THE EDITOR’S TALKS AND CORRESPONDENCE 
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The editor wishes to extend a personal invitation to all readers of House and Garden to send to the 
Correspondence Department, inquiries on any matter pertaining to house finishing and furnishing. Care¬ 
ful consideration is given each inquiry, the letter and answer being published in due time as matters of 
interest to other readers. Where an early reply is desired if a stamp and self-addressed envelope are 
enclosed, the answer will be sent. No charge whatever is made for any advice given. 
T HE interior of the small house to be discussed this month is 
simple, practical and convenient in its arrangement. The 
slightly recessed porch gives directly into the living-room, which 
apartment serves as entrance hall and library as well. The digni¬ 
fied proportions of the room are accentuated by the simple archi¬ 
tectural detail of the standing woodwork. Chestnut is the wood 
used here and it has been treated with a stain and dull finish. 
The wall is of rough or sand finished plaster, and has been tinted a 
soft sage green. The ceiling of smooth plaster between the beams 
shows a clear cafe au lait which contrasts attract ely with the 
color of the side walls. The rich nut brown color produced on 
the wood by the stain gives the effect of wood which has been 
colored by age. The varnish used as a finish here is entirely 
dull and in no wise detracts from this effect of natural old 
wood, although it brings out the grain of the wood perfectly. 
This is simple three coat work, and can be successfully accom¬ 
plished by any workman of ordinary experience. 
The floor of maple is left in the natural tone and finished in an 
effect of rubbed wax which is beautiful and easily obtained. 
The mantel shelf is of the chestnut supported by wrought iron 
brackets. All hardware of the room has been given a black finish 
and resembles wrought iron. In style it is entirely without 
ornamentation and heavy in line. The same idea is carried out 
in the electric fixtures, there is no central light. At either end of 
the room lights suspended by chains are used with clustered shades 
of ground glass of quaint design. About the fireplace an unglazed 
ecru tile is used, thus bringing the color of the ceiling into the lower 
part of the room. At either end of the room long seats are built in. 
These serve a double purpose, as they cleverly conceal the radiators 
and assist materially in furnishing the room. 
The windows in this room are casement, showing medium 
sized panes. These are ordinary stock windows and were 
bought for a modest sum. They were hinged and fitted in the 
openings and supplied with bolts. These windows add greatly to 
the quaint effect of the room and also materially improve the 
exterior aspect of the house. Two of them at the rear of the room 
are set on either side of the mantel shelf and in a line with it. Over 
the mantel is placed a plaster frieze showing in the shadows an 
almost brownish tone, and ivory in the high lights. This room 
thus completed looks almost livable and would require the simplest 
furnishing. The furniture chosen for it must, of course, be on 
plain and simple lines conforming with the spirit of the architec¬ 
tural detail of the room. 
From the western side of the living-room opens the dining-room. 
Here the standing woodwork is of birch, which has been stained 
a forest green stain and given the same dull finish as the wood¬ 
work of the living-room. The beautiful natural shading of the 
wood is brought out attractively under this treatment. The wall 
is tinted a dull dark green. At eighteen inch intervals about the 
room are set strips of birch three and one-half inches in width, 
giving a panelled wainscot effect. The strips are capped by the 
plate rail placed six feet from the floor line. The upper third of the 
wall above is covered by a tapestry paper showing green and dull 
blue foliage against a smoke blue ground. The hardware in this 
room shows the same craftsmanlike simplicity of design and is of 
dull brass as are the fixtures. The leading feature of this dining¬ 
room is the square alcove window in six sections looking to the west. 
1 hese windows come within two feet of the floor line. They 
show the same square panes, though the window frames are long 
and narrow. A wide shelf or the extension of the sill stained 
and finished like the woodwork of the room will offer an excellent 
place for ferns and blossoming plants. The ceiling color is a trifle 
duller in tone than that of the living-room but is practically the 
same color. The floor is maple and finished in the same way as 
that of the adjoining room. A built-in buffet and corner glass cup¬ 
board, the lower part of which holds and almost conceals the 
radiator, go far toward furnishing this delightful little dining-room. 
The shade of green chosen for the living-room walls shows the 
exact color of the reverse side of the foliage leaf of a La France rose, 
and is beautifully soft in tone, and from this the green of the 
standing woodwork and side walls in the dining-room deepens 
harmoniously and agreeably. 
Keeping to various tones of one color for the living-rooms of 
a house has many points in its favor. It materially adds to the dig¬ 
nity of the room so treated and gives an appearance of added size. 
This latter effect is also assisted by treating the floors in the same 
manner, that there shall be no break in the color effect other than 
that supplied by the rugs which will be used upon them. 
In planning the interior of the house it is well to try out the vari¬ 
ous colors for wood trim, wall, etc., before determining upon a 
scheme of color. Sample panels of the wood to be used for the 
trim and floors should be furnished to the stain manufacturers with 
request to obtain certain effects, if one’s ideas are formed along 
this line. In this way the exact finished effect may be seen. As 
woods of the same variety show greatly differing characteristics 
in different localities, it is always best to have these tried out. 
Samples of wall tinting in various shades will also be supplied 
upon request by the manufacturers. These should be tried in 
combination with the wood panels. The choice of stain and finish 
for the wood trim as well as the color and treatment for the walls 
is, of course, largely influenced by the architectural detail of the 
room, as even the simplest and least expensive house should ex¬ 
emplify a definite and carefully worked out architectural idea, 
which is enhanced or belittled by the color scheme and furnishing 
accessories. Add to the wood trim, wall and ceiling color a bit of 
the tile to be used in the room, and select the hardware and fix¬ 
tures from the excellent and complete line of cuts which can so 
readily be obtained from the manufacturers. With these in 
hand it does not require a great deal of imagination to see how 
the completed rooms will appear. 
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