% i£HK ;,"a5 C<5 I I^FFl TI By J - H ELDER-DUNCAN DATE DUE ©ft ftf' '^Viaif II rii in ijlk "wr ^.rfffW' LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE COLLEGE OF HOME ECONOMICS CORNELL UNlVERSITl- ITHACA, NEW YORK IBEE GAYLORD PRINTEDINU.S.A. Cornell University Library NK2110.E5 The house beautiful and useful; being pra 3 1924 014 500 270 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL BEING PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ON FURNISHING AND DECORATION BY J. H. ELDER-DUNCAN Author of Cotmtry Cottages and Week-end Homes ' "Have nothing: in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or beHeve to be beautiful." — William Morris JOHN LANE COMPANY NEW YORK MCMVll BY THE SAME AUTHOR. COUNTRY COTTAGES WEEK-END HOMES Fully Illustrated with Plans of Cottages by well-known Architects. $3.50 net. Postage or Express 35c. ''There have been many books produced that show how to buy or build, but the best i8 undoubtedly this compilation by Mr. J. H. E]der-Duncan. He gives valuable hints. ' —Pall Mall Gazette. PREFACE. At the Publishers' request, I have endeavoured to give in a fairly brief form some notes for the benefit of those who are faced with the problem of decorating and furnishing a home. There have been several works issued in recent years with a similar object in view ; but their authors, as far as I can discover, have not kept in view the all-important ques- tion of cost. To remedy this omission is one of the factors governing the appearance of the present volume. The ideal method of furnishing a home is to employ the services of a talented Architect and Craftsman, so that every piece of furniture and every scheme of decoration is an individual production — the only one of its kind — expressing the owner's taste and individuality. Unfortunately, such an ideal is only possible in the case of wealthy people. Nine-tenths of the population must continue to buy articles of furniture which are made to pattern by the dozen, and to employ schemes of decoration that have their counterpart in many other dwellings. It is the object of the following chapters to give some guidance to the selection of such furniture, and to indicate more or less desirable directions for decorative effort. While the majority of people cannot afford to employ an Architect or Craftsman, the person of average intellect and a certain amount of taste can do much for himself. The great revival of the arts and crafts during the last quarter of a century, not here alone, but also on the Con- tinent, and a higher standard of general culture, have now brought about a reasonable partnership between Art and Commerce, so that the enlightened manufacturer, co-operating with the talented Craftsman, is able to produce furniture and decorations at a price which the man of moderate means can vi PREFACE. afford. There is no reason, therefore, why the most modest home should not be a model of artistic fitness. Even those to whom the schemes dealt with in this book appear too costly may take comfort in the thought that it IS possible to proceed bit by bit, and if the decoration of one room is proceeded with at first the others can be taken in hand as means allow. And this course will probably appeal to those readers who own their own houses or cottages. A distinction has been drawn between two classes of decora- tion, one — called here " Constructive Decoration " — involving a certain amount of constructional alteration, probably neces- sitating the services of a builder ; and the other — to which I have given the name of " Surface Decoration " — referring more directly to paint and wall-paper, and such like simple matters. The illustrations, generally, have been selected as examples of restrained and sensible design in the various branches of this comprehensive subject. They are not put forward as being the cheapest articles of their respective kinds, but are to be regarded more particularly as types. They are all selected from the stocks of trading firms, they are priced as far as it is possible to do so, and for the convenience of readers a list of these firms, with numbers corresponding to those under the illustrations, will be found on page viii. I am indebted to several architects and the proprietors of "The Architectural Review" for permission to reproduce certain illustrations, and to the various firms whose names will be found herein. I also desire to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Herbert Leigh for sundry particulars in connection with old furniture. CONTENTS. CHAPTER L PAGE Introductory : A Short Summary of a Century of Applied Art . 9 CHAPTER n. General Notes on Decoration i8 CHAPTER HL Constructive and Surface Decoration .... 29 CHAPTER IV. Old Furniture ......... loi CHAPTER V. Modern Furniture ........ 124 CHAPTER VI. Carpets, Linoleums, Mattings, Fabrics, etc. . . . 193 CHAPTER VII. Hints to Purchasers 221 LIST OF MANUFACTURERS WHOSE DESIGNS ARE ILLUSTRATED IN THIS VOLUME. {JVotc— The Roman numerals against the names serve as reference marks under the illustrations.) I. Art Pavements 7, Emerald St., Theobald's Medmenham wall tiling and & Decorations, Rd., W.C. grate surrounds. Ltd., The II. Bratt, Colbran 10, Mortimer St., W. Grates and chimney-pieces. &Co. III. Broadwood,John Conduit St., W. Pianofortes. & Sons, Ltd. IV. Cleaver, H. C, 3, Eden St., Hampstead Chimney-pieces, " Tudoresk Ltd. Rd., N.W. oak panelling. V. Doulton & Co., Albert Embankment, S.E. Fitted bathrooms. Ltd. VI. Etherington & Richmond, Surrey Pianoforte. Son VII. Gill & Reigate, 77, etc., Oxford St., W. Antique furniture, rcpro- Ltd. ductions of antique fur- niture. IX. Guild of Handi- Chipping Campden, Glou- Modern furniture. CRAFT, Ltd., The cestershire X. Heal & Son Tottenham Court Rd., W. Bedroom furniture, three-ply carpets, reproductions of antique fabrics, crockery. XI. Howard & Sons, 2^, Berners St., W. Oak pane'lling. Ltd. XII. Jeffrey & Co. 64, Essex Rd., Islington, N. Wall-papers. XIII. Keith, Prowse & 48, Cheapside, E.C. Pianoforte. Co., Ltd, XIV. Knowles, C. & 164, King's Rd., Chelsea, Wall-papers. Co., Ltd. S.W. XV. Morris & Co., 481, Oxford St., W. Morris wall-papers, furniinre Decorators, Ltd. and fabrics. XVI. Oetzmann & Co. Hampstead Rd., N.W. Antique and modern furni- ture, carpets, skin rugs, table lineti, curtains, etc. XVII. Osler, F. & C, 100, Oxford St., W. Electric light fittings, table Ltd. glass. XVIII. Roger Dawson, 63, Berners St., W. Electric Fittings. Ltd. XIX. Thornton-Smith, ii, Soho Square, W. Antique ficrniture, reproduc- W. & E. tions of antique fabrics. XX. Cardinal & Har- 108-110, High Holborn, Carpets. ford. W.C. XXI. Waring & Gil- Oxford St., W. Modern furniture, modern low, Ltd. curtain decoration. XXIL Well Fire Co., ^3, Dover St., W. Grates and chinmey-bicces. Ltd., The. XXIII. White, John P. The Pyghtle Works, Bed- Garden furniture. ford. XXIV. Wragge,George, Wardry Works, Salford Stained s^lass. Ltd. THE "EVENLODE HAND PAINTED CHINTZ. Designed by William Morris. THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL CHAPTER I. introductory: a short summary of a century of APPLIED art. The nineteenth century has been described as "an era of change," and certainly most of our intellectual manifestations have during that period been through the melting- • .f**' pot of thought, assuming new aspects and phases, Tradition. ^"^ ^" some cases remaining in a state of flux for prolonged periods. The late century was largely a re-thinking period ; a period of disturbance to fundamental beliefs, brought about by new conditions of life and thought, and profound changes in the social economy. Art, so close a reflex of the life and thought of the age that produces it, could not hope to escape this mental upheaval. Indeed, from its very nature, it is one of the first of human expressions to respond to changes of belief and effort ; and from this peculiar sensitiveness to external stimulus, the guiding traditions once disturbed, its energies require a longer period for re-concentration on new traditions or aims than do many other expressions of our mental processes. This liability of Art to be dragged at the heels of intel- lectual movements has peculiar disadvantages. So long as Literature and Thought are compatible with, or expressive of, the social life and aspirations of their age, all may be well. But if the mentality of a nation assumes a certain aloofness or eclecticism towards the social order, Art, for good or evil, is detached from its legitimate expression of the souls of the many to a reflection of the ethics of the few. For Literature, though a good friend, is oft-times a bad mistress, and having once assumed a sway over another art 10 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. invariably degenerates into a despot, whose orders must be carried out and whose decisions must be obeyed. The literary dilettante of the eighteenth century, who dictated progress to architecture on the narrow lines of the Classic orders ; or, like Horace Walpole, condemned it to assume the guise of " Strawberry Hill Gothic," exhibited a like tyranny towards the applied arts. This base use of architecture as a tail for literary kite- flying had its inevitable effect upon the Neo-Classic tradition which prevailed during the opening years of the century. It became narrow and pedantic, despite certain elements of grace and beauty and the eclectic refinements of the Brothers Adam. Lacking the sustentation of a vital belief and enthusiasm, it degenerated into the pretentious and the rococo. By the late " twenties " the Neo-Classic was in a comatose condition under the anaesthesia of a rapidly growing sentiment for mediaevalism. John Nash, the Architect of Pugin and ^^j. (-j^ggj^. Regent Street and its famous Quadrant, Revival dabbled in Gothic designs, being assisted in these efforts by a French draughtsman, named Pugin, who fled the Revolution and settled in this country. Pugin, by 1831, had published several illustrated works on Mediasval Architecture, which undoubtedly helped the pre-disposition towards Gothic ; but it was the burning enthusiasm of his son, A. N. Welby Pugin, that carried the Gothic Revival to the full tide of its success in the "forties." Welby Pugin's enthusiasm was not solely an artistic one ; underlying it was a strong religious bias which, at this distance, appears almost fanatical. He studied stained glass, metal work, church embroidery work and furnishing. At fifteen he was designing Gothic furniture for Windsor Castle, and in a short life of forty years had designed a cathedral, innumerable churches, country houses, built a considerable part of Rams- gate, and provided much of the decorative scheme of the present Houses of Parliament. He had, moreover, a fluent pen, and published several books, upholding Gothic as the only true Christian style, despite the fact that Western Christianity was cradled in a pagan basilica, and has adhered to that form of plan for its churches ever since. When we remember that he had no small opinion of his powers and capabilities, and A CENTURY OF APPLIED ART. ii that he was untrammelled by a sense of humour, we can understand his fitness as the leading protagonist of the mediaeval revivalists. But if Pugin was the man for the hour, the hour was also for the man. In the Established Church the Tractarian propaganda of the "thirties" aimed at the respiritualising of public worship by a reversion to certain pre-Reformation doctrines and the introduction of a more elaborate ritual, and this movement could not fail to be beneficial both to the sentiment of mediaevalism and the revrval of the crafts. The one thing wanting was the inspired and gifted crafts- man ; but he, alas! was not. The old Craft Guilds had long since ceased to exist ; the growing commercialism of the age could only produce the operative. Hence the Gothic revival drifted into the exploitation of the sketch book, the mere copying of lifeless mediseval forms. Between the keen business instincts of the Manchester School and the mediaeval tendencies and sentiments of the Revivalists there could be little in common, and by the middle of the century, appropriately marked by the Great Exhibition of 1851, the antagonism of these influences had brought English art to the lowest depths of degradation. Yet, as the darkest hour but just precedes the dawn, so the blackest years in English art were to herald the appearance of a new and far-reaching" movement in the William Morris ^^^^" ^^^ Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which was formed in 1848, was still imbued with a passion for aesthetic mediaevalism, coupled, however, with a desire for literal truthfulness in expression, and a certain decorative value in its work. It was mainly a painters' movement, not specially concerned with the crafts, but its influence was communicated to other men, not formally enrolled in membership, and among these may be mentioned Edward Burne-Jones, Philip Webb the architect, and William Morris. It is of the last that we have more particularly to think, for to him must be conceded the position of Father of modern English decoration. His rebellion against the restrictions of a modern architect's training led him to seek Architecture by way of the applied arts, but this predilection towards the crafts gave him a 12 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. somewhat prejudiced view of Architecture, which he associated more with the decorative side of building than with the art of handling masses of material to produce an organic compo- sition. But his advocacy and practical example in the use of good materials and colour, allied with sound workmanship, started modern decoration on the right road, and he accom- plished the revival of craftwork in the teeth of much bitter and malicious opposition. At the outset his energies were whole-heartedly directed to the re-establishment of the crafts on the mediaeval basis. To revive the glories of the mediaeval tradition seemed to him not merely a possible goal, but an achievement to which his whole life and efforts might fitly be devoted. But this ideal was never to be realised, and it was shattered by no less a person than John Ruskin, who by this time was enthralling men by the brilliance of his writings, and work- ing unflaggingly in the interests of the new movement. Indeed, Morris was one of the first to grasp the essential kernel of Ruskin's criticism, that the mediaeval tradition was indeed broken, and that with the entirely different social and economic conditions then prevailing its re-establishment on the original lines was foredoomed to failure. It was a bitter disappointment ; but it is characteristic of the man that Morris wasted no time in repining, but having satisfied himself of the correctness of Ruskin's conclusion, he reshaped his course, and started on the fresh basis of eclecticism, which he was convinced must be the standpoint of the craftsman under existing circumstances. It is a further proof of his whole-hearted conversion to Ruskin's point of view that Morris's efforts led to the re-establishment of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, which was to oppose, and still happily opposes, the havocking and falsification of old structures under the specious guise of Restoration. Once the new craft movement was set in its fresh course it made more rapid progress. The firm of Morris, Faulkner and Co., which Morris founded to place the work of himself and his fellow craftsmen on a business footing, and which later became Morris and Co., obtained orders, and traded on a commercial basis. Unfortunately, the art of Morris was not for the million. The very conditions upon A CENTURY OF APPLIED ART. 13 • which he insisted—individuality, originality, good material, and sound workmanship, added to a necessarily limited output— made it impossible for him to compete with the ordinary manufacturer in an age of shoddy. But the manufacturers who had endeavoured to crush his firm in 1862 could not but feel the effects of his efforts. He secured orders for some of the best work, and from some of the richest clients. Education had then become almost a craze. Free elementary education was an established fact; technical and art education followed in its train. Com- merce made haste to avail itself of the early products of the new art training centres ; but their immature and half-formed ideas showed badly in comparison with the genius that had inspired them. This was a defect which time alone could cure, and with better facilities for teaching, and more competent training, Morris, at the close of his life, was enabled to see a progress in the revival of Arts and Crafts of which he and his band of craftsmen had probably no conception when they started out on their campaign. Another, and more recent movement of importance had its genesis in this country, but its serious results are almost entirely confined to the Continent: It arose from Nouveau " ^^^ determination of certain gifted architects and craftsmen to be free of past conventions in applied art ; but this liberty, enjoyed here with circum- spection and restraint, was embraced with such unwonted exuberance by the Continental craftsmen that the originators must have bitterly regretted their decision to dispense with the accepted canons of their art. The chaos in design has spread all over France, Germany, Austria and Italy, upon which countries the creed of " LArt Nouveau" lies heavily. There all respect for natural limitations in the materials has been cast to the winds. Wood is cut as though it were a grain- less and fibreless substance like cheese ; metal is twisted into the most weird and unnatural shapes. Chairs appear as clumps of gnarled tree roots ; twisted boughs conspire to form a bedstead ; electroliers appear to be boxes suspended by innumerable strings; walls show trees with their roots in the skirting boards, and foliage on the ceiling ; sea serpents chase each other round the walls, and entrance doors are 14 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. guarded by appalling dragons. Nowhere is the purpose of an article frankly and honourably expressed. The electric lights must masquerade in pools under the eyes of a nymph, or in the glowing horseshoe upon a blacksmith's anvil ; snakes twisted into ingenious knots for stair balusters threaten you as you ascend ; the door knocker becomes a grinning satyr, and even the carpet casts malevolent eyes at you as you traverse it. In no case is this ghastly riot of form more marked than in Germany and Austria, where ingenious fancy, a craze for novelty, and a certain morbid strain in the Teutonic temperament have combined with the most unhappy results. Fortunately, the English craftsmen and — to his honour be it said — the English householder, have set their faces against the threatened invasion, and comparatively little of this ephemeral rubbish is to be seen in our shops. Certain manifestations (largely the result of a mania for novelty) in modern English applied art have been dubbed " L'Art Nouveau " ; but the British form is severity itself beside that of the Continent, and, fortunately, does not appear to be making much headway. It is satisfactory, too, to note that English influence in the matter of good design, both in architecture and applied art, is beginning to be felt on the Continent, and even in Germany. Design, though still wild and thoughtless, appears to be assimilating some of the sobriety of the best English work. Thus our present phase of decoration and furnishing has been evolved as the result of various important social, economic, artistic and religious movements during Development the last century, at first quite independent and of Modern removed from each other ; but, on closer examina- Decorative ^.j^j^^ shown to be more or less interdependent and interacting, and having considerable influence on the applied art of their own and subsequent periods. Starting with an era of respectable but decadent Neo-Classic, we see its extinction in the pretentious and rococo. Then there is a great religious movement, primed with an aesthetic ideal and a strong taint of medisevalism, a reaction against the laxity and want of spirituality in the National Church. Contempora- neous with this religious movement we have another of greater A CENTURY OF APPLIED ART. 15 force in the rapid rise of commercialism, due to the development of mechanical science — a vulgar and sordid commercialism, because most of its pioneers had once been workmen, and the workman ever makes the worst master. From such a quarter the new school of religious thought could not hope to recruit the craftsmen, ripe with the spirit and knowledge of the mediaeval past ; and so we see the rise of the third movement, an artistic protest against the crudeness and vulgarity of the mid-Victorian art, imbued with all the traditions and fervour of the mediseval spirit, but lacking in the commercial instincts that could bring such a movement to success. From such beginnings emerges, as time goes on, a combination of the artistic and business instincts, exemplified in the person of William Morris and his coadjutors, who, by example and precept, brought new life and physical energy into the applied arts, and started a new era in the crafts. This impetus led to the establishment of art schools and technical centres all over the kingdom, and a due recognition of the importance of this branch of art in the life of the nation. Necessarily the progress of the new art education has been slow and not without its disadvantages. Commercialism has killed the craftsman by destroying his artistic initiative, and produced only the operative ; since then the manufacturer has been dependent for designs on the products of the art schools, and the first fruits of these, imperfectly educated and badly informed, produced but poor results. The spread of art educa- tion, however, and the greater attention devoted to the analysis of technique and material, and the research for accurate data of the past, have had their effect on the second and third generation of craftsmen now with us, and the modern designer is more sure of himself, possesses a greater understanding and sympathy with his work and its possibilities, and a wider appreciation of the increased and multifarious necessities of our present age. The last movement, a social one, has been the rise (viewed in a broad light) in the general standard of culture, due doubtless to the initiation of free education and the spur of increasing competition. It would be absurd to deny that culture at present has progressed beyond an elementary stage, i6 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. or that it is more than superficial in many directions ; but the visible effects are with us, and appear all for the general good. The manufacturer is not merely content with occasional assistance from the trained craftsman, but now employs him as a salaried official or partner, either to design or to lead and direct other craftsmen. In several instances trained craftsmen have formed themselves into Guilds, either to carry out the suggestion of architects or to produce their own designs, and such departures have been a distinct success. Still there are difficulties in combinations of artists, especially when they have attained a certain pre-eminence in their craft, which militates against the Guild system. The artistic temperament rarely takes kindly to guiding reins, and it is hardly likely that the system will be a widespread one. Education has another tendency — a democratising one — of which one aspect has considerable bearing on our present subject. A revolt against the conditions of domestic service has had, and will yet have, a great influence on the furnishing and decoration of our homes. The same spirit of democracy is gradually breaking down the barrier of "appearances," and the fiction that the possession of many sitting-rooms is a guarantee of respectability. Gradually we are being convinced that our homes should be places of comfort adapted to our wants, and not evidences of our wealth or show places to excite the envy of our acquaintances. In our new dwellings we see a perceptible progress towards the large and airy living hall in the place of two or three small and stuffy rooms, which is either a sign that we value our own comfort first, or an intimation that our friends should come to see us and not our possessions. In due time we shall probably realise that the smallest home may be an exhibition of artistic fitness. Even the speculative builder is endeavouring to advance with the times, though his ideas are mainly filched from other people, and have, as a rule, little suitability for the positions in which he enshrines them. Of the future it would be presumption to speak with certainty. We are a little troubled at present by well-meaning persons who would have us fashion our homes upon some rules of life, conduct, or morals, which are their particular and pet discovery. The natural impatience of the average A CENTURY OF APPLIED ART. 17 Briton under restraint gives little promise that he will adapt himself to rules of life conceived by others. Moreover, the natural expression of his own individuality in his home is the only solution that can ever be thoroughly satisfactory. For that reason I have endeavoured to avoid being didactic in the notes on the various branches of our subject, merely striving to point out certain desirable tendencies, or to indicate certain qualities of artistic fitness that commend themselves. It must be realised that personal taste must have its way, and if that taste is bad, one can only deplore the fact, and trust that education may show better results in the next generation of the same family. Of standards of conduct and life based more or less on preconceived ideas of religion or morality I have small hope. The better educated and well-informed commerce of to-day and to-morrow, working on sane and sober lines, and employing the services of competent and talented craftsmen, will have much more influence upon our homes than the fitful efforts of the independent artist or the social doctrinaire. CHAPTER 11. GENERAL NOTES ON DECORATION. From the very brief summary given in our introductory chapter we can see how much modern decoration owes to William Morris, and how the great revival in the Arts and Crafts, the inception of which is due to him, has resulted in the great decorative industry which is with us to-day. And it is now my purpose to give some consideration to modern ideas in decoration, and see how we can best apply them to the beautifying of our homes. It has been my privilege to see the homes and to hear at first hand some of the opinions of many of our leading architects and decorative artists, and the views ecoration: ^^ ^^ what constitutes decoration have been so What it is. , , . - . . ^ . many and so various that any definition of its function would seem to be precluded as an impossibility. Some tend to an austerity that is almost monastic ; others to a richness of effect that is almost barbaric ; and yet another class affects a mixture of the two, which is sometimes a little bewildering. Not a few " play up to," or subordinate everything to one feature in a room; and in this connection it is not amiss to mention the celebrated Peacock Room of Whistler, wherein that gifted but somewhat egotistical master entirely ruined some magnificent Spanish leather which covered the walls in order to make a setting for his celebrated picture, " La Princesse du Pays de la Porcelaine." The result was wonderful and beautiful, being a scheme in blue and gold, with peacocks and their gorgeous feathers as the leading motifs — hence the name. Doubtless the owner felt that his leather, costing over ;!ri,ooo, was a somewhat expensive canvas for even so great an artist. Still, as the room, minus the picture, recently realised nearly four times the cost of the leather, Whistler was probably justified. iS NOTES ON DECORATION. 19 Bearing in mind the varying opinions expressed on the province of decoration, it is perhaps justifiable to ask whether the beautification of our homes is not more a question of taste than a question of law. Not to recognise the personal element would be stultifying ; yet it must not be allowed to swamp all other considerations. But the point serves to show what has already been emphasised in the previous chapter, that modern decoration has, from Morris onwards, proceeded more or less on an eclectic basis, each artist or decorator selecting those motives which seemed to him most suitable or desirable, and developing them on lines in harmony with his preconceived ideas. Thus we find a few attempting something altogether new and original ; some working out old ideas, and modifying them to suit modern requirements ; and others, again, adhering very strictly to the reproduction of past styles. In passing, it may be as well to mention that the word decoration is used here in a rather subtler sense than that with which the modern house-painter's sign has familiarised the public. I am assuming for it the more rightful meaning, indicating an organic scheme embodying all the features of a room, rather than the mere application of wall-paper, paint, and stencil decorations as directed. Still I am struggling with this question of a definition, and if I were asked to coin one I would say that " house decoration implies an organic scheme of colour, form and proportion, to bring all the parts and appointments of a room into harmonious relation with each other." Some decorators would also add : " and all rooms into a similar harmonious relation with each other, and with the building of which they form parts." The first section of this addenda would carry us, I think, too far. Each room may be perfect in itself and yet out of touch or sympathy with the others. Whether more is required is a moot point. But the latter part of the proviso is worth consideration. Is it not a fact that many of our newer and "cottagey" dwellings are more or less shams, and that what on one hand appears to be the simplest of houses, suitable for a farm labourer or a small farmer, often contains a drawing-room, dining-room, billiard-room, study, and servants' hall ? And that, on the other hand, the interior 20 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. decoration of many small cottages, or week-end homes, is often carried out on a scale suitable for a ducal mansion? These incongruities doubtless arise from the anxiety of many architects to design houses of a supposedly rustic appearance in harmony with their natural surroundings, and, on the other hand, from a sentimental feeling — whether a foible of fashion or not I will not stop to inquire — on the part of their clients towards this class of dwelling. Or the underlying idea may be the quite laudable one of desiring to avoid ostentation. But if the latter explanation is true, one cannot help feeling that ostentation has not been minimised but accentuated, when one compares the elaborate interior decoration of some houses with the modest and insignificant exteriors that they present to the world. This aspect of a home is quite a modern one. In the old days the rich man aimed at a palace, and often spent up to the limit of his means to effect his object. At the present day he affects an appearance of modesty out of all proportion to his resources, and spends much money to give an outward expression to his desires, nullifying the whole effect by retaining the luxuries of his ancestors in the interior. On the other hand the man of moderate means is too often inclined to make his house pretentious and elaborate in a vain endeavour to increase the public estimation of his social, or — more often — financial position. In some part these vagaries may be due to an unthinking appreciation of Ruskinian theories concerning the development of architectural forms from those of nature ; in others to the greater cost of building, and to some mis- apprehension as regards artistic effect. From all this we may, I think, deduce two points of value in our consideration of the function of decoration. Firstly, that the interior decoration of a dwelling should be in harmony with the exterior expression ; and secondly, that the success of any scheme of decoration depends upon its own beauty and artistic fitness, irrespective of any other considerations. Thus, in a cottage or dwelling of humble appearance it is desirable to exclude an elaborate Louis Quinze scheme with gilt furniture ; and however much or little money is spent on a scheme, its artistic beauty and merit alone entitle it to consideration. NOTES ON DECORATION. 