
 
 31 
 
water pail and scrubbing brush, it is time that you changed to a 
 linoleum floor. Occasional waxing, and daily wiping with an oil 
 mop or cloth, keeps such a floor as spotless and shining as the 
 proverbial Dutch kitchen (unless there is an unusual amount of 
 dirt tracked in). And the bright, handsome Armstrong designs 
 help to make your kitchen a more cheerful place to work in. 
 And isn't that important for any woman who has to spend a good 
 deal of her time there? If that woman happens to be yourself, 
 your health and spirits will be the better for Armstrong's Lino- 
 leum on the kitchen floor. If it is the hired cook or scrubbing 
 woman, she will be all the more likely to be contented with her 
 surroundings. As a final point, you know how quickly the average 
 kitchen floor or floor covering wears out. For that reason, the 
 exceptional durability of good inlaid linoleum is a point worth 
 keeping in mind. (See Colorplates Nos. VII and IX.) 
 
 F V tibul ^^ *^® points just mentioned hold equally 
 
 Laundry and ' *™® ^°'' vestibule, laundry and closets. Arm- 
 Oosets strong's Linoleum will provide floors that are 
 
 comfortable underfoot, sanitary, durable and 
 easy to clean. A wide variety of both inlaid and printed pat- 
 terns is offered for such purposes. A few such are reproduced 
 on Colorplates Nos. IX and X. Your local merchants can show 
 you the complete line. 
 
 U d f Y '^^^ ^^^ ^^ installing linoleum floors all over 
 
 in Europe *^® house is not new; it is one of the excellent 
 
 hints on home building that has come to us 
 from Europe. There for many years the material has found ready 
 acceptance in bedrooms, living-rooms, dining-rooms, etc., not 
 alone in homes of moderate means, but just as frequently in 
 those of the rich and well-to-do. Foreign makers have catered 
 especially to such uses, but beautiful as their patterns are, we 
 confidently believe that for beauty, attractiveness and general 
 utility, the Armstrong designs now available for every room in 
 the house have never been excelled. Each year new effects are 
 being offered, and the American housewife is rapidly coming to 
 realize the advantages of linoleum floors from both an artistic 
 and utilitarian standpoint. 
 
 32 
 
By way of summing up, consider for just a 
 The Advantages moment what the qualities are that you really 
 of linoleum ^^^ ^^^ demand in the floors in your home. 
 oo^'s Certainly you want your floors to be durable. 
 
 And is there any floor you can think of— cost considered— that 
 can approach a good linoleum in wearing quality? Next, you 
 demand sanitation. Do you know of any floor that excels 
 linoleum in that respect? 
 
 Most assuredly you want floors that are easy to keep clean. Have 
 you not found linoleum easy to clean? And you must have 
 comfort. Is not linoleum easy underfoot? 
 But, you say, we must have warmth, too. Certainly you must. 
 But you would hardly think of leaving the wood floor in your 
 bedroom and living-room bare, would you? No, you use rugs. 
 Follow the same course then with your linoleum floors, and you 
 will find them equally as comfortable as hardwood. In fact, 
 thickness for thickness, linoleum is a better nonconductor of heat 
 than wood is. 
 
 Then finally you demand beauty and economy in your floors — 
 and justly so. As for color harmony, hardwood has distinct limita- 
 tions. Shades of brown and tan are about the only colors that 
 are available. But with linoleum, the range of colors and patterns 
 is well-nigh unlimited, and your floors can thus be made an in- 
 tegral part of your general color scheme. On this point, the color- 
 plates that accompany this book speak for themselves. 
 
 As to economy, linoleum floors of good quality are less expensive 
 today than the cheapest hardwood. And they cost less to 
 maintain, too. Given reasonable care and proper treatment, 
 linoleimi floors will last indefinitely, without the periodic re-fin- 
 ishing that all hardwood requires. 
 
 So you can see for yourself, once you analyze the subject, how 
 remarkably linoleum does combine each and every one of the 
 qualities you want the floors in your home to possess. 
 
