46 
House & Garden 
HOW TO KNOW THE COLORS 
So Many Shades a^id Tints Are Being Created That the Decorator 
Must Keep Acquainted With Their Names 
I N talking about color three words are em¬ 
ployed more often than any others. They 
are tint, shade, and tone. They are used 
constantly—and pretty much at random. 
Only tone retains its individuality, largely 
because it refers to any color quality. A 
tint is something cjuite distinct. It is a color 
lightened by the mixing in of white, and is 
in direct contrast to shade, which is a color 
darkened or intensified by the mixing in of 
the same or another color. 
Faille, primrose and maize, of the yel- 
AMERICAN BEAUTA, called after the 
rose of that name. A light, purplish red. 
BRICK, a dark, dull, orange red. 
CARDINAL, bright red but not so vivid 
as scarlet. The color of a Cardinal’s robes, 
between scarlet and crimson. 
CARMINE, a rich red with a purplish 
tinge. 
CATAWBA, a dark, purplish red, taken 
from the name of a grape. 
CERISE, the French word for cherry. A 
bright, clear red, also a dark red purplish 
in tone. 
CHINESE, sometimes called lacquer red, 
because it is the tone one finds in much of 
the Chinese and Japanese lacquer work. 
A clear, vivid red with a great deal of 
orange in it. 
CINNABAR, brilliant red with an orange 
tinge, named from the mineral substance 
of that color. 
CLARET, dark, bluish red, named after 
the wine. 
COR.\L, this color according to scientists, 
takes its name from the internal calcareous 
skeleton of one of the group of Alcyon- 
aria! It is a light, pinkish red, on the 
Vermillion tone. 
CRANBERRY, a bright, dark red rather 
bluish in tone, named after the fruit. 
CREMSON, a deep red color tinged with 
violet—a tone ranging from deep scarlet 
to a purplish red. 
CYCLx\MEN, named after the flower, a 
rather hard, purplish pink, not as deep as 
magenta. 
GARNET, a very dark red, the color of 
the semi-precious stone. 
This is first of a 
SERIES 
OF SIMPLE 
DEFINITIONS OF THE 
NAMES 
OF COLORS 
CONSTANTLY USED IN 
DECORATION. ThE 
FIRST TWO COLORS CHOSEN ARE RED AND 
YELLOW. The greens 
WILL BE 
CONSIDERED 
IN SEPTEMBER. 
lows listed below, are tints, because they 
are definitely lighter than 'true yellow, and 
have been made so by the addition of white. 
Mustard, gold and saffron, on the other 
hand, are shades of yellow, being deeper in 
HENNA, an orange-reddish dye obtained 
from the leaves of an Asiatic plant. It also 
grows in Egypt where it is called Egyptian 
privet. A paste of powdered henna leaves 
is used to a great extent in the Orient as a 
cosmetic. A brownish, red color on the 
copper tone. 
ITALIAN PINK, a beautiful pale pink 
with a great deal of yellow in it. Much 
used in Italy for tinting plaster walls. 
IMAGENTA, a bright, hard crimson with 
a preponderance of purple. Named in hon¬ 
or of one of Napoleon Ill’s famous vic¬ 
tories. 
OLD ROSE, the color of dried rose leaves, 
a deep, dull, purplish pink. 
PEACHBLOW, a delicate, purplish pink 
color, the tone found in rare Chinese por¬ 
celains. 
POMPEIIAN, a rich, orange red, due to 
the use of red ochre. The color of many 
Italian houses. 
ROSE, usually means a clear pink or light 
crimson. Rose red sometimes refers to the 
deep crimson of IMarechal Niel rose. 
RUBY, a clear, deep crimson, the color of 
the jewel. 
SALMON, called after the fish—a light 
red or buff pink. 
SCARLET, a pure, vivid red, the color 
which leans neither to orange or violet. 
The shade of the coats worn by British 
Army officers. 
tone than the type. Of the various reds, 
crimson, garnet and claret are all shades, 
and peach-blow, rose and salmon are all 
tints. 
Tone is a rather elusive word, when it 
comes to giving it a brief definition; but its 
meaning is generally instinctively under¬ 
stood. Speaking of primrose it might be 
said that that tint is a fine fresh tone of yel¬ 
low, or, speaking of claret it might be said 
that that shade is a much less usable tone 
than cinnabar. 
AMBER, the color of a yellowdsh trans¬ 
lucent resin. A deep yellow, sometimes 
with a greenish tinge. 
APRICOT, the color of the fruit, a warm 
pinkish yellow. 
BURNT ORANGE, a deeper tone with 
some reddish browm in it. 
CANARY, a light, clear yellow named 
after the color of the bird’s feathers. 
CHARTREUSE, a light, greenish yellow, 
the tone of the liciueur made in the Car¬ 
thusian monastery. 
CITRON, the French word for lemon, a 
clear, bright yellow. 
DAFFODIL, cool, light yellow the shade 
of the flower. 
GOLD, the hue of the metal. 
IMAIZE, the color of Indian corn. 
MUST.4RD, a deep yellow on the green¬ 
ish tone. 
OCHRE, the color of earth used for mak¬ 
ing paints, brownish yellow’. 
OLD GOLD, a brownish, dull gold. 
ORANGE, the color of the fruit, the tone 
on the spectrum midw^ay between red and 
yellow. 
ORIOLE, a bright yellow verging on the 
orange tone, named after the color of the 
bird’s breast. 
TERR.4 COTTA, the color of a baked clay 
used for tiles and pottery. Usually a 
browmish red or yellowish red. 
VENETIAN, deeper than scarlet, a clear 
red with a tinge of orange in it. The color 
of Venetian sail cloth. 
VERMILLION, a light, vivid and bril¬ 
liant red verging on the orange tone. 
PAILLE, the French word for straw, a 
soft, pale yellow. 
PRIIMROSE, a very pale yellow. 
SAFFRON, a deep orange yellow, the 
color of the stigmas of crocus or saffron 
flowers. 
SULPHLTR, a light greenish yellow. 
