July, i 9 i 6 
13 
The most effective use of woodwork indoors calls for wise selection 
and such treatment as will enhance the wood’s inherent beauty 
FINISHING INTERIOR WOODS 
What Can Be Done to Enhance Their Natural Beauty 
With the Right Preservatives Correctl y Applied 
RUSSELL L. WHITEHEAD 
O NE charm of mod¬ 
ern decoration lies 
i n the use of natural 
woods together with 
beautifully finished walls 
and woven fabrics. Na¬ 
ture has woven into the 
solid fibre of wood a 
richness and variety of 
coloring ever pleasing to 
the cultivated eye, and 
in its exquisite grainings 
she has traced patterns 
far beyond the dreams 
of the artist. 
In finishing a wood 
it is our duty to develop 
these natural beauties, 
to preserve them from 
decay and deterioration, 
and it is the mission of 
this article to show the 
layman in a small way 
the woods which should 
be developed to a finish, 
separating the decora¬ 
tive from the protective 
function, and the woods 
which should be finished 
in various other ways. 
It can be readily un- 
By means of transparent finishes the natural figure of the grain is retained 
and brought to its greatest effectiveness. Imagine this woodwork covered with 
a coat of obliterating paint 
derstood that the sur¬ 
face of any material can 
be colored by merely re¬ 
ducing pigment to fine 
powder and rubbing it 
over the surface. In 
charcoal sketches, pas¬ 
tel and pencil drawings, 
this is actually practised. 
For the majority of pur¬ 
poses, however, it is 
necessary to devise some 
means of fixing the par¬ 
ticles of pigment perma¬ 
nently to the surface. 
This is accomplished by 
mixing the pigment with 
a liquid, which has the 
property, when spread 
in a thin layer on any 
surface, of changing into 
a more or less adhesive 
solid. This combination 
of the pigment with a 
medium or vehicle in the 
manner just described is 
known as paint. 
Paint is very often 
used in the finishing of 
interior woodwoidc, and 
if properly prepared it 