 1 c • Naturally we want you to be thoroughly satis- 
 
 erso ervice ^^ ^^j^ every piece of Armstrong's Linoleum 
 
 you put in your house— not only as to the wearing quality, but 
 
 33 
 
in respect to the pattern and color as well. And since the selection 
 of suitable linoleum floors to harmonize with different types of 
 furnishings and color schemes involves the application of the 
 principles of interior decoration, we have organized a Bureau of 
 Interior Decoration with a thoroughly trained decorator at its 
 head to answer any questions you may care to ask about the use of 
 Armstrong's Linoleum in your own home. There is no charge 
 whatever for this service. Write and tell us what your problem 
 is, and we shall do our utmost to help you solve it satisfactorily. 
 
 Linoleum was invented in England in 1863. 
 
 j.^l J The name comes from two Latin words, linum 
 
 Linoleum Is ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^.j^ j^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ j^ ^^^ 
 
 its name from its principal ingredient, linseed oil. Before it 
 can be used in making linoleum, however, the linseed oil must 
 be oxidized by exposing it to the air until it hardens into a tough 
 rubber-like substance. The oxidized oil is then mixed with 
 powdered cork, wood flour and various gums and color pig- 
 ments, and the resulting plastic mass pressed on burlap by means 
 of great "calenders" that exert a pressure of hundreds of pounds 
 to the square inch. The " green " linoleum then passes into huge 
 drying buildings, called "stoves," where it is hung up in festoons 
 forty-five feet high, to cure and season. This curing process takes 
 from one to six weeks, depending on the thickness of the material. 
 
 There are several varieties of linoleum, designated as follows: 
 
 (a) Plain Linoleum — of solid color without pattern — ^the heavier 
 grades of which are used for covering the decks of battleships, 
 and hence are known as Battleship Linoleum. 
 (6) Printed Linoleum, which is simply plain linoleum with a 
 design printed on the surface with oil paint. 
 
 (c) Inlaid Linoleum, in which the colors of the pattern go through 
 to the burlap. 
 
 (d) Jaspe Linoleum, which may be considered a species of inlaid 
 linoleum, since the colors run clear through the fabric. It pre- 
 sents an appearance somewhat like moire silk. 
 
 (e) Granite Linoleum, which is also a variety of inlaid. It has a 
 mottled appearance, resembling terrazzo. 
 
 84 
 
On the colorplates accompanying this book are reproduced 
 examples of each of these five varieties of linoleum, but these 
 patterns do not by any means comprise the entire range in 
 which Armstrong's Linoleum is mamifactured. If you do not 
 find a design to suit you among this assortment, your local mer- 
 chant will be glad to show you the complete Armstrong Line of 
 380 patterns. 
 
 Armstrong's Linoleum is the product of the 
 A Modern Plant ^^^ modem linoleum mill in America. The 
 ingredients used are carefully tested, the machinery is of the 
 latest type, the operatives are workmen of skill and experi- 
 ence, and the inspections are exceptionally rigid. You can be 
 sure that any piece of linoleum that bears the Circle A trade- 
 mark of the Armstrong Cork Company is of good quality and 
 workmanship, built to last. 
 
 „ . . . , Armstrong's Linoleum received theGrandPrize 
 P at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition 
 
 at San Francisco^ — ^the highest possible award — conferred on no 
 other brand of linoleum, foreign or domestic. 
 
 Since there are substitute floor coverings on 
 R al IJn 1 *^® market nowadays that look like linoleum 
 
 on the surface, but which are merely felt- 
 paper imitations, it is to your advantage to remember these two 
 easy ways to tell genuine linoleum: First, look at the back and 
 make sure that it is burlap. Second, try to tear it. Imitations 
 tear easily. The safest way is to ask for Armstrong's Linoleum 
 by name and look for the Circle A trade-mark on the back. 
 
 First get in touch with the dealer in home 
 Armsteong*s fnniishings with whom you are accustomed to 
 Linoleum trade. If he cannot show you an adequate 
 
 assortment of Armstrong patterns, write to 
 us, not forgetting to include the merchant's name and address. 
 Then we shall do all in our power to help you solve your interior 
 decoration problems and to supply your linoleum needs. We 
 also shall do everything possible to see that in the future you 
 can secure what you require through your own merchant. As 
 manufacturers, we cannot sell direct to the consumer. 
 
