W HAT is the most interesting 
 object in any home — in any 
 room of the home? 
 
 YOU are the most interesting 
 object. 
 
 The human being is more important 
 than any other object in a room. 
 
 Therefore, everything else in the 
 room should be chosen and arranged 
 to set off the person to best advantage. 
 
 If anything in a room—wall colors, 
 draperies, etc.—makes you look less 
 attractive, that thing is BAD, even if 
 it is the most beautiful thing in the 
 world. 
 
 There is such a thing as too much 
 beauty. A single American Beauty 
 rose on a woman’s .corsage may add 
 to her charming appearance, but if 
 she should cover every inch of her 
 gown with wonderful roses, she would 
 be a walking rose show—her own 
 charm would be lost. People would 
 not be able to see her, because of 
 the roses. 
 
 Page one 
 
This booklet shows you that cer¬ 
 tain kinds of walls are a mistake. 
 They are too brilliant, too highly 
 figured, too glittering, too gorgeous. 
 THEIR beauty robs you of YOUR 
 beauty. 
 
 Are your walls kidnapers? Have 
 they kidnaped some of your identity 
 and attractiveness? Do visitors think, 
 “Mrs. Brown looked charming at the 
 reception, but in her own home she 
 appears faded.” 
 
 In this small, interesting booklet 
 you will find a really valuable secret 
 —how to have your walls so dec¬ 
 orated as to set off yourself, your 
 dresses and your present furniture 
 and furnishings to the best advantage. 
 
 This does not contemplate, what 
 would be entirely impracticable, the 
 redecorating of your walls each time 
 a new gown is to be worn; we seek 
 rather to outline the ideas of those 
 best qualified to give an authorita¬ 
 tive opinion as to neutral, solid color 
 walls that will enhance and not 
 detract from any color effect intro¬ 
 duced in the gowns worn. 
 
 This is the line of thought followed 
 by not only the best decorative 
 artists, but by those having discrim¬ 
 inating ideas regarding color values. 
 
 Page two 
 
WALL DRESSES TO MATCH 
 WOMEN’S DRESSES 
 
 A FTER your dress is all made, and home from the 
 >- dressmaker—it is not yet ready for you to wear. 
 You must first ask yourself, “Do the walls of my 
 home help or injure the looks of this dress?” 
 
 And if the walls are not right, there is an 
 economical way of making them into harmonious 
 backgrounds for your gowns. 
 
 On pages 6 and 7 a fashion expert gives you 
 valuable advice about this season’s dress styles and 
 their proper wall harmonies. 
 
 Page three 
 
C%DY\e&Q <alsx) <ar© 
 ^four Dressmakers 
 
 Never consider yourself perfectly qowned 
 until you have learned what the Fashion 
 Expert, the Economy Expert, the Interior 
 Decorating Expert, the Physician and the 
 Local Alabastine Dealer have to say. 
 
 S INCE the dresses of this season need the 
 proper wall backgrounds in order to be 
 set off to best advantage, therefore read, 
 on pages 6 and 7, the Fashion Expert’s 
 information about the latest gowns and 
 proper wall harmonies. 
 
 Since you cannot change your furniture 
 to fit changing styles of dress, learn from the 
 Interior Decorating Authority, on page 8, 
 how to tint your walls so as to make your 
 present furniture look more artistic and in 
 harmony with your gowns. 
 
 Since “Economy” is the great watchword 
 this year, learn from the Economy Expert, 
 on page 9, how you can make all your 
 rooms harmonious in wall colors, at a good 
 saving in cost. 
 
 Since ill health hurts the looks, besides 
 endangering the life, read what the PHYSI¬ 
 CIAN, on page 10, says about wall decorating. 
 
 And since the ease with which you can 
 have your room decorated depends on the 
 ease of getting original color designs and the 
 proper materials, learn, on page 11, how 
 easily the Local Dealer can supply you. 
 
 Page four 
 
c ~~Woll ^Qolors 
 
 J&j) ffiQ < Jasfiton Sxporf 
 
 ARE you good looking? Are your gowns 
 in good style? Never before in the 
 history of home decoration were the 
 answers to these questions so bound up with 
 your walls as they are today. 
 