21 To restrict the cottage residence to a decoration befitting its outward appearance still leaves us plenty of scope in its beautification. A modest scheme requires quite as much care in handling, and, truth to tell, is often quite as expensive as an elaborate one. The range of materials and the possible outlines for our object are quite as great, and the ultimate effect is quite as easily, if not more likely, to be ruined by the introduction of an injudicious factor. Accepting these premises, we may next attempt to decide in what manner the beauty in our scheme is to be achieved. The personal element on questions of beauty is bound to loom largely on the horizon. I have indicated already that there is a disagreement among experts, and when the doctors disagree, who shall decide? Ignoring that unpleasant dictum about the individual who rushes in where angels fear to tread, let us carry our consideration a little further. One of the cardinal sins in decoration and furnishing is over-elaboration. In this respect even the artist may not be . a safe guide. I remember the house of a Royal Decoration Academician which was so full of furniture — and such furniture — that it was a positive weariness to traverse the rooms, and the wall-surfaces were so bedizened with ornament that the eye vainly searched for a piece of plain surface. One could only marvel at the contrast between the art which had secured the owner a place among the im- mortals, and the art which he had deliberately chosen for his home surroundings. The sin of over-furnishing is, however, a common one, and the average drawing-room is an excellent example of it. A multitude of small tables, chairs, palm-stands, and other articles, so disposed as to leave but narrow lanes through which one must thread one's way gingerly and warily, is a common defect. The partition of the wall spaces by three or four different treatments, the use of meaningless and unnecessary mouldings, the introduction of " cosy corners " and "nooks," the use of too many plants or flowers, and a surfeit of pictures and ornaments are also frequent evils. In regard to ornaments the ladies are, I regret to say, great offenders. When one considers the enormous amount of labour entailed day in and day out in dusting and cleaning. 22 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. one can only marvel at the instinct which prompts them to crowd every available shelf and table to its full capacity with nick-nacks and trifles. How many times, I wonder, have the efforts and schemes of the most competent architects and decorative artists been brought to naught by the mistaken energies of their clients' wives and daughters? The articles chosen are often of the most trifling value, and, apart from their small intrinsic worth, are usually poor from an artistic point of view. What spell is it that binds so many estimable women of fair taste and intellectual attainments to the unceasing accumulation of photograph frames, heraldic china, nodding mandarins, animal crockery, sea shells, trays, vases (useless for holding flowers), brass bowls, and china plates ? In the heterogeneous jumble in which these articles usually appear, what hope is there of distinguishing any one thing for the pleasure of the eye or the gratification of the artistic soul ? One might in this respect take a leaf from the Japanese book. The Japanese householder usually possesses many articles of "bigotry and virtue"; yet his rooms are probably the barest on record. A casual inspection fails to reveal those little marvels of exquisite and patient craftsmanship, the delicate incised ornament on the metal hasp of a shutter, the lacquer work on the cabinet that graces a corner of the apartment, or the beauty of the cloisonne enamel on the vase that holds one or two sprays of the beautiful almond blossom. Yet all these delights are there for the vigilant observer. And in the midst of his friends the Japanese host will produce a little bundle from the tiny cabinet, and, divesting it of its soft paper wrappings, disclose a miracle of ivory carving, the company chuckling and rejoicing in their appre- ciation of the artist's cunning, in his presentation of a story, a symbol, or a joke. And at their next visit those same guests may be regaled with a sight of some marvellous damascening on a blade, and so on. Could we not in some measure follow so excellent a plan ? Storing our treasured pieces of Sevres, Bow, or Chelsea in a cupboard, and having but one or two figures on our mantel-shelf and two or three plates only on our walls, and varying them from time to time, so that our rooms may NOTES ON DECORATION. 23 present fresh points of interest, and our possessions may receive the attention they merit, and which in their entirety they never excite? And as with ornaments so with pictures. Is it necessary to crowd our walls with canvases and engravings, often placed with but small regard to their proper lighting, when the exhibition of a small selection, changed from time to time, would enhance not only the pictures themselves, but the appearance of the room in which they are hung? It is the perpetual drawback of the Summer Exhibition at our Royal Academy that the pressure on the wall-space prevents the proper and suitable hanging of the accepted works. Every picture and every ornament requires not only proper lighting, but a certain amount of space and isolation to ensure its legitimate and telling effect. One fine canvas may be amply sufficient for a whole wall, though to the average man this may hardly appear possible. The crowding of works of art too often betokens a lamentable failure to appreciate their intrinsic beauties or merits. Indeed, the ideal course in the matter of pictures would be to have them specially painted for the positions they are to occupy. Many priceless old masters appear to small advantage in the National Gallery because they have been taken from panels over a reredos or dark corners in chapels, and having been executed to appear at their best under those particular conditions of lighting or position, they look strange and bizarre in their present surroundings. We may find another outlet for our mental capabilities in the due consideration of the relative values of the various decorations and articles we employ. A colour Schemes scheme implies to most of us more or less labour in " matching " things. We settle on a certain admixture of colours ; more often than not we come across some colour that is " too lovely for words," and hunt about for others "to go with it." We match our tapestries with the carpets, and the upholstery fabrics with the tapestries, and hunt about for contrasts in wall-papers and paint. But beyond this is the effect that these various things may exercise on one another ; the effect of shape, size, and form in pieces of furniture ; the effect of patterns in fabrics and 24 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. carpets ; the effect of arrangement — no one article in a room should be obtrusive ; our attention should not be imme- diately rivetted by the carpet or the grand piano. All the various articles and furniture should be subordinated to a general "atmosphere" in which no one feature is predominant. It is quite conceivable that a tapestry employed, say, for curtains, while harmonising with other things in point of colour, would have so bold a pattern that one's attention would immediately be drawn to it. For this reason, too, the use of very brilliant metal work is usually a mistake. I can recollect, some years ago, the first visit I paid to the office of that talented architect and designer, Mr. C. F. A. Voysey. On entering his private room the first impression received was a soothing one, with a general effect of soft green as a colour scheme. Sitting there, and having time to look about me, I noted the immense number of different things that had their part in the general effect. Mr. Voysey, as is probably known, has designed a great deal of furniture, and many wall-papers, carpets, chintzes, tapestries and other fabrics. Sample lengths of these various things appeared to have been utilised in the furnishing of the room, the greens ranged in tone from the palest bud green to rich peacock blue-green shades, and yet no tone of fabric outvied the other. It is possible that the well-known architect had no conscientious motive in all this ; probably it was merely helpful to him in his work to have these various things near at hand. In such case the sub-conscious mind of the artist had played an important part in the selection and disposal of the various items. Two other rooms occur to me at the moment for dexterity in handling — both at a small exhibition of Austrian applied art held at the Princes Skating Club, some years ago, and far superior to that at Earl's Court in 1906. One was a drawing-room, the furniture being all in satin-wood, stained to a delicate French grey colour, and enriched with turquoise blue enamels. The same delicate shades were reproduced in the wall hangings, curtains, and the carpet. The other room was a dining-room, the furniture of a peculiar translucent port-wine colour, the effect being akin to that of the wine seen against the light. How this appearance was secured, NOTES ON DECORATION. 25 and what wood was employed I could not discover. With this the hangings and carpet were carried out in a delicate shade of rose pink. Though the furniture was marred by some eccentricities of form, no feature conspired to mar the delightful impression made on first seeing these apartments. The question of colour is not alone determined by the fabrics and wall coverings ; the furniture does or should play an important part. A mixture of furniture of different woods is invariably unsatisfactory to the eye. " Sheraton " furniture and a piano with an ebonised case make a peculiarly uncomfort- able ensemble in a drawing-room, and yet how often is this error perpetrated ? Nor does mahogany of varying shades look any better. In " Sheraton " furniture the wood is usually finished to a bright, rich, red colour ; the colour more usually associated with " Chippendale " pieces is a very dark, almost black-red, colour. It is obvious that the juxtaposition of these two colours will not enhance the general effect. The peculiar charm in the surface texture of old furniture certainly nullifies, to a great extent, any ill effects resulting from an injudicious mixture ; but even here one cannot contemplate without some qualms a Chippendale piece beside a painted satin-wood article. When there is so large a choice it should not be difficult to get new furniture of one tone and shade, and with old furniture the gradual accumulation of pieces that match will afford greater pleasure and ensure a more satisfactory result than if a quantity of different kinds is bought outright just because it is available. But consistency in scale is hardly less important than consistency in colour. To give a room an appearance of balance is particularly difficult, if some pieces of The Question .■, r ■, 11 1 1 of Balance ^'^^ furniture are very high and some very low. It will generally be found that when furniture of widely varying heights is arranged in the room as is most suitable to use and comfort, one or two sides will have a bare and unfinished look, and the others will appear over- crowded. Probably, after a good deal of weary work in arranging and rearranging, a solution satisfactory to the eye will be arrived at ; but various articles will then have been placed in unsatisfactory positions as regards use. The bureau 26 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. or writing table, instead of being near the light, will be away from it ; the piano will be close to an outer wall instead of an inner wall ; the table will be too close to the fireplace, and so on. Another factor of vital import in the question of scale is the pattern or motive of the upholstery fabrics and curtain- ings. I have seen the scale and proportions of several rooms ruined by the inclusion of hangings and coverings with enormous patterns, and the amenities of a small room are not improved by using curtains with a design of sunflowers ten inches in diameter. Equally vexatious results may occur by the use of wall-papers with too large a pattern, but concerning these I give some notes later on. Another canon which we must faithfully observe is that of making our homes appear habitable. It is the fate of kinffs and nobles that they must keep state The "Home" °. . , ■' j -. • • . Pj rooms lor occasions of ceremony, and it is just the fact that these rooms in their dimensions and appointments are designed for ceremonial occasions that precludes their use for the ordinary events of life. For though the elect may require such rooms occasionally, they rarely live in them ; but fit up one wing of their palaces or mansions in a manner more suited to the life and comfort of an ordinary individual. It is a common mistake with the average wealthy American to make his home, both inside and out, uninhabitable. In its exterior aspect and surroundings it is pretentious and ostentatious ; the interior appals us by its magnificence. One marvels that an average man can preserve his sanity in such surroundings. It is so bedight with heavy carvings, with marble, costly brocades, gilt furniture, and artistic treasures, lured from the homes of an impoverished European nobility, that it ceases to be a home, and becomes a museum. A man does not require a miniature Versailles in order to testify either to his financial position or the possession of an artistic instinct. The pursuit of the elaborate and the rococo ends in our goods possessing us, not in our owning our possessions. The American does not swagger about in a silk coat, with knee breeches, ruffles, a white wig and a rapier ; yet the whole-hearted manner in which he takes unto himself the style and equipments of NOTES ON DECORATION. 27 dwellings suitable for the courtiers of Louis XV. and Louis XVL might lead us to suppose that he perpetuated the picturesque dress that alone goes with them. The picture of a railway magnate after a hard day's work in stock-rigging retiring to a baronial salon of the late Bourbon period "gives one furiously to think," as the French say. Not that I would banish the French styles utterly. But suited as they were to the very formal and ceremonial periods in which they were produced, and of which they were reflections, they are something of an anachronism in our present unconventional and democratic age, and their use should be greatly restricted. For the drawing-rooms or reception-rooms of people of high official position they may be admirably suited ; the brilliant toilettes of the women and the uniforms of the men may then elicit from them a value that the average confections of ladies and the sombre evening garments of men can never hope to extract. Moreover, we have so many beautiful styles of our own that it is sheer perversity that prompts us to adopt styles of foreign importation, for which we have no continuing tradition. It is true that under the nomenclature of Louis XIV., Louis XV., and Louis XVI. Curtain Road has foisted, and still foists, upon us some of the most atrocious rubbish that has ever disfigured an English home ; but this stuff of course bears no more relation to the real thing than the proverbial chalk to the proverbial cheese. The man who wishes to buy good French furniture of the recognised periods must possess a long purse ; if the articles proffered to him are cheap, let him lock up his cheque-book and keep a tight hold on his pocket. We must strive, then, for the human room ; the room that looks habitable, that looks as if it were meant to be inhabited and enjoyed. Here and there, of course, we may meet with the lady of painfully tidy propensities, who lives up to the motto of "a place for everything and everything in its place," which is a very desirable rule if one does not adhere to her too literal interpretation of it. That estimable female has an affection for wool mats and antimacassars, and if one of those articles is displaced by so much as an inch, she is plunged into an agony of mind that continues until 28 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. opportunity, or the departure of her friends, enables her to rectify the matter. It is beyond the capabilities of that lady to achieve any feeling of home or comfort in her apartments. But the average man or woman, by the exercise of a little discretion, forethought and taste, may achieve results in their homes that will bring their friends and acquaintances to their doors with a pleasurable anticipation of forthcoming ease and comfort, of which they are not openly conscious, and for which they would find it, perhaps, difficult to account. And the hostess whose qualities of tact and goodwill are thus aided by the subtle impression of comfort and beauty in setting her guests at their ease in her home, will hardly grudge the time and effort involved in achieving so desirable a result. CHAPTER III. CONSTRUCTIVE AND SURFACE DECORATION. Though the consideration of a decorative scheme cannot be divorced from the question of the furniture which should form part of it, it will be helpful to survey some of the Constructive vehicles for decoration in an ordinary home, and V. Constructed 111 r 111^ Decoration. to ponder how they may be treated, and what materials can best be employed for the purpose. Before so doing I think it will be best to draw a distinction between certain classes of decoration. The application of paint and wall-paper is so simple a matter and of such general adaptability, though it is not often well considered, that there should be some line of demarcation between it and the higher flights of decorative effort involved in the treatment of walls, floors and ceilings. These greater works I include under the head of " con- structive decoration," because they involve constructional work or alterations. I do not imply by that term "con- structed decoration," which is fundamentally opposed to true art, because it implies the introduction of features which have no utility or value, being merely introduced for alleged decorative effect. Most of the atrocious fretwork fitments may be classed under the latter head. " Constructive decoration " is merely a convenient term to include all the constructional decorative features which may properly be applied to the permanent features of a home. Paint and paper can best be considered apart under the head of surface decoration. If one believed much of the written word about decoration it would appear to begin with a Tate sugar-box and end with art muslin and brass-headed tacks. It is hardly idle curiosity that prompts one to inquire of that estimable sugar firm what proportion of their neat oblong cases finds its way back 29 30 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. to them as "returns," and to speculate how much of the unlocated percentage is utilised in the all-important work of providing household decorative fitments. But f."f^^'!'^^ it must be very large. Some years ago a farce Furniture. called Otiv Flat depended for much of its fun on furniture improvised out of boxes, a hip-bath, and other odds and ends, with the inevitable complications which ensued when the same was put to practical use. But this phase of the aesthetic movement is largely dying 'out. Art muslin, enamelled nicknacks, and Japanese fans are very unsatisfying after their first youth ; and, when the cost of renewals is taken into consideration, are eventually found to be expensive. First cost may be low, but the maintenance charges are high. The cult of asstheticism could not hide either the small intrinsic value of the things, and this sudden pose of high art among the Philistines could not long keep back the real truth that this form of decoration was cheap. Its cheapness in a generation that appraised worldly possessions as the hall-mark of respectability could not fail to bring it speedily into disrepute. CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. However good the scheme of decoration may be, no room will look well unless it possesses a good floor, and in the majority of both old and new houses the floors are far from good. Ordinary wear and tear will make an old floor uneven and unsightly, and with new houses the flooring is so often unseasoned, or has been exposed to wet during the building operations, that it invariably shrinks after a short time, leaving wide gaps between the boards. With speculatively built houses this is a common fault. To some extent this defect may be pre- vented by using boards with grooved and tongued, or other lapping joints, and in the better class property this is a much more common provision than formerly. But the average speculative builder relies on the purchasers or tenants of his dwellings to cover the whole of a floor with carpet or linoleum, and so hide the deficiencies of his workmanship or material. Now, although certain rooms, by their use and purpose, CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 31, may properly be treated in this manner, the floor can and should have a very definite part in a decorative scheme. Linoleum has, no doubt, an important place in the scheme of the things ; but a fine decorative effect it does not possess, and while the manufacturers continue on their present lines it never will have. Moreover, the beauty and richness of effect that may be obtained by a polished wood surround or a polished floor, in contrast with the popular carpet square or rugs, cannot be obtained or simulated by its use. With a new house the floor question is a simple matter, and choice, or the exigencies and requirements of the decorative treatment, may dictate of what material Old Floors. ^'^^y shall be constructed. That is a matter between the architect and his client. But with bad floors in an old or new house, what treatment can be devised ? Well, there are several. In the first place, the old boards can be taken up and fresh ones put down. In this case, for the principal rooms something better than deal would be advisable. Architects just now appear to favour the hard woods — oak or teak. These are laid in narrow widths of four inches, and form an admirable floor, which may be finished either by polishing, or by bringing to a, smooth, unpolished surface. Either gives a good effect. Pitch pine may be used in the same way, but it is usually polished. Personally, I prefer the darker coloured woods. Oak flooring costs about is. 4d. to is. 6d. a square foot laid; teak, about is. 2d. to is. 4d., and pitch pine about 6d. to gd. These prices are for narrow boards, with grooved and tongued joints, and secret nailing. When the floor is an old one of deal, the boards, if not too much worn, may be turned, and this floor, being well seasoned, can be trusted not to shrink further. But it is exceedingly difficult to avoid making the nail holes larger, and damaging the boards in prising them up. It is better in all cases to use special jointed boards that can be secretly - nailed, so that the nails are not driven directly through the boards in the ordinary way to spoil their appearance. Even deal flooring is thus spoiled, especially if it is intended to stain and polish it, and in all circumstances the narrow 32 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. batten width boards will afford a better floor with less chance of shrinkage. Another kind of timber floor is the wood-block floor. This necessitates a concrete foundation, and wherever a concrete foundation is used some kind of bitu- P,**" " °^ minous sheeting or covering must be interposed between the concrete and the blocks to prevent the moisture in the latter rising up and rotting the wood. As a rule, beside the bituminous skin covering the concrete, the undersides of the blocks are dipped into a bituminous mixture before being placed on the concrete, and this has the effect of sticking them down and securing them firmly to the concrete. When the top surface has been cleaned off and made smooth with the plane, the floor may be stained and polished if desired. This treatment of wood- block floors is usually adopted in hospitals, as it prevents the adherence of dust and dirt to the floor. Wood-block floors are becoming increasingly popular for kitchens and passages. They are quiet underfoot, and give a better appearance. They are also being extensively used in the living-rooms of labourers' cottages and artizans' dwellings, as it is found that the increased cost of this flooring is compensated for by the greater length of life over the ordinary boarding. Where the kitchen also forms the sitting- room for the servant or servants the gain in comfort is a convenience not to be despised. In some cases kitchens have a tiled surround, the ordinary red 6-inch paving quarries being used, the centre being covered with the wood blocks. These blocks can be laid in a variety of patterns ; but the herring-bone pattern is the most usual, and, generally speak- ing, the most satisfactory in wear. Bedrooms and the less important apartments may have deal floors ; but my own preference is for good hardwood floors throughout, and in bedrooms a floor of the block class, with a few rugs that can be easily taken up and shaken or beaten outside, affords better hygienic conditions. Wood-block floors can be had in various woods and of various thicknesses from i^ ins. to 2^ ins. A deal block floor, good quality, ii ins. thick, would cost about 8d. to lod. a square foot. CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 33 Old floors or defective new ones, if not too uneven, may, however, be covered with linoleum, kamptulicon, or cork car- pet. The last named is preferable because of its better surface, and because it is usually self-coloured. It is not so easy to wash and clean as linoleum or kamptulicon ; but even with these floor coverings it is becoming usual to polish them with Ronuk or similar substance, and so avoid the necessity of frequent washing. Another and new kind of flooring, called " Stonwod," is a patented material of quite distinctive appearance. The basis of it is sawdust or wood pulp, which may be Fioor"^° coloured to any shade, and patterns may readily be formed. It is laid in one unjointed sheet, and the absence of joints is a very important consideration. Apart from this it forms an impervious floor, is laid on wood, and from its nature is noiseless under the tread. It can be polished in a similar manner to linoleum. At a short distance it has the appearance of a marble or mosaic floor, and only the absence of joints and its quietness undeceives one. By reason of the advantages quoted it is being very largely used in hospitals and public buildings ; and it is eminently suited for passages and rooms in domestic buildings. The one danger is the ease with which colour and patterns may be introduced, and this may lead to extravagancies which would afterwards be regretted. As cracks would be exceedingly detrimental to its appearance, a firm and unyielding foundation is necessarily required for it. Parquet flooring is a very beautiful addition to any room, and now that firms such as Messrs. Howard and Sons, of Berners Street, are advertising Indian teak par- Parquet quetry from 3d. a square foot, it cannot be said Floors. ^ u J 1 • T-u- 1 ■ to be unduly expensive. 1 his also is a species of wood-block flooring ; but the work comes more properly under the head of joinery, for the blocks are most accurately fitted to one another, so that the joints are hardly visible. Colour patterns are made with woods of different tints ; but where rugs and carpets will be used, such patterns are usually confined to the borders. Plated parquet floors are also made by several firms which can be taken up by tenants on removing. Messrs. 