94 
House & Garden 
Sheraton Inlaid Mahogany Pedestal Sideboard, by Kensington 
E NGLISH furniture of the last quarter of 
the 18 th Century in the styles of Hepple- 
white and Sheraton was the culmination of 
four centuries of progress in furniture design. 
It combined utility with beauty of line and pro¬ 
portion to a superlative degree, and brought to 
perfection the use of inlays and figured woods. 
To-day it retains an almost universal appeal 
because it possesses dignity without undue 
formality, grace without weakness, refinement 
without artificiality. 
Kensington reproductions of this furniture, 
as indicated by the example illustrated, are not 
only accurate in every detail of design but also 
retain through the old-time hand processes of 
the Kensington craftsmen the character and 
the decorative quality of the originals. 
Kensington furniture is made 
in all the decorative styles ap¬ 
propriate for American homes. 
The purchase of Ken¬ 
sington Furniture may 
be arranged through 
your decorator or 
furniture dealer. 
Write for Illustrated 
booklet H and 
pamphlet, “Hozv 
Kensington Furniture 
May Be Purchased.” 
MANUFACTURERS AND IMPORTERS 
FINE FURNITURE ART OBJECTS 
NEW YORK 
owrooms 
Paints and Varnishes as Miracle Workers 
(Continued from page 74) 
the concrete is thoroughly dried the 
surface should be brushed with a stiff 
broom or a fine wire brush to dislodge 
all particles of sand, lime, or cement. 
The season seriously affects paint as 
it does the surfaces which are to be 
painted. And here comes in the judg¬ 
ment of the painter. He must under¬ 
stand the effect of heat and cold, damp¬ 
ness and dry weather, upon building 
materials and paints. To get the best 
results on either the outside or the in¬ 
side of the house, an experienced painter 
is necessary, the best materials and 
friendly weather conditions. It is hope¬ 
less to attempt to paint in foggy or 
freezing weather, or until indoor plaster 
has set. Sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit is 
the minimum temperature at which 
painting should be done indoors. 
It is also very important to con¬ 
sider the quality of the priming coat. 
Any old paint is not good enough to 
start with. Mineral and non-drying oils 
should not be used in the priming coat, 
nor is a pigment like ochre or metallic 
paints good primers. Sufficient raw 
linseed oil should be added to the 
initial coat of paint to satisfy the build¬ 
ing surface and to prevent subsequent 
absorbing from the second and third 
coat which might result in spotting or 
fading. 
New TVork and Old 
There is some difference in the matter 
of handling new work and old work. 
It is well to study this thoroughly 
and to accept established rules that are 
bound to bring good results. 
For New Work: the method is as 
follows;—First or priming coat, for 
close-grained, non-absorbent woods, thin 
with equal parts linseed oil and turpen¬ 
tine. For soft, open-grained woods, 
like white pine and poplar, thin with 
three parts oil and one part turpentine. 
Hard or yellow pine, cypress, Norway 
pine and other resinous woods, also all 
green lumber, should be well seasoned 
before painting. For such lumber, thin 
with one part oil and three parts tur¬ 
pentine. Brush this coat in thoroughly 
to insure good penetration. Second 
coat: Thin with two parts raw lin¬ 
seed oil and one part turpentine. Brush 
out well. Third or final coat: Apply 
the paint as found in the package, ex¬ 
cept where conditions warrant the use 
of a little turpentine or linseed oil. 
For Old Work:—First coat: thin with 
two parts raw linseed oil and one part 
turpentine. For surfaces which are very 
old and spongy, more oil is required, 
and for surfaces that are unusually hard 
and non-absorbent, more turpentine 
should be used. Second coat: apply the 
paint as found in the package, except 
where conditions warrant the use of a 
little turpentine or linseed oil. 
