Nov 



em her 



1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



413 



The Octagonal Hall Contains an Attractive Staircase 



mantel and paneled over-mantel, completes this room. Ma- 

 hogany furniture of good style is used. French windows in 

 both the living- and dining-rooms open onto the veranda. 



Xhe butler's pantry is fitted with a sink, dresser and 

 closets complete. The outdoor dining-room, which is be- 

 coming an important feature of the modern American home, 

 is reached from the butler's pantry as well as from the rest 

 of the house by the way of the veranda. Having this con- 



nection with the butler's 

 pantry, service may be had 

 with as equally good re- 

 sults as with the dining- 

 room itself. This is a very 

 important and excellent fea- 

 ture to be considered in the 

 planning of a house. This 

 outdoor dining-room is pro- 

 vided with a green wicker 

 table and chairs resting on 

 a red and green rug, and 

 the tone of color presents a 

 refreshing and cooling 

 effect. 



The kitchen is well sup- 

 plied with the usual sink, 

 laundry tubs, dresser, cold 

 storage room, and a service 

 stairway connects with the 

 cellar and upper floors. 



The second floor con- 

 tains five bedrooms and two 

 bathrooms. The bedrooms 

 have white painted trim, 

 and the wall of each room 

 is carried out in one par- 

 ticular color scheme. The 

 bathrooms have tiled floors 

 and wainscotings, and each 

 is furnished with porce- 

 lain fixtures and exposed nickelplated plumbing. The third 

 floor contains the servants' bedrooms and ample storage 

 space. A heating apparatus and fuel rooms are in the 

 cellar. In the treatment of this house the architect has 

 seized upon the opportunity of giving it an individuality 

 and distinctive character. It is a house that attracts by its 

 real comfort and the thorough excellence of its parts and 

 Its furnishings. 



Materials for Wall Coverings 



^&6 ^7f^^^ ^(^ A PF, R is most frequently used, partly be- 

 vM^ 3m^^^Q cause it is the cheapest material, partly be- 

 ^^/^^ cause it can be had in a vast array of 

 ^^^J^ patterns, and partly because, of its cheap- 

 vPt^ ness, it can be removed and replaced at 



There is a host of wall coverings offered 

 by the shops: paper, denim, cretonne, silk, fabrics into which 

 silk enters, leather, tapestry, and imitation goods of almost 

 every possible sort, which pretend to he what they are not, 

 and carry out their imitation so successfully that sometimes 

 the expert is deceived. The range of choice is very wide, and 

 the chief limit is the size of one's pocketbook. 



When the choosing of the wall covering has advanced to 

 the selection of the material the time for definite choice has 

 arrived. Every one who has tried this knows how difficult 

 it is. Sheet after sheet, roll after roll, is passed in rapid re- 

 view, with the chief apparent purpose of confusing the mind 

 and postponing decision. But the work must be done, and 

 the single aid that general advice can give is to point out 

 general principles, and indicate what should be excluded or 

 what is suitable for certain conditions. 



In papers the range of choice is extraordinarily wide, from 

 the simple inexpensive American papers — and very taking 

 many of them are! — to the costly designs of French and 



English draftsmen, with Morris and Day at their head. It 

 is the high grade foreign papers that are most apt to reach 

 American markets, and many of them are not only sin- 

 gularly attractive, but works of extreme beauty. The com- 

 plicated designs of the masters of wall papers are only 

 suited to separate use; they are strong and vigorous patterns, 

 requiring no help from pictures, and almost completely fur- 

 nishing a room in themselves. 



Very attractive rooms are now covered with silk and 

 allied materials. These goods come in very delicate pat- 

 terns, a circumstance to which they doubtless chiefly owe 

 their popularity. Not quite the same effect would be pro- 

 duced were these designs translated into paper, for the ma- 

 terial has a direct relationship to the design, and what might 

 seem very good in one material would fail to be as successful 

 in another. 



Decorated leather is the richest of all wall coverings, and 

 it is certainly one of the most expensive. It is a covering 

 intended only for rooms of great luxury and only suited to 

 such. Its rich deep tones of dark brown are marvelously 

 beautiful, and the enriching effect of other colors, deep and 

 warm in tone, is most striking. It is so splendid in its effect 

 that its use in other than the most expensive of houses, seems 

 out of place. Tapestry is also another costly material, and 

 is often most effective. 



