AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
November, 1912 
HARDWARE FOR THE SMALL HOUSE 
By Harry Martin Yeomans 
aq)| IE demand for complete harmony in every 
detail of the modern house can be satisfied 
even to the key-plates and the door-knobs, 
for the great interest in household art and 
the desire for more artistic fine hardware, 
has resulted in the manufacturers designing 
and carrying in stock fine metal trimmings and ornaments 
to carry out decorative schemes of any of the great periods 
of decorative art, from the Gothic down to our own Ameri- 
can Colonial, not to mention the modern Mission style. 
The prices vary according to the style and finish from the 
medium-priced to the mercury-gold (gold-plaited, burned on 
with mercury), metal trimmings suitable only for elaborate 
schemes of decoration and large purses. 
In common with all other details of the little house, the 
fine hardware should be selected with care and discrimina- 
tion so that the locks and catches are of good quality, and 
will not speedily get out of order, but in this small article 
we shall be more interested in the outward appearance of 
the hardware, such as the escutcheons and knobs, the de- 
sign of which should be suited to the general character of the 
house in which they are to be used. They should not be too 
frail-looking, neither should they be so heavy and elaborate 
in design that they attract attention in themselves. The door 
is the principal thing and its knob and key-plate are only 
incidentals, and while they should be good in detail of de- 
sign and workmanship, they 
should not attract one’s not- 
ice on account of their size 
or elaborateness. 
This general rule can be 
transgressed, however, with 
reference to the main door 
of the house, facing the 
highway, which should have 
an ample lock and _ orna- 
mental trimming of goodly 
size and character for this 
heavier door and to denote 
the principal entrance to the 
dwelling. This lock is the de- 
fence of the home, and this 
main door is to keep people 
in as well as to keep them out. 
The strap hinge of 
wrought iron fulfils the re- 
quirements of good design, 
inasmuch as it is both useful 
and ornamental, and it is a 
pity that it is not more fre- 
SESS 
WITHIN THE 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. 
should be enclosed when a direct personal reply is desired 
A simple Colonial cottage type of door-latch 
Stamps 
quently employed by architects. On the heavy entrance 
doors of brick houses of Elizabethan or Tudor architecture, 
or those showing Italian tendencies in their lines, strap 
hinges would be both appropriate and artistic, or on cement 
houses of the Mission type. 
The fine hardware for the little house can be obtained 
in wrought or cast bronze, brass, steel or iron. It comes 
in a variety of beautiful and artistic finishes. The brass 
hardware can be obtained with either a bright or a matt 
surface, while the bronze escutcheons and knobs show 
traces of red or gold in the finish of the fine detail. A 
beautiful vert antique surface can also be obtained for 
schemes that require a dark-toned hardware. Some of the 
hardware is electrically plated, but when the basic metal is 
iron, it should be avoided, as the plating will wear off in 
a short time. 
For the average small house of moderate cost, the hard- 
ware of Colonial design, in brass, is perhaps the best and 
most appropriate. The simplicity of design makes it avail- 
able for the house that is really Colonial in detail, as well 
as for the house that is just “‘modern’’ with no decided 
architectural characteristics. One knob and escutcheon is 
attractive on account of its utter lack of ornamentation, 
while another has its plainness relieved by a simple beading 
around the edge, and one could not make a better selection 
for a smll house. 
For the entrance door and interior doors of Colonial 
houses, the manufacturers are now reproducing the thumb 
or lift latch which has been almost entirely abandoned in 
favor of the conventional 
knob. They come in both 
brass and iron. ‘These 
latches are especially appro- 
priate for remodeled farm- 
houses or for new houses of 
the farmhouse type, and 
should be used in connection 
with an old-fashioned brass 
or iron knocker, when placed 
on the entrance door. 
The glass knobs should 
not be overlooked when the 
fine hardware for the house 
is under consideration. They 
give an old-time atmosphere 
to white painted doors, and 
as they can be washed, they 
make a big appeal for both 
sanitary and artistic reasons. 
They can be obtained both 
in pressed or cut glass. There 
are also tiny glass knobs for 
the inside folding shutters. 
eiboue 