34 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. Damman & Co., of 34, Osnaburgh St., N.W., specialise in this form of floor which is laid over the ordinary wood floor. Another firm. The Westminster Patent Flooring Co., of Heckfield Place, Walham Green, produces a patent parquetry plating — "Parquetine" — no thicker than oil-cloth, made of thin pieces of figured oak, waxed and fixed on a cloth backing, in sheets 3 feet long by i foot wide in various patterns, and ranging from 6d. to 7|d. per square foot. Passing from wood floors, we come to those of marble, stone, mosaic, brick, tiles, and other kindred materials. Marble is, of course, one of the most beautiful of Floors °^'" building materials ; but in domestic work its cost, unless the house is of a very palatial order, prohibits its extensive use — at least for flooring purposes. In the better-class houses vestibules, passages, loggias, outer halls, winter gardens, etc., are frequently paved with black and white marble tiles, usually in 12-inch squares of f in. thickness. The marbles commonly employed are Sicilian white and Belgian black, and the tiles are " sand faced " or " fine gritted" to give a non-slippery surface. These tiles always look well, and they are easily cleaned and durable. The cost is about 8s. 6d. a square yard, laid, for 9-inch squares. Other marbles may be used, but the range for paving is not a very large one, because all marbles are not suited to the rough wear of a pavement. Art Pavements and Decorations, Ltd., have intro- duced a very hard and durable marble, which they call " Siberian green," for paving purposes, and this may be used in place of the usual black or white squares. The colour is a very beautiful one. The same firm has registered a new kind of pavement made of quarry refuse or small pieces of marble in odd-sized pieces — in appearance like a large kind of mosaic — slabbed up into squares. The effect of this paving is exceedingly good, and it would answer admirably for winter gardens, terraces, open loggias, verandahs, etc. Another marble very suitable for steps, landings, and floors is the " French Eschaillon." This is obtainable in very delicate pink, yellow, and mauve colourings, and can be finished with a very smooth and yet unpolished surface. It affords excellent foothold, so that its utility for paving purposes is undoubted. Quite recently it has been used for the steps surrounding the CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 35 central arena in the Great Hall of the New Liverpool Cotton Exchange because of this important quality. Otherwise the use of this beautiful and delicate stone for paving purposes seems something like sacrilege. The varieties of stone used for floors and pavements is almost legion. In the space at our disposal it would not be possible to deal fully with them. In domestic work one an stone is not largely employed, because it is a cold Floors form of flooring and tiring to stand upon, and its use in the interior of a house is generally restricted to certain positions, such as the floors in kitchens, larders, passages in the servants' quarters, yards, verandahs, winter gardens, etc. Natural York stone is one of the most celebrated for paving purposes ; it is durable and affords a good foothold, but it is somewhat unequal in wear, some slabs being harder than others, and there is some unevenness of colour, though both these qualities are artistic virtues rather than demerits. Withal it is somewhat expensive — about 7s. to los. a square yard, laid complete, for slabs 3 inches in thickness. Artificial flags made with granite chippings and Portland cement are more even in wear and colour, though they have less tensile strength, and require a sound and even foundation to prevent cracking under traffic. Laid complete, they cost from 5s. to 7s. a square yard. Cheaper flags made from destructor clinker and cement are also obtainable ; but their colour is apt to be dark. There is also a re-constructed York stone, made of the natural stone, broken up, with Portland cement. This gives the even colour and foothold of the York flag without its disadvantages. Concrete tiles made of granite or ballast and cement, 12 inches square, either plain or coloured, may also be obtained. Cost, not laid, about 3s. per square yard for small quantities. They are made by the Improved Concrete Con struction Company, of 47, Victoria Street, Westminster. Concrete in situ pavements are also largely used for sculleries, pantries, dairies, etc. Any builder will lay these pavements, and they have the merit of being impervious and jointless. There are several firms, such as Stuart's Granolithic Stone Company, of Glengall Road, Millwall, London, who specialise in this form of paving. The floor is usually 4 or 36 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. 6 inches in thickness, the bottom being formed of rough con- crete, and the top inch being composed of fine granite chippings and cement worked to a smooth face. The floor is laid to falls, so that any water, etc., runs away through a channel in the wall and discharges over a gully outside the building. If the angles formed by walls and floor are rounded to prevent the lodgment of dirt, this is an added improvement. From an artistic point of view the old red brick and tile floors are very beautiful, but they have many joints, and, like stone flag pavements, these joints cannot be made as ^ ."'^ fine as is desirable. Such floors are rather com- Fioors. fortless, moreover, and are not to be recommended on hygienic grounds. The encaustic tiles are suit- able in place of marble tiles in vestibules, halls, passages, etc., and are much cheaper, and marble mosaic, and terrazzo floors are suitable for the same positions, but such materials are more adapted to public than domestic buildings. Mr. C. F. A. Voysey has used large slabs of Delabole slate for floors in some of his houses, and the grey colour is exceedingly efi^ective from a decorative point of view. Despite their sanitary advantages in the matter of cleaning, there is no doubt that domestics have a great objection to stone and brick pavings, and this perhaps accounts for the decline in late years of their use for domestic purposes, except where necessitated by hygienic reasons in larders, sculleries, etc. When we come to walls we have three important features to consider — doors, windows, and chimney pieces. There may also be subsidiary features as niches and recesses, especially if the latter are arched over. A good door is not less important in a decorative scheme than a good floor. Unfortunately, in these days of badly seasoned timber, split panels and warped frames are a common sight, and these defects cannot always be guarded against by even the most well-intentioned builder. If a room is to be panelled the door must obviously be designed of the same timber and in conformity with the general scheme. But if the woodwork of a room is to be treated with white enamel or paint — a favourite finish at the present day — a polished door of teak, mahogany, or other hardwood looks exceedingly handsome. In the ordinary way a three, four, or five panelled door in CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 37 such woods, even of the plainest design, runs into much money — anything from £s to ;,^io per door. Such a sum would probably be quite prohibitive to the ordinary owner of a small villa or country house, or even the possessor of a long lease. The deal door, stained and polished to resemble mahogany, is never quite satisfactory, and a chance scratch will quickly reveal the fraud. It is, of course, a sham, and a sham is not to be encouraged. Far better to have the deal door stained brown and polished without attempting the imitation of other woods. A new form of door, known as the Gilmour door, manu- factured by the Gilmour Door Company, Ltd., of 52, Berners Street, London, solves most of the difficulties. It is a composite door, made with a core of comparatively Door. ^^^^ wood, thoroughly dried, and arranged in various ways of the grain, and an outer casing of hardwood, the whole being consolidated together under great pressure. By this method of construction the liability of the door to twist, warp, or split, is eliminated — the cross arrange- ment of the grain in the different sections preventing it ; also it is possible to have one side of a door finished with one kind of hardwood and a different kind on the other side — a very important advantage from the decorator's point of view. For instance, a door between an oak panelled hall and a drawing- room may present an oak face to the hall and a mahogany face to the drawing-room, in harmony with both schemes of decoration. The hardwood is a really substantial casing and not a mere veneer. Apart from its constructional merits, the Gilmour door, which is a Canadian product, is extraordinarily cheap, and a door, 7 ft. by 3 ft., of a fine mahogany finish can be obtained for 40s. — not a great price to pay for so important a decorative feature in the best rooms. Even the leaseholder or the tenant on a three years' agreement might employ them, as there is no obligation for him to leave them behind when he makes a move, providing he stores his landlord's doors in a loft or outhouse, and has them rehung at the time of leaving. It may be said that I lay undue stress on the use of polished doors, and this is partly true. Certainly I consider them a 38 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. great acquisition, and on the score of appearance they have much to recommend them. With painted or enamelled doors there is always a risk of dirty marks, and these Painted' ^ ^^^ abominations. Finger-plates are rarely elB- Doors. cacious, because the average domestic clutches the door on the edge. Even a polished wood door may be marked, but it is easier to keep clean, and less liable to finger-mark. It is a very good rule to remember the possible use to which an article or fixture will be put before deciding on the material or decorative treatment. The home is a place to live in, and comfort must be a first consideration. Any form of decoration which means an increase in the amount of housework, by reason of the extra cleaning involved, is a nuisance, and to be avoided. Swing doors, or doors liable to be kicked or marked by frequent use, are best fitted with kicking-plates of the same metal as the door furniture. Door springs are always unsightly additions to doors, unless they are of the kind sunk into the floor and sometimes called floor springs. If they can possibly be dispensed with it is advisable to do so. The doors of offices and bedrooms call for little comment. I have seen bedrooms panelled in Italian walnut, and dressing- rooms fitted with satin-wood ; but these luxuries " ^'^°''^*^ are, of course, far beyond the scope of anything dealt with in this book. In the ordinary dwelling the doors of the rooms mentioned would be treated with paint or enamel according to the general scheme of the room. The aesthetic craze imbued numbers of well-meaning people with a desire to paint sunflowers on their door panels, and this obsession continues in a mild form to the present day. The beauty of a door is derived from the form and proportion of its different parts and the mouldings employed in it. The use of relief decoration or painted decoration in the panels will entirely ruin the effect, and it is only the inability of some people to see any beauty in a useful thing that prompts them to cover the panels with unnecessary ornament. Another type of door one sometimes meets with, more especially in old and better-class houses, is one covered with green baize or leather cloth. It usually forms an inner or CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 39 secondary door to an opening, and may be intended for a draught excluder, but the why and wherefore of it I have never yet been able to understand. It is quite hideous, and if it is intended to keep out the draught, something efficient might be provided in a less objectionable form. Folding doors have happily gone out of fashion, and in their place we have sliding doors as a means of opening up one room with another. These doors slide back ° '"^ ^" into grooves or recesses in the thickness of the Doors dividing walls, being carried on small wheels or castors running in a groove or on a rail at the floor level. Such doors are made in the form of two screens, with flush panels {i.e., the panels are flush or even with the stiles and rails), and they slide back right and left of the opening. They are very largely used in America, but the sliding arrangements militate against the appearance of the opening. Glazed doors are sometimes a necessity to light an entrance passage behind them, a corridor, or a small lobby. In such cases the speculative builder embarks on coloured Qiazed glass, generally with disastrous effects. The best type is that fitted for small panes, or with a circular panel for glass in the top part of the door. Large panels of glass give a door an appearance of weakness. The mention of glazed doors brings us to the question of windows. The fault of most modern windows is the size of the sheets of glass. Large sheets not only "^ ' make a room appear smaller than it is, but they reduce the apparent size of a house as seen from the outside. It is difficult to advise a radical constructional alteration, however, because of the cost. A great many people prefer large sheets of glass, and I have known them refuse to take a house, otherwise suitable, because the windows were of the Georgian sash type, with small panes. Much will depend on the size of the openings if an alteration is to be made. The casement is much more popular to-day than the sash window, probably because the latter is more difficult to handle. If the window opening is long and low, the case- ment will naturally suggest itself; if high and narrow, the sash window is more suitable. The wrought iron or gun 40 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. metal casement with leaded lights makes a very satisfactory- window ; but my preference is always for the sash window, with its substantial bars and small panes. This asemen -^ conditional, of course, on the suitability of Windows. ^^^ dwelling for such a window. For the small week-end cottage a type of sash window may be quite unsuitable. The alteration of windows is a dangerous thing to under- take without expert advice. Proportion is an important factor in connection with them, and though it is fairly safe to say that windows having large expanses of glass are not an architectural production, still it is unwise for the layman to alter them without obtaining an architect's opinion. Some years ago Messrs. Benson & Co., of New Bond Street, devised a metal decoration to be applied to windows afflicted with large and dreary sheets of glass, and though this was perhaps a little elaborate, the decorative effect was good. The introduction of stained glass into domestic w^ork should be done with great caution. The curse of modern stained glass is the effort of designers to imitate stained . '=' ..... ^ , , Qj^gg pictures, to get a pictorial ertect rather than a mosaic effect. This has led to all sorts of extravagances from which the craft is only slowly beginning to recover. The beauty of stained glass is to be derived from its colour rather than its form, and the attempt to work out pictures is nearly always frustrated by the inherent and obvious crudity of form. Consequently the painting of the glass, necessary to the depiction of faces and hands, has been resorted to to an illegal extent. In large church windows, which are usually a certain distance from the eye, these defects may not be so apparent ; but only in very exceptional circumstances in a dwelling-house would it be possible to obtain sufficient distance to give a passable effect. It is an axiom that mosaic is an unsuitable form of decoration unless it can be fixed at a certain distance above and away from the sightseer, otherwise the multitude of joints between the tesserae tend to obscure the design. The same holds good of stained glass. Consequently the design of stained glass for windows and door panels in dwelling-houses should be rigidly restricted to conventionalised flower forms and abstract L— « .^^ «... ..•.. m I ]S* " ; ' I J ' ^ ^ PANEL. Designed by HAROLD FeNTON. HALL WINDOW Designed bv GeorGE RoWAN 8 vC< PANEL FOR CLOAK- ROOM. Designed ar E. A. Taylor. DOOR PANEL IN LEADED GLASS: GOLDEN ROWAN PANEL FOR ENTRANCE DOOR. OF MENALOWAN." Designed by E. A, Taylor. Designed by E. A, TAYLOR. STAINED GLASS. Note. — Ths Roman numerals under the illushaiions refer to the list oj manufacturers on pas:e viii. (XXIV) F 41 § < o 5 CO Q 1- CO O X m C3 CO 42 \u A rr 0) lii rA H \^ UJ o <■) Lll _) UJ rt T-i 1- vo z T-; ^o > rrl V 1-1 S:( o Ci. ■_■ 1- r^ G, X fli ,■;:; H - O o o (X, J3 1- ^ H - Z ^ s 1=) V-. rn .^ fN n u. „ CC ^ s:; CO ^ en" > - E CD Z D D O O •;: O) 0) — i_ (U ra m .y r < >- o O ^ Oh 44 CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 45 ornament, to which the leads can most satisfactorily be adapted for close vision. Moreover, neither the colour nor the pattern should be overdone, and the coloured glass should have a suitable surround of white glass to give effect to its richness. This proportion of plain surface to enriched work is a necessity in every form of decoration to secure a satisfactory effect. On quite another ground — that of pure utility and fitness — the use of stained glass in dwellings should be restricted. The purpose of the windows is to admit light, and they should neither be too large nor too small for the purpose. As stained glass, more or less, obstructs the light, it follows that it is best employed only in those situations where an unpleasant view — as in a window looking into an ugly light well — makes its use desirable. Where the natural light is already restricted, a large amount of coloured glass would aggravate the evil. The examples of stained glass illustrated show the skill with which the leads have been utilised to work in with the outlines of the design. For similar reasons of light, and also because windows are intended to look through, the use of crown or bottle glass is to be deprecated. To reproduce the immature productions of a former generation of glass-workers in the cause of artistic effect seems a curious reflection on modern design and craftsmanship. Nor is the use of more than one class of glass in the same window likely to give a satis- factory effect. The third important feature in our wall-space is the chimney-piece and grate. I am inclined to think that architects make too much of this feature as a rule. Chimney- when it is remembered that the grate, which and^Qrates ^^ ^^^ justification for the chimney-piece, is not in use for a good half of the year. No doubt it is useful to have a focus point in a room, but the average chimney-piece is made prominent by the projection of the chimney-breast, and if further accentuated by elaborate design will overawe everything else in the room. The chimney-piece thus becomes a fetish, and the occupants will unconsciously group their chairs around it in the middle of summer. 46 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. I may digress here to say that the grate is one of the most difficult things to deal with in the summer-time ; and possibly the popularity of the dog or basket °''^*® grate on an open hearth is due to the fact. One can take the grate away and store it until the autumn returns, and plants may take its place. But the fixed grate cannot be dealt with in this manner, and its existence, cold and fireless, seems to upset the balance of the room. Fire-screens are rarely beautiful, and they only increase the feeling that they are there to hide something. Some people screen the grate off with plants, and others have a shutter which exactly fits the chimney opening. The last is, I think, the best solution of the problem ; but as the chimney also serves the purpose of a ventilator, it is not advisable to block up the opening solidly. A screen of small trellis in a frame, or of pierced wood, painted to match the rest of the woodwork, would look well ; and I have also seen a pierced metal screen, which was very satisfactory but more expensive. With the fender removed and plants placed on the hearth, the difficulty of the grate in summer will, I think, be solved. To resume, where panelling is to be used in a room, the chimney-piece will form part of the general design, otherwise our choice must be made from the innumerable Design of patterns on the market, or we may choose to J g^ construct a chimney-piece from a special design. The public generally seems to have tired of the marble slab chimney-pieces in vogue during the later decades of the last century ; but, though entirely uninspired, they were for the most innocuous and not latently offensive to any scheme of decoration devised to include them. The same cannot be said for many of the chimney-piece fixtures now supplied by builders' merchants. Recently in going over some new speculative houses, letting at about ;^6^ per annum, I came across some weird specimens of these " New Art " mantels. Louis Quinze was no doubt the style description, and amazing wriggles, based on Louis Quinze decoration, played a considerable part in the design. Add to these some ugly brackets supporting shelves, with spidery columns, patches of " bevel-edged plate mirror," and tiles of amazingly CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 47 crude colours, a copper hood with much "bumped-up" decoration, and you have a combination that no self- respecting person could live with. And yet, if there were no demand for these things, we should not find them manufactured. The artistic person knows, however, that the modern tendency is all towards simplicity of treatment, with chimney- pieces and grates as with all else. And this c- ,• .* is as it oug-ht to be. In the decoration of simplicity. . o any object strict regard ought to be had to the utility of the object and the possible interference or restriction which that ornament may impose upon its free use or con- venience. Now the chimney-piece and grate are, naturally, the dustiest spots in the room, and elaborate chimney-pieces, with shelves and ledges for " nick-nacks," are simply so many harbours for dirt and dust, and should be most strictly barred. There has been a considerable change in the style of grates in recent years, which may be attributed, first, to a more scientific study of combustion and heat QratT production ; and, secondly, to a demand for fireplaces which are more easily cleaned and kept in order than are the older types. So that the basin type of grate is decidedly on the increase, and the air supply to the burning fuel is better regulated and more under control. The heat, too, is better deflected into the room by the modern sloping back, and less of it escapes directly up the chimney ; but it is notorious that the greater part of the heat produced in all types of grates is wasted. The inventor of any type of stove who will secure the benefit of 50 per cent, of the heat produced has a great future before him. As the grate and chimney-piece are liable to be the most dusty places in a room, it is desirable that they be simple in design to admit of being easily cleansed. It is impossible here to catalogue all the various types of grates ; a description of some of the best known types must suffice. First we have the old-fashioned open fireplace, a paved platform raised one step above the floor level, and in size as big as a small room. In the centre the fire is made, the smoke escaping up the chimney above it, and in the old days (the fire 48 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. being made of wood) sides of bacon were suspended from hooks around to be cured by the smoke. To the rather reck- less way in which the ancients introduced wooden The Open beams in the construction of these ingle fireplaces irep ace. ^^^ ^^ ^^^ down some of the disastrous fires which have occurred in old houses. On either side of the fire settles were usually placed on which the family sat in the winter evenings or in cold weather. Later on the logs were burnt in a plain steel or iron basket set up on legs, and the ingle was gradually made smaller and smaller until the dog grate came into vogue. This style of grate was more or less common from Tudor times onwards, though only in the better houses. The ingle fireplace has survived to the present day, and has developed into something of a craze, but it is obvious that it is not a feature that can be introduced into a house, and that it must be specially planned with the house itself Many of the new country cottage homes have ingle fireplaces, but these are of much smaller dimensions than the older type. It is usual, too, to plan a small window in them, so that one may read by the fireside. In this type of house such a chimney- piece is not out of place, but the defect of the ingle is that it cuts off the fire from the general body of the room, which remains cold while the ingle itself is often unbearably hot. The Georgian grate, from an artistic point of view, was one of the most beautiful it was possible to have, as at the end of the eighteenth century the iron-founder's art was ^ ^ . at a high pitch of excellence. Such o^rates were Georgian r ^ r • • i Grate. ^*-*^' *-'^ course, constructed on scientific principles, and less heat is obtainable from them than with a modern type. Moreover, their defect is the large amount of metal in them which requires to be kept clean and blackleaded. To meet the demand for grates in harmony with Georgian schemes of decoration, many of the old patterns have been copied, and the Carron Company have now reproduced a number of the fine old patterns they were manufacturing more than a hundred years ago. These grates are being made, however, in bright steel and brass, which does not easily tarnish or get dirty. The Georgian grate usually had hobs, and these were also a feature of the Victorian grates. During the Victorian period the fire container was gradually lowered, CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 49 until it has finally reached the hearth level again. The history of grates is, in fact, the gradual raising of the fire from the hearth up in the air and the gradual dropping of it again. At present we are eliminating metal almost entirely from our grates. Some of the most modern types consist of a ,., ,. ... fireclay back and a glazed tile or faience front, Non=Metallic •,, , • , ^ ^, , x , Qrates Without either front or bottom bars. In other cases the mantel is of iron, but painted white. The faience front is good if the colour is not too brilliant and not too even in tone. As a rule, manufacturers are apt to strive for perfect evenness in tint, which does not secure the best effect. A certain amount of play in the colour always gives a more artistic result, as very even colour gives a hard effect. The Edwardian grate seems likely to be but a fireclay back with a basin at the hearth-level to contain the fire, and a special arrangement of ventilating flues under the hearth. It is important to note that the fire at this level is more likely to overheat and set fire to any woodwork in the floor, and due care must be taken to protect the joists, etc., in proximity to the fireplace. The " Nautilus " is a type of grate whose shape bears some resemblance to the mollusc from which it takes its name. It may either be used as a dog-grate in an open fireplace, or may be set projecting into the room, the chimney opening behind being sealed except for the smoke flue. Gas fires and electric stoves hardly call for much con- sideration. The average gas stove is a hideous affair, and I prefer the gas laid on to the ordinary grate with asbestos lumps or coke. The latter kind of fire hardly appears to have received the consideration it deserves. The gas is laid on to an ordinary grate, a piece of pipe pierced with holes being laid along the bottom of the grate. The holes should be pierced at the sides so that they are not easily choked. Over this may be placed a piece of iron netting — I have used a piece of fine expanded metal — on which are placed lumps of hard coke. In about ten to twenty minutes the coke is red hot, and the gas can then be turned out. A bright and hot fire results, which may, with a little care, be kept going for some time, and can easily be revived by turning on the gas again. The coke will last for Qas and Electri< Stoves. 