April, 1909 AMERICAN 
hold, restful lines and a sense 
of space. 
Choosing a wall decora- 
tion is an artistic responsibil- 
ity that the unpretentious 
home shares with others of 
more magnificence. The old 
custom of waiting for a 
house to settle before paper- 
ing the walls is not followed 
nowadays. If the perma- 
nent finish is to be a tint, the 
plaster is applied roughly 
and careful thought is ex- 
pended on the choice of 
colors. A neutral hue for 
the halls makes it possible to 
use the positive colors in the 
adjacent rooms. A_har- 
monious linking of colors in 
rooms opening into each 
other is also worth the time 
and trouble to effect. If the 
best appearance is desired for 
a tinted wall the woodwork 
should be painted white. 
In choosing a wall paper 
there are several considera- 
tions to be met: The rug or 
carpet, the woodwork, the 
exposure and the amount of 
light the room receives by 
day and by night. The color of the window shades and 
draperies and the furniture covering also demand attention, 
and withal, there is the limit of cost. 
Amidst these often conflicting perplexities it is safe to 
adhere closely to conditions, regardless of the alluring dis- 
plays in the shop windows and the successful attempts in the 
homes of one’s friends. 
If the rooms to be papered are small the less pattern that 
is introduced on the walls the better. Invisible or broken 
stripes, all-over designs printed in two tones of one color, 
plain colors and texture effects may be drawn from. A plain 
paper may sometimes be brightened by pasting a floral or 
picture border just 
below the ceiling, 
but if the wall is 
only eight feet high 
the absence of a 
border is advisable. 
When two rooms 
are connected by an 
archway one wall 
paper may be 
used throughout. In 
northern and east- 
ern exposures some 
tone of yellow will 
mitigate the loss of 
sunlight. In sunny 
rooms the popular 
choice is a green 
paper, but a gray 
paper will give 
more unusual treat- 
ment, and borders 
or bands may be 
added for color 
notes. 
Picture 
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1 
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J 
ame a 
Be 
an : 
decora- 
HOMES AND GARDENS 
2—A foliage pattern is a decorative choice for a hall 
3—Bed cover and window curtains may be made of the same material 
143 
tion is often overdone in the 
small home. From the two 
extremes of bare walls and 
walls over-filled with unin- 
teresting pictures there would 
be little hesitation of choice, 
yet one finds the latter almost 
always the most in evidence. 
Mirrors, too, are indiscrimi- 
nately used and incorrectly 
hung. 
As window curtains have 
something to say to the out- 
side world of the taste that 
reigns within, their exterior 
effect is worth studying. In 
a city where only the front of 
a house is on view, the win- 
dow shades and lace curtains 
should present a uniform ap- 
pearance. In a detached 
house in suburb or country 
this rule need not be ob- 
served, but attention should 
be paid to the interior effect. 
Where the woodwork is 
finished in a dark stain an 
ecru lace may be used at the 
windows, and white or cream 
net for woodwork that is 
painted white. 
The heavy lace curtains 
that were in vogue a few years ago have been discarded for 
lighter fabrics, and many dainty novelties have taken the 
place of the conventional curtains by the pair. The home 
maker who is skilful with her needle may now fashion her 
own curtains with scrim, etamine, madras, grenadine, muslin, 
bobbinet, filet or mull, adding insertion and edging if desired. 
Over-curtains are so contributory to a cozy effect, espe- 
cially in winter, that they may be reckoned among the es- 
sentials in the decorative effects for the small home. ‘Their 
cost need not be excessive, as there are many varieties of 
draperies costing from seventy-five cents a yard and upward. 
Some of the Scotch materials that are sun-proof are particu- 
larly distinctive for 
this use. 
In bedrooms it is 
often possible to use 
the same goods on 
the beds and also 
for the window cur- 
tains. In a summer 
camp where the 
walls could not be 
papered or tinted, 
the chintz was 
sewed together in 
strips and tacked on 
the walls also. 
For pillow cov- 
ers for the divan 
and covers for the 
tables there are 
SOMmene|fanp) aunue:ste 
chintzes at only fifty 
cents a yard, and 
the same _ patterns 
AEP it mted on 
rough silk for two 
dollars. 
