HOUSES AND GARDENS 



of floors composed of stone, tile or timber. There is a special charm in the 

 floor composed of large stone flags, not too regular in shape or too closely 

 jointed. It conveys an impression of permanence and breadth combined 

 with homely serviceableness, which it is difficult to gain in any other way, and 

 with a few rugs giving warm notes of colour on its expanse of varied grey, it 

 is not so cold in appearance as might be supposed. Red tiles or bricks also 

 have, in a less degree, much the same qualities if they are not too highly 

 finished and possess a characteristic surface and texture. Tiles used in patterns 

 are less desirable unless designed with great skill, and mosaics of marble 

 or glass, such as were so successfully used in Roman or Byzantine buildings, 

 are hardly within the means of the average house-builder, and their beauty is 

 hardly homely enough in its character for the modern English house. The 

 uses of the room will to a large extent determine the treatment of its floor, 

 and, while those apartments constantly used by the members of the family 

 may have floors of timber with a few rugs, those only occasionally occupied 

 may be carpeted, while the stone or tile floor is peculiarly adapted for bath- 

 rooms, lavatories and kitchen offices. 



In the sitting-rooms of the average house there is one apparent extrava- 

 gance which may prove wise, and that is the use of oak or some hard wood 

 for the floor. It is lasting and durable, and will outlive a succession of 

 carpets, and it meets both practical and aesthetic requirements. It need not. 

 be in narrow boards, and, if properly prepared in the first instance, it need 

 not be polished. It is cleanly and labour-saving, for, of all the trappings 

 with which we surround ourselves, the carpet will be found to be the most 

 tyrannical, and, however we multiply door-mats and scrapers, muddy 

 boots on a clean carpet will be a constant source of anxiety to a careful 

 housewife. 



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