50 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. several days, and, as we know, the coke fire sends up no deleterious smoke. If desired, a coal fire may be laid and set going without sticks or paper, and if it goes out, can easily be started again. The electric radiator should be set in front of the ordinary chimney opening on the hearth, and the opening should be covered over with the trellis screen as previously described. They are handy and hygienic in bedrooms. Most of the patterns are made in hammered iron and brass or copper, and the plain designs are preferable. Messrs. Roger Dawson, Ltd., of Berners Street, have a number of artistic designs for these. If sufficient length of wire is provided from the contact switch they can be moved about as desired to any spot in a room. If the types of grates are many and various, chimney-pieces are of innumerable variety. It should be noted in this con- nection that I am discriminating between the actual ^^^ grate, or fire container, and its surrounds. This is essential at the present time, because almost every maker is turning out fireplaces vi^ith grate cast-iron surrounds, fire-brick backs, and tiled cheeks in one piece. These are built in complete, whereas with the majority of the old fireplaces the grate was a distinct entity, and the chimney- piece, usually of marble, was entirely separate. Even in the more elaborate fireplaces of to-day there is a tendency to revert to the old-fashioned basket or dog-grate, which is simply set in a chimney-opening of a more or less ambitious architectural character. There is, perhaps, an irresistible tendency to elaborate chimney-pieces in the direction of overmantels. Personally, I dislike overmantels, whether forming part of the chimney- piece or as a separate piece of furniture. Unless a room is panelled I think the chimney-piece is best terminated by the mantel-shelf. It will be desirable for the householder to pay some attention to the tiles used either for the hearths, the oi Tiles cheeks of the grate, or for a constructed chimney- piece. The speculative builder's ideas on colour are, to put it mildly, rudimentary, and his efforts in this direction may be absolutely inimical to the proposed colour CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 51 scheme. More often than not he buys the tiles in odd lots or remainders from the manufacturers, and uses up a dozen of one pattern and a dozen of another with small regard to the final effect. It may even be necessary to take up the existing tiles and have fresh ones put down. There is to-day a growing, and I think commendable, tendency to raise the hearths above the floor level. With some types of grate this is necessary, but in many cases Hearths where a raised hearth is not an essential feature in the setting of the grate they are being so designed. The advantage of the raised hearth is that it prevents cinders and dust from being accidentally swept under the fender and straying on to the floor or carpet. With a raised hearth the fixed curb, either of marble or faience, is necessitated, and it would be well if these were made the rule throughout the house. Most people in sitting round a fire put their feet on the curb, and the solid fixed curb has all the comfort that the ordinary fender or curb lacks. The modern fender or curb is frequently a gimcrack article. Being of metal it is troublesome to clean, and is irritating from its liability to shift about. Similarly, with a view to avoiding unnecessary labour, hearths should everywhere be tiled. In old houses all the hearths were formed of cement or stone slabs, and stone and ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ whitened or " hearthstoned " daily. Hearths. ^'^ avoid this drudgery they were painted black in many cases, but, since coal ash is never black, without any better result as regards an appearance of cleanliness. In the majority of modern houses this condition of things still obtains, only the principal or reception rooms having tiled hearths, and the other rooms those of cement. These other rooms are generally bedrooms, where there are fewer fires it is true ; but a cement hearth never looks very clean at any time, and the labour of cleaning it is con- siderable. The extra cost in paving with small glazed quarries is more than compensated for by the diminished labour, increased comfort, and improved appearance. Marble slabs have also been used for hearths, but the liability of the material to crack when brought too near great heat makes it undesirable for this purpose. Mosaic has also been used for the hearths, 52 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. but the many joints makes it more difficult to keep clean, and therefore less satisfactory than tiles. At a time when white paint and enamel, delicately coloured wall-papers, wood panelling, polished and unpolished, are being so extensively used in modern decoration, it is highly desirable that all the surfaces in the immediate neighbourhood of the grate are of such a nature that they are not easily dirtied, or, if dirtied, can be readily cleaned. Dirty finger- marks can be removed from white painted or enamelled surfaces fairly easily with a little trouble ; but it is a trouble that can and should be avoided. Moreover, if oft repeated a murky appearance becomes apparent, and no amount of washing will remove it and the sense of squalidity it occasions. Fire-irons are more particularly dealt with later, but at this point a little improvement might be mentioned in connection with them. If a metal fixture with hooks is built Fire-irons. • , , • ,i n m on one side, as shown m the illustration on p. 97, the fire-irons, etc., might have been hung up beside the grate instead of being placed on the hearth or hung on a stand. Though then in an eminently handy position, they would not be in the way as they so frequently are. The other important features in the wall space are the picture rail, chair rail, and skirtings. In an old house it will be advisable to overhaul all these features. Items for Generally speaking, there is not much to be Consideration, ^^^^ about picture rails or chair rails, except that the size and design of the mouldings should be suitable to the room in which they are placed. As a rule, very elaborate mouldings do not appear to advantage, and a deep, flat moulding is much more in vogue for the picture rail than formerly. The architraves around the door and window frames should be in proportion to the size of the door. The speculative builder, whose chief interest is to get his work done as cheaply as possible, buys cheap mouldings at id. or 2d. per foot run, irrespective of whether they are good in design or suitable to the doors and windows round which he places them, and as most of these mouldings and skirtings are of poorly seasoned timber the inevitable shrinkage takes place, ~l e o >< QJ -d O 0) ^ ■f^o 13 r: rn O ^ 173 in t: bc H 3 1/1 n S2 < d c OJ LU ^ OJ ± )-• Cm rti -n < LL o H o 0) ja :o d, UJ rt £ ■i z i; o s^ i E ri bo E „ o !S (=: rj to m x) dj ■^ K (D f 3 en a, >> 1— cc (U -G B < UJ I ■-^ en bo to O III -n OJ G ^ yj _J 'n \^ I 1- U l6 o ^ c □ ^ " ' o III in LU _u m (U V CD E ^ III m .^ a X T' '^ X ^ ^^ .' IT MANTEL IN PINE, "Adam" Design, From £rj 173.61:1. Hand-polished wrought-brass frame and " Adam " repoussL- lift-off canopy, _^6 5s, Set of Campan vert marbles to form cheeks and square recess £^. Hearth tiles to suit, £1. (II) 5 + THE ORLEANS" ELECTRIC STOVE. Hand-hammered armour-bright iron with " Art " glass, ^6. (XVIII) POLISHED MAHOGANY CHIMNEY-PIECE. Double row of tiles in overmantel, brass stove, portable hob and brass kerb, ^^49 17s. 5d. (11) »ij««W^»»«*=-"»-»3S ^''^^'IT'" £'^^""'~"''"^^^'" ^i^^wyr^rr^f."^ 'y^^'/ '1 CHIMNEY-PIECE IN WHITE WOOD PRIMED £2 Ss. (11) CHIMNEY-PIECE IN ^WHITE WOOD PRIMED. ;{^3 3S. 4d. (IV) 55 I il '.I I'll •I li I i=======i-p=========r=rJS gr,,^!^,^^.^! C3W 1 III I I I I '.#■ tr w r ^ ^ jr » '^ -% ^^'k -v ^ ■'k ^ ' M ^ rj ^ Mr jr ^ i £" t •' ^ r ' r r ^ r m f ^ rtji ^ r r ^ jr r ^ f ^ Z^ ^ m jr ^ ^ ^ J' ^ ^ .^ ^ ^^^ ^ ^ '* *'^ ^^ -^*-- ^ I I Ik % ■%.jk. ■v rV^ "^ "V^w ■*,■%. ■ I I 3". 03 Q o i^ DC U a. D 0? (-1 " w UJ IT UJ Q S? b % ^ ^L^ -% 't Jfc *J'k_>'* ■^^J*' jV^^ "^W^k ^ ^*".J^ ^ '^* ^, X,J». ^ X *k % *. 'I iS M "li' liJ ■ "* ■^JP*' > ■^ "K ■% m ->• -^ ^VF3 % < o 56 O P-i -i o o 57 .■1. 1 .4?^k I li. I I: i I ■f M j , I i I I I i ^ : : I i ' 1 it _j 1 1 ' : _1 __ L.„_ ! 1 i ft 58 P^P^^P 1 iH " ■ lift; I^^^^HMHIp^ uSt^i" Ulk '^w ■^9 m|:^' i wKK ■ '■'■ U'^fl^^HBBH H|il^'{ ^^^^H 91 '^ iWSUMt BBlSiPs'i " ^tWSn p^' r-i^^Bj Snj^Hi- B' 1 ll i %l.^sM ■Ksbsb ■ ;|: ¥ ^%'^^MH t ^^^^. J ssh--' HhUI o z 59 6o CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 6i and in a short time there are gaps between the skirting and the floor-boards and at every joint. In the majority of cases the skirtings are fixed by nailing plain boards on to the walls, a finishing moulding being nailed on separately afterwards, there being no joint between the two. When both the board and the moulding have shrunk there will be a very ugly gap between them. Nothing will remedy this state of affairs, but it is not a very costly matter to pull all the skirting away and put in fresh. It is an exception to find a speculative builder putting in a plinth stop to the bottoms of the door architraves. This should project sufficiently to stop the ends of the skirting properly. This finishing touch is rarely added, but the architrave moulding is run down to the floor. This is a bad finish, and frequently the end of the skirting moulding projects beyond the architrave. The use of picture-rails and chair-rails is closely connected with the division of the wall space, and this opens up the question of the wall decoration generally. The introduction of the chair-rail means the dado, and if one adds the picture-rail the wall is at once divided into three parts, the dado, the filling, and the frieze. Too many horizontal lines are apt to make a room look much lower than it really is, and as in the majority of new houses lofty rooms are the exception it will generally be found undesirable to divide the walls into these three horizontal spaces. Chair-rails are useful in saving the plaster from damage, but the low dado is not a particularly pleasing feature for ordinary rooms. A deep frieze from the cornice to the picture-rail, and a filling from the picture-rail to the skirting, will be found to give a much better effect. Panelling will, of course, obviate the damage to the wall from the chairs, and the raised decorative materials also are sufficiently strong to resist much rough usage. For small rooms it will be better to use one of the canvas wall coverings, such as " Fab-ri-ko-na," to cover the walls, and this will save the plaster from damage. For friezes one may either employ one of the relief decorations, or have a stencilled ornament ; it may even be left plain, and lime-whited like the ceiling. Which course it is 62 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. best to adopt will depend on the amount of decoration already on the wall in the shape of pattern in the wall- paper, or of decoration on the ceiling in the shape of modelled plaster-work. The rule to allow sufficient plain surface to set off" the decoration must be kept in view in this connection. Niches, or recesses, unless they occur centrally, are difficult to treat successfully. It has become rather usual to outline them with a worked beading or arris, which is o/^Re^^"e painted, and this painted line is apt to upset the symmetry of the wall treatment. If such is the case it is better to tackle them boldly. A small niche might be used for statuary. I have seen a very successful arrange- ment on this plan, where the background of the niche was painted a dull neutral green, against which a white statuette showed up well. But this treatment is only possible where the niche is very shallow, or the statuary will not be properly seen. Strictly speaking, statuary should have the utmost possible light, all round and from above, that the modelling may obtain its due effect. The great French sculptor, Rodin, favours the exhibition of sculpture in a gallery, which would be like a conservatory or winter garden, and foliage makes an excellent background. Another method of utilising niches or recesses is to fit them up as cupboards, china cabinets, or bookshelves, with glazed doors, painted or finished in similar manner to the rest of the woodwork. Panelling is a very beautiful form of wall treatment if means will allow. Roughly speaking, there are two kinds of panelling:, the skeleton and the wood. The Panelling. former is generally a framing of wood or plaster for a filling or panel of expensive wall-paper, brocade, silk, or tapestry. It is practically identified with the French styles of decoration, which have been excluded from this book as being for the most part unsuited to English homes, or to houses of the type for which these suggestions have been written. But in a small house I have seen a cheap and effective skeleton panelling, which was adapted to meet special requirements. It was carried out in a small dining- room, where rough wear and possible damage to the walls CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 63 might result, and the use of a chair-rail was greatly objected to. An Anaglypta frieze, 2 feet deep, was selected to go round the top of the walls. Below this was a strip of deal, half an inch thick, carried round as a horizontal band, sur- mounted by a simple moulding as a capping, the total depth of this band being 6 inches. Over the door the depth was slightly increased to join up to the top architrave moulding. From this band to the skirting vertical strips of deal, 41 in. wide and i in. thick, were fixed 2 feet apart. The ends of these strips were halved for an inch in depth to house into grooves, made of similar depth at the back of the top rail and the skirting. By this means a good joint was effected without the horizontal lines being broken. The strips were fixed before the skirting, quite plain and without mouldings, was put on, and all was securely nailed to the wall, the nail heads being driven in and covered with hard stopping. The joints were worked over with a plane, and the whole of the woodwork was then enamelled white. The treatment of the chimney-breast and the recesses on either side necessarily required special consideration in the spacing, but a panel was formed over the chimney-piece for a mirror. The panels thus formed were filled with a canvas covering of a dull red. This treatment was adopted for several reasons. In the first place the room was dark, being lighted from one corner only, and a large amount of white surface was desired to increase the available light. In the second place, the room being sunless, as the window faced north, it was desired to introduce a fair amount of red to give an appearance of warmth and cosiness. And, in the third place, it was cheap, being practically "home-made." The decoration was completed by photogravure heads, in circular dark oak frames, placed at eye-level in the panels, the furniture being in old oak throughout, and the mirror over the chimney-piece being framed similarly to the pictures. The carpet was an Ax- minster, in an Oriental pattern, dull red predominating ; the chimney-piece very plain, in cast iron, enamelled white, with bright steel kerb and fire-irons, and the electric light fix- ture was of the same metal and finish, having a plain square frame with dull red silk valance. Wood panelling is an expensive form of decoration, though 64 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. less so now than it used to be. Of late years it has been largely employed in better-class houses for sitting-halls, dining- rooms, and billiard-rooms, and its use involves, of ^"**'!,. course, a special treatment for the door, chimney- Panelhng. . , ^ . , -^j ^i. i piece and wmdow, to agree with the general scheme. Such panelling has been in vogue since late Tudor days ; but for the Elizabethan and Jacobean work I am unable to call up any enthusiasm. This early panelling, with its elaborate carvings and arabesques, is extraordinarily fussy and, to my mind, wonderful as the work is, " gey ill to live wi'." In the late Stuart days, when the English expression of the Renaissance became more firmly defined, and the prolific ornament of the Italian workmen was forgotten, the design of panelling was simplified and improved, and this period produced the best examples. The Georgian era saw panelling design simplified to the point of monotony ; and many of the old late eighteenth-century and early nineteenth- century houses still in existence have panelling of such amazing severity that its merit is solely as a wall-covering. Such panelling is usually painted, and the favourite tint to-day is a light green, which is generally unhappy in effect. White is undoubtedly better ; but I have often wondered why the paint could not be removed with Stripso or one of the other paint removers, and the wood, probably plain deal, stained and oil polished. The patent paint removers are more expensive than the old burning-off process, but the latter might damage the surface. If wood panelling is to be employed the simple patterns are most to be recommended, such as those illustrated. An architect's advice should be sought before any elaborate work is adopted, though, truth to tell, architects are not always as happy as they might be in designing panelled rooms, and are apt to achieve restlessness by the use of too many mouldings, "set offs," and other features. Rooms must not be judged from their appearance when empty. The furniture and its effect must be considered if the result is to be a success. Oak still holds the premier place as a panelling material, but the renowned English wainscot has declined in favour CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 65 of late years through its somewhat uncertain behaviour. It is so liable to split that the Austrian variety is now ,, , . . , very generally employed. Other woods have also Material for , -^ =',-', ^ -^ , , , t ,• Panelling oeen used, such as mahogany, teak, and Italian walnut. Mahogany panelling has become so identified with banks, insurance offices, and similar large institutions, that its use for domestic buildings, apart from cost, seems unsuitable. Italian walnut is at present very popular, and with this wood the utilisation of the figure, for matching and patternising, is on the increase. Panelling in any wood should be finished with a dull polish ; a highly polished surface would be grotesque. A smooth unpolished surface is often advocated for oak work, but unpolished surfaces are very likely to become finger-marked. Panelling should be simple, for elaborate work — especially in connection with wood panelling — such as many mouldings or intricate carvingf in the panels — becomes irritating: Hints on , ° . ^ , ^ , . ^ ^ Paneiiin ^^ ^ ^y^' ^ ^^ must not be lorgotten that 11 a room with elaborate panelling may appear satis- factory when empty, the introduction of the furniture will inevitably make it appear restless. Furniture is in itself sufficiently decorative to require a quiet background. Another point to be aimed at in panelling is to avoid making the panels too large, as, like large panes of glass, they would have the effect of dwarfing the room. It is not desirable to have panels in mixed woods. A small amount of inlay work, such as a simple line, is permissible, but the dark frame and light panel so beloved of the railway- carriage builder is very far from pleasing in its eff'ect. The very elaborate panelling of the Elizabethan or Jacobean periods is to be avoided ; the simple panelling of the Georgian period, already referred to, is much more satisfactory for modern use. In drawing-rooms it is a common thing to have panelled dados ; these are usually made with flush panels — that is, the panel is level with the frame, there being but a simple bead moulding between the two. These panelled dados are either painted or enamelled white. In recent years some cheap wood panelling, " The Tudoresk," has been placed on the market, which is not really true panelling, though it has that effect. The panelling is 66 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. built in position, the panels are nailed to the wall, and the framing overlaid. This can be done much more cheaply than regular panelling, and the effect is quite as good, but the purist will probably despise it as a sham, though there is nothing false in the woodwork itself; the only differ- ence is the departure from the ordinary method of panel construction (see p. 59). Panelling is also arranged for hanging pieces of tapestry not secured to the wall, and for pictures, but the latter would only be required in very large houses where the value of the works of art justified special designs in panelling for their reception. The height to which panelling should be carried up differs according to the particular treatment of the room. As a matter of personal preference, if panelling is introduced, I think it is better carried up to allow room for a deep frieze only. In many cases the top of the panel is furnished with a ledge for the reception of old china, but this form of decoration has become very stereotyped. Damp walls arise from two causes : — Water soaking up from the ground, due to defects in the damp course, or to its r^ ^^r .. absence ; or else to the porous and defective char- Damp Walls. 11 • ir 1 • 1 n acter of the wall itself, which allows the wet to penetrate from the outside. Paints, papers, and other palliative measures are practically useless, and only radical measures will avail. If the damp course is defective, a new one must be put in. It is a tedious and difficult work, which must be done in small sections. If the wet penetrates the wall, the exterior should be covered with bitumen sheeting, or " Kosmos" patent grooved slabs, and afterwards covered with rough cast. The next item in our room is the ceiling, and there are as many ways of treating this as there are of treating the walls. ^ .. Plain plaster is the usual method, and at once GcilinsTs* suggests itself. But one may have a wood-panelled ceiling ; an open ceiling with exposed beams ; a plaster ceiling divided into spaces with mouldings ; a ceiling of mosaic ; a painted ceiling ; a ceiling covered with paper, or relief decora- tion ; a ceiling decorated with modelled plaster ; and a ceiling of stamped steel. Which method shall be adopted is largely a matter of choice, but the peculiar conditions of house CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 67 decoration will, in the majority of cases, exclude some materials, and questions of cost and suitability, others. Decorative mosaic, for instance, should be at least twenty feet away from the eye. In the majority of houses it will be im- possible to allow this distance, and mosaic may then Ceiiines ^^ ruled out. A special kind of glass mosaic, how- ever, resembling small tiles, has been used for vaulted passages, etc., with very beautiful effect. A wood-panelled ceiling is also an expensive luxury ; a fine specimen is shown in the illustrations of the dining-room at Hallyburton on page 202. Another luxury is Wood |.|^g painted ceiling ; this again is beyond the ^ n ■ ^ ^ general run of houses. The best and most durable and Painted '^ Ceilings. method is to have the picture painted on a canvas, which is affixed to the ceiling. The genuine fresco and tempera paintings will not, in the nature of things, survive ; and the old fresco painters either possessed some secret of which we are ignorant, or their wall surfaces were differently prepared. We may digress here for a moment to deplore the entire absence of painted decoration, such as frescoes, etc., in dwelling-houses to-day. Doubtless this is due to the difficulties already out- lined ; but it is open to doubt whether there are any painters who could achieve success on these lines. The danger, as in stained glass, is of too pictorial an effect. The ceilings decorated with paper and relief decorations are more conveniently dealt with in the notes on those materials following ; but the open ceiling demands a few J*^" words. It is a favourite fad with the general public Ceilings. 1 • r 1 and not a few architects, but it makes the room appear low and dark, and if there is not plenty of light and height it is most undesirable. If genuinely constructed, move- ments or conversation in the room above will become irritating noises down below ; but on artistic grounds it is perfectly admissible. If, however, the beams are merely put in belovv the ordinary floor for effect, the whole thing is a sham and an artistic solecism to be avoided. The stamped steel ceiling is of American origin, and it ' will probably be regarded by the purist with horror. The evil with these new materials is the mistaken industry of the manufacturers in imitating/ other and older materials. 68 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. Many of these steel ceilings, and many of the relief decora- tions, are prepared so as to resemble old plaster patterns, when they might be given a legitimate and „ ^,. individual expression of their own. In other Ceilings. r 1 -J 1 respects the stamped steel ceihng has decided merits. It is made in large sheets, easily and quickly applied ; can be used to cover up old plaster ceilings in bad condition without having to remove them, and is not subject to the damage to a plaster ceiling resulting from an accidental overflow of the bath, or a burst pipe. It would be specially useful in kitchens and sculleries, where the fumes from cooking, or the steam from the copper, are likely to damage plaster, and where cleaning is often required ; also in bath-rooms where geysers are fixed. The ordinary plaster ceiling hardly needs more than a mention. Quite plain plaster is decidedly best unless the room is of fairly larg^e dimensions. Plain ceiling's are Plaster jo o Ceiiin s sometimes divided up by wood mouldings, but this decoration has little merit except to hide electric wiring when it is desired to introduce that illuminant without much cutting about. The very beautiful work achieved by our modern artists in plaster may be judged from the illustrations on page 6o. These ceilings are modelled in sections and put up into position. It is, of course, only possible to utilise such work where money is plentiful, but on the architectural principle of restricting the ornament mainly to the upper part of a building or a room, there is little doubt that the ceiling and frieze should have the major portion of the decorative treatment between them. Modelled plaster friezes, on the same principle, are being increasingly employed in the best domestic work. Plaster friezes may also be coloured ; a notable example is the frieze in the hall of the Trocadero Restaurant, London, which was the work of Professor Gerald Moira and Mr. F. Lynn Jenkins. Mr. G. P. Bankart has recently been doing a similar kind of frieze for a private mansion. Another item in the equipment of a room, which may do much to make or mar the final effect, is the lighting fixtures. In metal-work modern English design does not seem to have progressed so satisfactorily as other branches of ,i;;i?%^" 5-LIGHT ELECTROLIER. OxYDiSED Silver. (Candle lamps extra.) ;£ii os. 6d. 2-LIGHT BRACKET. Old Candle Brass (Candle lamps extra.) £z 15s. 3-LIGHT DINING-ROOM FITTING. Oxydised Silver Complete with silk flounce, £12 7s. ELECTRIC LIGHT FITTINGS. (XVII) 3-LIGHT DINING-ROOM FITTING. Old Gold Complete with silk flounce, £V> 4s. 69 w 3-LIGHT LANTERN. Antique Brass. £6 i6s. 6d. (XVII) ■ II rr\r 3-LIGHT CEILING ELECTROLIER. GlLT Complete with shades, ^^13 iis. (XVII) ELECTRIC LIGHT FITTINGS, 3-LIGHT LANTERN. £7 I2S. 6d. (XVIII) Antique Brass. i:j££iiM«fiuKiS-«,iJt 5-LIGHT ELECTROLIER. Pohshed oak or mahogany, with metal fittings inset with enamel, copper or brass, £4 8s. O.xydised silver, £5 los. (XVIII) 70 ■V. THE "ALMOND DESIGN' 3s. per piece. fei^i THE "ALDERLEY" DESIGN 2S. 6d. per piece. s * J, i f > • i4^ THE "GLASGOW" DESIGN. 4s. per piece. WALL PAPERS. rxiv) THE "PLUMBAGO" DESIGN. 6s. per length of 11 feet 6 inches. 71 T3 (U 2 o< ' "^ ; 5 u] .2 'u 2- I ja j3 H H H 72 CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 73 the crafts, but there is more hope now that some of the manufacturers have returned to the study and reproduction .... of the sober and beautiful patterns of candelabra LisrhtitiGT Fixtures ^"^ lanterns of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Birmingham, as a whole, is still obsessed with the eccentricities of " L'Art Nouveau," and many firms, or their designers, are unable to see that the mere fact of metal being adaptable to furious twists and contortions is no precise reason why those twists and con- tortions should be adopted for a lighting fixture, more especially as they contribute nothing to an expression of the purpose of the article, nor to its intrinsic beauty. Superfluous metal is a mistake, because it adds to the weight and the cost, and because it traverses a very good rule in design which would limit ornament to the actual useful parts of an article, eliminating all else as redundant, unnecessary, and, therefore, artistically wrong. For examples of many interesting and beautiful lighting fixtures, the showrooms of Messrs. F. & C. Osier, Ltd., and Messrs. Roger Dawson, Ltd., may be recommended. Both will afford examples of various types that will lend themselves to an artistic scheme of decoration. The design, arrangement, and choice of lighting fixtures is, of course, dependent on the particular illuminant used, and, unfortunately, the lighting medium is not always a matter of choice but of availability. Except in large houses, a private electrical plant is not possible, and in some places not even coal gas is to be obtained. One is therefore restricted to gas or candles, unless an acetylene gas plant is installed. It is possible to have quite a small house lighted with acetylene, because the plant is so small. The new non-explosive "air gas," which has just been introduced, also requires but little room for its apparatus ; a table three feet square is said to suffice ; and if the new illuminant justifies the claims of its promoters, it will, no doubt, be largely used in rural districts. The draw- back to all forms of gas lighting is the great heat evolved (with the new " air gas " this is said to be considerable) and the production of fumes which are especially damaging to the decorations. Without question electricity is the finest form of lighting 74 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. from the decorative point of view, because of its adaptability to almost every position and situation, and because it is not damaging to the decorations. Lamps, to my mind, are an abomination. It is impossible to escape the reek of the oil ; and it is equally impossible to obtain a lamp that does not exude or sweat the oil. Wherever lamps must be used, it is desirable to have an outside shed where they may be filled and trimmed, and stored when not in use. As far as safety goes, there are many reliable lamps on the market, in which the light is extinguished if the lamp is overturned. Candles not only give a very beautiful light, but a very good decorative effect also. Personally, if no other illuminants were available, I would prefer candles to lamps. Decorative despite the extra trouble and the danger of grease. ^ ^l, ** The incandescent mantle has given coal gas Candles. . . , , . , . ^ illummation a great fillip, and the mverted mean- descent gas burner is putting gas into active competition with electricity. It also removes one of the chief drawbacks to the old burners — the shadows thrown by the fixtures themselves. It is very desirable that the metal-work in a room should be all e/i suite. If the lighting fixture is of brass the fender, fire-irons, door furniture, curtain rods, etc., should be of similar metal. It is surprising how much the general effect is enhanced by attention to little details of this kind. Many beautiful metals, as bronze, brass finished with oxidised silver, beaten iron, bright steel and copper, are utilised for modern fixtures, and enamels and other enrichments are frequently introduced. The old-fashioned lustres have also been repro- duced for electrical fixtures. The old candelabra and wall-sconce patterns are hardly logical motives for electric-light fittings, though their use for the purpose has been almost universally condoned. Electric -pj^g difficulty seems to be the want of an appro- p. . priate expression for an electrical fixture. Even in the year of grace 1907, we find the Royal Academy of Arts putting its official imprimatur on a design for an electric-light street standard which has a decoration of cherubs with tridents on dolphins' backs disporting around a fluted shaft. Now this pattern of standard, which will be presented CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 75 to various places by the Royal Academy, the cost being defrayed out of funds bequeathed by Lord Leighton, P.R.A., might be appropriate in a seaside town ; but if planted in a Midland city, far removed from the waves, the dolphins and cherubs would seem to have as little to do with the local surroundings as they have to do with electricity. There seems little doubt that in a suitable electric-light fixture the light bulbs should hang. A bracket fixture practic- ally eliminates the initial and immense advantage of the light, the ability to fix the bulbs in any position. When the light hangs there is no danger of the bracket or fixture casting a shadow below it. But a fine Georgian candelabra is such a beautiful thing in itself, and fits in so harmoniously with the fine old patterns of English furniture, that it is likely to be continued for electrical purposes in the future. Electric fittings should not be over-elaborated, and in selecting them the size of the room should be borne in mind, for too large a fitting will give a sense of oppression. The position of the lights is not a subject that can be profitably discussed here, for so much depends on the size, shape, and use of the room ; but lights should never be fixed where the rays will catch the eye. Where it is difficult to avoid this, the light may be screened from below and reflected on to the ceiling, which must be white. The ceiling reflects the light back over the room, a soft mellow transfused light resulting. For dining-rooms it is usual to have a centre light over the table, so shaded that the full light is directed downwards on to it. In small rooms this light may be all that is Hints for necessary, but in large rooms one or more wall *.