December, 1912 
Se + 
A domestic rug of this sort, measuring three by six feet, can be purchased for $5 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
435 
Domestic Rugs 
By Berwyn Converse 
Photographs by T. C. Turner 
saliEVER have floor coverings been more at- 
1)| tractive and alluring to anyone fitting up a 
new home or in making the changes and 
alterations which are necessary in arranging 
the house for use during the long months of 
late Autumn, Winter and early Spring. The 
record of industrial progress shows no greater achievement 
than in the development of floor coverings and the energy 
and taste of the manufacturers have provided an endless 
assortment of carpets and rugs of all kinds and prices, and 
in the shops they are arranged in a way to display their 
utility and beauty to the greatest advantage. The subject 
of floor coverings is so important that it 
affects vitally the entire home. A wise 
choice will go far toward making a success- 
ful interior where an injudicious selection 
of patterns or colorings or an unwise choice 
among the many varieties to be had may 
easily make the home much less successful 
than it should be. 
The case of rugs vs. carpets was threshed 
out years ago and is revived in these later 
days usually only where the floor to be cov- 
ered is so rough, unfinished or uneven, that 
its painting or staining seems to be outside 
the range of possibility. Under these con- 
ditions nothing can be done excepting to 
use a carpet which covers the entire floor. 
Sometimes when the use of rugs is particu- 
larly desired such a floor may be covered 
with “filling” which is a thick and soft, but 
inexpensive, carpet usually plain and of 
some dark color which makes an excellent 
background for rugs which may be used in 
addition. Many people who must com- 
pletely cover their floors use Chinese or 
Japanese mattings in much the same way 
and with the beautiful weaves and interest- 
LeU eV SWE 
ieee CATT 
A Persian panel domestic rug 
measuring twenty-seven by fifty-four 
inches, may be had in body Brus- 
sels for about $3 
ing colors and patterns which the clever Orientals send to 
our markets a very successful floor surface may be pre- 
pared for rugs of any kind. With a hardwood floor or a 
well-laid floor carefully painted, the case is much simpler 
and may be treated with much less expense. 
In selecting floor coverings, careful thought should be 
given to the character of the room, the furnishings to be 
used and the purpose for which it is intended for a living- 
room, finished and furnished in the ‘‘mission style,’ with 
leather cushioned chairs and settees, and with walls perhaps 
finished in rough plaster would demand a floor treatment 
quite different from that used in a dining-room where the 
woodwork is painted white, the furniture of 
mahogany and the walls covered with paper 
of a Colonial pattern. There too, exceed- 
ingly careful attention should be given to 
the selection of the colors used, for a floor 
covering should repeat the principal tones 
which enter into the covering of walls and 
ceilings and in door and window hangings 
as well as in such fabrics as may be used 
for furniture coverings and cushions. The 
carpet or rugs should unite walls, ceiling 
and furniture and- this cannot well be done 
unless some degree of harmony be secured 
in this important regard. There are cases, 
of course, where the floor covering may be 
wholly different in color from anything 
else in the room and the successful result 
be due entirely to a “harmony of contrast,” 
but such cases are not common and unless 
one be gifted with an infallible or highly 
developed color sense and a fine sense in 
his own idea of the fitness of things, and 
be also willing to abide by his choice and 
selection, it would not be wise to make too 
daring a selection of coverings for the 
floors of the various rooms in the house. 