 85 
 
HOW TO LAY LINOLEUM 
 
 Laid properly, linoleum will last for years, and if given reasonable care, 
 will retain its attractive appearance indefinitely. Because it is to your 
 interest as well as ours to see that your linoleum is well laid and receives 
 proper attention, we ask you to read and note carefully the following 
 directions: 
 
 The laying of linoleum Is not a simple task. It 
 Skilled Work requires considerable experience before one learns 
 
 Required j^^^ ^ ^^^ ^j^g goods to avoid waste and how to lay 
 
 the material so as to prevent the buckling and cracking that may occur, 
 due to faulty workmanship. Therefore, it will likely prove cheaper in the 
 end, and most assuredly will give you greater satisfaction, if you have your 
 merchant's skilled workmen lay your linoleum for you, instead of tiying 
 to do the work yourself. 
 
 There is only one absolutely satisfactory way to lay linoleum, and that 
 is to put it down over a layer of heavy felt paper. Ordinary gray builders' 
 felt, weighing IJ^ pounds to the square yard, is the grade used for this 
 purpose. 
 
 All floors are subject to expansion and contraction 
 'P*®!^?^^**^^ '*^ caused by the variations in heat and cold in summer 
 the Felt Layer ^^j ^yjn^gr. Wood floors often dry out, leaving 
 
 cracks. This may in turn cause the iinoleiun to break or buckle. The 
 heavy felt paper will take up this expansion and contraction, and positively 
 increase the life of the linoleum floor. In fact, the linoleum will last much 
 longer than if laid by unskilled persons in a makeshift manner. 
 
 The felt layer acts as a cushion, deadens soimd, and makes the floor 
 warm and delightful to walk upon. The linoleimi, moreover, can be 
 removed from the floor, if necessary, with little trouble. 
 
 LAYING LINOLEUM OVER FELT PAPER 
 
 In putting down linoleum over felt, the felt is first cut into lengths to go 
 across the short way of the room. The quarter-round fioor moulding is 
 removed and the felt fitted snugly at each end. A non-waterproof lino- 
 leum paste is applied to the imder surface of the felt, which is then rolled 
 or pressed down until it adheres firmly to the floor. 
 
 The lengths of linoleum are next placed in position crosswise to the 
 direction of the felt strips, or the long way of the room. One piece is laid 
 at a time. The surface of the felt under each strip of linoleum is well 
 coated with the paste, except for four to six inches along each end and side, 
 and along the seams, which spaces are left bare. The linoleum is then 
 
 36 
 
put down and rolled. After the paste has begun to dry, the free edges 
 of the linoleum are trimmed to fit neatly at all points. Then a waterproof 
 linoleum cement (a kind of glue) is applied to the felt along all edges and 
 seams, back under the linoleum for a distance of four to six inches, so as 
 to keep out moisture. The linoleum finally is well rolled with a 150-pound 
 iron roller, to insure perfect adhesion. 
 
 Weights, such as pressed brick or sand bags, are placed one against each 
 other, lengthwise, along all edges and seams to press the linoleum firmly 
 against the felt while the cement dries. After twenty-four hours, the 
 bricks are removed, and the floor is ready for use. The floor moulding is 
 put back into place. The result is a neat, resilient, sanitary, waterproof 
 floor. No little skill is required to do this work properly. The additional 
 cost of having it done by an experienced linoleum layer is relatively small. 
 
 A less satisfactory way to lay linoleum is to place it directly on the wood 
 or concrete floor. Where a more or less temporary floor covering is desired, 
 as In the case of tenants on short leases, etc., this method may be mcde 
 to suflice. 
 
 DIRECTLY ON WOOD FLOORS 
 
 The floor should be perfectly dry and clean, the surface smooth and even. 
 Cracks should be filled; nails should be removed; and the imeven edges 
 of the boards planed off, if necessary. 
 
 Handling ^^ ^^^^ weather, linoleimi becomes brittle. If 
 
 the Linoleum unrolled when in that condition, it is apt to crack. 
 
 Stand the roll of linoleum, therefore, in a warm room 
 for at least 48 hours before using it. Measure the linoleum carefully, and, 
 if possible, cut it to run in the opposite direction from the boards in the 
 floor. This will tend to prevent long cracks, due to slight imevenness of 
 the floor boards. 
 
