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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
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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.
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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,
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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
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CHIMNEY-PIECE IN WHITE WOOD
PRIMED £2 Ss.
(11)
CHIMNEY-PIECE IN ^WHITE WOOD PRIMED. ;{^3 3S. 4d.
(IV)
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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
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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)
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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)
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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'
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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^^;
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^"^ y
:*£ ^-s" -f
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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(
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"MOSS ROSE TRELLIS." In pink, green and blue. 31 in.
cretonne, is. yd. per yard.
(X)
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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
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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
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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