December, 19 lo 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



463 



Decoration for a mantel 



Decorations and Furnishings for the Home 



By Alice M. Kellogg 



X — The Treatment of Fireplaces and Mantels 



T THIS season of the year, and more par- movable furnishings interest that larger class who must 

 ticularly the holiday month with its in- adapt their belongings to every change of dwelling place. A 

 door gatherings around the family hearth, more subtle problem is to bring the mantel and the fireplace 



the at- 

 tention 

 of the 

 home 

 maker is naturally directed 

 to the details of the fire- 

 place and the mantel. 



From the historical 

 and architectural view- 

 point the fireplace has 

 always been the most 

 important feature in 

 interior construction. 

 Beginning with a simple 

 opening through the 

 roof as an escape for a 

 fire built on the clay or 

 earthen floor, the 

 chimney of antiquity has 

 gradually developed into 

 shapely lines suited to 

 its environment. The 

 mechanical arrange- 

 ments have kept pace 

 with our modern im- 

 provements and prog- 

 ress has been made in 

 the selection of ma- 

 terials. Design, too, 

 shows the progressive 

 spirit of the times. 



The permanent fit- 

 tings, of a fireplace ap- 

 peal to the prospective 

 house builder, or the 

 owner who anticipates 

 or is already engaged 

 in remodeling. The 



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A treatment distinctive and consistent 



mto artistic relations 

 with the rest of the room. 

 This last has been suc- 

 cessfully accomplished in 

 the home of iVIr. 

 Edward S. Savage, Rah- 

 way, N. J., by the in- 

 troduction of a garden 

 scene executed in oil 

 colors by Miss Isabel 

 Whitney. The sketches 

 for the completed picture 

 were made in the 

 flower garden of the 

 owner, and combined in 

 one composition to con- 

 form to the space to be 

 filled over the mantel. 

 The coloring was 

 carried out in harmony 

 with the color scheme 

 already existing in the 

 room in the rugs, hang- 

 ings and furniture 

 coverings. 



The space above a 

 mantel makes a strong 

 claim for a treatment 

 that shall be distinctive 

 and consistent. Where 

 there is much paneling 

 in the rooni with open 

 beams in the ceiling, the 

 repetition of the panels 

 above the fireplace is a 

 natural sequence. (Sec 

 illustration.) Or. the 

 woodwork of the mantel 



