May, 1 910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



171 







An old stairway 



^^^^^ VERY revival, either in art or religion, is 

 T^ZycT^i-' . characterized by enthusiasm. Especially 

 is this true of the great periods of archi- 

 tecture, when, after a lapse of interest, 

 they again come into their own. 



With the popular return to house 

 building of the Colonial era, there has 

 also been an accompanying desire to follow the interior 

 fittings of the homes of the eighteenth century. The open 

 fireplace has been restored in all its old-time integrity, al- 

 though it is not made the sole dependence for winter heat- 

 ing. Candlesticks as holders for artificial illumination are 

 once more in evidence, electric wiring supplying the place 

 of the primitive tallow dips. The prestige of the blue-and 

 white table china is restored. The four-poster bed and 

 crochet spread are the choice for the guest room, and 

 cotton rugs for the floor are being woven on hand looms. 



, Recognizing that 

 some modification 

 of the furnishings 

 of a past date is 

 requisite to meet 

 modern standards 

 of comfort and 

 taste, we can still 

 find, among the 

 old-time ideas , 

 many that are suit- 

 able and attractive 

 enough to perpetu- 

 ate in our progres- 

 sive century. 



A piece of old 

 furniture s o m e - 

 times gives the 

 key-note not only 

 for the room in 

 which it is placed, 

 but also for the 

 entire house. A 

 fine old sideboard, 



for instance, is acquired. A dining table of equal merit 

 is naturally adcied as a companion, and chairs to match 

 ensue. The furniture in adjoining rooms, it soon becomes 

 evident, needs harmonizing with its neighbors, and almost 

 without premeditation the hou"^e throughout takes on an 

 old-time atmosphere. 



Or, as another example, the purchase is made of a coun- 

 try home whose lines are suggestively old-fashioned, and 

 the interior equipment is at once started with the decora- 

 tions that were in vogue five or six generations ago. 



Colonial furnishing responds to the simple problems of 

 a home that must be developed with a moderate income as 

 well as the more elaborate demands of an expensive estab- 

 lishment. In the latter, the cabinet work may follow the ex- 

 quisite detail of the residences of the Colonial governors, 

 or the dignified mansions of the early Virginians of wealth, 

 and the furniture may be drawn from the carved work of 



the Empire school, 

 the more ornate of 

 Chippendale's pat- 

 terns, and the in- 

 laid and painted 

 decorations of the 

 Atiam brothers. 



In less preten- 

 tious surroundings 

 one mav install a 

 fireplace of factory 

 make that bears 

 the s t a ni p of 

 Colonial simplicity. 

 W G o d paneling 

 sometimes rills the 

 space above the 

 mantel, as in the 

 illustration, or, a 

 triplicate mirror 

 framed in gold 

 rests on the mantel 

 shelf. 



Blue - and - white 



A fireplace with paneled over-mantel is in harmony with the drawing-room 