^. '"„ ^ lig-hts will be needed for the general illumination of Dining=Rooni. & ° the room. It is convenient also to have a plug switch fixed in the floor below the table, so that a connection may be made for table lights. Very beautiful effects can be secured by small shaded bulbs nestling in the foliage and flowers used for table decoration ; and electricity forms a safer and more decorative light than shaded candles, excepting perhaps the "Cricklite" candelabra. In drawing-rooms the fixtures may either be wall lights or electroliers, or both. A finely-modelled ceiling is apt to be 76 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. spoilt by an electrolier, in which case wall lights may be pre- ferred. It is largely a matter of choice, though the general scheme of decoration, and the characteristics of the If Dmvvh!'"^ room, will assist in a decision. Where there is a Rooms)'^'"^" bureau or writing-desk it will be advantageous to have a plug switch in the wall close by, so that a shaded table-lamp may be provided. The tall standard lamps with big shades are always favourites with ladies, and these are now fitted with electrical burners taking current from a plug switch in the floor or skirting. Pianos, too, are so arranged with electrical wiring inside the case, taking current in a similar manner from a plug switch, so that electric light may be used in the sconces. Messrs. Broadwood and Sons, among other firms^ supply these fittings to their pianos for a small extra charge. The best form of lighting for pianos, however, is the long shaded bulb, which stands over the top of the music and throws the light down on to it. Generally speaking, drawing-rooms, being show rooms, should be brilliantly lighted. In large rooms where there are many bulbs in the electrolier it is desirable, on economical grounds, to arrange the lights in cycles of three or four, so that two or three switches are required to bring the full number of lights into play. In libraries and studies, table lamps, supplied with current from convenient switches in the wall, will be required as well as a centre light. Where the bookshelves extend up Lights for , , , .,.,., , ■ , , , Libraries. ^° ^^^ ceihng, light must be provided to show up the books on the top shelves. It is, however, unusual now to provide shelving for books out of arm's reach unless space is very restricted. Passages and small halls, as well as vestibules and porches, are usually supplied with hanging lantern fixtures, and the beautiful old Georgian patterns are excellent for the purpose. Kitchens should be well lighted, with a Zights. Sood hanging light reflected on to the principal working table, supplemented if necessary with lights for the range or stoves. As a rule, in the kitchen and offices, simple hanging bulbs with reflectors are all that is necessary, but it is an advantage in some situations to have a counter- balance and pulley fixture, so that the light may be lowered for Passage and Kitchen CONSTRUCTIVE DECORATION. 77 particular purposes, or put up well out of the way on occasion. In dining-rooms the counterbalance fixture is frequently used, and in bedrooms it is essential. Quite simple patterns are suitable for bedrooms, but the dressing-table should be very amply lighted, and it is desirable . . ^^ . . that the lights should be so arrang-ed that the Light in the .,, .='.,,,,. . i , i • i Bedroom. iHummation falls both m front and behmd any person sitting in front of the table. This is con- venient for ladies doing their hair. Cheval glasses may also be lighted if a skirting switch is provided at a convenient point. It is very desirable that lights be provided at the bed-head ; they should be convenient for reading, and fixed over the bed or on the left side of the person, or persons, using the bed, with the switches within easy reach. Many people read in bed, and, though this may not be a desirable habit, there are occasions, as in illness, when it is legitimate. Moreover the principal switch must be close to the door ; and it is awkward to have to get out of bed to switch off the light. A very beautiful form of lighting is that known as " Lino- lite." Here lines of light (hence the name) are formed with long narrow bulbs, similar to those described for lighting music, choir stalls, etc. ; these are fixed on the tops of cornices, picture rails, architraves, in mouldings, picture frames, and so on. When lighted up a soft, transfused glow results, the lighting fixtures being themselves invisible. Staircases should be adequately lighted, but are too often forgotten. Standard lights on the newel posts are very appro- priate fixtures, or hanging lanterns may be used if staircase head room permits. The quality of the fixtures and other -hi i i- , 11 r Lights ^ depend on the importance or elaborateness of the staircase itself. The billiard-room fixtures do not differ in form from those used for gas lighting. A wall light or two may be a useful addition for lighting up on entering the room ; but during the progress of a game it is not desirable to have any light but that over the table. Ingle-nooks should be provided with lights for reading where the general lighting is insufficient for the purpose. In all cases ample light should be provided wherever members of 78 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. the household may require the special use of their eyes, to avoid strain. Electricity is not over-kind to the human eye, and many people complain that they cannot see so well with it as with incandescent gas. In most cases it will be found that there is too great economy in the number of lights. It is obvious that an electric fixture with three 8 candle-power or two 1 6 candle-power bulbs will not give so much light as an incandescent gas burner having a light of from 35 to 70 candle-power. It may be desirable to arrange lights in front of cupboards or other receptacles, so that the contents are visible when the doors are opened. Carrying candles is a practice always to be deprecated, because of the danger of spilling grease on the carpets and floors. Electric switches should be fixed immediately inside the door, so that the light may be turned on when entering. For lig^hts in corridors, ante-rooms, or in suites Position ol ^ ° , , . . , . ..,.,, Switciies °^ rooms leadmg one mto the other, it is desirable that the switch arrangements should provide for switching the light on and off from either end of the corridor, or from either door in the rooms. Switches, if fixed on the wall, make an untidy projection ; the switch-box should there- fore be built into the wall, and finished with a smooth plate at the surface. Only the switch button will then project beyond the surface of the wall. Gas fittings seem to have received less attention from designers — or, at least, good designers — than the electric fittings. An inspection of a gasfitter's catalogue Gas Fittines ^^ ^ revelation in the horrible. This is a branch of design to which our Craft Guilds might well devote a little attention. Here, again, the general form of the fittings does not differ materially from the electric fittings, i.e., there are simple brackets, chandeliers, and so on. The new inverted incandescent burner has made possible a much more decorative fitting than with the old style of burner. Users of incandescent burners should never fit them to the old water-slide chandelier ; they will be miserably disappointed with the light obtained. Exactly why this should be so I am unable to say ; but probably the cause has something to do with diminished pressure. SURFACE DECORATION. 79 The inverted incandescent burner should be adopted, I think, in preference to any other form, and chandeliers should be fitted with ball joints to avoid damage if the fixture is accidentally knocked. The enterprise of the gas-fitting manufacturers in competing with the electric light is evinced in the new arrangements for switching on the gas light from the door in a manner similar to the electric light. Indeed, this keen competition is all gain to the consumer in that it produces many ingenious devices for his comfort and convenience in the matter of lighting. But gas-burners, owing to the heat evolved, must be strictly limited to the number required adequately to light the room, and for this reason must be more or less concentrated, and not distributed about the room as is possible with electric light. Acetylene fittings, except that the tubing is smaller and that the burners are of special form, do not differ from the ordinary gas fittings. The door furniture comprises the handles, escutcheons, lock and finger plates. These can be obtained in every style, and in several materials, as china, glass, wood, P**"*". and every kind of metal. Very highly chased metal-work is a mistake, because it is difficult to clean and, in the case of the knobs, unpleasant to the touch. Door furniture is, of course, a very suitable vehicle for design, and numerous beautiful sets, some decorated with enamels and semi-precious stones, have been pro- duced in recent years. SURFACE DECORATION. Wall papers and wall coverings are of such infinite variety and pattern that a whole book would be needed Wall Papers _and, in truth, one has been written— to deal and Coverings. ' ' with all the ramifications of the subject. They may be most conveniently divided into three classes : — (i) Wall papers. (2) Wall fabrics, cloths and silks. (3) Relief decorations and leather papers. The wall paper proper is too well known to need lengthy description, though there are several varieties. They are 8o THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. either machine-printed or hand-printed. The former are, naturally, cheaper ; but from a decorative point of view may be disregarded, as the inherent difficulties in their prepara- tion are such as to prevent an artistic result being obtained. The hand-printed paper is printed from blocks, a separate one being required for each colour on the paper, and conse- quently the printing is necessarily slow. Wall papers may also be printed in distemper colours (most usual) or in oil colours. The latter are apt to look dull and greasy. The English wall papers are usually made in lengths or rolls, 12 yards long by 21 inches wide, and contain 63 square feet. The French papers are 9 yards long by 18 inches wide, containing 40^ square feet. TABLE OF APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF PIECES OF ENGLISH WALL PAPER REQUIRED FOR ANY ROOM. {AUo-wance to be tiiade for doors and un'ndoiL'S. ) MEASUREMENT HEIGHT DF ROOM IN FEET FROM SKIRTING TO CORNICE. IN FEET ROUND 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 IS THE WALLS. NUMBER OF PIECES REQUIRED. 32 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 36 4 5 S 6 6 7 7 8 9 9 40 4 S 6 6 7 8 8 9 9 10 44 5 S 6 7 8 8 9 10 10 II 48 : 5 6 7 7 8 9 10 10 II 12 52 1 6 6 7 ^ 8 9 10 10 II 12 13 56 1 6 7 s : 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 60 : 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 IS 64 1 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 IS 16 68 i 7 8 9 1 10 II 12 13 15 16 17 72 ; 7 9 10 II 12 13 14 IS 17 18 76 i 8 9 10 II 13 14 IS 16 17 19 80 i 8 9 H 11 13 IS 16 17 18 20 84 9 10 II 12 14 IS 17 18 19 21 88 9 10 12 12 14 16 17 19 20 22 92 : 9 II 12 : 13 IS 17 18 19 21 22 96 10 II 13 , 13 16 17 19 20 22 23 100 10 12 13 15 16 18 20 21 24 24 The foregoing table will answer for the ordinary English wall paper, but there are now a very large number of wall paper decorations on the market which are designed to make up into panels, or require some special arrangement which Z £ 5 84 SURFACE DECORATION. 85 does not permit of them being printed and sold in the ordinary way. As an instance, mention may be made of • 1 w 11 ^^^ paper decoration having a plain filling of Papers. white, with a band of decoration, the full width of the paper, designed to come immediately under the picture rail or cornice, forming a kind of frieze. It is obvious that this cannot be printed in rolls of 12 yards, and such papers are usually made in pieces of from 3 to 4 yards in length (9 to 12 feet), which is sufficient for any room of ordinary height, a separate roll being required for each width on the wall. Thus, taking a room 1 1 feet in height, and deducting height of skirting (say i foot) and height of cornice (say 6 inches), we get a total height for papering (provided there is no picture rail) of 9 feet 6 inches. If the decoration selected is in pieces of 4 yards length, we have to cut off 2 feet 6 inches of the plain filling, which is useless. It follows, therefore, that there is some amount of waste with these special papers, and that they are more expensive than the ordinary ones, but the decorative effect is immeasurably greater. The average wall paper, with the pattern crudely cut through by the lines of the cornice, picture rail, or skirting, cannot compare with papers that appear to have been specially designed for the walls on which they are placed. It will be easy to understand that the special paper decora- tion is capable of considerable expansion and adaptation. For instance, there are several papers on the market arranged to give a panel effect, and the manufacturers have been at some pains to arrange these papers to avoid waste. Let us consider one specially suitable for covering a wall from skirting to picture rail, and these special papers are, I consider, best suited to that division of the wall space. As arranged on the wall, just below the picture rail is a continuous broad band of ornament, pale pink roses climbing on a light trellis ; just above the skirting is a similar band, but narrower and with more foliage. Con- necting these top and bottom lines are, at regular intervals, vertical narrow bands of rose and trellis ornament. The back- ground is plain white, with or without a narrow satin stripe. The effect is of panels formed by a light trellis, on which pale pink roses are trained. 86 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. Now this decoration is made up in three different papers. First we have the top broad band of ornament printed, so that it is applied horizontally to the wall like a frieze, the bottom band being similarly printed and applied. The filling is printed vertically, the vertical line of ornament being in the centre of the paper. This is cut in the required lengths to fill the space between the top and bottom bands of ornament, and the pattern is so arranged that the joins may practically come anywhere on the vertical line without spoiling the effect. Particular care is required in cutting and arranging on the wall ; the paper must be carefully and evenly trimmed. In fixing, the bottom band is put on first, the filling being affixed next and lapped over the top edge of the bottom band, or an ugly line will show itself in the light. The top band is the last piece put on, in the manner of a frieze. It would be possible to consider numbers of these special papers in detail, but as the manufacturers issue full instructions with them it would be needlessly wearisome. The necessity of employing a competent hanger needs to be impressed. The ordinary workman is hardly likely to exercise that skill and finesse in arranging the panels. For instance, the chimney- breast over the chimney-piece must obviously be tackled first, or the panels may come out of the centre, and recesses will need special adjustment. The wall under the window is difficult to treat successfully, but in the case of the rose trellis, pieces of the narrow band just above the skirting and just under the window ledge, with a strip of filling between, would probably look best. Awkward pieces of wall will occur, which require some amount of acumen and imagination to deal with. It is obvious by cutting the filling paper the panels may be made narrower than as printed, and so on. The design of many of these special papers is more or less on French or naturalistic lines — i.e., the flowers and foliage are naturally rendered and coloured, only the arrangement being conventionalised. The choice of these papers should be dependent on the design being logical. A design of flowers arranged in panels should have some reason for being in set straight lines. In the rose trellis the trellis is the justification, supplying the straight lines on which the roses are trained. Similarly, in the case of the other special paper mentioned, the SURFACE DECORATION. 87 band of flowers and foliage at the top of the paper appears to be suspended from the cornice or picture rail, as the case may be, and thus some architectonic value is given to the decoration. With a purely conventional pattern this rule does not apply, as the motive then takes the appearance merely of surface ornament similar to a stencil pattern. Some wall paper designers refuse to admit natural flower patterns as legitimate design. They consider that every flower should be conventionalised before it is allowable *'"^w*r" '^^ ^ wall. Carrying logic to an extreme point, this Paper Designs Contention might be admitted as true. Short of gathering fresh flowers and arranging them on a trellis round the wall, no natural decoration of flowers would be possible. But all art is matter of convention, and as the convention of wall paper design has never yet reached such a point of restriction, we are justified in disregarding this dictum. And some designers, with a fatal facility for freehand drawing and little else, torture and twist the beautiful forms of flowers into such ghastly shapes that, if the natural flower wall papers were declared artistically immoral, we should be justified in discarding all patterned papers and using only those which are plain or bear a simple stripe. Still, if the conventions of wall paper designing will permit the natural rendering of flowers, some restriction, as previously mentioned, should be placed on their arrangement. Bands or trophies of flowers realistically rendered, enclosed in no frame or panel, but suspended without just cause between earth and heaven, is not only distressing to the eye and intelligence, but the value of the wall is completely nullified. " I have heard laymen discussing walls as if they were atrocities to be disguised or obliterated. Doubtless the gentle- man who covered his walls from floor to ceiling with paintings representing landscapes having far distant horizons, and disguised the ceiling with a painting of clouds and sky, congratulated himself on having banished the limitations of space and building construction. But the result was merely comic. Capably as the work was done, the chimney-piece still loomed amid the Italian scenery, and no amount of paint could disguise the square angles at the intersection of ceilings and walls and floors. A wall is a thing to be frankly admitted, to 88 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. be admired, decorated, and rejoiced in, not obliterated or smothered in ornament. It should have its due amount of ornament and plain space, the one giving value to the other, thus forming an artistic background to the household treasures. The next class of wall and ceiling coverings to consider are the relief decorations. There are numerous varieties of these — R r f w II Aiiaglypta, Lincrusta- Walton, Salamander, Ligno- Decorations. ^^^> Cordelova, and Tynecastle being some of the best-known brands. They are variously made from wood-pulp, papier-machd, canvas stiffened with a gluey medium and secured by a patent backing, asbestos, etc. They can be obtained in high relief and low relief, the high relief being mostly employed for ceilings and friezes, the low relief for wall coverings, though some of the high relief patterns are designed in imitation of wood panelling for use in similar positions. The high relief decorations are usually made in sections or panels, while the low reliefs can be obtained in rolls or pieces. The legitimacy of imitating other materials is a moot point in connection with these relief decorations. It has been mentioned that imitations of wood panelling are manufactured, and a large number of the ceiling patterns are imitations of old examples in plaster. For this reason many of our most artistic and talented architects and decorators refuse to employ relief decorations at all. As to the legitimacy of imitating wood panelling I am dubious ; about the ceiling designs I think the opposition is a little strained. The manufacturers are utilising the services of capable and talented architects and designers to give an individual expression to this form of decoration, and innumerable patterns can be obtained which confer on the material no pretension to be other than it is. It is needless to say that the reliefs which are imitations are less expensive than the panelling, plaster, etc., they purport to be; that is their raison d 'etre. On this question I do not feel inclined to give a decided opinion. The right of a man to possess a magnificent ceiling in high relief which he could not possibly afford in plaster will always remain a debatable point. The relief decorations are applied like wall papers, and when fixed can be treated with colour or gilt for further embellishment. Some patterns can be bought already coloured SURFACE DECORATION. 89 or gilded, but it is usual to fix the plain material and proceed afterwards. For dadoes, friezes, and walls, where hard wear may be expected, the relief decorations are admirable. They may be picked out in colour, or painted, and form a very lasting decorative medium. The design of many of them is a little too stiff and formal, and there is a tendency to too much pattern. But some excellent designs are now to be had. Too high a relief should not be used in small rooms or cramped positions. Rooms required for study, as well as picture galleries, should be hung with quiet, sober papers that will not distract the attention. Wall Papers ^^ ^'^ colours and selection, the old rule of choosing warm tones, such as reds, yellows, buffs and pinks, for rooms with a cold aspect, and cool tones, such as blues, greys, and greens, for rooms with a southern or western aspect is not now slavishly adhered to. A colour scheme does not begin and end with the wall paper, much of which may be hidden by pictures or ornaments. A decorator may use a cool-toned paper on the walls of a north room, and yet remove any feeling of cold by the judicious use of warm colour in the carpet, curtains, and upholstery fabrics. Cool blue grey or grey green tones are admirable for setting off engravings or photogravures ; but the cold effect would be obviated by a warm red in the other things mentioned. A good yellow is the most difficult colour of all to obtain in a wall paper. I have never yet seen a fine, clear, luminous yellow paper ; all are more or less earthy or muddy. More- over yellow papers are, as a rule, too dark. With a paper of the palest lemon yellow some good decorative effects could be worked up. Silk seems to be the only material in which a good yellow can be obtained. It is, perhaps, opportune here to say that America is responsible for most of the developments in modern wall coverings, and also for the artistic horrors that What to from time to time are let loose upon our market. c oose— an ^^^ American has an unwholesome craze for Wall Papers, novelty at any cost, and he changes his wall papers frequently in the hope of having something different to his neighbours. Though the United States has sent us such good things as the ingrain papers, the burlaps or woven 90 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. wall coverings, and the panel effect decorations, it has also cursed us with imitation tapestry papers, imitation matting papers, and other artistic outrages. And the American does not disdain papers that imitate wood panelling with imitation pictures let in, imitations of bamboo trellis, and other artistic offences. This may be due to poverty of invention or imagination ; but the same defect is, and has been, evident here. The English marble papers for halls are hardly yet a memory ; one comes across them now and again. The varnished paper is still with us, and, seeing that it is rarely successful in avoiding dirt marks, or resisting the effects of a wash, ought to be abolished. Where the necessity for a washable paper precludes the use of anything else, the " Salubra" wall coverings, which are a new importation, would be appropriate. One may have a glazed and washable surface without imitating blocks of marble or tile linino;s. The cheap varnished papers with tile patterns made for bath-rooms and lavatories are wholly a mistake. They can never be properly washed, and they are marked as easily as any other papers. The " Salubra " wall coverings do, however, bear washing, and they can be procured in various delicate tints. They are not cheap, but no good washable paper can be obtained that is cheap. " Emdeca," the well-known glazed washable decoration, is also applied in the manner of wall paper ; but, it is really composed of thin metal sheets. Ceiling papers are never, I think, so beautiful in effect as plaster, and I would never recommend their use unless the condition of a ceiling demanded some additional strength or improvement in appearance such as a ceiling paper will afford. Even then they should be kept as light as possible in colour, and pattern should be limited to some simple motive, which may be lustred if desired. Colours make a ceiling heavy, and give the room the appearance of being lower than it really is The conventional patterns are admissible always, and everywhere. The warning in regard to them is two-fold. First, do not choose a paper with too large a pattern for the room ; and, second, see that no piece of the pattern obtrudes itself or forms features on the wall that worry the mind into SURFACE DECORATION. 91 counting. This is only another way of saying, too, that papers should never be chosen from a pattern book or a piece ; but a number of widths should be set up side by side on the actual wall, so that the effect of a considerable stretch of wall is obtained. Any fortuitous grouping or featuring in the pattern can then be detected. Too large a pattern will make the room appear smaller than it really is. Plain papers have been very popular of recent years, and there is much to be said in their favour. Generally speaking, apart from the special paper decorations, there are only two classes of papers that give really satisfactory results — the first are the " all-over pattern " papers and the plain papers. The first-named are those in which pattern practically covers the whole of the surface, the amount of background being practi- cally nil. The second are quite plain, or have a fine stipple or ingrain finish not discernible a short distance away. Papers with trophy patterns occurring at regular intervals on a plain background are apt to be very wearisome ; in fact, all papers with bits of pattern in a sea of background are liable to have this effect, for the patterning, occurring at regular intervals, is bound, on the wall, to produce certain horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines, that the eye discerns and pursues to the point of boredom. The only exception is, perhaps, the pattern of tiny rosebuds set close together ; this rarely proves offensive. The principal advantage of the plain paper is the manner in which it shows up the pictures, and where a room is intended to be hung with pictures no paper should be used the colour or pattern of which is likely to detract from their beauty or value. I have no great affection for the very highly-patterned papers, even though such great artists as William Morris and Walter Crane are famed for them. With every square inch of the surface covered with design, the effect is apt to be restless and irritating, however graceful the motive, capable the designer, and beautiful the colouring. Morris's "Bruges" paper is a marvel of designing, so is the "Peacock" paper of Walter Crane, but I am very sure I should not care to live with either of them. This is mere personal predilection, of course ; but, in any event, they are not papers to hang pictures upon, being sufficient decoration in themselves. In short, they 92 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. are not wall papers, but wall decorations. In large rooms without pictures they would have their proper effect. As I indicated in the notes on the division of the wall space, the inclusion of a dado, filling, and frieze is rather too much for the average wall, and of the three I think the dado is the least desirable feature, and the one most easily dispensed with. The use of chair rails seems, in the majority of cases, to cause the perpetuation of the dado. But the necessity of the chair rail is apt to be over-estimated, and, if there were a real fear of the paper being marked, one of the woven wall coverings might be used instead of a paper. There is another point that should be emphasised. Never choose any paper that has a picture or pattern with an effect of distance in it. A wall should be recognised and decorated as befits a substantial piece of construction, and nothing should be put upon it that will have the effect of making it appear non-existent. Quite a large number of modern friezes traverse this canon. Representations of seascapes, distant sunsets, and woodland scenery are common motives, and either their designers knowingly disregard the unwritten laws of the wall- paper art, or believe that the cornice and the frieze or picture rail constitute a frame that justifies a picture effect. Messrs. John Line & Sons have a new special paper decoration, "The Georgian," in the upper part of which are oval pastoral scenes, but these are adequately framed round, and therefore exempt from the rule given above. Other varieties of paper are the flock papers, silk flocks, and satin papers. The first-named are printed with a pattern of adhesive substance, upon which wool, reduced Misceuaneous ^^ ^ powder, is dustcd. The wool, adhering to the pattern, forms a velvety texture that some people admire greatly. The silk flocks are made similarly with silk reduced to a powder form. The pattern is usually a plain stripe, and with the soft and rich effect of these papers is probably the best motive. The silk flock has a very fine effect, but both kinds of flock papers are best suited to large rooms of imposing proportions, more especially libraries, dining-rooms, and billiard-rooms. Satin papers are glazed papers, to which a silken sheen is imparted by treatment with finely-ground French chalk, which FITTED BATHROOM. Fittings comprise bath, closet, lavatory, brass towel rail, toothbrush and tumbler holders, sponge holder, hanging soap dish. Total cost, exclusive of floor and wall linings, ^24 17s. 6d. FITTED BATHROOM. Fittings comprise bath, copper heater and stand, closet : cistern, &c , lavatory, brass towel rail, toothbrush and tumbler holders, combined soap and sponge dish, brush tray. Total cost, exclusive of wall and wall linings, ;^34 13s. (V) 93 tr ELIZABETHAN EXTENDING REFECTORY TABLE. Original condition, £2o. (XIX) PEDESTA' OR TEAPOY ON TRIPOD STAND, £3, 15s, (XIX) ANTIQUE FURNITURE, SMALL SHERATON WASHSTAND, With top refitted and adapted for pedestal, £1. (XIX) 94 (i) Antique Hall Porter's Chair, upholstered in Morocco, /lo iSs. ; (2) Old Chippendale Mahogany Card Table, ^4 los. ; (3) Old Figured Walnut Queen Anne Writing Bureau, £'] los. ; (4) Antique Carved Oak China Cabinet, ^5 17s. 6d. ; (5) Antique Ebony and Ivory Spinning Wheel, £1 12s. Gd. ; (5) Walnut Queen Anne China Cabinet, £1}, los. ; (7) Hand-painted Spinet, by John Broadv/ood, ^25 ; (8} Carved Cabinet, size 3 ft. 3 in. wide, 6 ft. 3 in. high, /18 los. ANTIQUE FURNITURE. (XVI) 95 s? < I o < -3- z o Q ■7 < _l t> '/^ ^7 1- co 11! 