208 
The Garden Magazine, May, 1924 
JUST ENOUGH COLOR,TO BE RIGHT 
“In planning to use chintz for a sun-room it is well not to overdo it. There are practically only two places it 
can be used: for curtains or for furniture covering—the ‘or’ is used advisedly.” Very restful and livable is this 
cool and yet cheerful looking sun-room at Birchwood, the home of Mrs. Anson W. Burchard, Locust Valley, L. I. 
are usually in good proportion to fill a large wall space. When 
several are hung on the walls, plain curtains, with plain or 
striped furniture coverings are most effective, and the patterns 
can be repeated in the shape of sofa pillows or lamp shades. 
Into such a scheme as this could appropriately be introduced a 
wall fountain of colored pottery, especially designed by an artist 
to give an additional oriental touch. The same artist might 
design some hand-made tiles for flower boxes. Bamboo furni¬ 
ture and a tiled floor would complete an interesting and inviting 
room. 
When Choosing Material for the Open Porch 
I N FURNISHING an open veranda with chintz, the colors 
should be simple and vivid to be most effective and hold their 
own, both as a foreground to the natural colors of foliage, flowers, 
and sky that they generally compete with, and practically in the 
matter of fading. As few figured chintzes are sun-fast, one has 
often to turn to interesting striped or plaid effects. Many of 
these are derived from old bandanas, woven into heavy canvas- 
iike materials, which are dyed with a sunfast aim in view. They 
give variety of color, without adding a definite artificial pattern, 
which might lose all effect when seen close to the larger scale of 
the landscape or flower garden beyond. For further variety, 
plain colored materials repeating one of the colorings in the plaids 
or stripes can be used for pillows. 
In all of these descriptions it is assumed that the walls of the 
sun-rooms or verandas are without pattern and more or less 
neutral in tone. If the house be stucco, washed over with a 
definite color, it becomes of great importance to take this into 
consideration in choosing a chintz, for the whole effect of colors 
is easily marred by lack of relation to their background. 
No mention has been made so far of the so-called modern or 
futuristic type of design, in which all tradition has been aban¬ 
doned and abstract patterns substituted according to the indivi¬ 
dual artist’s ideas of filling a given space. These designs are apt 
to be very striking in color and form, and in general are much 
more suitable for sun-rooms or verandas than any other part of 
a house. They may be the starting point for an extremely odd 
but interesting effect, but must be chosen with knowledge and 
discretion, not simply in order to be original. It takes more 
experience to carry out successfully an entire scheme based on a 
modern chintz than one that has a well tried history behind it. 
