December, 19 2 2 
THE 
APPOINTMENTS OF 
33 
A MUSIC ROOM 
Walls , Hangings and. Furniture Should Be Kept Simple Because Everything 
Else of Beauty Will Be Found in the Music 
ALMA GLUCK 
I SHALL never forget the horror of a 
literary friend of mine who had just 
come from seeing a new house on which had 
been lavished the combined skill of both a 
famous architect and decorator. No expense 
had been spared and there were rumors of 
priceless tapestries, of porcelains brought 
from the heart of China, of furniture and 
fabrics culled from far corners of the globe. 
But my literary friend was strangely silent. 
In place of the abounding enthusiasm I had 
expected was a reluctance to talk about it 
at all. When pressed he made 
only one statement. 
“The house is dead.” 
I instantly understood. 
Books played no part in the 
life of the house and to him it 
was a dead thing. 
Everyone for his own 
calling. 
For myself I think there is 
nothing more depressing than 
to go into a house and find in 
it no evidence of'music. In 
spite of the beauty of the 
room there is a lack of some¬ 
thing vital, the same quality 
one feels in a bookless house. 
But in the case of music the 
feeling is even stronger, for 
more than books can music 
make a house alive. And as I 
always think of rooms in 
terms of music, a stately in¬ 
terior done in the Elizabethan 
manner at once suggests the 
sturdy quality of the Ring— 
and its paneled walls acquire 
life and personality when one 
knows their oaken depths 
have resounded to the ringing 
tones of piano, violin or the 
human voice. In the same 
manner a little French morn¬ 
ing room done in serene grays 
and greens at once brings to 
mind the delicate, precise 
rhythms of Mozart. 
When one is so fortunate as 
to possess a house large 
enough to provide space for a 
special music room, the prob¬ 
lem of its decoration is comparatively 
simple. As music is the reason for such an 
interior, the surroundings should be chosen 
with this in mind. Walls, hangings and 
furniture should strike the keynote of sim¬ 
plicity for everything else will be found in 
the music. Avoid unnecessary furniture. It 
is good to enter a room of this kind and feel 
a sense of freedom and space. Music should 
not have to force its way through a lot of 
meaningless bric-a-brac, voluminous hang¬ 
ings and assertively distracting decorations. 
Paneled walls have a vibrant resonant 
quality that make them the ideal wall finish 
for the music room. Also the dark richness 
of oak or walnut is an excellent color for the 
background. A room of this kind is espe¬ 
cially successful when dark in tone. Music, 
so full of vibrant color, should not be sur¬ 
rounded by glaring tones or hangings in 
which there is a too insistent pattern. 
One of the most successful rooms I know 
has oak paneled walls and wide casement 
windows at the farther end through which 
the sun is allowed to pour 
through thin, dull gold gauze 
glass curtains. No other 
hangings of any description 
are used. On the floor is one 
rug, a fine Oriental, its warm 
colors subdued and dulled by 
time. The grand piano at the 
farther end, set well out from 
the wall, has its graceful 
curved side towards the room 
and its keyboard in line with 
the window. The only pieces 
placed anywhere near it are a 
carved music rack and sturdy 
wrought iron adj ustable lamp. 
The rug does not extend 
under the piano and there is 
nothing in the room that in 
am- way serves to deaden the 
sound. Well away from this 
group is a long comfortable 
sofa upholstered in warm tete 
de negre velour undershot 
with gold. Near it is a low 
Tudor table holding smoking 
things. A comfortable chair 
done in old needlepoint is 
nearby while across the room 
is a group consisting of a 
wonderful carved oak chest 
used to hold music, two 
sturdy low oak chairs for the 
men of the family and again a 
comfortable overstuffed 
couch. Here a vivid note is 
introduced by two Persian oil 
jars, blue-green in color 
placed at either end of the 
chest and used to hold flowers. 
Old portraits, dull and beauti- 
An interesting feature of Madame Gluck’s own music room is the 
built-m music cabinet on either side of the fireplace, arched to 
correspond with the window’. Ornamental iron grilles contrast 
pleasingly with the neutral toned plaster walls 
