58 
House & Garden 
THE TEXTURE of PAINTED WA L L S 
Many Beautiful Effects Ca7i he Obtained 07i Washable Surfaces 
by the Various Methods of Stipplmg, Blending and Ste^iciling 
NORMAN COLLART and BERTON ELLIOT 
T O MOST of us, texture means some¬ 
thing we can feel or touch, while 
pattern is thought of as something to see. 
Thus a child assures himself that an ob¬ 
ject looks a certain way because he has 
felt of it, and because his fingers have told 
him so. The average grown-up, even, 
doesn’t trust his eyes when buying a piece 
of silk or w’oolen goods, for example. The 
fingers once more become the secret-service 
agents of the eyes and ferret out hidden 
qualities that might indicate whether or 
not the piece is as good as it looks. 
Your first impulse in viewing a piece of 
furniture, decorated wall or bit of nicely 
varnished or enameled woodwork, is to feel 
of it. Good enamel or varnish work feels 
smooth as plate, and any roughness de¬ 
tracts from your estimate of the quality of 
the finish, even if the color is all right. 
.A.nd how quick we are to condemn any imi¬ 
tation effects—something that seems to be 
that which our touch tells it is not! 
Now, pattern is too loose a term to use to 
express the idea of appearance in fabrics as 
well as in decorative effects. Take Scotch 
homespun for example. There are usually 
several colors in the w'eave of an interest¬ 
ing pattern. The yarn is generally uneven 
with the result that there is a scattered 
spotting of color. Remember the old salt 
and pepper effects in black and white— 
these can’t be called pattern, surely. It is 
simply the roughness of the surface and 
the rough broken color effect that distin¬ 
guishes this texture from the texture of 
broadcloth, silk, linen, or anything else and 
gives it its charm. It is this principle of 
texture that is so extremely useful in deco¬ 
rative art, and especially home decorating; 
many colors going into one surface to blend 
or melt into one common, soft, intermediary 
hue. These colors entering into this tex¬ 
ture treatment naturally can be handled so 
as to harmonize with a dominant color 
note, and herein lies its application to 
decorative wall treatment. 
In the average home, the use of texture 
is the most suitable effective and practical 
method that can be employed to secure 
proper interest in wall color. In decoration 
this does not necessarily mean tangible tex¬ 
ture, as in fabrics, for the texture that is 
indicated by pleasing contrasts in light and 
dark color will readily satisfy the eye, and 
a w'all covering that is smooth to feel may 
have a most pleasing visible texture. 
I T is usually some difference in designed 
texture that marks the difference be¬ 
tween the richer, more harmonious and 
more high toned decorative effects immedi¬ 
ately sensed in entering some homes, and 
the ordinary non-impressive decoration of 
others. Texture is of many varying de¬ 
grees, so that appropriate effects may be ob¬ 
tained for different sizes and types of 
rooms. 
Pattern and texture have always been 
available in wall paj^er, and every house¬ 
wife knows how cozy a room can become 
with just the right interest in wall color. 
While the average home owner has known 
and appreciated the economical and sanitary 
advantages of painted walls, it has never 
been widely known that beautiful Textured 
walls are obtainable in these painted ef¬ 
fects. They have only in the past few years 
come into general use in home decoration, 
and are the newest thing in wall and ceil¬ 
ing decoration. The best part of it is that 
these richly textured effects may be ob¬ 
tained by processes so very simple and 
practical that there is no home in which 
they cannot be used. 
There are two separate methods of pro¬ 
ducing these effects:—One of these is by 
cloth stippling or mottling, generally 
known among decorators as “glazed ef¬ 
fects”, the other by sponge stippling; both 
being produced over foundation brush coats 
of flat oil wall paint. 
Regular colors of flat oil wall paint, to¬ 
gether with a flat wall brush and a sponge 
(with a little varnish-size for the first coat), 
are all the materials and equipment one re¬ 
quires for the work. 
F irst apply two or three brush coats 
of the flat wall paint. Two coats are suf¬ 
ficient to cover well with all but the lightest 
colors, if the surface is in ideal condition. 
Three coats should be applied if necessary 
to produce a good uniformly even surface. 
If applied direct to jflastered walls, the 
first coat of flat wall paint should be mixed 
half and half with varnish-size properly to 
seal the surface and prevent undue absorp¬ 
tion of the paint by the porous plaster. If 
the walls have been previously painted 
with an oil paint the addition of about a 
half pint of varnish-size to a quart of paint 
will tend to produce an affinity between 
the previous finish and the new coating, 
and cause the new coatings to adhere with 
greater tenacity. 
After the foundation brush coats have 
been applied, the sponge is used to print or 
stipple the texture over the background of 
the flat wall paint. In selecting the sponge, 
care should be taken to obtain one that has 
a good, even, open texture, or, in other 
words, an interesting pattern. The bottom 
of the sponge is the surface to use for 
stippling and it should be trimmed by slic¬ 
ing off with a knife to get an interesting 
flat printing surface. To do this, wash the 
sponge out carefully and allow it to dry 
hard. It can then be cut very easily with 
a large knife. The sponge can also be cut 
wet by using a large pair of shears. 
When ready to stipple, wring out the wet 
sponge so as to soften and open it up, then 
use it quite damp. Pour out on a board, 
cardboard or piece of tin, a small quantity 
of the stippling color, which is the same 
flat wall paint used for the brush coats, but 
of another color, selected for the stippling 
color. Rub the bottom of the dampened 
sponge into this. Tap the sponge once or 
twice on the dry part of the paper to re¬ 
move any excess paint. It is then ready to 
stipple on the wall. Having too much 
paint in the sponge will make a dauby im¬ 
pression, and too little paint will produce 
an uneven print and one that is too light. 
I N stippling, simply keep tapping the 
sponge on the wall until the entire surface 
has been gone over. Tap the sponge 
straight onto the wall, without any turning 
or twisting motion. A firm, confident, but 
not too heavy stroke is best. Ten minutes 
practice on a big sheet of wrapping paper 
will give enough experience to get the hang 
of it, so that you can go right ahead with 
the stippling on the wall with the best 
of results. 
One can make a surprisingly large num¬ 
ber of prints with one loading of the 
sponge—sometimes twenty or more—de¬ 
pending upon the sponge. Rough plaster 
takes up the paint faster than smooth 
plaster. 
In stippling avoid going in straight lines. 
Work around and around. Do not place 
the first print after “loading” next to the 
last one where the sponge was getting dry; 
the difference in prints would be too notice¬ 
able. Start away a bit and work back, fill¬ 
ing in. 
For doing the wall close to woodwork 
and ceiling, use a small piece of sponge cut 
off from the opposite side to that being 
used regularly for painting. The ceiling 
ordinarily should not be stippled, but 
should be in plain color of some light shade, 
such as soft ivory or cream. 
Two or more stipple colors may be ap¬ 
plied, stippling the first color over the en¬ 
tire wall; then clean out the sponge and 
stipple the second color directly over the 
preceding color. 
To clean the sponge, wash out in ben¬ 
zine, gasoline or turpentine. If it is to be 
put away permanently, wash with soap and 
water and place in a paper bag to keep 
from the dust. Otherwise, wring in clear 
water and it is ready to use again. 
The beauty of these effects, of course, 
depends upon the harmony of the colors 
{Continued on page 80) 