1 m n Lr z , -J c < !« □ at, z ° !^ s i-fs « g. X z c/) < « S?' s? cc rr o i LU i \- (n OJ I s H ^ u "rt cc < III LJ D < z 7" .HP - < UJ T1 3 X Ill Z n1 ar. > LU 1- -^ to I- o ci. E 2 r^ z < S? UJ 1- n K w OJ - CO . z c <-T nr 1- O < LU id I CO c LU DC 3 I OJ (f) 'Z. en UJ ^ UJ '^ z .E UJ -C > u LU Z < 117 CHIPPENDALE MAHOGANY BUREAU f \ (VII) SHERATON CHINA CABINET. £1%. XIX) ANTIQUE FURNITURE JACOBEAN OAK CABINET Abi.iut time of James II. (VII) UNIQUE PATTERN DINING-ROOM CHAIR probably by HeppeKvhite. Cost to repro- duce, about /i"i los. (VII) GRANDFATHER TUB CHAIR With carved cabriole legs and ball feet. In 15s (XIXi SHERATON BEDSTEADS, with Original cane panels. Upper one, ;^I2 ; lower one, ;/^iS. ANTIQUE FURNITURE. (XIX) iig V o o z a z < I < o I- OLD FURNITURE. 121 as well as "comprehensive to the workman by directions for executing the several designs." The designs of this firm have most of Chippendale's extravagancies. Heppelwhites are something of a mystery. Though they call themselves cabinet-makers on the title-page of their book, , . .. "The Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer's Guide," Heppelwhite. . ..„,^,,. . they are not mentioned m Sheraton s list of master cabinet-makers, nor is the address of the firm known. But of all the designs published about this time (1788), those of Heppelwhite, Shearer, and Sheraton are the most restrained and refined, and in them one can recognise the majority of the types which are highly prized to-day. The later years of the eighteenth century saw the rise of that famous firm, Robert and James Adam, architects and speculative builders, and much of the furniture of ^^ the later period appears to have been made for Brothers . Adam houses built by them and influenced by their ideas. The trend of their work, which is notably refined, was towards French forms with classic ornament, and later, in the early nineteenth century, the Empire tendency of the Napoleonic period began unmistakably to assert itself. Shera- ton in his last years fell a victim to it, and the later furniture design after this took on more and more of the Empire form, until it culminated in the English Empire style of Thomas Hope. The second decade of the nineteenth century saw some excellent furniture of a massive and solid character, which will probably be more highly prized as the older furniture Early xixth j-jg^^Qj^gg scarcer. It is of good mahogany, and Work. excellently made, though most of it is hidden away in old country houses, in the halls of city com- panies, in offices and club-houses. After that, English furniture design went to pieces. For many years the work- manship and material were excellent ; but the designs were abominable, and one feels that the waste of good timber was sacrilege. The utter decadence of furniture design, as of all other branches of artistic effort, is aptly summed up in the ever-reproachful term, " Early Victorian." I have refrained from elaborate descriptions of various pieces of furniture as being unnecessarily difficult to follow. 122 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. and involving the use of technical terms which would hardly be understood. The illustrations will be more enlightening, and periods are roughly indicated so far as it is General ^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ P^^, these illustrations I am in- debted to Messrs. W. & E. Thornton-Smith and Messrs. Gill & Reigate. These are not, of course, the only firms who deal in old furniture, but it would be impossible to illustrate specimens from even a tithe of the well-known dealers. Moreover, old furniture cannot be dealt with like modern furniture, where many pieces of one pattern are made and stocked. .Specimens can only be secured as they come into the market, though the dealers are always on the look-out, of course, for pieces to purchase. One must buy, therefore, as one can, and it is only possible to indicate types. Messrs. Gill & Reigate have a well-established reputation for old furniture, and they also specialise in reproductions of fine old pieces that pass through their hands. I invited Messrs. W. & E. Thornton-Smith to furnish the other illustrations, for another but important reason. The difficulty with which so many have hitherto had to contend has been not so much their lack of knowledge on the subject as the means by which to procure really genuine pieces at a price which is within their means, however slender those may be, and it is with regard to this large and growing demand that Messrs. Thornton-Smith conduct the policy of their business. In their show-rooms all the pieces are shown in the same condition in which they have been collected from all parts of the country, with that polish and outline only produced by years of daily use. Sometimes there may be a piece of moulding missing, or an old covering worn to ribbons. Their policy is one of a large turnover, with small profits ; exceedingly moderate prices are asked, prices which in many instances are far below that which the modern counterpart of these antique models would cost to produce, such as a " Chippendale" mahogany chest of drawers at ;^3, Cromwellian oak tables for a similar amount, and a representative range of everything which one may require at a correspondingly small price. Also (and this is of equal importance to those whose appreciation is great, but whose knowledge is limited) discrimination and insight is used in the selection of the OLD FURNITURE. 123 articles. Whether one is looking at a unique cabinet, a rare set of chairs, or a simple chest or mirror, everywhere there is the impression of uniform care and selection, everything is good of its particular kind, everything has the obvious stamp and appearance of being genuine, and nowhere does one see an old piece of simple lines and construction defaced by modern carving and embellishments. Messrs. Thornton-Smith, as well as Messrs. Gill & Reigate, deal in the accessories of old furniture, as old china, glass, brassware, and reproductions of old fabrics best suited to set off the old pieces. CHAPTER V. MODERN FURNITURE. In the introductory notes reference was made to the eclectic basis upon which modern design in furniture was founded, and how, in the absence of any definite or guiding Design" tradition, each designer selected his own standpoint and worked upon that. It may be necessary, to make matters clearer, to examine this statement a little more closely. It was pointed out that even William Morris was forced to recognise the necessity of an eclectic basis in modern design, owing to the failure of previous traditions. Thus design now proceeds more or less on the personal predilections of the designers, who select those forms or motives that seem to them most beautiful, suitable, or commercially profitable. Unfortunately it is not always remembered that there are other factors to be considered, even though design is, for the time being, freed from the trammels and conditions of a continuing style. Thus to achieve an artistic result, a piece of furniture must, apart from abstract questions of beauty and style, be suitable in form and arrangement for its purpose and use, and it must be designed and constructed with a due recognition and appreciation of the possibilities and limitations of the material of which it is made. Modern designers are sometimes apt to lose sight of this fact. We have those who are content to reproduce the achieve- ments of past masters in the art of cabinet-making ; those who are endeavouring to modify and improve the old articles ; and those who have cut adrift from all previous work, and are endeavouring to produce something entirely novel from their inner consciousness. This last is one of the most difficult tasks that mortal man ever set himself to accomplish ; and not a few people hold that it cannot be done, and that no man, however inventive he may be, can produce anything that is not 124 DRESSER, with 4 ft. gate-leg, extending to 6 ft. ; oals, fumed and waxed, /ii 6s. 8d. (IV) m*. ».,MM.t 4i m DRESSER in oak, fumed and waxed, 5 ft. 6 in. long. £1^. (IV) MODERN DINING-ROOM FURNITURE 125 SERVING TABLE in oak, inlaid with ebony and pewter. £2^. (X) THE BEDFORD" SIDEBOARD, in mahogany, with satinwood banding, 6 ft. long /"lo los (XXI) " t>> 5- X. ■ MODERN DINING-ROOM FURNITURE. 126 ,^^»#fe. MAHOGANY INLAID SUITE IN TAPESTRY. Settee, ^4 4s. ; tub chair, £z 5s. ; armchair, £z 2s. ; small chair, £i 3s. 6d. (XXI) MAHOGANY COLOURED CHAIRS. Upholstered in tapestry ; Loose seats : armchair, £\ 15s. ; small chair, igs. 6d. (XXIl LATE QUEEN ANNE SUITE, infigured English walnut, copied from old e.xample at Victoria and (VII) Albert Museum. Cost, to order, about ^35 MODERN DINING-ROOM FURNITURE 127 ARMCHAIR. (VII) MAHOGANY INLAID EXTENDING DINING TABLE From £^ iSs. 6d., according to size. MODERN DINING-ROOM FURNITURE. (XXI) I 28 FOLDING GATE-LEG TABLE IN OAK. Top measures 2 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 28s. (X) It. Ss. 6d. £\ 15s. DINING CHAIRS, in mahogany. (XXI) TWELVE-SIDED TABLE. 3 ft. 6 in. Oak, inlaid with holly and ebony. /14, (X) £^ 5S. £i 3s. (#1L' r f^^ .■■-»':k^- f ARMCHAIR. £i I2S. 6d. (XXI) MODERN FURNITURE ARMCHAIR, in tapestry, stuffed with hair. £i\ 4s. (KXI) 120 SETTEE in plain ribbed tapestry. £(> 15s. (VII SETTEE in morocco, witli spring seat, stuiied witli hair, 4 ft. 6 in. ;,{Jio 17s. 6d. (XXI '^ %%. .«>tt, .;?-.t» ^»rt'.» JJt«» .*>;*, *^ft^ .5r««!ilW* ►x" »«<, «>: •,ij '* V»* *** **'* *** . *** *'* i*-* I ••*' SETTEE, witli adjustable ends, covered in tapestry, 5 ft. 6 in. £b 155 (XXI MODERN SETTEES. SETTEE, /6 183. 6d. SMALL OVAL TABLE, £i I2S. 6d. ARMCHAIR (upholstered in silk), £i ys. 6d. (XVI) OVAL BACK CHAIR, £2 l8s. 6d. CIRCULAR PEDESTAL TABLE, £l 5S. CHINA CABINET, ^15 I5S. BUREAU, £y iSs. 6d. Hand-painted and inlaid satinwood pieces. (XVI) MODERN DRAWING-ROOM FURNITURE OF ANTIQUE DESIGN. 131 < ^ LU CC LU O O 132 MODERN FURNITURE. 133 consciously or unconsciously based on some motive in the productions of previous ages. The striving after a new expression or a new style, both in architecture and the arts, has been going on now for many years ; but very little result is to be seen for such an expenditure of effort, and what little has been done is far from satisfactory when judged by the usual standards. The attempt to be original at all costs has led many designers into regrettable extravagances, and this pursuit of the will-of-the-wisp of art has not only had a baneful nginaiity: ^ff^^^^ ^p^j^ modern furniture, but it has blinded its Desirable and . . ^ ' Otherwise. Victims to the possible and legitimate outlets for their inventive faculties, such as the invention of new pieces of furniture to meet modern necessities and require- ments, and the improvement of old patterns to bring them in line with modern ideas. I might refer to the handy American kitchen cabinet for small houses. As another instance, con- sider the old-fashioned bureau, with its sloping top that lets down for writing purposes. In the old examples one had to pull out two runners or bearers for the support of the writing- flap, and if this duty were omitted there was grave danger that the flap would be broken away at the hinges, with, probably, irreparable damage. In a modern example at Messrs. Gill & Reigate's, a simple arrangement of brass levers pushes out the runners as the flap is let down, so that immediately the horizontal position is reached the flap is properly supported. This mechanism at present seems a little in the way, but doubtless before long will be further improved. Then one might refer to the combination furniture, the combination of dressing-table, washstand, and chest of drawers, or, "the dressing chest," combining dressing-table and chest of drawers, necessitated by the small and poky bedrooms which architects and builders too often inflict upon us. Or reference might be made to the suites of furniture which Messrs. Wallace & Co. have designed for small bedrooms at a garden city, where the furniture had to be devised for a room 11 ft. by 10 ft, with a double or twin bedstead ; or to the " Chameleon " suite of Messrs. Oetzmann & Co., Ltd., which has been devised to meet the needs of the " bachelor " girl, or " daughter of the house," who with one room of her own does not care to be 134 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. perpetually reminded that it is a bedroom as well as a sitting- room. These examples may not in their expression or invention be evidence of the highest artistic aspirations, but they meet very definite and legitimate human necessities, the fulfilment of which is the very foundation of artistic effort. I have adduced these few items as examples of commendable originality ; but the originality that has been most in evidence in the modern arts and crafts movement has been a desperate endeavour to clothe old articles in new forms, generally with most disastrous results to their practical utility, and dubious eftect in the matter of abstract beauty. One is reminded of the retort of a celebrated painter, one of whose pupils left him to join a very " advanced " school of painting. After several months' absence the pupil turned up again, and was asked what he had learnt while away. " Ah, I have learnt to paint trees properly ; to paint them with up-strokes of the brush instead of down." " I am glad you haven't wasted your time," observed his old master, grimly. The weakness of the wildly original school is their want of a definite starting point. They have not taken the old eighteenth century traditions and evolved anything new out of them ; they do not make a fresh start with the simplest and most direct expression of fundamental needs and requirements. Their mission seems to be to make complex the already com- plicated, to make complicated the simple and straightforward, and to make everything very expensive. In view of the eclectic basis of design this is solely a matter for them and their admirers ; but their irritating, if human, insistance that they alone are working on legitimate and artistic lines inevitably forces an attention to their work which would otherwise attract no more than good-humoured toleration. It may be useful to touch briefly on some of the woods used for modern furniture. The number is very large, even excluding those used for inlay and marqueterie. Woods Mahogany is still very largely used, though there is mahogany and mahogany, and a good deal of poor stuff is worked up into " Chippendale " coloured furniture, where its defects are not perhaps so noticeable. Basswood, birch, pine, and elm have been used for bedroom furniture, also ash and hazelwood. Satinwood drawing-room furniture has become MODERN FURNITURE. 135 prominent again, and walnut is still very largely used. I think walnut should either be left unpolished or only dull-polished ; walnut with the usual high polish gives one of the most unpleasant muddy colours it is possible to conceive. Messrs. Heal & Son are using among other woods chest- nut and a finely-figured brown mahogany, which they call " Colonial " mahogany, and which is, I believe, of African origin. Some special pieces of furniture have been carried out in elm, sycamore, "silver grain," and yew. Oak of various shades, either unpolished, polished, or fumed and polished, is largely used ; also burr oak and pollard oak. These figured oaks want careful handling, or the effect will be the reverse of artistic. I saw a pollard oak bedroom suite a short time since that was unspeakably hideous. The silver-grey oak is a very beautiful wood, and has been largely used for inlaid pieces, boxwood, holly, and ebony being the favourite woods for the inlaying. The humble and useful deal is, of course, largely used, and I think much might be done in cheap furniture of good outline, with deal stained dark brown and dull polished, not in imitation of any other wood, but aiming at a rich decorative colour that is not easily discoloured. Teak, jarrah, and other hard woods have been employed to a small extent for furniture, but their hardness probably militates against a very extensive use for the purpose. This short, but by no means complete, list will show that the modern cabinet-maker is prepared to use a wide range of timbers to get certain colours and effects ; and it will be apparent that the careful selection of figured wood, and good seasoning, and appreciation of colour effect, have a great deal to do with the production of successful furniture. Whether one should buy furniture in suites is a moot point. It has become customary to manufacture suites for dining- rooms, drawing-rooms, and bedrooms, and custom Suites ^^^ become a little arbitrary. For drawing-rooms suites are undesirable, especially the cheap and spidery Louis Quinze concoctions, comprising a couch, two arm, and six ordinary chairs, which are so much to the fore in the credit furnishers. But in any room the furniture, in point of colour and period, should match, and there are certain points 136 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. in which similarity is advisable. For instance, in dining-rooms it is very desirable that all the ordinary chairs should match ; odd chairs would very much detract from the appearance of the room. But it is unnecessary that the carving or turning on the chairs should be reproduced on the table, on the sideboard or dresser, and on the dinner wagon. One may quite reasonably choose articles in the same wood and finish, and of the same period in point of style, without slavish adherence to details. In the drawing-room even more latitude is allowed ; all periods and styles are intermixed. French pier tables, "Dutch" cabinets, " Sheraton " tables, and " Chippendale " chairs, jostle cheek by jowl, plain furniture beside elaborate marqueterie work, and so on. Now with modern furniture I think this is a mistake. Old furniture possesses a glamour from its mellow- ness and surface that new articles do not possess, but I question whether even this mixing of old furniture of all periods, styles, and colours is quite satisfactory. For one thing, mixtures prevent one establishing anything of a colour scheme ; the rooms have an unsettled and "bitty" appearance, there is no general coherence and atmosphere, and each article vies with its neighbour to attract attention. It is notorious that this effect is dear to many English minds, that the appearance of our streets, where each owner strives to erect a facade that shall kill all the other houses, and secure all the attention, is upheld by artists as picturesque, possessing character and interest — qualities they say that are entirely absent in foreign streets where the buildings are of uniform design. This is not evidence of artistic Avisdom so much as of an aggressive trait in the English character. Capable architects have shown that they can design streets of houses, where all the houses differ, and yet all have a harmonious feeling and a similar value in effect. It is also quite a British characteristic to argue from one extreme to the other, and to say if you cannot have the present jumble in our street architecture, you must have the monotony of the Parisian boulevard, or the dreary sameness of suburban villas. Similarly, the lover of the old-fashioned garden, where all sorts of plants are set in the same bed, will admit no other possible arrangement than the one he employs, or the planting out in stiff geometrical patterns so popular fifty years ago. MODERN FURNITURE. 137 Whereas it is possible to arrange beds of one plant, where their colour, form, and scent can be more readily seen and appreciated, and where the conditions of position, soil, and treatment can be made more suitable to the particular plant than when it is set haphazard among a lot of other plants, requiring varying soils and treatment to obtain the finest results. Apply these principles to furniture, and I think you have a strong case against indiscriminate mixtures. The matter of bedroom suites is dealt with later. A class of furniture about which one must be circumspect are the "stuff-overs," comprising saddlebag suites, Chesterfields, and some patterns of easy-chair. The plush saddle- " stuff = r y r overs " ^^S suites, a prominent exhibit at the cheap and nasty shops, are quite hideous, and no amount of trouble over a room will ever eliminate their evil influence. Velvet upholstered pieces also want to be chosen with care ; there should not be too much of the velvet. Velvet cushions to berg^re chairs and " show-wood " settees, and on reproductions of old Jacobean pieces, look very well, but with these sufficient wood is seen to give the structure of the article, and to tone down the richness of the cushion coverings. The modern hard-faced art tapestries make excellent and hard-wearing covering materials, and afford much assistance to the decorator. The big-roll backs and sides on Chesterfield couches and easy-chairs often make them appear clumsy and out of pro- portion, although they are extremely comfortable The Passing ^^ ^j^ -^^ ^^ ^ ^.^j^^ Sufficient attention is not given, when designing them, to the fabric with which they are to be covered. The difference in proportion and appearance between such articles when covered with plush or tapestry and when covered with leather is very striking. The close smooth surface to the leather invariably gives a neat and trim effect. Moreover, Chesterfields with the big rolls require a large room, or they are apt to be oppressive. Small varieties about five feet long are made with one end to lower, but it would be preferable in most cases to get a good seven-foot settee as a comfortable couch or sofa. The gradual disappearance of the late Victorian sofa is a matter of con- gratulation. A couch should of all things be comfortable, but M Wicker and 138 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. on the convex slippery seat of this article one insidiously progressed either into the hard and knobby back, or off the seat on to the floor. Wicker and bamboo furniture is cheap, but not very satis- factory in wear, and cheap wicker easy-chairs soon work out of shape, and lose their proper centre of gravity. The creaking and groaning noise made when they P ^^. are sat in is also an objection, especially in a bedroom, the room of all others in which they are most frequently to be found. Moreover, the cushion-pads and tasselled draperies with which many of them are covered, soon become dirty and disreputable, and are not easy to replace. From bamboo canes are made many articles, like fancy tables, flower stands, etc., which are more or less trash. Bamboo tables with lacquered tops are not calculated to assist any decorative scheme, and I would recommend that both wicker and bamboo articles be excluded, except for garden use — in summer-houses or verandahs. A wicker basket for dirty clothes is permissible, but soiled underwear should be at once removed from bedrooms, and kept in some convenient basket or cupboard, ready for the laundry. As regards cost, a good substantial wicker chair cannot be procured retail under about nine to fifteen shillings, whereas Messrs. Oetzmann stock a cheap line in easy-chairs, covered in tapestry, at ten shillings and sixpence. It is true the frame is deal, and the legs are only stained, but for appear- ance and comfort the wicker article cannot compare with it. The cheap wicker articles sold by travelling hawkers are always to be avoided. It will probably be the most satisfactory method of con- sidering modern furniture, if we take the rooms of a house one by one, and consider what can be put in them, dealing first with the necessities, and then with I, . . . the luxuries. The curse of the averare household Furnishing. » is a superabundance of furniture, much of which is rarely, if ever, used, but having attracted the owner's fancy, is bought with small regard to the capacity of the dwelling, or its practical value as a comfort and convenience in the home. Furnishing should not be done hurriedly; to those about to The House MODERN FURNITURE. 139 furnish, second thoughts may be urged and commended. To the majority, furnishing is a sufficiently formidable matter, from the financial point of view, but this fact rarely deters people from spending much money in the acquisition of extra and entirely unnecessary articles when they need the cash for the unremembered "extras," the importance and necessity of which are known only to those who have been through the ordeal of furnishing. Everything depends on the size of the hall, whether it is a room, a glorified passage, or a common or "garden" passage. As this is the first part of the house that greets the visitor's eye, it should be bright and cheerful, but in the majority of cases the wall-paper, floor covering, and paint must be relied upon to give this effect. A large roomy hall should have several chairs and a table, a bureau for writing hasty notes, messages, or replies to telegrams is also useful. A hall-stand for coats and hats, usually combined with an umbrella stand, is generally considered necessary. If the house is large enough to have a roomy entrance-hall, it will generally have a separate cloakroom as well, and the hall-stand will not be required. This is all to the good, for the majority of hat and coat stands are deplorably ugly, and the hats and coats hanging upon them contribute to the general unsightliness. A small plain wardrobe or cupboard forms the best hall fixture, for it keeps the coats, etc., out of sight, and prevents the accumu- lation of dust on them. On another ground the hall-stand is undesirable, as the presence of hats, coats, and umbrellas is an incentive to thieves to call, and run off with anything in reach, while the servant is carrying some false or trivial message to her master or mistress. A large hall may be furnished, then, in the manner of a small sitting-room, and it forms a very useful waiting-room for strangers and others whom it is not necessary or desirable to admit to the sitting-rooms, but whom it is equally undesirable, or inhospitable, to keep waiting outside the door. As a rule oak furniture is most in request for halls, and for a large hall a small oak bureau, a gate-leg table, an oak-cased grandfather clock, two or three ladder-back chairs with rush seats, or a grandfather chair or two if there is a fireplace, or an I40 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. oak high-back settle in place of the chairs would look well. A simple oak-framed mirror is a necessary addition, if only for the benefit of the women folks, and a card-tray, which should be placed conveniently for visitors when leaving. In large town houses some suitable cupboard for the butler's or footman's use should also be provided, to contain the small roll of red carpet for pavement use, the basket wheel-guard, the carriage umbrella to protect carriage visitors in rainy weather on entering and leaving, and other oddments. A small bracket in the hall or porch is also useful as a place for cab and police whistles, and matches, which smokers will find useful. In large town houses, where there are many callers, it is often customary to have a desk with pen and ink for the visitors' book. The necessity for this and other articles of a special character can only be judged by the individual circumstances. The latch-key has practically done away with the necessity for the old hall-porter's chair, in which the faithful servitor used to doze until the return of his master and mistress. An antique specimen is, however, shown among the illustrations of old furniture (see p. 95). With the small passage hall it is not what one would, but what one can, do. A seat is always desirable, and a coat and hat stand, which in a narrow passage is better arranged for by a row of pegs, coat pegs and hat pegs alternating. Small umbrella stands made of brass rods with tray can be had from 6s. upwards, and there are many cheaper varieties in existence. The heavy and ornate cast-iron abominations should be tabooed, also the very brilliant and highly orna- mented earthenware drain-pipe varieties. The items mentioned are necessities ; nothing else should be put in to crowd up the space. Make a clean sweep of antlers, spears, assegais, shields, and all the other miscellaneous animal relics and weapons of warfare which can never properly be seen, and which make an already small and poky place appear more crowded and more stuffy. Avoid elaborate pictures, as they cannot well be seen ; some of the bright-coloured simple Japanese prints, studies of a couple of ducks, birds in flight, or fishes, the message of which can easily be grasped, will be most suitable. Let the picture be of a decorative rather than a pictorial character. Hall-stands vary in price from about i8s. 6d. to several MAHOGANY INLAID SHERATON LIBRARY CHAIR, in striped tabourette, £i 2S. 6d. BOOKCASE, 2 ft. 6 in. to 5 ft. wide, prices from .^i 15s. to £1 15s- (XVI) ^ SIMPLE BOOKCASE, in oak, walnut, or (XVI) mahogany, 3 ft. wide, £\ is. OAK GATE-LEG' .TABLE open, 6 ft. by 4 ft :f2 15s. (XXI) BUREAU BOOKCASE, in oali or inlaid mahogany, £'i 12s. 6d. (XVI) MODERN FURNITURE. SHERATON BOOKCASE, in mahogany inlaid, 4 ft. wide, £'] 15s. 141 CHAIR (upholstered in silk), £i gs. 6d. CHINA CABINET, £i igs. 6d. ARMCHAIR (upholstered in silk), £^ los. 7-OCTAVE PIANOFORTE, full trichord, /iS los. PEDESTAL, 39s. 6d SETTEE (in silk). ;^7 i8s. Od. TEAPOY on tripod Stand, 6s. gd. CABINET, ^4 5S, OVAL OCCASIONAL TABLE, £l 5S. 6d. THREE-FOLD SCREEN (with silk panels), ^4 iSs. 6d. MAHOGANY INLAID MODERN "SHERATON' DRAWING-ROOM FURNITURE. (XVI) 142 SUSSEX SETTEE. 