 After it has been tightly wound in the original roll for weeks or months, 
 it requires some time for linoleum to assume its proper shape, and when 
 laid flat on the floor it must be allowed to "grow" or expand; otherwise, it 
 may "buckle" or crack. To provide for this expansion, proceed as follows: 
 
 Remove First, remove the quarter-round floor moulding from 
 
 Floor Moulding the baseboard all aroimd the room. Then cut the 
 linoleum, trimming it from M to J4 inch short at 
 each end just so the edge of the linoleum will be covered by the quarter- 
 round moulding when this is replaced. Along the side walls, the linoleum 
 should not be placed tight against the baseboard, but just as at the ends, 
 a space of J^ to J^ Inch wide should be left. The edges of the linoleum at 
 the seams, however, should be butted tightly against each other. 
 
 37 
 
Laid in this manner, the linoleum will have an opportunity to expand 
 imdemeath the edge of the quarter-roimd moulding. In replacing the 
 quarter-round, do not fasten it down tight against the surface of the 
 linoleum. The quarter-roimd must not bind the material at any point, 
 but should be nailed to the baseboard in such manner as to permit the 
 lifting out of the linoleum easily should retrimming become necessary. 
 
 Should a buckle or air bubble develop in the linoleum, it must be smoothed 
 out, and the edge of the linoleum under the floor moulding cut back a 
 trifle. Do not put any brads in the linoleum during the expansion period. 
 
 Care must be taken to fit the linoleum neatly ju-ound 
 Fitting _ radiators, waste pipes, doorways, wall projections. 
 
 Around Pipes and gjg^ "Where possible, the gas stove, kitchen range> 
 Projections ^^^ other movable equipment should be disconnected 
 
 and linoleiun laid under it. 
 
 In many cases it will be foxmd that it is not necessary 
 Fastening Linoleum to fasten linoleum to the floor at all, when it has 
 been laid imder the quarter-roimd moulding at the sides and ends. The 
 moulding itself will be all that is required to hold the material in place. 
 
 Where it becomes necessary, however, to fasten the linoleum to wood 
 floors, use No. 18, %-uich, wire brads. Never use carpet tacks. The 
 brads should be set in ^ to ^ inch from the edge and should be spaced 
 about four inches apart along the edges and three inches apart on seams. 
 The brads should be driven down until the heads are lost in the surface 
 of the linoleum. 
 
 DIRECTLY ON CONCRETE FLOORS 
 
 The only way to fasten linoleum to concrete in your laundry, entry-way, 
 bathroom or on any other concrete floor is by means of paste and water- 
 proof cement. We strongly recommend that you have your merchant do 
 this for you, using the felt underlayer, previously described, for this is 
 the only way to insure thoroughly satisfactory results. But if you should 
 decide to lay the material yourself, follow these directions carefully: 
 
 No concrete floor can be considered absolutely dry 
 Floor Must Be Dry j^ much less than three to four months after con- 
 struction, depending upon the season, weather, and other conditions. 
 Moisture in the floor will inevitably harm the linoleum. It is absolutely 
 essential, therefore, that the linoleiun be not laid until the concrete has 
 had time to season and dry thoroughly. 
 
 When linoleum is laid over concrete in the manner 
 Fittmg described here, it is not necessary to allow for 
 
 the Linoleum expansion, as the fabric cannot expand after it is 
 
 pasted down. The linoleum should be cut to fit tightly at each end, and 
 around all projections or pipes. 
 
 38 
 
The method of lajnng linoleum over a concrete floor 
 Laying is similar to the final operation of laying linoleum 
 
 the Lmoleum over felt, asdescribed on pages 36-37. Use Armstrong's 
 
 Linoleum Paste (non-waterproof) for pasting the center of the linoleum 
 strips to the concrete, and Nonpareil Linoleum Waterproof Cement for 
 gluing the edges and se^ms to the concrete floor, so as to prevent water 
 from getting tmdemeatn the fabric. You can secure the necessary paste 
 and cement from your iiierchant. 
 