 Of course you are going to have a wall 
 change THIS season. The fact that this is 
 “Economy Year” should not cause you to 
 put up with unfashionable wall decoration. 
 You will understand the reason when you „ 
 read this article. No matter how old or how 
 new your present wall decoration, unless it 
 conform to this year’s marked changes of 
 style in draperies, furnishings, and above all 
 in GOWNS, you are bound to feel LOST in 
 your home. 
 
 You are fortunate in HAVING to make a change 
 this year. Because fashion has at last joined hands 
 with real art, and this season’s wall styles not only 
 will be attractive in their newness, but they will 
 satisfy because of their real beauty and artistic merit. 
 
 Absolutely essential is wall PLAINNESS. Con¬ 
 sultation with leading decorators in New York and 
 Chicago tells that a big tidal wave of fashion 
 has set in for flat, neutral wall tints. Grays and 
 tans in all their wonderful shadings seem to 
 
 Page six 
 
be accorded the first place. Next come the neutral 
 greens, the ivories and Colonial buffs, while many 
 delightful special tints are offered as backgrounds 
 for the new Oriental combinations, and lovely sten¬ 
 cil decorations in Pompeian, Moorish and Russian 
 effects will be found. 
 
 This year will be a leader year in plain back¬ 
 grounds. Not only will this be noticeable in a single 
 room, but harmonious tints will be carried through¬ 
 out an entire floor, so that rooms opening into one 
 another will not present a great contrast to the eye. 
 Expert decorators are even carrying this idea further 
 and are graduating their tints so that one color 
 seems to blend into another almost imperceptibly. 
 Artists call this “graying” the colors. The results 
 are not only artistically good but in the best dec¬ 
 orative style. A general harmony is thus seen to 
 run throughout your home. Your contrasts will 
 come in the colors you wear, and in the room 
 accessories the draperies or the massing of pictures 
 of a vivid tone. 
 
 Let me say right here that it is not necessary 
 to have a separate wall COLOR to set off each dif¬ 
 ferent color of gown. The beauty of soft tinted 
 walls is that, in their softness and plainness, they 
 set off to advantage any gown and any room 
 accessory. 
 
 When you consider that startling contrasts both 
 in line and color will mark this year’s gowns, you 
 can easily see how essential it is that the wall be 
 kept neutral. Your good looks, the good style of 
 your clothes, both depend to an extraordinary degree 
 on the kind of walls you have. 
 
 To borrow a simile from the musician, we might 
 say that the gowns you wear are the THEME; colors in 
 the furnishings and hangings are the VARIATIONS; 
 the wall color is the ACCOMPANIMENT. If your 
 accompaniment be loud, noisy and distracting, you 
 will lose or kill the beauty of the theme. If your 
 accompaniment be subdued, then the theme will 
 stand out clean cut and clear. Thus it is with the 
 gowns you wear, and with the wall backgrounds 
 you give them. 
 
 Ptiye seven 
 
fei f && 
 G Pocrefr aoouf in¬ 
 ferior fDecorafing 
 
 Jfij) f/iQ &Qcora ting Export 
 
 ASA RULE the housewife does not real- 
 ize how near she comes to having a 
 beautiful, artistic home. She does 
 not know how little is necessary to make her 
 present rooms appear harmonious, inviting, 
 and in keeping with the newest fashions. 
 
 In the first place, the furniture that you 
 already have is all right, providing it is 
 substantial and sincere. Worn furniture is 
 generally more inviting than the brand new. 
 
 What your rooms need is to have the walls 
 tinted in such soft, quiet, plain tints that, by 
 contrast, even the plainest furniture will 
 look richer, more solid, and more inviting. 
 
 The style authorities realize this truth. 
 Brilliant, showy walls are NOT in fashion in 
 the best homes, the finest hotels and clubs. 
 
 You Can have rooms that art connoisseurs 
 will admire, if you will just use on your walls 
 the rich, soft, velvety tints of Alabastine. 
 Rooms thus decorated show off the gowns, 
 the furniture and the furnishings to best 
 advantage, and breathe the atmosphere of 
 the most artistic modern homes. 
 
 Page eight 
 
T HIS is an economy year. Does that 
 mean that you have to put up with 
 the soiled walls of last year? 
 