4 ft. 6 in. long, in black, £\ 153. ROUND SEAT CHAIR IN BLACK, lOS. 6d. SUSSEX SINGLE CHAIR IN BLACK, 7S. THE SUSSEX RUSH-SEATED CHAIRS. Designed sy WiLLlAM MORRIS, after the Original Antique Pattern. (XV) 143 -^ . < -a I O I Z 3 5 O ■; I- - < T3 q:: ■5 UJ CO >, - ^ z ? E I c 111 o O 144 t^MJ i f^y V SJ ^ tu rr ^ D ■i:^ 1- •rl ^ 0) rr 1 LL >^ c V rf rr n < en ri m :8 O CO Q 145 Inlaid with boxwood, holly, and ebony. Armour bri.ght «Tou,ght steel fittings ■OAK PORTFOLIO CABINET. Designed by F, L. GriGGS. (IX) Price on application. 145 «^^ WRITING CABINET in oak, with bright iron fittings. Price on application (IX) CABINET, in oak, with armour bright fittings. 4 ft. wide, BOOKCASE, in fumed oak, inlaid with ebony and pewter. £12. (IX) 5 ft- high. l2\. (IX) 147 PIANOFORTE in Chippendale style, mahogany case, with inlaid boxwood lines. (Ill) GRAND PIANO, Sheraton style, inlaid with Tunbridge ware lines and satinwood flutings. Prices on application. (Ill) „ 14b MODERN FURNITURE. 149 pounds. The majority are badly designed, because the pegs are arranged over each other, thus piling the coats up so that they bulge out, or cover up the umbrella receptacle. The best stand I have seen for some time is a simple box-like structure, with the coat and hat pegs fixed on either side. At the top in the centre is a locker for brushes, etc. Below it is a mirror, set back, and underneath that a shelf for letters, etc. At the bottom is the umbrella-stand. This is good, but it might be improved by making the top a hat cup- board. This would be specially useful in small passage halls. The hall-stand usually provides a shelf for letters, and a drawer or locker for the hat and coat brushes. A clock is always a useful piece of furniture in a hall, and a barometer often finds a place. The old clumsy type of barometer takes up a lot of space as a rule, and is not remarkably beautiful. The small, neat aneroid barometers, about the size of a watch, are much to be preferred. On the number of sitting-rooms in a house, and their purpose, will depend very much the furnishing of each. Thus, one might have a sitting- or living-hall, a '"^' dining-room, a drawing-room, a breakfast-room, rooms ° . Ill • Generally. ^ mornmg-room, a study or library, a music-room, and a boudoir in one house. The treatment of such rooms will necessarily differ from those in a smaller house containing only a few of those rooms, as the separate facilities afforded by the rooms with the large house must be more or less combined or concentrated in the lesser number of rooms in the smaller house. I have omitted the billiard- room from the above list, because it is hardly to be classed as a sitting-room. In the large house the dining-room would be furnished simply for its special purpose as a room for dining ; in the smaller house its function as a sitting-room must also be considered. In the large house, again, the drawing-room would simply be used for receptions and ceremonial purposes, and if a music-room were already provided (it usually opens out of the drawing-room), would not even include a piano in its furniture. In the small house the drawing-room is not only the apartment set apart for receptions, but it also forms the music-room and the principal sitting-room. The living-hall in the modern house usually ISO THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. forms the only sitting-room ; frequently it is used as the dining place also ; and, sometimes, a separate dining-room and study are provided. In the average suburban villa all the various functions will have to be performed in two rooms. It will be seen that the problem of furnishing sitting-rooms differs very much according to the number of such apartments in the house ; I have, therefore, drawn up a few tables show- ing the principal articles of furniture in the sitting-rooms of houses of varying size. PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FURNITURE IN A HOUSE WITH TWO SITTING-ROOMS ONLY. Sitting-room. Dining-room. I. Piano. I. Dresser or sideboard. 2. Music stool. 2. Four or six chairs. S- Music cabinet. ^■ "Jacobean" gate - leg or 4- Bureau. " Sesame " table. S- Two easy-chairs. 4- Two easy-chairs (if space 6. Chesterfield or settee. permits). 7- Card table. s- Couch or settee (if space 8. Occasional table (if space permits). permits). 6. Dinner wagon (seldom re- 9. Palm stand (if permits). space quired). 10. Screen (if needed). PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FURNITURE IN A HOUSE WITH THREE SITTING-ROOMS. Dining-room. 1. Sideboard. 2. Extending table. 3. Six chairs and two carv- ing chairs. 4. Dinner wagon or serving table. 5. Two easy-chairs. Drawing-room. 1. Piano. 2. Music stool. 3. Music cabinet. 4. Couch or settee. 5. Twoorthreeeasy-chairs. 6. Card table. 7. Dwarfbookoase (if space permits). 8. Two or three ordinary chairs. Study or Library. Writing desk or table. Two or three easy-chairs. Bookcase or fixed shelving. Couch. One or two ordinary chairs. MODERN FURNITURE. 151 o ^ < H •z O U w o w o -'» 0) _c . C 0) d 1 — t n d -O '•B 'd -a d rt , p >. d' appea htne usual urnitu B ft 2 a d rH 1^ e% ^1 -J 00 S' CD ^B t>~ >..2 d-o 0) Qj 5 ^ 1"^ I. E o OJ u ■ >>, :o's^ Q D H w e^ D IS H t-H Pi 3 s D fT, to (/I « W H-1 z u ■5 t--l H « Pi U <; hj „ H r^ is'^ j3 m -" d lU oo^S-t^^ji 5e<2 55 d-sa oiS d XI J3 _5i d in"^ Its 9 OJ ^^^5 ' '3 B d m „iue.rd-«o™-«ai>dd d-a 3 ... B B CD d :_ g O 3 -Sxl O ii en £^ ^^ CD " ,^ d ^^ -w Tj " d - ft ^ en v-' d CD 1-1 •-. 3 T3 CD 2 en O ^ ^^ . 2 - B --^ P -H rt en X &;3 >, B eu eu O cu ^^^ Tn d ^-J -^ ^ CD en en . ^ en -3 O ° ^ " ^j " .9 G Slip's 2'S — • d £«S 3 3 3 £0 '^S'OS d ;i3 ^ d B J3 d.ii ""^ ID d a, XI in i! .ti .ti ■"^ingog-cD t3i3d-;;^d o-S-2 d o'S CD o §,9x-n^ o S3 „d-s^cOd^-t.S3dMrt"-S fe en -M X \':A' ^ CD hjO ^.^' ^W d >> 3 d , en S S3 d 13 d 3 pood > en _0 HH •_^ TD rt CD " en c CD o d en d ^ l-i O u, nox o •-' X So ■ 3gJ IT, -M ^&-^ 5b3;2 ° CD P fi'o. 00 (=- rt O p 'O ti-0 1-1 c .X H CD +-'»-< ^ 'cp t^ 3 I" ' J3 M -M en ; p G 3 J n3 '^ ^ 'oj 1,13 • □ "X B « t: ; en--.S j; ft O ^3 . 152 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. The Victorian architect always placed the dining-room in a less favourable position as regards light and sun than the drawing- room. There is a good deal to be said for keeping rooms ^ dining-room away from the noonday heat. Eating in hot weather is always a tax on one's energies, and a cool dining-room is then conducive to appetite. But this should not also imply a limitation of light. A dark dining- room is depressing. The Victorians usually made it more so by the schemes of decoration they favoured for it. Very dark green or very dark red were colours largely employed, more often than not because these colours formed suitable back- grounds for the gilt-framed oil paintings. For that was another tenet of Victorian decoration — oil paintings in the dining-room, engravings or water-colours in the drawing- room. These are now traditions of the past. The modern art critic having persuaded us that modern " masters " are mostly rubbish, and that the majority of the available old " masters " are forgeries, those who could buy have given up pur- chasing either, and content themselves with engravings, which, whether of old or modern pictures, involve but a fraction of the cost. It is impossible to say which is the more hideous, the average dining-table or the cloth which usually obscures it. Why householders should consider it necessary to „*"'"^ drape their festive boards with the atrocious chenille Tables. f ... ... ^ and tapestry abommations which pass muster lor table-covers is beyond comprehension, but possibly it arises out of the defects of the table itself. Nearly all the extending tables have a bare forlorn look to the eye, and no doubt the desire to get rid of the expanse of the bare board leads to the employment of the questionable cover ; for the ordinary table is usually too broad in comparison with its length, and only becomes proportionate when fully extended and with all its spare leaves. Yet if you question the average housewife, she will tell you that the cover is required to prevent the top getting scratched or marked by the vases or flower-pots placed upon it. One would imagine there would be little concern at the scratching of a table top that was perpetually invisible, but all danger might be obviated by using a table centre, which is much more artistic in appearance, and, although breaking up PIANOFORTE, mahogany case, inlaid; interior of hollywood. Designed av c. R. AsHBEE. (Price On application.) (HI) GRAND PIANOFORTE case of light oak, with panelled sides; pedal lyre and music-rest of beaten iron. Designed by E. 'l. Lutyens. (Price on application.) (Ill) 153 PIANOFORTE ,„ rosewood case, /.S :8s. PIANOFORTE, in oak case. Old English ''y'e. ^31 ic 154 3HSTAND, 3 ft 6 in., in oaV, £3 los- WASHSTAND, 2 ft. 9 i"-. i" °ak, inlaid, with cistern and copper bowl. WARDROBE, in BEDROOM FURNITURE. (IX) dark oali, bright steel fittings. £22. 155 WARDROBE, in oak, £17 10 Designed bv GILBERT OGILVY. J3 .5 -a ' .a .2 * ° Q - ?o CO z o Q q: < o o T3 C W3 G rt QJ ro ;a "> V "^ ii 0-) Q XI Z £ < 1- m O d ^ '" ^ Q O v- tr ■ < a aSi ta y. a: LU fT -d CO rr I 1- -) o OJ m H o'-w > o Z en ir UJ 1- c u. _) < 7 — u S rt O Q q: < T3 ^ o ^ '6 Q <) III CO CQ 1 68 SUITE, in fumed oak; hanging wardrobe, 2 ft. 6 in. wide, with mirror door; toilet table, 2 ft. 6 in. ; washstand with marble top and curtain back ; one cane-seated chair. £^ 5s. (XXI) SUITE, in mahogany, with fancy chequer inlay : hanging wardrobe, 3 ft. wide ; toilet table, 2 ft. 9 in. washstand, 2 ft. 6 in., with marble top and brass towel rails ; one cane-seated chair. £S i8s. 6d. (XXI) BEDROOM FURNITURE. i6g BRASS BEDSTEAD Price from £6 7s. 6d. , according to size. (XXh SUITE, in mahogany, with satinwood inlay ; 4 ft. wardrobe, 3 ft. 6 in. \vashstand,3 ft. 6 in. dressing table. BEDROOM FURNITURE. (XXI) 170 jTOILET TABLE, 3 ft. 6 in. wide, with adjustable octagonal mirror. In oak, slightly inlaid. £(>. TOILET TABLE, 3 ft. 6 in. wide. Circular swing mirror. lb 6s. WASHSTANDS. (Prices on application.) BEDROOM FURNITURE. (X) 171 TOILET TABLE, in oak, iron handles, 3 it. wide. ^4 5S- WASHSTAND, in Oak. 3 ft. wide, with tiled top and back. £^ los. WARDROBE. 6 ft. wide. Centre fitted drawers and trays, two side wings fitted as hanging spaces. In oak, £2^ ; Colonial mahogany, ;^26. BEDROOM FURNITURE (X) 17^ MODERN FURNITURE. 173 to be useful for the women of the household. Library furniture is usually rather heavy and sombre ; though these qualities are not inseparable from literature or The Morning, sty^y, and, with the wall decoration, carpets and Libr rv hangings should have their part in lightening the general scheme. As a rule easy chairs in a library are too easy ; they induce somnolence rather than study. A good writing-table or desk is one of the principal items in the room ; the nature of the owner's work will, as a rule, dictate the form it should take. For ordinary corre- spondence, etc., one of the late eighteenth century patterns will look well ; for literary work one of the roll top desks is useful, because such work is subject to interruption, and it is then advantageous to be able to shut the papers up secure from interruption ; but for compiling work, or any work involving the occasional use of bundles of papers or drawings, as in the case of a solicitor or an architect, a large flat pedestal or other table is a necessity. It is desirable that no book- case should be acquired or shelving put up that has shelves which cannot easily be reached from the floor. The dwarf bookcase has made rapid strides in favour, and even when shelving is specially set up, it is invariably kept within arm's reach, unless space is very limited. The library lined with books from floor to ceiling sounds picturesque and inviting, but is irritating in use. There are, however, chairs so made as to be easily convertible into steps sufficiently tall for reaching the top shelves if the room is not too high ; but even then the trouble of hauling a heavy chair round a room is an inevitable duty. Moreover, with old people all steps and other con- trivances are to be avoided. If shelving is provided, the lower part should project sufficiently to accommodate the largest books, and the top of this projecting part forms a useful rest for books that are being temporarily consulted. An adjustable bookrest is a useful addition to a library, as it enables one to read heavy volumes in comfort without having to hold them. The sectional bookcases that have been largely advertised are useful devices to meet the needs of a growing library. Book- cases or shelving should be fitted with well-fitting glass doors to exclude dust. This provision reduces the work of cleaning very considerably. 174 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. The sitting-hall, though a comparative innovation in minor domestic architecture, does not require anything exceptional in the way of furniture. It is equivalent to the one 1 ing- sj(-j;ij|g_i-oom in a flat, and in the main lines it ing-room. should have easy, comfortable and substantial fur- niture. If it be used also for meals, this phase of its utility should not be indicated more than can be helped. A dresser should take the place of the sideboard, a gate-leg table the place of an ordinary extending table ; and, as these rooms are large ones, four or six dining-chairs can usually be distributed about the room without giving it too much the character of a dining-room. In some of the "advanced art" living-halls a dining recess is arranged, with a fixed wooden seat arranged round three sides of the table. Seats on the fourth side are furnished by a form, to be used by the children of the house. Ihese fixed arrangements must be very awk- ward ; for slim, ^Esthetic people they may answer, for stout people they must be very troublesome. Moreover, everyone must sidle round the table to get into their places, and, once in, cannot get out without disturbing everyone else. A better arrangement is a dining recess large enough to hold a table and seats as independent items. This could be curtained off while the servant was preparing the table. The breakfast-room does not materially differ in its ap- pointments from a dining-room ; but the provision of what is practically a second dining-room is a foolish Breakfast- • way of using up one's apartments. It is not very easy for an architect to arrange more than one room in close proximity to the kitchen and the pantry, so that meals may be quickly and expeditiously served ; con- sequently, the breakfast-room is an odd apartment into which the morning sun may shine, it is true, but where the food, owing to the distance from the kitchen, is half cold. The open-air breakfast-room facing east or south-east is a new feature in modern houses ; it may be a verandah or stoep arranged on those sides of a house, or a detached garden house connected by a corridor. The furniture in the open-air room will be quite simple — a table and a few chairs, with the addition of a dresser. The furnishing of the billiard-room is simple : furniture is MODERN FURNITURE. 175 rather in the way than otherwise, and only just the requisite pieces should be introduced. A good billiard-room has to be built ; ordinary rooms, even if of the requisite di- The Billiard- _• ^ \.j.^i lu. mensions, are not easy to adapt. There should be room. . ^ .. . '- a raised dais, on which comfortable leather-covered settees or billiard seats are placed for the benefit of those watching the play. These are sometimes arranged in an ingle recess. A handy seat on either side of the table is required for the player who happens to be out of play. The rest of the furniture will be supplied by the billiard firm, consisting of the table, the scoring board and the cue rack, and cabinet for the balls, etc. If snooker is played there will be an additional scoring board, and extra accom- modation for the balls. A smoker's cabinet and a small cupboard for "drinks" may be necessary; though billiard- rooms are usually planned in proximity to the butler's pantry. Billiard-table manufacturers are only just beginning to realise that the public is tiring of mahogany and bulbous legs. Great strength is required in the legs because of the weight ; but a little more refinement in the lines would be perfectly feasible without endangering the stability. Rich men have always been able to have tables built to a special design, but there is no adequate reason why one should not be able to buy tables of oak, mahogany, or any other substantial wood in various styles, without incurring the expense of having a table specially built. Oak panelled billiard-rooms are becoming so common that one ought to be able to buy an oak table to harmonise without incurring a greatly increased cost. Billiard tables with movable tops for dining purposes have also been devised for houses without billiard-rooms ; and various sized tables, costing from ^5 upwards, are obtainable — although a good player will invariably refuse to play on any table that is not regulation size. Good playing means long training of the nerves, muscles, and perceptive faculties, and these instinctive impressions cannot be suddenly altered or amended to suit the exigencies of a table. Thus the owner of a " three-quarter " table must confine his contests to ttie " three-quarter " table. Billiards is an excellent game, but the cost of the apparatus and the space taken up by it mean a heavy expenditure of money. 176 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. Boudoir furniture will be that of a small sitting-room, and should include two or three easy and other chairs, an occasional table, a small bureau or writing table, a settee Boudoir ^°"S enough and large enough to afford a comfortable nap, and a bookcase to hold treasured volumes. A small pianoforte or pianette might be added of sufficient compass for song accompaniments. For the modern day nursery the furniture is made to child dimensions ; it is made also not to be easily upset. Low chairs, tables, &c., with legs projecting outwards should be supplied. A small wooden fence in pieces, which can be used to enclose corners, being secured by hooks to the walls, will be useful for many games. The door should be guarded by a gate with spring, as young children get into dangers and difficulties before a nurse has had " time to turn round," as the saying is. A cupboard or re- ceptacle for toys and books is desirable, also a drawer or two for bibs, table-cloth, and other articles required at meal times A high guard for the fire, and a low rocking chair are essentials ; and a screen is a useful addition. The last-named should be secured to the door-frame or wall, so that it cannot be overturned. Bearing in mind that children want plenty of room to move and run about in, too much furniture should never be put into nurseries. The night nursery will have the required number of cribs either of wood or metal, with clothes chests, &c. The suite has a much greater vogue for bedrooms than any other apartment. It consists of a wardrobe, washstand, „ ^ dressing-table or dressing; chest, with one or two Bedroom , . ^ . . ,?,.' , _ Suites. chairs, and can be obtamed from about ^4 up- wards. The larger and more expensive suites may include other articles, as a couch, a shaving table, a cheval glass, pedestal tables for the bedside, &c. The woods used for these suites are numerous ; mahogany, oak, walnut, ash, hazelwood, basswood, chestnut, pine, painted deal, are common. The wardrobes vary in size and design. The simplest kind is merely a hanging cupboard ; the addition of a drawer at the bottom marks the first advance. There are various other patterns, having one or two hanging spaces with drawers, and trays, and so on. The man's ward- MODERN FURNITURE. 177 robe usually consists of two or three large drawers with an upper cupboard containing small drawers and sliding trays. The dressing tables vary but slightly ; one type has a long cheval mirror with one long bottom drawer and a set of small drawers on either side of the glass. Another type is set up on legs from the ground, and has but two drawers for the toilette brushes, &c. ; a third type is really a chest of drawers with a mirror fixed on the top, and perhaps one or two small drawers. The last is the article now known as the dressing- chest. The towel-horse, that rather inconvenient article that was invariably in the way, has been superseded in the modern suites by rails fixed on the ends of the washstand. The chairs are of light make, and usually rush- or cane-seated. Tile or marble tops to washstands are highly desirable. In this respect the modern washstand is a great improve- ment on antique examples. They should also have tiled or marble backs to prevent splashes on the wall paper. The marble tops are an immense weight, however, and a con- siderable strain on the framework. Messrs. Heal and Son in some of their patterns have substituted thick sheets of plate-glass in place of marble. This permits the wood under- neath to be seen. Most modern washstands are fitted with a cupboard for the chamber utensils, and this is probably the best arrangement that can be devised. White enamelled furniture is not to be recommended. It looks very dainty and fresh when new, but quickly soils, and unless it is kept clean it looks squalid. Its principal recommendation is cheapness ; but fumed oak runs it very close. The old deal bedroom furniture, painted and grained to resemble oak, is happily dying out. In first cost it was cheap, but it quickly became dirty, and real polished wood suites are so cheap that the slight difference is more than made up for by appearance. For small bedrooms, combination furniture can be obtained where washstand and dressing-chest are combined in one piece, or a wardrobe and a chest of drawers with small book- case over form one article. Messrs. Heal and Son, who specialise in every kind of bed- room furniture and bedding, have, besides suites, a large 178 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. range of designs in oak and colonial mahogany, from which pieces can be selected to furnish a bedroom by those who object to the suite. The distinctive character and excellent workmanship of Messrs. Heal's furniture, most of which is of their own exclusive design and make, may be judged from the illustrations. The " four poster " has been condemned on hygienic grounds ; and many people carry the hygienic craze to the „ . leng^th of excluding: the wooden bedstead altogether Bedsteads. ^ ^ , ■ ■, . x,-, ,• ■ from their bedrooms. 1 thmk this is a great mistake ; first, because the hygienic advantage of metal ends over wooden ones is nil. The danger of infection or vermin lies in the bedding, and then only with dirty people. The idea that one of the modern wooden bedsteads with a spring mattress is likely to harbour vermin any more than a metal bedstead is one of those extraordinary chimeras impossible of explanation, unless it emanates from the metal bedstead trade. Fortunately, the great demand for wooden bedsteads with their usually straight and simple lines, has brought about a much needed reformation in metal bedstead design. One is no longer forced to acquire the horrible twisted and distorted abominations that Birmingham foisted upon the world until the world retorted to the detriment of Birmingham's pocket. Modern iron and brass bedsteads, with plain round and square section bars, are now obtainable everywhere. I prefer the wooden bedstead, however, because it harmonises with the other furniture, and because a mass of bright metal is rather a disturbing feature in a room. Small iron bedsteads with spring mattresses can be obtained for about 17s. to 20s., and I have seen them even cheaper at sales. Folding beds can be had for about the same money, and the cheapest fumed oak bedstead with spring mattress I have seen has been priced at i6s. i id. These are all 6 ft. by 3 ft. bedsteads. I think a length of 6 ft. 6 in. is in all cases prefer- able for beds ; a bed that is too short is terribly uncomfortable, and one can never tell when one may have to entertain a guest whose inches run above 6 feet. A square-section bar brass bedstead, 6 ft. 6 in. by 4 ft. 6 in., can be obtained for about j^6 IDS. to ^7. An iron bedstead, same size, with plain round- MODERN FURNITURE. 179 section bars, enamelled dark green, and with top rails of brass, can be obtained for about J^2 los. The double bed has given way to some extent to the French twin bedstead — which should be selected is a matter of choice. The twin bedstead in a spare room provides for the visit of a married couple, or enables a hostess to put up a couple of girl friends or sisters, or for the host to invite two mutual male friends. People differ so much as to the number and weight of blankets they require to keep them properly warm, and the twin bed has advantages in this direction. As to bedding, some people prefer feather beds, and others the hard mattress. I think the hair mattress on a spring bed- stead is the best and most useful form of bed obtainable, but this is a matter of opinion. A cheaper form of hard bedding is the flock mattress, but all bedding should be purchased from a reputable firm. Cheap flock bedding is frequently made from all kinds of filthy material, at which people would shudder if they knew its source and danger. Bedding is decidedly one of the things over which economy should not be practised. In modern houses of the better class it is becoming- customary to have dressing-rooms opening out of the bedrooms. These have a fixed lavatory basin, with hot and ' cold water laid on, and a bath. This arrangement is very luxurious and comfortable, and does away with the necessity for a washstand in the bedroom. Other dressing- rooms merely contain cupboards for clothes, a large mirror, and a few bedroom chairs. The bathroom will not, as a rule, require very much in the way of furniture ; but a good deal depends on the room itself In some bathrooms there is only space enough for Bathrooms, ^.j^^ \^2X)\ and a small passage beside it ; in others it „ ' may be a small room with a fireplace. A chair or two are always necessary ; plain chairs with cane seats are best, and they can be purchased for about 3s. 6d. apiece. If there is a lavatory basin in the room, a jack towel roller, cost from 6|d. upwards, may be fixed behind the door. A towel-drying rack, consisting of thin wood slats fitting in and radiating from a metal holder affixed to the wall is a useful fixture if space permits, and only costs a few shillings. On the i8o THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. slats the towels are hung, so that the air can reach both sides of them. Where space does not permit, a towel-rail may be fixed against the wall. A half-inch brass rail with the neces- sary brackets, 3 ft. long, would cost about 5s. ; 6 ft. long, about 7s. Brass towel-hooks are retailed at about is. 6d. a dozen for ^-in. hooks to 3s. 6d. a dozen for li-in. hooks. A sponge basket is a necessary addition, and a soap-dish ; 3s. would provide both of good quality. The wire sponge baskets hanging over the bath are, I think, best. The big sanitary firms supply all sorts of luxuries for bathrooms. Bath seats, consisting of wood seats supported by metal clips fastening over the edge of the bath, can be obtained ; they are also made with canvas strap seats. Prices range from about 3s. 6d. to^i, depending on the wood and the metal ; the expensive ones have teak seats with nickel-plated fittings. Wooden soap and brush trays, with perforated bottoms which stretch across the bath, are useful. Prices from about loid. upwards. Gratings to stand on, in various woods, cost from a few shillings up to 25s. Cork mats, of compressed cork, may be had from about 3s. upwards according to size ; ordinary cork mats consider- ably more. For fitted bathrooms, towel racks, tooth brush receptacle, glasses, sponge and soap dishes, &c., can be fixed of fine glass with nickel-plated metal fittings, &c. These are handsome but costly. In most kitchens a dresser, some shelving, a cupboard or two, and a rack for dish-covers, are included as part of the fixtures. The furniture required, therefore, will be one or more tables, and a chair or two in addition to the floor covering, the fender, fire-irons, &c. Deal tables for kitchens can be had very cheaply ; most of the furnishing drapers and ironmongers supply them. /r<1i- / -<->- -JiJ- -~t"- ' j-r- ' A"* iM. ■\r/Mi/' BEDSTEAD in chestnut or oak, with iron lath bottoms. 6 ft. in. long, various widths from 3 ft. (X) £7 to /"lo 15s. Spring bottoms extra. BEDSTEAD, in oak, walnut or mahogany, with n'on lath bottoms. Various widths from 3 ft. From (X) /6 Gs. to ^10. BEDROOM FURNITURE, I 82 BRASS BEDSTEAD. Suitable for twin bedsteads as shown. 6 ft. 6 in. by 3 ft. £2 12s. 6d. each. (XXI) SIMPLE OAK BEDSTEAD, WITH SPRING BOTTOM ON IRON FRAME. 3 ft. by 6 ft. 6 in. 323. (X) BEDROOM FURNITURE 183 TWO EXAMPLES OF FINE QUALITY TURKEY CARPETS. (XX) 184 (XX) TWO EXAMPLES OF FINE MODERN PERSIAN RUGS. (XX) 185 LEOPARD SKIN RUG. £2, to £^. ^i»Sj^._ FINE LONG FUR BEARSKIN EDGED RUG. £g to ^^20. (XVI) 186 AXMINSTER STAIR CARPET. From 4S. gd. lo 8s. 6d. per yard, according to width (XVI) '' ir^^; '• / ^"^ y :*£ ^-s" -f "Nw ( ► ..r'"* y' '', v H r^r- VJ AXMINSTER CARPET. 4s. gd. per yard. (XVI) 187 "ADAM' green design, on white ground. 31 in. cretonne, IS. 4d. per yard. Reproduction from decoration in the style of the Brothers Adam. (X) "GAUNTLET." Bright colours on a cream ground. 31 in. linen, 2s. gd. per yard. Taken from an embroidered gauntlet of early i6th century work at Victoria and Albert (X) Museum. Date, 1506. Reproduction "Chippendale" design in chintz. 32 in. wide, 2S. 4d. per yard. Reproduction of Venetian design in red, purple and green on brown. REPRODUCTIONS OF OLD FABRICS, SUITABLE AS HANGINGS WITH OLD FURNITURE, &c. (XIX) (XIX) 188 THE "ROSE" CRETONNE Designed by WILLIAM MORRIS. 36 in. wide. 4s. 5d. per yard. (XV) Old-fashioned pattern fabric, suitable for bedrooms. (X) THE "eyebRIGHT" printed cotton (blue and white). 36 in. wide. 2S. per yard. Designed by WILLIAM MORRIS. (XV) i8( % \ ^ \ % • y X '^' '^ 4 ^ # % '^ % % '^^ / ^ , f * \ % ■ \ % % ->!' '% '* ^ f ^ \ % -1^ 4 % "1* -<• > / ^v f \ '^' ^ 4 ^ '- ^^ x % ■ \ ^ ^ 4 ^ :i "MOSS ROSE TRELLIS." In pink, green and blue. 31 in. cretonne, is. yd. per yard. (X) rsHt! 6j.||.i.i> r «. M CI? ,&"■' ^i) ■if) i \% SHERATON STRIPE, with either mauve, green, or dark blue ribbons, ji in. Union linen. 