January, 1912 
UNITY IN INTERIOR DECORATION 
By Harry Martin Yeomans 
=0q]| HEN planning the furnishings for the house 
ld) of moderate size, one is apt to select color 
schemes and furniture from the point of 
view of each room as a separate problem in 
itself, without reference to the relationship 
of all the rooms in the same house, one to 
the other. A small house loses a great deal of its charm 
when this feeling of unity is lacking, giving one the impres- 
sion that the right hand did not let the left hand know what 
it was doing in the matter of furnishing, and that the whole 
scheme has not been controlled by one mind. Unity does 
not necessarily spell monotony, and although each room of 
a house should fulfill the purpose for which it is designed, 
it should also “feel at home” with its neighbor across the 
hall. One authority on interior decoration has gone so far 
as to say that all of the rooms on the same floor of a house 
should be so decorated that if the partitions should sud- 
denly disappear, one large room would be left, the furnish- 
ings of which would blend into a harmonious whole. This 
may seem a bit far-fetched, but it illustrates the point. One 
may have an interest in different styles of decoration, but it 
is a dangerous procedure to attempt to incorporate them all 
in one house. Each may be good individually, but ‘Will 
they look well together ?”’ is the question to be considered. 
C. style which is especially pleasing to the homemaker 
should be selected to form the keynote for the whole 
decorative scheme. If one is fond of white paint and bright, 
cheerful colors on the walls, the ever-pleasing Colonial sug- 
gests itself. Wall-paper and Colonial reproductions of all 
kinds can easily be obtained now, so that the Colonial spirit 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
WittN ide HOUSE 
SUGGESTIONS ON INTERIOR DECORATING 
AND NOTES OF INTEREST TO ALL 
WHO DESIRE TO MAKE THE HOUSE 
MORE BEAUTIFUL AND MORE HOMELIKE 
The Editor of this Department will be glad to answer all queries 
from subscribers pertaining to Home Decoration. _ r 
should be enclosed when a direct personal reply is desired 
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can be carried out from the knocker on the front door to 
the fragrant Bayberry dips in the brass candlesticks. 
GAIN, if one admires the grain of woods after they have 
been stained, waxed, or fumed, and strong but sober 
colors in wall coverings and in hangings, it is best to adopt 
a scheme which will enable one to have their attributes 
around and about. All of the so-called Mission styles of 
furniture—pieces built on severe lines—require strong back- 
grounds and woodwork trims finished in a dark wood stain. 
The beautiful grain of dull, dark wood will be found in all 
of the oak and walnut furniture patterned after Flemish 
and early English models, and one has endless beautiful re- 
productions of Jacobean and other periods to choose from. 
In a house to meet this phase one can build up a beautiful 
dining-room, for instance, around an oak gate-leg table and 
some Windsor chairs, all finished in dark brown stain. 
Y furnishing a house with the idea of unity in mind, one 
is enabled to preserve relative values in colors and tex- 
tures of wood and fabrics, so that one scheme blends into 
the other as progress is made from room to room. ‘The 
house of limited extent will also appear more spacious when 
marked contrasts are avoided, and surely more homelike. 
IN THE CHINESE TASTE 
HERE was a great vogue for things Chinese during the 
last half of the eighteenth century, the Chinese influence 
making itself felt in the period of Louis XV, and Chippen- 
dale used Chinese frets and motifs in some of the furniture 
which he designed “‘in the Chinese taste.”” The lacquers were 
very popular, and pieces of furniture (especially chairs in the 
Queen Anne style) were covered with black lacquer having 
Chinese designs scattered over them. ‘The black chintzes 
and other Chinese figured chintzes which accompanied this 
lacquered furniture have been revived in modern fabrics 
Some examples of wall-paper and two-patterned fabrics in the Chinese style of covering most of the background, again becoming very popular 