 By no means. For a very interesting 
 piece of news comes from the fashion 
 centres this year. 
 
 Fashion is demanding that this year’s 
 gowns have suitable wall backgrounds to 
 set them off. These backgrounds are to be 
 soft tints; in fact, Alabastine tinted walls 
 are used and recommended by style 
 authorities. 
 
 Now notice what this means. It means 
 that you can be thoroughly up-to-date on 
 wall fashions, yet at an outlay appreciably 
 less than what you would have to pay for 
 wall paper. 
 
 Furthermore, of all materials used for decorating, 
 Alabastine is most economical, because— 
 
 First, pound for pound, it covers more wall sur¬ 
 face than any other material used for the purpose. 
 
 Second, it lasts longer. When applied according 
 to directions on the package, IT DOES NOT RUB 
 OFF, CHIP NOR PEEL. 
 
 These are reasons why decorators recommend 
 Alabastine and use it on the finest buildings in 
 America. 
 
 Page nine 
 
Op ffiQ Ofijjs'ieian 
 
 P EOPLE cannot get sick and look well. 
 Nor can people appear at their best 
 amid surroundings that even look 
 unsanitary. 
 
 If your home would look attractive, it 
 must LOOK healthful and must BE healthful. 
 
 Walls in bad condition are everywhere 
 regarded as a menace to health. 
 
 When wall papers crack and loosen, they 
 furnish a harbor for disease germs and ver¬ 
 min. The same is true of kalsomine that 
 peels and flakes. 
 
 Any visitor that sees your home with 
 cracking wall paper or peeling kalsomine 
 would unconsciously consider your home 
 unsanitary, and therefore not beautiful. 
 
 Alabastine, which is notably beautiful, is 
 also notably sanitary. When properly 
 applied, it always presents an even, unbroken 
 wall surface. 
 
 So use Alabastine for the sake of that 
 health which is an aid to beauty. Use it 
 specially as a protection to children. After 
 sickness it adds to the cleanliness of the 
 room to have it Alabastined. 
 
 Page ten 
 
ySr yllaSas fin e come 
 fo me ~Your^Dealer 
 
 T HE fashion expert, the decorating 
 expert, the economy expert and the 
 physician all recommend the beautiful, 
 soft, plain Alabastine tints for your walls. 
 
 You will next be interested to know how 
 easily Alabastine may be obtained, how the 
 desired tints can be chosen, and how readily 
 it can be applied to the wall. 
 
 I will supply you with Alabastine. I am 
 your dealer. You will find my name on the 
 back cover of this booklet. 
 
 You can select your colors from the color 
 schemes in this book, or you can choose 
 your own tints. Owing to the soft, velvety 
 beauty of Alabastine, you can easily get 
 tints to harmonize with any furnishings of 
 your room. 
 
 Furthermore, by intermixing or adding 
 white to the standard Alabastine Tints or 
 Strong Colors, any beautiful hue or tint 
 desired can be secured. 
 
 Come to me for Alabastine, and get started 
 at once on beautiful, sanitary and economical 
 home decorating. 
 
 Page e/eren 
 
O N THE covers of this booklet we show, in colors, 
 four color plans of rooms prepared by our 
 decorating experts. We commend them to 
 your consideration. We here give the color scheme 
 for each room. Should you in any case want a 
 different color scheme, to follow the general wall plan, 
 you will also find alternate suggestions on this page. 
 
 RUSSET BROWN LIVING ROOM (shown on 
 inside of front cover). A room that breathes a 
 welcome. Prepared as follows: Ceiling, No. 26 Ala- 
 bastine. Wall, No. 48 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 351. 
 For stencil color mix two parts No. 16, one part No. 7. 
 
 ALTERNATE—Ceiling, No. 26 Alabastine. Wall, No. 23 
 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 351 in No. 97 Alabastine. 
 
 DUTCH NURSERY (inside back cover). Ceiling 
 and frieze, one part No. 26, one part white Alabastine. 
 Wall, one part No. 22, one part No. 28 Alabastine. 
 Stencil, No. 760, with No. 2 for blue and No. 15 
 Alabastine for orange. 
 
