What Can Be Done in Finishing 
Inexpensive Woods 
ECONOMICAL EFFECTS WHICH MAY BE HAD BY THE USE OF COM¬ 
MON WOODS TREATED AT HOME—SOME POINTERS FOR THE MAN 
WHO WISHES TO BUILD EFFECTIVELY AND AT MODERATE COST 
by Louise Shrimpton 
Photographs by George A. Daskam and G. E. Doust 
A remarkably effective and inexpensive treatment 
of cypress. The wood is cheaply milled, 
stained brown and wax finished 
I NTERIOR 
woodwork 
in the small 
house may be 
as indivi dual 
and distinctive 
as in the large 
one. If econo¬ 
my is a chief 
cons ideration, 
delightful re¬ 
sults are gained 
by the use of cy¬ 
press, hard pine 
and other comparatively inexpensive woods, with whitewood or 
poplar for white-painted woodwork. Plain oak and chestnut are 
not prohibitive in cost. Home builders, if interested in chemistry 
or of an artistic bent, may enjoy experimenting in stains, testing 
their color properties upon different woods and superintending 
the finishing of woodwork, or even doing much of it themselves. 
A scheme for the style and color of furniture, woodwork, wall 
coverings and draperies should be carefully planned as a pre¬ 
liminary step. Simplicity is desirable in a small house scheme, 
and elaborate period styles, even if possible from the standpoint 
of cost, are scarcely practicable. A stately Adam drawing-room 
cannot very well be crammed into a small house, and Louis XVI 
styles seem a trifle absurd. Our own Colonial attempts at bring¬ 
ing the classical back to life resulted in charming cottage and 
farmhouse wood¬ 
work and furni¬ 
ture, much more 
helpful to the 
builder of a small 
house. If no tra¬ 
ditional type is fol¬ 
lowed, but simple 
mod ern furnish¬ 
ings are preferred, 
then flat unfluted 
mouldings, wain¬ 
scoting of planks 
of varying width 
fas tened against 
the wall to a height 
of several feet, or 
wood strip combi¬ 
nations, may be 
used. Whatever 
the style, the wood¬ 
work should be in¬ 
teresting. One rea- 
This interior by Parker & Unwin is typical son f° r the over- 
of the English idea that wood itself has a crowding of houses 
decorative value with bric-a-brac 
and furniture is perhaps the lack of interest in the background 
of rooms. Doors and window frames, designed for their places, 
and showing the natural grain of the wood, may be as interesting 
as bits of tapestry, still keeping their place as part of a wall. In 
white painted woodwork, paneling should show good space divi¬ 
sions. Carefully studied in a large house, the woodwork of a 
smaller one is often left to the builder or contractor, with the 
result that stock mouldings, unfitted to their places, are used. 
The style of wood trim decided upon, a choice of woods must 
be made. Each has its peculiar properties. Among those suit¬ 
able for the living-rooms of a small house is cypress. It is plenti¬ 
ful, popular for exterior trim, and beginning to be appreciated 
for its possibilities in interior work. A smooth wood, with beau¬ 
tiful grain, taking on refined color effects, it is used to advantage 
where gray greens or browns are desired in the wood trim, with 
wood or wicker furniture stained in corresponding tones. It can 
be obtained for from sixty to sixty-eight dollars a thousand feet, 
the price depending on the quality of the wood. 
Hard pine makes unusually pleasing trim for the living-room 
if stained in a cool color that counteracts its over-hot tones, and 
allows the real beauty of its grain to be seen. It can be had for 
forty-five dollars a thousand. 
Whitewood is quite satisfactory stained in dull soft colors, 
though it lacks beauty of grain. It is often used for woodwork 
that is to be painted white. The cost is forty-five dollars a 
thousand. 
Plain oak, desirable for the living-rooms of a house on account 
of its beauty of grain and soft texture, lending itself to refined 
color effects, costs 
from seventy to 
ninety-five dollars 
a thousand. Where 
quartered oak fur¬ 
niture is used, per¬ 
fect harmony is 
gained by the use 
of plain oak as 
woodwork, treated 
with a m monia 
fumes and stains. 
Chestnut, costing 
somewhat less, is 
o f ten substituted 
for the oak, as it 
takes a similar fin¬ 
ish and has a vig- 
o r o us, sweeping 
grain that com¬ 
mends it for use in 
large rooms. 
Gumwood, cost¬ 
ing about the same An American adaptation of the English idea 
as hard pine, is es- shown opposite. Woodwork here takes the 
pecially attractive, place of wall decoration 
(238) 
