A ROOM FURNISHED IN MISSION STYLE 
By Mabei. Tuke Priestman 
I T is not so easy as it would seem to furnish a 
room with artistic taste and yet keep it simple and 
homelike, but, when color and proportion are carefully 
thought out beforehand, everything will come together 
in a satisfactory and harmonious manner. 
Not long ago I assisted a lady to furnish a library, 
which adjoined a beautiful drawing-room furnished 
in the colonial style. First of all, this room itself had to 
be considered. As it was in tones of greens and old reds 
some scheme harmonizing with these colors had to be 
thought out. The library was long and narrow, with 
a bay window at one end, and a door leading into the 
hall at the opposite end; at right angles another door¬ 
way led into the parlor. Opposite in the corner was a 
forlorn mantelpiece, with all the woodwork varnished 
pine. We planned to have the colors tan, brown and 
red, with touches of green and copper. After the pa¬ 
per was removed and the mantel taken out, we cov¬ 
ered the walls with a heavy Boston felt, which was a 
warm shade of tan, almost brown; above this a land¬ 
scape frieze with brown trees, green fields, and a red 
sunset, the colors of which were carried out in the 
room; the frieze was printed on a heavy felt, the shade 
of the wall paper, and fairly glowed with rich, warm 
tones. 
The very ordinary woodwork was changed by 
having the varnish removed and staining it brown; the 
picture mouldings were, of course, colored to match, 
as the room had no cornice, and the frieze required 
a heavy moulding above. 1 used the ordinary ready¬ 
made plate rail, having the part intended for plates 
flat against the ceiling. 
Mission furniture stained brown, with russet and 
leather cushions, harmonized well with this scheme. 
Against one long wall the sofa was placed, while book¬ 
shelves lined the opposite wall. A writing table with 
drawers stood between the sofa and windows, and 
several easy chairs, none of them heavy and massive, 
like so many of the Mission chairs, were conveniently 
arranged. On the floor, a made-to-order brown wool 
rug with a stencilled border design gave a touch of 
individuality to the room. The chimney piece also 
afforded opportunity for something a little different, so 
I designed one with simple straight lines reaching to 
the ceiling. In the large centre panel above the man¬ 
tel shelf a deer’s head was placed, while below the 
shelf a plaster panel of the Chariot Race, tinted green, 
was set in the mantel. 1 he tiles were dull copper, 
without any shiny surface, and the hearth stones, too, 
were unglazed. The copper tones were repeated in 
the portieres, between the two rooms, which were 
made from a mercerized material of a conventional 
two-toned design suited to the rest of the decorations. 
Soft scrim sash curtains were stencilled with a nas¬ 
turtium design, repeating the colors in the landscape 
fringe. Although these curtains have been washed 
several times, they have retained their color, and 
seem impervious to the rays of the sun. 
1 here is nothing fussy in the way of ornaments; 
they are well chosen, and also serve a useful purpose. 
Pictures are framed to suit the subjects, and the strong 
bits of color in the Japanese prints are a pleasant re¬ 
lief to the eye from the other brown-toned platinotypes. 
1 he room is a pleasant one in which to stay awhile; 
while a comfortable chair has beside it a low reading 
table. It is, after all, these little things that count in 
the making of a successful room. The accompanying 
photographs are by Miss Emma E. Francis. 
MOOR PARR, ENGLAND 