 ALTERNATE—Ceiling and frieze. No. 26 Alabastine. Wall, 
 one part No. 23 and one part No. 24 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 
 760 in No. 97 Alabastine. 
 
 “OCTOBER” BEDROOM (inside back cover). 
 Ceiling, white Alabastine. Wall, No. 20 Alabastine. 
 Stencils, Nos. 436 and 437, with one part No. 14, one 
 part No. 97 Alabastine. 
 
 ALTERNATE—Ceiling, six parts No. 21 and one part white 
 Alabastine. Wall, No. 31 Alabastine. Stencils, Nos. 436-437 
 in No. 14 Alabastine. 
 
 CARDINAL DINING ROOM (outside back cover). 
 Ceiling, No. 52 Alabastine. Upper third of wall, 
 No. 15 Alabastine. Lower two-thirds of wall, one 
 part No. 6 and one part No. 12 Alabastine. Stencil, 
 No. 434. with No. 14 Alabastine for birds, rest of 
 stencil in two parts No. 16, one part No. 7 Ala¬ 
 bastine. 
 
 ALTERNATE—Ceiling, No. 20 Alabastine. Wall, upper 
 one-third, No. 29 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 434 in two parts No. 
 16 and one part No. 7 Alabastine. Lower two-thirds. No. 97 
 Alabastine. 
 
 Page twelve 
 
00 / 2 ? 
 
 Go for fPfaris 
 
 A REDDISH TAN DINING ROOM— 
 Ceiling and frieze. No. 26 Ala- 
 bastine. Wall, one part No. 29 and 
 one part No 56 Alabastine. Stencil, 
 No. 748 in No. 6 Alabastine for cherry. 
 Rest of stencil in No. 16 Alabastine. 
 
 I ... AN EXCELLENT COLOR SCHEME 
 
 -GL in GREENISH BLUE—Ceiling 
 f' ' and frieze. No. 23 Alabastine. Wall, 
 
 one part No. 32 and one part No. 33 
 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 419 in No. 
 13 Alabastine for pineapple. Rest 
 of stencil in two parts No. 16 and one 
 j part No. 7. 
 
 A BRICK RED DINING ROOM— 
 Ceiling and frieze, No. 20 Ala¬ 
 bastine. Wall, No. 3 Alabastine. 
 Stencil, No. 743 in three parts No. 2 
 and one part No. 6 Alabastine for 
 grapes. Rest of stencil in two parts 
 No. 16 and one part No. 3 Alabastine. 
 
 Page thirteen 
 
A TAN LIVING ROOM-Ceiling 
 and frieze, No. 52 Alabastine. 
 Wall (Tan), one part No. 29 and one 
 part No. 48 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 
 766 in No. 97 Alabastine. 
 
 H LD BLUE LIVING ROOM—Ceil- 
 W i n g an( j frieze. No. 22 Alabas- 
 
 ■ tine. Wall (Old Blue), made by com¬ 
 bining eight parts No. 2 and one part 
 No. 7 Alabastine. Stencil, L in wall 
 color. 
 
 A SALMON LIVING ROOM—Ceil¬ 
 ing and frieze, No. 26 Alabas¬ 
 tine. Wall (Salmon Color), No. 56 
 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 604 in No. 
 97 Alabastine. 
 
 Page fourteen 
 

 
 L ight rose pink bedroom— 
 
 Ceiling, white Alabastine. Wall, 
 one part No. 21 and one part No. 31 
 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 756 on wall 
 color in No. 16 Alabastine for leaves. 
 No. 6 Alabastine for flowers and No. 
 2 Alabastine for ribbon. 
 
 L ight gray bedroom—C eiling, 
 
 J No. 26 Alabastine. Wall, one 
 part No. 52 and one part No. 54 Ala¬ 
 bastine. Stencil, No. 655 on wall color 
 in No. 8 Alabastine for flowers and 
 rest of stencil in No. 16 Alabastine. 
 
 —~ A BEDROOM IN BUFF-Ceiling, 
 
 white Alabastine. Wall, No. 52 
 Alabastine. Stencil. No. 400 on wall 
 j color in No. 2 Alabastine. 
 
 i ____ J 
 
 Pride fifteen 
 
B O PEEP AND BOY BLUE.” 
 Nursery or Play Room—Ceiling 
 and frieze, white Alabastine. Wall, 
 No. 28 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 465 
 in No. 2 Alabastine. 
 
