HOUSE AND GARDEN 
200 
October, 
1914 
The problems presented by the bare living-room was to strike an average of light and to 
preserve the simplicity of line 
thus oftentimes the whole effect is ruined and no piece of 
furniture appears to advantage. One of the chief prob¬ 
lems is usually to decide how much can be left out rather 
than how much can be put in. While realizing fully that 
crowding is a serious fault, many people, nevertheless, who 
have started out with an ideal of simplicity have allowed 
their acquisitive faculty to override their sense of propor¬ 
tion and let their rooms get too full, thereby spoiling their 
balance. Elimination is hard to practice, but its lesson 
must be learned. 
Before providing for the actual placing of any of the 
movable furniture, walls, floors and windows must re¬ 
ceive attention. The treatment accorded them constitutes 
a vital part of the general furnishing scheme. They supply 
the background and must be settled upon first. The method 
of dealing with these features is also one of the chief fac¬ 
tors in giving the interior unity. 
In the majority of modern houses the prevailing tones 
of walls and woodwork are light unless the scheme calls 
for oak or other dark paneling, in which case the un¬ 
paneled portion of the walls is often of stronger hue and 
foundation to build upon; without such a guide an unfor¬ 
tunate outcome is almost inevitable. Indeed, it is the lack 
of plan and discrimination and the prevalence of haphaz¬ 
ard furnishing that spoil so many interiors that might 
have been made thoroughly attractive at the expense of 
a little thought. To such an extent is this true that some 
architects now decline to have the interiors of their houses 
photographed after their clients move in. 
A specific instance of plan in furnishing to suit the con¬ 
ditions oT'the house is shown in the accompanying illus¬ 
trations, photographs being taken before and after the fur¬ 
niture and hangings were put in place. The floor plan 
for each room was carefully studied. The cuts indicate 
the results attained. In considering the furnishing of a 
house it must be treated as a consistent whole and the 
relation of one room to another borne in mind. If a sense 
of unity is not preserved in this way the general effect of 
the interior will in all probability be patchy and restless 
and the real size apparently diminished. 
The quality of rigid self-restraint is imperatively essen¬ 
tial for anyone devising a scheme of furnishing. The uni¬ 
versal temptation is to put too many things in a room, and 
French windows give access from the dining-room to the porch, beyond which was suf¬ 
ficient foliage not to necessitate elaborate hangings 
the light and enlivenment must be gained by bright color 
introduced in other ways. Light tones in walls and wood¬ 
work serve better than dark tones as a foil for the fur¬ 
nishings, which then appear to better advantage. In the 
choice of papers it should be remembered that, unless the 
walls are to form a decorative feature themselves and be 
kept free of other adornment, plain papers, and next to 
them inconspicuous powdered patterns in point of suit¬ 
ability, are to be preferred. The plain papers ought to be 
of as neutral a tone as possible to avoid any clash with 
the colors of rugs, upholstery or hangings. 
The house in question, of which “before and after fur¬ 
nishing” views are shown, supplies some valuable hints in 
effective treatment, hints that may be readily gained from 
a descriptive comment. The floors are of Georgia pine 
with a shellac finish. The walls in the hall have a rough 
sand finish, and in the living-room and dining-room they 
are smooth plastered. Save the mahogany handrail of the 
banisters the woodwork is white. Other physical features 
of the interior are sufficiently shown in the illustrations. 
Infinite possibilities were found in the master’s bedroom, yet the idea in mind was to main¬ 
tain restful simplicity 