Calculating Paint 
It is difficult to estimate the exact 
quantity of paint required to cover a 
given surface. A good paint will ap¬ 
proximately cover three hundred and 
fifty square feet to the gallon, two 
coats. The best way to estimate the 
quantity needed is to measure the dis¬ 
tance around the building, multiply by 
the average height, add about one-fifth 
for trimming and cornices and divide 
by three hundred and fifty. The re¬ 
sult will approximately be the number 
of gallons required. 
The selection of color in planning to 
paint a house is likely in the last an¬ 
alysis to be a matter of personal pref¬ 
erence. Yet even though you may like 
blue better than any other color, or yel¬ 
low, or red, it is very wise indeed to 
study the background and surroundings 
of your house as well as the houses of 
your neighbors, also the type of your 
house, the amount of foliage about 
it, the colors you intend to use in your 
garden, and to a lesser degree the 
scheme of decorat'on you intend to 
carry out in the interior. You must 
ornament a dignified type of archi¬ 
tecture with dignified colors. The Co¬ 
lonial style of building, for instance, will 
best lend itself to white, gray and Co¬ 
lonial yellow. In half-timber construc¬ 
tion the tone of concrete must be sub¬ 
servient to the wood, not necessarily in 
harmony, but less dominant. 
And you must remember, too, that 
painting a house is not entirely a dec¬ 
orative matter; you are painting to 
protect your house, to save your build¬ 
ing material, as well as add beauty 
to it. If painting is an investment, 
then it stands to reason that the only 
good investment is the best paint. 
Interior Painting 
For interior painting, especially where 
water colors are used, the method of 
procedure of each different manufac¬ 
turer must be carefully studied. Walls 
must be properly prepared according 
to schedule and the suggestions for put¬ 
ting on fresco colors .must be followed 
without the slightest deviation if inter¬ 
esting results are to be achieved. Prac¬ 
tically all makers of fresco colors will 
send pamphlets on request and these 
pamphlets invariably show a large 
range of color samples. Just the right 
method for ordering these paints is also 
given so that the work of planning 
house decoration along these lines is re¬ 
duced to a minimum. The expense of 
decorating in this fashion is light and 
the effect most satisfactory if instruc¬ 
tions are carefully followed. 
There are four steps in the process of 
securing brilliantly finished woodwork, 
—preparing the wood, filling it, stain¬ 
ing it, and varnishing it. Whether the 
floor is new or old, it must be perfectly 
clean, free from oil, grease, wax or 
moisture. 
Filler 
Open-grained woods such as oak, ash, 
mahogany and walnut, should be filled 
with a good paste filler. This comes in 
paste form and should be thinned to a 
creamy consistency with pure turpen¬ 
tine applied with a bristle brush. A 
little should be put on at a time, al¬ 
lowed to set and rubbed clean with bur¬ 
lap, rag or excelsior across the grain of 
the wood. Close-grained woods such as 
cherry, birch, white wood or maple, need 
no filler. 
Stains 
It is an easy, simple matter to mix 
your own stain. Take a gallon of stain, 
three quarts of turpentine, one pint of 
raw oil, one pint of coach-japan as a 
dryer. Take one pound of color ground 
in oil, if you wish a strong shade—a 
little more, mix thoroughly with coach- 
japan, put it in the raw oil and turpen¬ 
tine and stir until completely mixed. 
Colors ground in oil can be found in 
any paint store in pound cans. Always 
try out a stain on a board before ap¬ 
plying it to the floor. Keep the stain 
thoroughly stirred and apply. After it 
has been on half an hour, rub the floor 
in the direction of the grain with a rag. 
This will bring out the grain to ad¬ 
vantage. 
After it has dried over night it is 
ready for a coat of varnish. 
Varnish 
To get the best effect from varnish, 
fill the brush well and allow it to flow 
over the surface freely. Let it dry 
twenty-four hours when it will be ready 
for the second coat. Let this flow on 
as freely as the first. If properly ap- 
(Continued on page 9S) 
