HOUSE AND GARDEN 
190 
March, 
1914 
downstairs, let a cream tint be used above. The bedrooms may 
either be in white or in colors, according to their exposure and 
the light they receive. In all cases the greatest care should be 
taken, for the best of paint is none too good. The choice of either 
a dead or a cream white 
must depend on individ¬ 
ual taste and the tones of 
the hangings and furni¬ 
ture in the rooms where 
it is to be used. 
As stated before, at 
least three or four coats 
of paint should be used, 
but where circumstances 
permit more coats should 
be applied, up to six, 
eight or even ten. Satis¬ 
factory finish and dura¬ 
bility will fully justify 
what may at first seem a 
needless expense and ex¬ 
travagance. An enamel 
or highly glossy finish is 
often delightful, but a 
dull or semi-dull rubbed 
satin finish is worth con¬ 
sidering with white paint 
and decidedly preferable for grey or any of the other colors. 
We are so accustomed to restricting ourselves to white or grey- 
in painting the interiors of our houses that we often quite over¬ 
look the possibility of using other colors to decorative advantage, 
thereby securing a welcome departure from stereotyped custom. 
We may, for example, use black, either dull or with an ebony fin¬ 
ish given by much energetic rubbing; 
drak green, dark blue, Pompeian tan, 
and even graining in some places, is 
not to be despised. 
Black relieved by gold lining may be 
very effective in a drawing room, 
dining room or several other places. 
Properly handled it is not a depress¬ 
ing or gloomy color and it is capable 
of imparting a distinction that can 
rarely be achieved in any other way. 
The same may be said of dark green 
and dark blue as of black, especially if 
used on wainscot and given a lacquer 
finish in the manner of some of the 
lacquered rooms of the seventeenth 
and eighteenth centuries. 
In some modern English houses 
where ceiling beams have been paint¬ 
ed, a further embellishment has been 
added with good effect in the shape of 
daintily painted vines and flowers in 
a flowering pattern along the sides of 
the beams, such a pattern as may be 
seen on Bavarian peasant china 01- 
furniture. This scheme gives variety 
of color, lightens the ceiling and pro¬ 
duces a highly decorative result. 
Though it is not susceptible of use in 
every place and must be employed 
with discretion and restraint, it is, 
however, an available resource not to 
be neglected. 
In dealing with the subject of paint, some attention must be de¬ 
voted to considering floors where hardwood is out of the question 
or for some reason undesirable. One of the most serviceable 
floor colors is dark red brown, as it harmonizes readily with other 
colors used in rooms. It 
will, to be sure, show the 
dust, but then, when one 
thinks of it, this is really 
an advantage, for it 
makes thorough cleanli¬ 
ness imperative and is in¬ 
tolerant of housekeeping 
negligence, which is al¬ 
ways inexcusable. Grey, 
particularly green grey, is 
also an excellent floor 
color and can be used in 
cases where red brown 
will not answer. 
Pumpkin yellow, the 
color used so often for 
deck paint, is also avail¬ 
able in certain cases, but 
should be used with the 
utmost caution. Its par¬ 
ticular fitness is for light¬ 
ening the heavy effect of 
dark rooms. Dark green, too, is sometimes used, but needs a 
bright room and light woodwork. White paint on floors is not, 
as some might suppose at first thought, an impracticable sugges¬ 
tion. It can be used suitably in a guest room, if that room is to 
be used only for guests, or in a drawing room. It would not do 
for heavy wear, but in the places mentioned it can impart a de¬ 
lightful air of freshness and lightness. 
Stencils of suitable pattern and not 
too elaborate may frequently be em¬ 
ployed to advantage around the edge 
of a painted floor and help to tie walls 
and floor together. 
If woodwork and floors are to be 
kept looking their best they must be 
given proper care. Floors should be 
gone over every day or two. There 
are various kinds of floor polishes that 
may be used, but very good results 
may be obtained by using a soft mop 
with a drop or two of coal oil. Wood¬ 
work should be frequently wiped off 
with a damp cloth, and in that way 
may always be kept looking fresh. 
The paint will last much longer under 
such treatment than if allowed to get 
dirty and then scrubbed vigorously. 
After the painting has been done 
and a stamp of approval set upon the 
work, the next thing to be decided is 
the treatment of the walls in the va¬ 
rious rooms. Before taking up the 
question of paper in detail, we must 
decide whether we wish to use paper 
at all or prefer to adorn the walls in 
some other way by the use of paint, 
hangings or panels of wood or stuff. 
If walls are once painted it will be 
difficult ever to use paper on them. 
(Continued on page 225) 
Another example of the old landscape papers, probably suitable for a dining-room. Do not 
consider having pictures on the walls of rooms so papered 
Perpendicular lines increase the apparent height of a room. 
The paper used with this division and with this design seem¬ 
ingly raises a very low ceiling 
