September, 1911 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
CORRESPONDENCE 
The Editor of AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS desires to extend an invitation to all its readers to send to the Correspond- 
ence Department inquiries on any matter pertaining to the decorating and furnishing of the home and to the developing of the home grounds. 
Alll letters accompanied by return postag= will be answered promptly by mail. Replies that are of general benefit will be published in 
this Department. 
Color Schemes for a Bungalow 
By HARRY YEOMANS 
WESTERN reader is perplexed re- 
garding color schemes for a bunga- 
low which is being built in a country 
where there are six months of sunshine, 
with no rain to speak of during that period. 
“It is very hot a good part of the time, and 
I want my house to be as much like a cool 
summer cottage as possible. 
“What is troubling me now is, what col- 
ors to use in the different rooms. I thought 
of making the dining-room a deep cream, 
the living-room green, the hall a deep cream, 
perhaps; then comes my bedroom and the 
den opening into each other. I will have 
two leather chairs in the den; all the rest 
will be summer cottage furniture. Will get 
new furniture for the dining-room. I 
already have furniture for the other rooms. 
I am not going to have dark woodwork. 
My guest-room is upstairs; I do not know 
what color to have that. Another thing that 
troubles me is, what kind of curtains to 
have for the different rooms. The rooms 
will be nine feet high. Should the side color 
go clear up to the ceiling, or the ceiling color 
come down to the picture molding?” 
The description which you give us of your 
bungalow is very interesting, and the cool 
colors, which you suggest for the various 
rooms, would make your home most attract- 
ive and livable if changed but slightly. 
For the dining-room we would suggest a 
gray and white landscape paper, with cream 
woodwork. There are several gray. and 
white landscape papers, copies of Colonial 
designs, which can now be obtained, and 
any one of them will impart to your dining- 
room just the cool atmosphere which you 
desire. It would be best not to hang any 
pictures on this paper. 
The furniture should be in mahogany, 
after the designs of Heppelwhite or Shera- 
ton, as the cool gray walls will make an ex- 
cellent background for furniture of this 
character. 
The living-room would be attractive with 
a gray-green paper and deep cream wood- 
work, as you suggest, and have the ceil- 
ing tinted just a trifle lighter than the 
woodwork. 
A good color scheme for the hall would 
be to use a striped two-toned gray paper, 
with the same woodwork and ceiling as in 
the living-room, and the bedroom could be 
done in a striped two-toned blue paper, not 
too light. 
If the den were covered with a plain 
paper of old Italian blue it would be attract- 
ive and would be an excellent background 
for pictures and whatever other ornaments 
you may care to use. In addition to your 
two leather chairs, we would suggest that 
you have furniture of the “cottage” type 
for this room. These models are built on 
simple straight lines; they are not so 
heavy as the Mission furniture, and the 
manufacturers will finish them in any 
stain desired, so that they will blend 
well with the general tone of the room. 
Either a light-yellow, rose, or light apple- 
green paper would look well in your guest- 
room. 
For all of the windows we would suggest 
your having all the curtains of a coarse 
écru net, hung on small brass rods, and 
coming two inches below the sill. By hav- 
ing the woodwork, ceilings, and curtains the 
same all through the house you will obtain 
a certain amount of uniformity which will 
be very pleasing. 
The colors on the walls should go up to 
the ceiling, where the picture molding 
should be placed. 
A GRAY GUEST ROOM 
A southern reader desires some informa- 
tion relative to the refurnishing of a guest- 
room. “I would like to have this room done 
in gray, but do not know exactly how to go 
about it. All of the furnishings are to be 
new, with the exception of the brass bed 
and the matting on the floor.” 
People are awaking to the fact that 
gray, is one of the most soothing and satis- 
fying of colors to use in home decoration, 
and as it is the most neutral color we have, 
it combines well with almost any other 
color. 
For your guestroom we would suggest a 
gray and yellow color scheme, using a gray 
and white landscape paper or a two-toned 
gray striped paper, with stripes about two 
inches wide. If pictures are to be hung on 
the wall, the striped paper would be the 
best, as the landscape papers are so deco- 
rative in themselves that they do not make 
good backgrounds for pictures. The wood- 
work should be a deep cream and the ceiling 
tinted a light écru. 
Simple furniture with straight lines 
would be most appropriate for this room. 
Choose a model having legs that taper 
slightly as they reach the floor. Have the 
furniture painted in a soft gray, with a dull 
finish. 
A gray rug with a border design in yellow 
would look well on the floor, or if this is not 
obtainable, a gray rag rug with yellow 
stripes across the ends would be an excellent 
floor covering. These rugs are made in ex- 
actly the same manner as the old-fashioned 
rag carpets. 
At the windows should be hung curtains 
of coarse écru net, coming just to the sill. 
By introducing a beautiful golden yellow 
into this room you will bring in just the 
right color note to keep the scheme from 
becoming monotonous. Over-curtains of 
this yellow could be hung in straight folds at 
the windows, and, if you so desire, a val- 
ance could be added. A yellow spread, pil- 
low-covers, and valance for the bed, as well 
as small pads for the seats of the chairs, and 
a cover for the dresser, would enhance the 
beauty of this room. A heavy fabric with 
considerable body to it should be used, such 
as rep or brocade. It would add to the bed- 
spread and window-curtains if they were 
decorated with a band of plain gold galloon, 
placed about six inches from the edge. 
This color scheme can be varied by sub- 
stituting rose-pink or mulberry for the yel- 
low fabric. 
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choice of any of several finishes to 
harmonize with the color scheme of 
your rooms. 
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upon request. 
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““No Oil to Soil’’ 
xiii 
