December, 19 2 2 
35 
and old needlepoint. One large Oriental rug 
tones in with the other furnishings. 
I think the most decorative features of 
the room are the music cabinets sunken in 
the wall on either side of the fireplace. One 
contains my musical library and the other a 
phonograph and records. Wrought iron 
grille doors extremely decorative in design 
effectively conceal these cabinets and com¬ 
bine charmingly with the plaster walls. 
It is a simple room but one easy to work in. 
When planning a room for that king 
of all instruments, the pipe organ, the 
problem is not so simple. Here space is 
an essential, although the pipes are now 
concealed in all manner of out-of-the-way 
places and it is no longer necessary to 
build a house around an 
organ. Sound floats up 
through a decorative grille 
in the floor or from pipes 
concealed in the cellar; an¬ 
other set of notes may be 
in the attic while the echo 
can be wherever in the house 
one pleases. The pipes are 
made to fit into any desired 
space and can be designed 
to blend with the spirit of 
the room. Or they may be 
concealed behind an orna¬ 
mental iron grille placed high 
upon the wall or in one 
corner of the floor. 
In rooms containing a pipe 
organ the same rules of deco¬ 
ration apply. Everything 
should be low in key and sub¬ 
servient to the music. If the 
pipes are concealed behind 
iron grilles, plaster walls will 
make a happy combination, 
while dark paneling has much 
the sturdy effect of rich organ 
tones. Either treatment is 
appropriate to the use and 
spirit of the room. 
Generally the house does not 
provide space for a music room. 
In this case a corner of the living 
room can be used for this purpose 
The grand piano should be given 
plenty of room and placed at an 
angle so that a person entering 
the room can see the keyboard 
brought in the one vivid note of color. 
Unusually interesting was the introduc¬ 
tion of graceful wrought iron torcheres on 
either side of the piano, and music cabinets 
sunken in the wall with ornamental iron 
grille doors contrasted pleasingly with the 
pale plaster walls. It was a room quite as 
restful and effective in its way as the more 
somber Tudor interior, darker in coloring. 
As the piano is the instrument most 
commonly played and the one used to 
accompany all others, its placing is the 
first thing to be considered when arranging 
a music room. The grand piano, infinitely 
more graceful than the upright, is now 
made on a small enough scale to fit into 
even the tiny apartment. It should have 
plenty of room and never be 
cramped against the wall and 
will be more effective if 
placed at an angle so that a 
person entering the room can 
see the keyboard. There is 
an inviting and hospitable 
quality about an open piano, 
its rack heaped with music, 
that adds immensely to the 
livable aspect of an interior. 
Nothing is more forlorn than 
a piano closed. Even if the 
one who uses it is away, it 
should be kept open with 
music on the rack for 
this at once gives life to the 
room. 
If possible let the piano 
stand near a window. Apart 
from the necessary light noth¬ 
ing makes a more charming 
background for either singer 
or player than a wide span of 
windows, especially if they be 
of the picturesque casement 
type. The most satisfactory 
piano lamp is the standing 
one with a powerful adjusta¬ 
ble light. The rest of the light 
in the room should be subdued and evenly 
distributed by means of lamps rather than 
by either center or side fixtures. If an up¬ 
right is used it will be most effectively placed 
in the center of a side wall. 
In my own music room there is a space¬ 
giving height of ceiling and restful plaster 
walls stippled in shades of putty. The grand 
piano stands by an arched window hung 
with thin green silk curtains over sheer net 
ones. The comfortable chairs, early English 
in feeling, are done in faded crimson damask 
Paneled walls have a vibrant resonant quality 
that make them the ideal wall finish for a 
music room. In the paneled room below no 
curtains have been used at the amber glass 
windows 