 “TTEN AND CHICKENS.” Nursery 
 -Ti. or Play Room — Ceiling and 
 frieze in No. 26 Alabastine. Wall in 
 No. 23 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 467 
 in No. 97 Alabastine. 
 
 T HE SANDMAN.” Nursery or 
 Play Room—Ceiling and frieze 
 in white Alabastine. Wall in No. 20 
 Alabastine. Stencil, No. 466 in No. 
 97 Alabastine. 
 
 Page sixteen 
 
IE CAREFUL. 
 BE SURE. 
 Alabastine 
 is NOT kalsomine. 
 It is chemically, 
 artistically and 
 durably different. 
 Alabastine prop¬ 
 erly applied to a suitable 
 surface, DOES NOT RUB, 
 CHIP NOR PEEL from the 
 wall. Do not think that any 
 tinting material is good 
 enough for your home. 
 Come to me, the Alabastine 
 dealer, and get ALABAS¬ 
 TINE. _ 
 
 _ 
 
 W 
 
 Page seventeen 
 
( lj.SQ 
 
 SilaBasfinQ 
 on ffiQ 
 on fprior 
 gptfiaf 
 
 {Buifding 
 
 A LABASTINE is just what you want for 
 , that church, school, library, hospital, 
 club, lodge-room, store, office, etc. 
 
 It is beautiful, sanitary, lasting, clean, 
 economical, a fire-retardant, and it makes 
 possible an infinite number of harmonious 
 color plans. Ask for special barrel prices. 
 
 FREE COLOR PLANS TO ORDER. The 
 Decorating Department of the Alabastine 
 Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., will pre¬ 
 pare special color plans for your building 
 free. WRITE THEM ABOUT IT. 
 
 This service is rendered by giving each 
 request independent and special attention. 
 The suggestions offered are not generaliza¬ 
 tions, but the artist treats each proposition 
 as an individual decorative one. 
 
 In writing for such helps you should give 
 all the necessary information on which to 
 work intelligently. 
 
 Page eighteen 
 
j2n ’Thousand lory 
 Gasify SecarocKJy 
 
 F ROM a few standard colors, by mixing, 
 the artist can get all the colors in the 
 world. 
 
 It is the same way with Alabastine. There 
 are sixteen standard Alabastine “Tints,” and 
 eighteen standard Alabastine “Colors.” The 
 “tints” are lighter, the “colors” stronger. The 
 decorator will take these tints and colors, 
 and by lightening with white Alabastine, 
 darkening and intermixing, he will be able 
 to give you any color, tint or shade in the 
 world that you want, to harmonize with 
 your rugs, etc. 
 
 There is no substitute for Alabastine. 
 Your dealer should sell you the goods in 
 packages and your decorator should bring 
 the material on the job in packages. 
 
 See that the cross and circle in red appears 
 on each package and accept nothing else— 
 and you will get Alabastine satisfaction. 
 
 Page nineteen 
 
6 parts W 
 1-21 
 
 1-24 
 
 1-23 
 
 48 
 
 1—23 
 
 1—26 
 
 31 
 
 | 
 
 1—29 
 
 1—54 
 
 32 
 
 1—32 
 
 1-33 
 
 1—29 
 
 1—56 
 
 1 28 
 10-W 
 
 1-28 
 
 1-56 
 
 1-W 
 
 1—32 
 
 49 
 
 1—22 
 
 1-48 
 
 2-22 
 
 1—28 
 
 21 
 
 1—24 
 
 1—48 
 
 1—56 ' 
 
 1—48 j 
 
 33 
 
 No. 
 
