HOUSE AND GARDEN 
October, 1911 
2 39 
Whitewood and poplar are extensively used for enameling in white or ivory. The tastefully finished dining-room and living-room in the home of 
Mr. A. S. Thomas, Blue Hill, Me. 
in its smooth sheen and satin finish of surface. It is condemned 
by many contractors and lumber dealers, however, since it 
“buckles” and does not “hold,” though these undesirable results 
do not invariably follow its use. Quarter-sawed red gum is rec¬ 
ommended by experts. 
Basswood is inferior and not to be recommended for interior 
woodwork. 
While “stock” doors are as a rule pretentious in style, a good 
and simple pattern is occasionally to be found on the market. 
Birch doors are quoted at three dollars and a half apiece, net. 
Fir doors at two dollars and a quarter apiece can be used with 
pine woodwork, stained to match. 
In butlers’ pantries and kitchens, the woodwork, ordinarily of 
hard pine, is now often given a coat or so of linseed oil, instead 
of the old highly varnished finish that made it so uncommonly 
ugly. An occasional oil rub¬ 
bing cleans the wood, or warm 
water is used. Sometimes a 
light coat of stain with wax 
finish is substituted. If paint 
is employed it is white, pale 
gray or a pale but warm yel¬ 
low. Dark paint makes a 
dreary workroom, and the old 
reason for its use, that it does 
not show dirt, seems to the 
modern housewife shockingly 
unhygienic. 
Two unusual sources of sup¬ 
ply for woodwork for the small 
house are the neighborhood 
trees of suburbs or of country¬ 
sides, and the wrecking firms 
of large cities. Trees that are 
sacrificed to make room for 
buildings may sometimes be 
purchased by the homebuilder, 
who superintends their cutting 
into lumber, and uses them for 
the wood trim of a room, thus 
getting individual effects and 
perhaps a rare wood at small 
cost. It is not possible, of 
course, to obtain great oaks 
such as Miss Jekyll, the Eng¬ 
lish garden expert, placed rough hewn as ceiling beams in her 
home. But a living-room and library in one of our Eastern 
towns have paneled doors, built-in furniture and other wood¬ 
work of butternut from an old butternut grove in the district, the 
mellow golden tone of the oiled wood possessing great beauty. 
A house in the Middle West used to be a striking example of the 
utilization of material near the site, and if still standing is greatly 
inflated in value, with its high wainscoting — as well as clapboards 
—of black walnut. Old cherry trees may give a unique quality to 
a room, and local woods that would be scorned by the “trade” 
and burned for firewood on account of defects of grain, are util¬ 
ized by clever home-builders. 
For the small house in Colonial style, mantelpieces, doors and 
paneling from old houses may be picked up at wreckers’ estab- 
(Continued on page 262) 
Cypress is capable of taking a variety of finishes and is beautiful in its good graining. 
economical treatments for the interior 
It is one of the most 
