The ArranckiMent of Household Furnishings 



1593 



method of planting shrubs and trees was a violation of good arrangement, 

 since it merely scattered them here and there over an oi)en lawn. 



■ BACKGROUND AND ORNAMENT 



Any tendency to cover up plain space by sprawling objects over it should 

 be checked at the start, for it spoils rather than creates an effective 

 arrangement. Vines, ribbons, and flowers strewn at random over a 

 dinner table with the idea of making it appear festive, defeat their purpose 

 and end in nothing 

 more attractive than 

 fussiness. Table deco- 

 rations condensed into 

 definitely placed spots 

 or central masses are 

 much more effective, 

 since each is set off by 

 the plain cloth that 

 surrounds it. 



It should be remem- 

 bered that with any 

 arrangement of objects 

 the idea is not to cover 

 all the space but rather 

 to preserve as much of 

 it as is possible and yet 

 comfortably include 

 all the necessary fea- 

 tures. Plain space, or 

 background, is the sig- 

 nal that draws atten- 

 tion to an object or an 

 arrangement. The 



A 



J 



Fig. 9. — Separate and grouped window arrangement 



tree that commands attention as it stands alone on a hill, would not be 

 noticed in a forest; the group of persons that arouse interest when met in 

 the open road, is of small consequence when lost in the crowd. Where 

 there is no background, there is no picture. 



Ordinarily it is not the purpose of home decoration to display any one 

 object, but rather to use it as a unit in the general scheme. If, however, 

 there be some object so rare or so lovely as to be worthy of especial 

 notice, it should be set apart from its fellows with plenty of space 

 around it. 