 After removing all dirt and dust, apply Armstrong's Linoleum Paste to the 
 concrete floor with a wide brush, to within four to six inches of each side 
 and end of the linoletmi strip, which space is left bare for the later appli- 
 cation of the cement. Put the width of linoleum in place and roll it out 
 at once, before the paste dries. Repeat the same operation with the suc- 
 ceeding strips of linoleum, butdng the edges of the strips together tightly. 
 Trim the ends to fit snugly against the wall. Then liift the edges of the 
 strips of linoleum along the sides and ends and apply Nonpareil Linoleum 
 Waterproof Cement with a paint brush to the concrete floor as far back 
 as the paste will permit. Remove any cement that gets on the surface 
 at once with alcohol. Finally, roll the linoleimi with an iron roller (if 
 possible) to insure perfect adhesion. 
 
 Weights, such as pressed brick, sand bags or other heavy objects, should 
 then be placed along all seams and edges, and allowed to remain for not less 
 than twenty-foiu" hours. Linoleum should never be laid over concrete floors 
 in basements, unless the concrete has first been thoroughly water-proofed. 
 
 BOW TO CARE FOR LINOLEUM 
 
 In Europe, where linoleum is used extensively for bedrooms, dining-rooms, 
 living-rooms, etc., housewives take especial pride in caring for and polish- 
 ing the material so that their floors always look bright and attractive. 
 Reasonable care and proper treatment will add greatly to the appearance 
 and the life of your linoleum floor. 
 
 As it does not catch dirt readily, sweeping linoleum 
 Cleaning Linoleum jg a^ easy task. Going over it once a day with an 
 oil mop will usually keep it bright and clean. 
 
 When washing is necessary, use a mild soap and tepid water — not hot. 
 Wash about a yard at a time, rinse it with clear water, and then dry it 
 thoroughly. When washing or mopping your linoleum, never "flood " the 
 surface with water. 
 
 Contrary to the idea of some housewives, certain advertised washing 
 powders and scouring soaps should never be used on linoleimi, as they 
 contain caustic or alkali, which eat into the surface and destroy the colore. 
 
 39 
 
A good rule is not to use soda, lye, potash, strong soaps or powders of any 
 kind. A good mild soap is all that is necessary. 
 
 Polishing Linoleum Your linoleum will last longer, and the brightness 
 of the colors will be retained and renewed if you go 
 over the surface every five or six weeks with some good floor wax or 
 polish, such as "Johnson's Prepared Wax," "Old English Wax" or any 
 other good floor wax. A good home-made polish is easily prepared by 
 dissolving imder slow heat equal parts by weight of beeswax and turpen- 
 tine. Care must be taken to prevent the mixture from taking fire whUe 
 preparing it. When cool, take a little on a cloth and rub it into the lino- 
 leum thoroughly, especially at the points of greatest wear. Do not use 
 too much polish of any kind, but rub it in well. It is very easy to keep 
 linoleum clean that is waxed and polished occasionally. 
 
 Heavy Furniture The castors ordinarily used are apt to cut into the 
 on Linoleum linoleum if the furniture is heavy. Therefore, it is 
 
 best to substitute glass or metal shoes. These sliding 
 shoes have a wide bearing surface and no rough edges. They are made in 
 several sizes, have a similar shank to that on a regular castor, and will fit 
 the same sockets. On chairs, rubber tips will answer the same purpose. 
 Always lay a piece of carpet on the floor, or a board, when moving very 
 heavy furniture, to prevent marring the surface of the linoleum. 
 
 ® 
 
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Reception room in a fine residence in Europe. The linoleum used is buff and black, with a dark plain border 
 
 A European hall. The linoleum floor is a subdued pattern 
 in greens and black 
 
 Children's room in a private residence on the Continent The 
 Imoleum is a soft pale green and brown 
 
A library in Europe, showing an effective use of a small linoleum pattern, with a plain linoleum border 
 
 Reception room in a European residence. The linoleum is gray and black 
 
Master's bedroom in an aristocratic mansion in Europe. Note the perfect fitness of the linoleum floor in the general scheme 
 
 Child's bedroom. in a villa in Switzerland. The delicate pattern of the linoleum is indistinguishable in the photograph 
 
An enclosed porch facing the garden of a residence in Europe. The linoleum is an unusual design in two tones of blue 
 
 Hall in a European residence, wiCh a quiet, subdued linoleum pattern on the lloor 
 
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