HOUSE AND GARDEN 
November, 1912 
are fully as attractive as the new oak 
ones, which were varnished with three 
coats of a transparent varnish. 
With the finishing of our floors we 
solved the treatment of the old wood¬ 
work in the room to be used as the 
den. By using a dark varnish stain 
and coating this surface (the mate¬ 
rial dried with a high gloss) with a 
finish varnish that gives a rich, dull 
appearance to the wood, we obtained 
a surface that matched our mission 
furniture and was easily and cheaply 
secured. The walls had been painted 
in the dull bufif stone color, giving the 
den, without any additional decora¬ 
tion, a most cozy and comfortable 
appearance. 
The woodwork of the chambers we 
painted white like the dining-room. 
The ceiling and walls were tinted in 
light colors—cream and pink in the 
north and northwest rooms, with 
gray, green and blue in the sunny 
ones. The floor of the large chamber 
where the cream wall was offset with 
the deep yellow and green figured 
hangings, box seat covers and cush¬ 
ions, was finished like that of the 
dining-room in the light yellow tone, while those of the other 
chambers were painted with two coats of light gray paint. This 
finish has proved excellent, washes easily and forms an attractive 
background for the hand-woven rag rugs that repeat the wall 
and hanging colors. 
The kitchen and bathroom were finally reached and as we 
felt like professionals we looked for wonderful results. Perhaps 
the right way would have been to do this part of the house first, 
but we wanted results quickly and I am glad we started the 
other way, for we found it hard to 
hold to our work schedule as the 
days were getting warmer and more 
oppressive as the summer sped along. 
Despite all that may be said to the 
contrary, I believe a kitchen decorated 
in light colors is just as easily kept 
clean as a dark dingy one. Anyway 
the former when it is clean looks so, 
which is not true of the latter. For¬ 
tunately there are oil paints that will 
stand any amount of washing and are 
not affected by steam or moisture. 
These are adapted to the covering of 
larger surfaces than would be prac¬ 
tical for enamels, the effect is sim¬ 
ilar, and they may be used for wood¬ 
work, old or new, when a simple 
painted finish is desired. With paint¬ 
ing we got satisfactory results in the 
kitchen, and the old pantry and closet 
that we thought were entirely useless 
as the finish was in such bad condi¬ 
tion—both with regard to color and 
surface. The two coats quickly 
brushed onto the endless number of 
shelves, cabinets, cupboard doors, 
window sills and what not, made all 
respectable, even the dark pasageway 
to the cellar. We held to one scheme, 
using a combination of very light 
green and ivory. All the woodwork 
and doors were painted with the two 
coats of this finish after being sub¬ 
jected to a vigorous scrubbing. The 
walls and ceiling color, a light satin 
green, blends nicely with the wood 
tone and the floor, which we painted 
with two coats of light tan, not a bad 
shade with the other floor colors. The 
pipes, water tank and sink standards 
look bright and clean after two coats 
of aluminum paint. 
We wanted to make the bath look, 
as well as be, sanitary, so we took off 
all the old paper, cleaned up every 
little corner, and painted. We had 
set our hearts on having a blue and 
white bath. The woodwork and walls 
were enameled white, using as many 
under-coats as for the dining-room, 
but purchasing the enamel in the 
gloss, which we flowed on evenly and 
allowed to dry thoroughly. This gave 
us a wainscoting as satisfactory as 
any tile or cement at much less cost 
and labor. It is as easily kept clean 
as tile or enameled cement. The dull 
surface oil paint in a very light blue was used for the upper 
wall and ceiling, the one color making the room appear larger. 
The floor we painted white. With the blue rugs, it is serviceable 
and we find it unnecessary to give it any more attention than we 
have given darker bath floors and the light tone of tile. We 
could have used the treatment here that was used in the kitchen 
and that we have since followed in changing a large closet into 
a lavatory. 
Before we knew it we were ready for the finishing touches. 
The last few days of hard work left 
us in better spirits than we had hoped 
for and we were able to carry the 
work through to a triumphal finish. 
Down in the camp, if you looked hard 
enough, you would have found a neat 
little box — our magic box we called 
it — and if you took a peep at us in the 
early evening, the magic contents 
would have been in full view; brushes, 
thumb tacks, a knife with a pliable 
blade and tubes of what looks like 
tooth paste. This was our stencil 
outfit; the way it worked as follows: 
A stream of rich yellow was heaped 
in a little mound on one end of a 
piece of heavy glass (a palette). The 
knife brought into play and the paint 
— for it is nothing else—is slashed 
through, this way and that, and finally 
spread out in a thin sheet. A piece 
of cheesecloth laid out flat over a 
clean newspaper was made the me¬ 
dium upon which the stencil was 
placed. Thumb tacks at each corner 
pressed through the cloth and news¬ 
paper held it firm on the baking-board 
underneath—the only available board 
(Continued on page 334) 
The bathroom was finished with a waterproof white 
paint that served just as well as tiles 
In the kitchen white was used again in combination 
with green and gave a sanitary and cheerful impression 
