240 HOW TO MAKE A COUNTRY PLACE 



rested pergola roof beams, fastened at their inner ends against the 

 house. They were 'permanently boarded and canvas covered four 

 feet from the building line, leaving the remaining ten feet to be fitted 

 with an adjustable awning. Connecting with this platform was the 

 porch room, with ceiling plastered in cement and beamed and decor- 

 ated like a living room an improvement over the usual glary, 

 varnished, wooden porch ceiling. 



Decoration. 



The field of decoration in Pinnacle we simply edge. A room 

 well proportioned, artistically trimmed, doored and windowed is 

 already half decorated. 



An ideal house is one in which the soul can grow. Sunshine, 

 air, flowers and an enchanting view of God's green earth, sea and 

 mountain, vale and plain, ease burdens and dissipate depression, that 

 arch enemy of spiritual and physical growth. 



One of the greatest charms of house decoration is harmony of 

 color, and it may be made to cost but a fractional part of the whole. 

 Years ago an artist friend studying in Paris gave me a genuine color 

 surprise by painting a white picture, of its kind the most effective 

 thing I ever saw, a study in shades of white. A white haired lady 

 gowned in white satin stood on a rug of white bearskin ; one hand 

 rested on a white damask-covered chair, the other on a white enam- 

 eled piano, to the right of which was the only bit of color in the 

 room an oriental palm. That picture is in my memory for all 

 time just as a single full blown rose or a few cut flowers vased 

 appropriately in hall, dining room, library, and den, supplemented 

 with growing plants on stair and centre table, give added charm 

 to the most luxuriously furnished room and stamp it on the mind 

 for days. 



Papering. 



The problem of papering we approached somewhat cautiously 

 annoying experiences having taught its limitations, as well as strong 

 points, one of the latter being the power of even a cheap paper if of 

 suitable design to counteract the effect of outrageous architectural 

 lapses. Care was taken to avoid the assertive spot, the gilt that 

 flattens, the large pattern that dwarfs and the color that kills, also to 

 remember that papers fade and polychrome effects tire. 



Brilliant flowers, as well as bright colors, under foot and on 

 wall, invariably hold the centre of the stage and detract from the 

 effect of pictures, drapery, and furniture. Ceilings were light, fleecy, 

 and uplifting, rather than dark, overcast, and cloud-lowering, and 

 to prevent accident were canvassed or burlapped before being painted 

 or frescoed. They were rarely papered. 



The stripe that heightens the room that needs height and the 

 one color that gives tone to the most ordinary room, each had an 