 26 
 
 
 1—54 
 
 1—52 
 
 24 
 
 1-W 
 
 1-20 
 
 5—21 
 
 1-28 
 
 52 
 
 22 
 
 1-28 
 
 1-31 
 
 2—32 
 
 1-48 
 
 1-48 
 
 1-29 
 
 23 
 
 | 1-33 
 
 1—49 
 
 20 
 
 54 
 
 56 
 
 1-23 
 
 1-52 
 
 28 
 
 1-21 
 
 1-31 
 
 29 
 
The “Tints” 
 Simple and Mixed 
 
 R EMEMBER, there are sixteen standard 
 Alabastine “TINTS,” and eighteen 
 standard Alabastine strong “COLORS.” 
 Besides, there is Pure White Alabastine. 
 The “tints” and the “white” come in 5-lb., 
 packages. 
 
 The strong “colors” come in 1-lb. packages. 
 We here show the “tints” and some of the 
 almost infinite combinations which you can 
 make with them. ORDER YOUR ALA¬ 
 BASTINE TINTS BY NUMBER. Please 
 remember your dealer can furnish only those 
 numbered, and the rest are made by 
 combining. 
 
 The standard Tints are numbered as fol¬ 
 lows: 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32,33, 
 48, 49, 52, 54, 56. 
 
 Page twenty-one 
 
3partsW 
 
 1—13 
 
 13 
 
 3—W 
 1-5 
 
 5 
 
 3-W 
 
 1-8 
 
 8 
 
 3-W 
 
 1—97 
 
 97 
 
 3-W 
 
 1-18 
 
 18 
 
 3-W 
 
 1-16 
 
 16 
 
 3-W 
 
 1-12 
 
 12 
 
 1-1 
 
 1-10 
 
 3-W 
 
 1—9 
 
 9 
 
 3-W 
 
 1-14 
 
 14 
 
 3 parts W 
 1—1 
 
 1 
 
 I 3-W 
 
 i 1—6 
 
 1 6 
 
 3-W 
 
 1-15 
 
 1 15 
 
 1 3-W 
 
 1 1 3 
 
 1 3 
 
 3-W 
 
 1-2 
 
 1 2 
 
 3-W 
 
 1—10 
 
 10 
 
 3—W 
 i—7 
 
 I 7 
 
 3—W 
 1-17 
 
 17 
 
 3—W 
 1—98 
 
 98 
 
 1—3 
 
 1-12 
 
The 
 
 Strong “Colors” 
 Simple and Mixed 
 
 On the opposite page 
 are shown the eigh¬ 
 teen standard Ala- 
 bastine Strong “ Col¬ 
 ors ” as manufactured 
 and also as toned 
 down bp adding 
 White Ala- 
 bastine. 
 
 W HERE YOU wish stronger wall colors than 
 the tints give, and where you wish banded 
 or stenciled borders, panels, etc., to be of a 
 stronger color than the surrounding surface, we 
 recommend the Alabastine Prepared Strong “Colors.” 
 
 Notice that on the opposite page we show strong 
 color No. 13, and right above we show this color 
 greatly toned down by combining 1 part No. 13 and 
 3 parts white. Should you wish it not toned down 
 so much, you can readily see that, by using less 
 white, you can get just the tint you desire. 
 
 This is true of all our strong colors. 
 
 Owing to a smaller call for strong colors, some 
 dealers do not carry these. But any dealer will 
 gladly order your strong color from the nearest 
 jobber or from us, to be shipped by parcel post. 
 This method is quick and inexpensive. 
 
 Pd()0 twenty-three 
 
I N EACH of the various color schemes for 
 rooms which we show in this book, we 
 illustrate an appropriate Stencil border 
 design, and give you the number by which 
 you can order the Stencil. 
 
 We also have a Stencil Book showing a 
 large number of attractive stencils, that we 
 manufacture. 
 
 We send these stencils without charge, 
 except for packing and postage, direct from 
 our office in Grand Rapids to you, if you 
 are using Alabastine. 
 
 All you have to do to secure free stencils for 
 each room is, buy sufficient Alabastine for that 
 room, cut out the large word ALABASTINE from 
 the face of each package, and send these to us, with 
 10c, stamps or silver, for each stencil desired. Order 
 your stencil by number. Stencils will not be fur¬ 
 nished for room requiring less than two packages. 
 
 For further particulars about Alabastine stencils, 
 see your dealer. 
 
 ALABASTINE COMPANY 
 GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. 
 
 Page twenty-four 
 
Koom 
 
 For Sale by 
 
 
 
 
 Lifeu