Household Decoration^ 



1039 



The amount of daylight, the amount of sunlight, and the furnishings 

 and woodwork in the room should guide aright our selection of color. 



Plain or figured paper. — To most persons plain walls are less tiring than 

 even a good figured paper. They also make the best background for 

 pictures, as they do not compete with them in interest. Pictures may 

 be used, however, with most modest, quiet patterns, but in the case of a 

 fine large design they should be omitted. This would occtir only in a 

 large room, when the design may be beautified by using it in panels with 



Fig. 14. — For living-rooms, plain walls furnish the best background 



plain colored border. A small room looks its largest with plain, light- 

 colored walls. 



Striped papers are good in principle, since they repeat and emphasize 

 the vertical dimension of the wall. For this reason they can be relied 

 on to give height to a low room. The contrast between the stripes should 

 not be pronounced, and in the case of large rooms alone may broad stripes 

 be used. A quiet striped paper adds a charming dignity to a room. 



The majority of persons prefer plain walls for the rooms that are used 

 the most, yet still have a hankering for a figured paper somewhere. The 

 hall is usually a safe place for indulgence, since in the absence of furniture 