2S. per yard. (X) LOUIS QUATORZE BROCADE. Design direct from Versailles. 52 in. wide. lis. 6d. per yard. (XIX) ITALIAN DESIGN BROCADE, On heavy tafiela, 5 in. wide. 5s. gd. EARLY FRENCH NEEDLEWORK on tafieta 5^ in (XIX per yard. (XiX) wide. 5s. 3d. per yard. REPRODUCTIONS OF OLD FABRICS, SUITABLE AS HANGINGS WITH OLD FURNITURE, &.C. 190 I- ^ o: CO m. .^JM<*,^ t- . o ^ o '^4tSi®i*SS^'.^isStffi,i=^r5>S'^<5Si sS 191 1 93 CHAPTER VI. CARPETS, LINOLEUMS, MATTINGS, CURTAIN FABRICS, &C. Good Oriental carpets are made by hand labour with primitive tools, and, in consequence, they take time to produce, are exceedingly durable, and never likely to become Oriental , & J ' J Carpets. ^^^^P- The traditional Turkey carpet of the latter half of the nineteenth century is well known ; its peculiar pattern motives, thick coarse pile, and restricted colouring — generally _ limited to two shades of red, two of blue, and a Turkey . . Carpets deep tone of blue-green — are familiar. Originally, however, many other colours were employed in addition, black, buff, yellow, cream, and orange-red being among them. The middle of the last century, however, saw a blight on the industry; the beautiful reds obtained from the madder root and from kermes were displaced in favour of the unstable and fiery cochineal-crimson, and the art of extracting the old dye-stuffs was lost. It is greatly to the credit of Messrs. Cardinal & Harford that their efforts were directed to, and were instrumental in, pulling the in- dustry out of the slough into which it was drifting. They set to work to revive the art of extracting old dye-stuffs, and by 1880 had succeeded in re-establishing the old colouring. This done they then set about improving the fineness in texture, approaching, in this instance, the Persian product. Fine patterns from districts farther East and from Persia were imported as models. The Turk is a reasonable and amenable individual, and under this skilful European guidance and stimulus the carpet industry has progressed amazingly. Moreover, the colourings now produced are extraordinarily delicate and beautiful, and no carpets in the English market are finer for decorative purposes. In all there are five qualities, ranging in price from us. per square yard. Turkey stair carpets Q 193 194 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. are also obtainable from 12s. to 40s. a yard, the cheaper price being for 27 in. width. Turkey rugs vary according to make and colouring. Koula rugs {all wool) are about 15s. to £1 a square yard ; Turkey ordinary colouring about the same, and in the finest antique colourings about 3s. 6d. a square foot. The amenability of the Turk to instruction and guidance is a quality foreign to the Persian, and that individual is not only independent and self-willed, but resentful of inter- Persian ference, even to the extent of ruining a fine carpet Carpets. ,.'.,. , ^ ° ^ by mtroducmg discordant pieces 01 colour or pattern into it if he feels displeased. Consequently European enterprise has been able to do little with him, except to induce him to make somewhat larger carpets than is his wont. The majority of the Persian products are no more than large rugs, and there- fore not so well adapted for European rooms as the products of other countries. Still, the Persian carpets are justly celebrated, not only for their delicate colourings and beautiful texture, but for their extraordinarily subtle and ingenious decorative patterns, many of which are undecipherable and the object of much speculation and investigation. The Feraghan carpets are supposed to be the finest ; the warp and woof are of cotton twist, and the pile rather short. The fineness varies, the best having about 180 knots to the square inch, the coarsest about 60. The Khorassan and Kerman carpets are less conventional in pattern and the pile closer. In the latter figures of men and animals are sometimes introduced. Fine Kerman carpets range about los. to 12s. a square foot ; Gheuravan about 3s. 6d. a square foot ; Tabriz about 14s. 6d. a square foot. India produces a great quantity of carpets of widely differing qualities and textures. Being directly under British rule the commercial possibilities of carpet making have been n lan largely exploited, even to including it among the labours of the prisoners in the gaols, and consequently the good among the Indian products has to be sorted out from a much showy and cheap stuff that is to be found on the market. Messrs. Treloar & Sons, who claim to be able to supply from stock carpets in size 12 ft. by 9 ft, ranging in price from £1 to £70, showed me dozens of CARPETS AND CURTAIN FABRICS. 195 different varieties of Indian rugs and carpets, differing in texture, material, and method of weaving. Some were no better than bits of embroidery work, while others were excellent pile. The principal centres of production are Amritsar, Mirzapore, and Benares, and Masulipatam in the Madras Presidency. Silken pile carpets are made at Amritsar, Lahore and Mirza- pore. The finest are made at the two former places, the Mirzapore carpets being lower in price and quality. Fine Amritsar carpets cost about 25s. to 30s. a square yard, unimpeachable quality; Mirzapore about ids. a square yard. Deccan, Masulipatam and Mirzapore rugs run from ids. to 20s., according to the state of the market. There are a great quantity of these carpets in the shops at the present time. They are made in handsome colourings and Oriental patterns and have the great merit of cheap- Japanese j^ggg^ They have a thick and soft pile. The colours, Jute Carpets. , ■' r, • iiiri j however, are very fleetmg and quickly lade, and the pile quickly disappears in wear. A carpet about 12 ft. by 13 ft. costs £2 IDS. This gives some index to the general run of prices. The French carpets made on the hand-tufted system, like the old Aubusson and Savonnerie carpets, are well know^n. These are remarkable for their delicate colourings ; Carpets cream or pink grounds, with rose-pink patterns and soft green leaf shades, are typical. Good Aubusson carpets are very expensive. Messrs. Warings are introducing these patterns and colourings in an Axminster carpet called the "Savonnerie." A 12 ft. by 9 ft. carpet can be obtained for £^ I OS. The original Aubusson, the Donegal and the hand- tufted Axminster, costing from £1 to £5 a square yard, are the only hand-made European carpets. Nearly all the carpets are produced on the Jacquard loom or improved forms of it. The principal British carpets are the "Wilton," the "Ax- minster," the " Brussels," and the " Kidderminster." Though these all bear the names of particular places, it does Carpets ^'"'^ follow that they are specially manufactured at these places. Indeed, the bulk of the British carpets are made in the North of England and Scotland. The Donegal all-wool carpets might be more largely em- ployed in preference to the Oriental. It is a hand-made Irish 196 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. carpet, very thick, with a pile slightly coarse and durable. The colourings of most I have seen have been a little sombre. In price it would be equivalent to a good Turkey carpet, taking the "Wilton" carpets as being next in order of price. These are made in every variety of colour and pattern — from Turkey patterns to new art shades and motives. They are obtainable either by the yard with bordering, or in "squares." Price by the yard, about 5s. to ids. The squares, 12 ft, by 9 ft., cost from £5 5s. upwards. They are woven similarly to the Brussels carpets, but the loops in the pile, which are a feature of the latter, are cut open into an elastic velvet pile. The " Ax- minster " is very similar as to make, patterns and colouring, and practically any depth of pile may be made in it. It is a Scotch invention, and Scotland produces a large quantity of these carpets. An " Axminster " 12 ft. by 9 ft. carpet will cost from £4 los. upwards. Messrs. Warings' "Portland Axminster "in that size costs £3 15s. In the piece, the prices range from 4s. a yard upwards. These carpets, like the " Brussels," are of worsted and linen. The " Brussels " was introduced from Tournai, in Belgium, to Wilton. It was a favourite carpet in the last century, and is durable and hard-wearing. Unfortunately, its hard and corru- gated surface is against it, and it has fallen out of favour of late years. The designs are generally of too floral a character. It is a wasteful carpet in the making, and the colours are usually limited to five. In price it is slightly cheaper than " Axminster." The " Kidderminster " is made with a worsted warp, traversed by a woollen weft. It is largely made in Scotland and the North of England. Double or three-ply carpets are produced in this class. Carpets, however, have become specialised by registered names. The " Roman " and " Daknel " carpets, the "Windsor" and " Kensington " art squares of Messrs. Oetzmann, the exclusive pattern three-ply carpets of Messrs. Heal & Son, the " Cheviots " and " Shetlands " of Messrs. Treloar are but a tithe of the fancy names for varieties of British carpets made on pretty much the same methods. Cheaper still, we have the Abingdon Cord squares, and the "Ludcord" carpets of Messrs. Treloar. Both are produced in very artistic colourings. These range in price from £1 upwards, for 12 ft. by 9 ft. Pi^^€rl "^^'-1 'i?^.'^ -^ S oi g - o " o - lU rt 3 CO -Q I « • Q " '1 7&-'^ t^(/) »- '^ m z < 197 "PERSIAN ROSE" PATTERN DINNER SERVICE FOR COTTAGE. 54 pieces, 28s. (X) r^mf^^^^m>: L5' DAMASK CLOTH: THE "LILY." From Ss. iid. to iSs. gd.. according to size. (XVI) THE "CHATSWORTH" LACE CURTAIN. In white or ccru. From 3s. iid. to 4s. iid. per pair. (XVI) '-c?'^--^ .-.^-y THE "FESTOON' LACE CURTAIN. In white or ecru. from 3s. iid. to 4s. iid. per pair. (XVI -HAND-DECORATED TEA-SERVICE. 4I pieces. 30S. (X) I9S RENAISSANCE LACE SIDEBOARD CLOTH. From 2s. I id, to 7s. 6d., according to size ; tray cloth to match, (XVI) from ii'Ad. to 3s. 6d. ; table centre to match, 2s. iid. ; tea cloths to match, Os. iid. JAPANESE" LINEN HAND-DRAWN THREADWORK. Sideboard cloth, 14 in. by 54 in., 3S. Iid. In all sizes, (XVI) with tray cloths, etc., to match. f^*^^-*^^^T-fWiiwT, mr i MODERN WINDOW DRAPERY SILK DAMASK CURTAINS. £3 2S. 6d. ; pelmet, £1 5s. ; lace curtains, £1 15s. 6d. ; com- (XXI) plete, £s 13s. 199 1 SERVICE, 77 pieces, ^34 gs. 6d. ; loi pieces, /4a 13s, 6d. (XVII) 172 pieces. ;fSi 17s. SERVICE, 77 pieces. £1^ 2S. ; loi pieces. £21 is. ; 172 pieces, (XVII) £i5 6s. gd. I I %1 '^'vi^^V'V.^, SERVICE, 77 pieces, /"13 12s.; loi pieces, £.\'] 13s. 3d. (XVII) 172 pieces, ;f2g lis. TABLE GLASS. SERVICE, 77 pieces, ;^io 14s. ; loi pieces, ^17 14s. gd. (XVII) 172 pieces, ;^28 gs. THE "MILTON" CHAIR. AVidth between arms, I ft. g in. (XXIII) Deal, /i 17s. Gd.; dark oak. ;/^2 15s. THE "PEACOCK" CHAIR. Width between arms. I ft. 10 in. (XXIlt) Deal, £1 8s. 6d. ; dark oak, £2. THE "PEACOCK" SEMICIRCULAR SEAT. To fit semicircle up to g ft. (XXIII) diameter. Deal, £i 17s. 6d. ; dark oak, ;^i2. THE "NELSON" SEAT. 5 ft. 6 in. long. Founded on an old Sfieraton settee. Deal, £() 63. ; oak, (XXIII) £9 9S- ; teak, ;Aio los. GARDEN FURNITURE. 201 DINING ROOM AT HALLYBURTON, FORFARSHIRE. R. S. LORIMER. A.R.S.A. The furniture and tapestry, etc., were all selected by the Architect. Phoiogyaphs by Bedford, Lcmcrc & Co, I FURNITURE FOR COUNTRY COTTAGES OR BUNGALOWS. • Complete equipment for living room, two bedrooms, maid's bedroom, and kitchen for ;f 84, including plate, r/j\l\\ linen and crockery. 203 FURNITURE FOR COUNTRY COTTAGES. BUNGALOWS OR FLATS. Complete equipment for living room, two bedrooms, maid's bedroom, and kitchen, for ^84, including plate, (XVl) linen, crockery and household utensils. DESIGN FOR A BEDROOM FURNISHED WITH A "SHERATON' SUITE. ft. wardrobe, 39 guineas ; bedstead to match, double size, ^3 iSs. 6d.; easy chair in chintz, £z 15s. (XVI) 204 CARPETS AND CURTAIN FABRICS. 205 In buying stair-carpets always buy half a yard more than is actually required to cover the stairs. The carpet can then be shifted occasionally so that the tread does not always stair-carpets. ^^^^ ^^ ^^e Same part, i.e. the parts covering the treads can be moved until they cover the risers, and the parts covering the risers will then come into wear on the treads. The life of carpets and the softness of the tread is greatly increased by the use of underfelting or "underlays." This is rough felting, about 50 inches wide, costing is. to IS. I id. a yard; the better qualities are thicker, and preferable. For the stairs small cushion pads, to place on the treads, can be obtained for about 6d. each. Paper underfelt costs about 3d. a square yard ; stout paper, 4 ft. 6 in, wide, 2d. a yard ; felt paper of the same width, 5d. a yard. The " Salve," " Welcome," and other designs are to be avoided. A good thick, well-packed mat, about 3 ft. by 2 ft., can be bought for 3s. 6d., but cheaper and dearer Door Mats. . . , , , ^ r , varieties are to be had. Scraper mats for porches, made of flexible linked iron, are useful. Price, roughly, about 7s. 6d. The great defect in linoleum design is the patterns that are employed. For a very long time the makers seem to have tried to imitate all kinds of materials, as if linoleum Linoleums, ^^q^q some horrible substance that must be dis- L^'^th ^^^ ' S^^^^^- ^^ choosing linoleums, select those with Cloth. ^'ght backgrounds ; they always look cleaner than the dark ones. If a patterned linoleum is desired, choose one with a small all-over device ; avoid big swirling patterns — imitation of tiles, parquetry, and carpets. The price of linoleum varies from is. to 2s. 6d. a yard, depending a good deal on thickness and make. Cork carpet is a covering similar to linoleum, but has more cork in it, is thicker, softer, and has a matt surface. The prices range from 2s. to 3s. a square yard. Mats in linoleum and cork carpet may be obtained to place under washhand stands, baths, &c., where water may be spilled. A linoleum mat 54 in. by 36 in. costs 5s. 6d. The skins of animals have always been popular as floor V 2o6 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. coverings ; but from the decorative point of view their intro- duction should be effected with great care. China or "India" matting, i yard wide, costs from gd. to 2s. 6d. a yard, but there are all kinds of matting on the market. China mats in various sizes are also to Miscellaneous ^^ ^^^ Messrs. Treloar & Sons have a very fine Floor . . . , ^ . Coverings. woven " Papyrus mattmg m various colourmgs at 2s. 6d. a square yard, which I have used for a bath-room dado. The same firm have Chinese cotton rugs, soft and warm for bedrooms, but apt to get dirty. The materials of which curtains are made are so numerous that anything like a complete list here would be an impossibility. Furnishing firms can always suggest various artistic fabrics that will be suitable in colouring and texture for certain classes of rooms or for certain classes of furniture. I would draw particular atten- tion to the necessity of special hangings to go with old furniture, and there are illustrations of special fabrics supplied for this purpose. There are certain things to avoid. The heavy gilt poles, cornices, &c., have fortunately gone out of fashion, and it is to be hoped they will never return. The Nottingham " lace " curtain is, of course, well known, and can be obtained from 4s. 6d. a pair upwards. It is not a very satisfactory curtain from the decorative point of view, the texture being harsh and rough, especially in the cheaper kinds. As the price rises and the " lace " becomes finer the effect is better. The Swiss and French nets are finer in texture and design, but the price is also higher and runs from 25s. to about 63s. a pair. Guipure lace curtains are also very effective ranging from los. 6d. to 42s. a pair. Of the cheaper muslin curtains the gauffered ed^^e plain muslins are very light and dainty, and cost from 5s. to lis. a pair ; if spotted or figured from los. to 15s. The frilled Madras muslin curtains from 8s. iid. to 30s. a pair are very hard to beat. Quite the best casement fabrics are those of Messrs. Heal & Son in flax (pure linen) and mohair cloth. These are not cheap, but the colours are fast, and the materials are specially designed to wash well. Messrs, Heal's casement flax is an exclusive CARPETS AND CURTAIN FABRICS. 207 production in either 36 in. or 54 in. widths, ranging in price from IS. 3d. to 2s. 3d. a yard. Cretonnes and chintzes are always with us. Of late years there has been a notable return to the old simple floral, patterns of our grandfathers ; the moss rose pattern is a particular favourite. Such materials are, of course, specially suited to bedrooms. About is. 6d. a yard is the price of a simple patterned cretonne ; the reversible varieties will be more. The hard-surface tapestries, in innumerable artistic colourings and patterns, are very suitable for heavy curtains ; in price they range from 3s. 6d. a yard upwards for 50 in. widths. The damasks, both silk or wool, or a mixture of both, with or without pattern, are being made in very beautiful shades, and are among the most beautiful heavy curtainings obtainable. Wool damask in 50 in. widths can be obtained from 2s. 3d. a yard upwards ; silk damask from 4s. Appliqud embroideries are very commonly used with these fabrics, costing from 9d. a yard upwards. The short curtains or blinds for bedroom windows were usually made of plain or figured muslins. The special brise- bise blinds, now to be seen everywhere, have practically super- seded them. The majority of them are too deep — 18 in. to 20 in. is all that is required ; but the brise-bise materials, except in some of the commoner lace varieties, seem to be 24 inches at least in depth. The fixed marble or glazed ware kerb is always to be preferred to the metal kerb or fender. The selection of fenders or kerbs should be done with great cir- Fenders, cumspcction. The majority of the fenders offered Fireirons. ^^^ ^^j^ ^^^ absolutely hideous. Quite plain ^oa -sc , ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^Yie old Georgian pierced fret front patterns are the best that can be found. For bedrooms the plain iron or brass kerb will be found most satisfactory. For a cheap coal-scuttle I think the witch's cauldron type, to be purchased from 2S. 6id., is the best. The inverted helmet type of scuttle in brass or copper is a useful article for mixed coal ; prices in copper about 15s. to 27s. In brass about 2s. cheaper. The ugly wooden "coal vases" should be avoided. Fireirons should be of solid metal ; it is far better to have plain steel fireirons than 2o8 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. the brass-covered rubbish which comes to pieces when first used. Blinds for sash windows are usually of stout semi-glazed material, either plain or patterned, and of various colours. . ■. «.. . Stuff blinds run from 4^d. to is. per square Inside Blinds. ^ , • , i- ,i u r v foot upwards, mcludmg rollers, brass mrniture, tassels and cord complete. Venetian blinds, including web and cord, range from 6d. to lod. per square foot. Fancy woven linen striped blinds, with fringe, cost about 4^d. to 6id. per square foot complete. The " Japa " paper blinds, made of stout paper in ^cru and other colours, with lace embroidery, are very cheap, ranging from 3^d. to is. 6d. for a blind 6 feet by 3 feet. The idea is that when the blind is dirty it can be burnt, and a new one put up ; they are admirable except for noise when there is any breeze. An item in household furnishing that absorbs a good deal of money is the provision of requisite cooking utensils. Regarding saucepans, the cheapest kind are those Kitchen ^f „^j^„ u-^^^Q^ ^^^^s ^^^^ ^g j^^^g t^QSe of Utensils. ^ 1-1 -1 1 J cast-iron, more lastmg and more easily cleaned ; then the immeasurably superior aluminium ware, and lastly, the copper cooking utensils with silver-plated linings. These last are necessarily very expensive ; but they make, if kept properly clean, a bright show in a kitchen. If means will allow, I would advise the aluminium ware for several reasons. First, they can be kept clean and bright ; second, they are very light ; third, they heat quickly, and fourth, they do not burn the food. Enamelled iron ware I would be inclined to banish utterly as regards cooking utensils. Four illustrations of Messrs. Osier's beautiful table glass are witness to the skill of Mr. Herbert S. Pepper, their art director ; these may be regarded as ideal **^' productions. For those who must furnish cheaply glass and crockery may be obtained at all prices ; the 6^d. shops are well worth a visit when considering these articles. Two cheap services of Messrs. Heal & Son are also shown. SIMPLE COTTAGE FURNITURE IN OAK. Dining table, 2 ft. 6 in. by 6 ft., £2 los. ; rush-bottomed chair, 12s. 6d. ; armchairs, ^i 2S. 5d. each ; (X) 5 ft. long, £\ 5s. ; dresser, 4 ft. 6 in. wide, £(> 15s. oak bench. SIMPLE COTTAGE FURNITURE IN OAK. 5 ft. settee, £1 5s. ; Windsor chair, 6s. ; armchair, 14s. gate-leg table, 4 ft. 9 in. by 3 ft. 6 in. open, 3 ft. 6 in. by I ft. 3 in. closed, £^ 15s. sticks, £\ 5s. pair. (X) bookcase, with glazed doors, 3 ft. 6 in, high by 3 ft. 6 in. wide, £0, 15s. ; brass candle- 209 BEDROOM IN CARVED OAK. Price of suite, /i6 los, ; bedstead (additional), £2 iSs. 6d, ; oali bureau (additional), £z 12s, 6d. (XVI) BEDROOM SUITE IN FINE MAHOGANY. Pricu of suite, 39 guineas ; maliogany bedstead to match with woven wire mattress, /S 15s. (XVIj BEDROOM FURNISHED IN "COLONIAL ADAM" STYLE. Cost depending on room decoration. (X) SPARE BEDROOM' From a house which has been specially designed and furnished to ,y^^], demonstrate what can be done for /500. BEDROOM IN COLONIAL MAHOGANY (Sec ofposii, page). Bedstead, £5 6s. ; pedestal, ^2 5s. ; washstand /7 15s (X) EXAMPLE OF BEDROOM furnished after the " Queen Anne " period, showing the effect produced „„ by a skilful combining of typical decorations, draperies and floor covering. (XXI) ONE OF THE BEDROOMS of a model house which is furnished complete for ;^300. (XXI) 214 ONE OF A SET OF SIX MODEL BEDROOMS, which have been designed to illustrate practically (XXI) six different schemes of furnishing. CORNER OF BEST BEDROOM of a ^^750 model house, showing mahogany bedroom suite, twin brass bedsteads, easy (xxi) chairs, carpet, and decorative efiect. 215 2l6 217 2l8 w t3 -, u < — a Q ng ENTRANCE HALL of a ;^30o model house. (XXI) SIMPLE KITCHEN FURNITURE. Deal dresser, painted oak, 4 ft. wide, £^ ids. ; kitchen table, 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft,, one drawer, lOs. ; 4 ft. 6 in. by 3 ft., one drawer, 2Ss. ; plate rack, 3 ft. long, Ss. ; "Windsor chair, 3s. ; armchair, 7s. (X) CHAPTER VII. HINTS TO PURCHASERS. One or two warnings may be timely in the matter of buying furniture. Everyone about to get a home together is fated to meet that knowing individual who talks largely Sale" "^^ about sales. " Ah ! the furniture sales are the thing, my boy ; you can pick things up dirt cheap. You know my house? Well, I furnished the whole of it for such-and-such a sum mentioned." If the end and aim of one's furnishing is to fill rooms with tables and chairs much as a caterer calculates for a rout dinner or ball, this is, no doubt, excellent advice ; but if the intention is to gather round one beautiful and serviceable things, I have no hesitation in saying that furniture sales are the very worst places to find them. Then the lover of old furniture is advised to wander round the quaint little second-hand furniture shops in Wardour Street and elsewhere. Ten or twenty years ago, before old furniture was as much sought after and as highly prized as it is now, it might have been possible to secure bargains, but your second-hand dealer of to-day knows to the last penny what the value of his stock is ; and if the unsophisticated buyer imagines, in the flush of his innocence, that he is getting things miraculously cheap, let him compare the prices paid with the prices asked by one of the straightforward "prices-marked-in-plain-figures" dealers like, say, Messrs. W. & E. Thornton-Smith. It may be possible to pick a good piece now and then at some little dealer's in, say, Islington or Camden Town (I mention these as typical, not special, neighbourhoods), where the homes of one, two and three rooms are continually being set up, and as continually coming to grief, and where the dealer has no real knowledge of furniture, which he buys and sells as he might firewood, sweets or tobacco. But even such shops as these are few and far between. T 221 222 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. Another warning is against the big advertising "cash or credit " firms. " No deposit required," " You marry the girl, and we furnish the home," are two of their catch phrases, Furnf hin ^"^ *^^ advertising columns of any paper will give urnis ing. ^^^^^^ j ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^j^jg yearning on any question of terms. If one enters into an agreement to pay certain sums at stated intervals, and for any cause whatever fails to do so, it is hardly fair or reasonable to abuse the other party to the agree- ment if he or they exact the penalties that a breach of the arrangement entails. The trouble is that the generous terms, in the shape of small payments, offered by these firms induces many people to commence house-keeping without an adequate appreciation of these responsibilities, and without a clear prospect of being able to complete the arrangement. To the man in a good position, drawing a fair salary, a hire-purchase agreement may be a very satisfactory solution to the difficult problem of finding a large lump sum for furniture ; but for the clerk on a small salary, or the workman, it is hardly wisdom to embark on a scheme of payment extending over years, when in six months or a year he may be out of employment, or have to move to the other end of the kingdom to take up a fresh job. My chief complaint against the big credit furnishing firms is, however, not only that they stock some of the most meretricious trash ever sold under the guise of furniture, but they charge three or four times its market value, and thus furnishing with them means a prodigious outlay for a very small result. If anyone contemplates furnishing with one of these firms let him compare, as I have done, the prices in their catalogues with the prices in the catalogue of one of the big West- end houses. Of course the answer is obvious : furniture dealers are not philanthropists, and if they have to wait three or four years for their money they must get their interest somehow. Moreover, the period over which repayments, according to published scales, have to be made is uncertain. I note that one firm offers one hundred pounds' worth of furniture for ^2 5s. per month. Simple multiplication shows that payments would have to be continued for four years before the sum was paid off — to be precise, ^108 would then have been paid. Unless we are to assume that the odd ^8 is interest. HINTS TO PURCHASERS. 223 and that the dealer is satisfied with 2 per cent, per annum, the payments must be continued for even a longer period. The key to this enigma was afforded by an unwary an- nouncement of a " three years' system " by one firm, but the scale of repayments showed that they could not possibly get the selling price of the goods in the stipulated time, let alone interest. Doubtless the advertisement was loosely drawn up. The explanation is that the selling price bears no relation what- ever to the price the credit firm pays the wholesale dealer or manufacturer, and doubtless in eighteen months or two years, possibly less, they have received the price paid for the stuff and are making profits, and if the hire purchaser defaults at the end, say, of three years, the credit firm has not only received back the money they paid for the furniture and made a hand- some profit, but they can claim the whole of the stuff into the bargain. At the same time this credit furnishing question is so important to the major part of the community that I feel it is hardly to be dismissed summarily or as a method of purchasing that is to be condemned off-hand. Many of the other better- class houses will, I believe, make terms of repayment to suit their customers' convenience, but in all these questions I can of course give no guarantees, merely recommending readers thoroughly to investigate matters for themselves, and if necessary take such legal or other advice on the wording of the agreement as may be necessary to safeguard themselves. One of the worst methods of buying furniture is to start off to some furniture dealers with the vaguest notions of things one wants, of the size of the rooms, or of the colour Warnings in g^^j^gj^gg q^^q desires in them. Furniture show- Furnkure. rooms are necessarily big places, and to trail up and down long rows of furniture and go up and down several flights of stairs an unnecessary number of times because one's ideas and requirements have never been formulated, is calculated to tire out any assistant and make him indifferent and inattentive. It is advisable, therefore, to set down a list of the articles desired in each room, with any details as to size and colour, and further to collate some of the items, as carpets, curtains, fenders, &c., so that when you have arrived at the carpet department you have together all 224 THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. the particulars for all the carpets you require, and so on. This saves much needless running about. Another point to remember is that many firms do not stock the minor accessories of furnishing, though the majority undertake " complete house furnishing." Thus, I purchased my bedding of the same firm that supplied the bedsteads, but the bedding had " to be made," or, in other words, had to be procured from a bedding dealer, and I found it cost me much more than if I had gone to a firm of specialists in bedsteads and bedding like Messrs. Heal and Son. In the same way not many furnishing firms stock knives and forks, saucepans, kitchen utensils, brooms, &c. ; and if purchased from the sample articles kept at most shops it will probably be found (except, perhaps, at Messrs. Oetzmann & Co.'s) that they are much dearer than if bought at an ordinary hardware shop. All these things it is advisable to buy before- hand. I know I had all plate, household linen, cutlery, and saucepans, &c., before I thought about tables and chairs; and this course is to be recommended because, while these items seem insignificant in themselves, they mount up considerably, and too often after buying the large and more solid articles the balance left is insufficient for things as necessary in a home as the chairs and bedsteads. Printed bv Cassell & Company, Luuted, L'\ Belle Sauvage, London, EC. DATE DUE SEP 1 1 '9^4 Aug~2'c2)x ^Augl'S.-H J,pr7 59T