HOUSE AND GARDEN 
207 
October, 1914 
light weight and lacey effect. They are white or cream. If there 
is any preference it is for the latter. Earlier in this article we 
looked at the picture of a living room in a country house to 
observe the paper. Let us 
return to the same room to 
look at the hangings. Here 
we find voile curtains with 
fillet borders. The curtain 
treatment conforms with 
the unique windows with 
upper sections. This ar¬ 
rangement provides two 
sills, upper and lower, the 
latter being the wider; but 
both sills can be, and are, 
adorned with plants. While 
this window architecture is, 
perhaps, hardly germane to 
our present subjects, it is 
considered too appealing to 
be passed by without a 
word of comment. 
Casement or sill curtains 
are to be had in more than 
a dozen different fadeless 
shades, so that there is no 
difficulty in matching any 
color scheme. Being so 
constantly exposed to light, 
it is important that such curtains should be of material that will 
not fade. To indicate this desirable quality, dealers use various 
terms, such as “sundour,” “sunfast,” “lightproof,” etc. The first 
cost of these fade¬ 
less fabrics is a lit¬ 
tle more, but one is 
willing to pay a 
trifle extra if it 
brings the assur¬ 
ance that the cur¬ 
tains will continue 
to look as pretty 
even after they 
have been up a 
long time. For it 
must be admitted 
that the beauty of 
some fabrics is like 
that of some peo¬ 
ple, only face deep; 
and to face the sun 
seems t o make 
them grow pale 
with fright. It is 
one thing to repose 
in the subdued 
light of a dry goods 
shelf, and another 
to face a long fu- 
silade of sun rays 
through a window 
with a southern ex¬ 
posure. S o that 
bargains are not 
always what they seem; and if there is any material that ought to 
hold its color it is surely that of the curtain. 
Casement cloth is favored also for the shades. Window shades 
of this material have the advantage of a soft appearance, and 
they do not crack. Poorly selected shades are sometimes the 
one harsh note that mars the sides of a room. A stiff and paper¬ 
like appearance in that 
quarter clashes with the 
soft and fleecy draperies. 
An appreciation of this has 
made welcome the shades 
of casement cloth. They 
are made to order. Cream 
or ecru is the color most 
selected. 
Aside from the purely 
decorative aspects of wall 
papers and curtain fabrics, 
care should be taken to 
have them maintain what 
we may call a certain “av¬ 
erage of light.” That is to 
say, they cannot always be 
selected on their own mer¬ 
its alone. A paper only 
expresses what the light in 
the room permits it to 
express. A comparatively 
dark pattern, for example, 
may look well in the light 
show rooms of the deco¬ 
rator, and yet be killed on 
the wall by reason of too few windows or too much foliage out¬ 
side ; because the effect here is to darken the paper several shades. 
It is always necessary to consider, therefore, how the desired 
selection stands in 
relation to this av¬ 
erage of light. A 
mistake o f this 
kind is not likely 
to be made by an 
old householder or 
by a young house¬ 
holder more than 
once. This little 
hint is just thrown 
out so that per¬ 
chance it may not 
be made at all. 
The American 
h o m e, in the 
thoughtful work¬ 
ing out of every 
detail, is becoming 
more and more a 
work of art. This 
applies not only to 
the mansions of 
the wealthy, but to 
the infinitely great¬ 
er number of less 
pretentious houses 
where modesty is 
the handmaid of 
good taste. 
Two of those 
details are comprised in the papers for the wall and the curtains 
to the windows. To select just the right combination may prove 
a task, but the ultimate effects bring justifiable compensation. 
Where a scenic paper is used, everything must be sacrificed to it; no pictures are hung, 
no draperies, even the furniture should be comparatively plain 
Jacobean paper in this living-room has been used in harmony with the Gothic mantel. 
up what would otherwise be a somber wall treatment 
The colors brighten 
