58 
House Garden 
SAPPHIRE BLUE for ITALIAN ROOMS 
Given a Colorful Background, the Sturdier Types of Italian 
Furniture Seem Pleasantly at Home in the Modern House 
ETHEL DAMS SEAL 
S OjME years ago we little thought it 
would be our good fortune to be able 
to buy, at moderate prices, furniture of the 
Italian spirit copied and adapted from price¬ 
less examples of the Italian school. This 
has come to pass. Even the architecture of 
our houses has responded in satisfactory 
measure, so that furniture of this charac¬ 
ter may be seen at the best advantage. 
In the midst cf the full swing of a present- 
day revived Georgian and Colonial era is 
seen this love of the distinctly opposite 
Italian flavor, an oasis of variety that is 
always welcome in any measure of same¬ 
ness, merely by w'ay of contrast, if for 
nothing else. 
To be worthy of this new Italian beauty, 
houses have squared themselves and be¬ 
come more austerely classic; wrought iron 
is introduced in chaste embellishments 
that further carry out the same idea; the 
formality of Italian gardens is felt in the 
development of the house setting; there is 
a bit of mosaic run in the sanded garden 
wall. Inside the house we find bits of 
“property” typical of the new ideal— 
tiled hallway floors, wrought iron wall fix¬ 
tures and lanterns, torchCes of formality 
standing to light the wide doorway, carved 
stone mantels: little touches in themselves, 
not all present at once, perhaps, but show¬ 
ing the trend of the growth of a movement 
that is becoming popular. And even when 
such concrete signs of the times are not 
possible to follow out, there is, at any rate, 
a more studied simplicity and a chaste 
dignity apparent in backgrounds that are 
designed to make the best of some of these 
stately Italian pieces. This at least can 
be done. 
It is in human nature to wish for change, 
and as a mere reaction from the Dutch 
Colonial, beautifully satisfactory as this is, 
we find furniture and houses interpreting 
the sturdier spirits of even earlier days, 
done in terms of a modernity that embraces 
the spirit of these old things while merely 
adapting them to the needs of a practical 
age. The plainness of colored stucco; the 
decorative simplicity of trim painted in old 
peacock and apple greens; the subtle brown¬ 
ness of stone that rambles pleasantly in 
modern English or Italian fashion and per¬ 
mits the most alluring modern glints of 
curtains of old gold or silver at leaded panes 
—these are the modern settings that thrill 
us when combined with the furniture of 
modern Italian spirit. And as we bring to 
this reinteq 3 reted furniture our new ideas, 
our new settings, our new adaptations 
and combinations, we find that we have 
something new, after all, and ours, even 
though it is founded on principles proved 
well pleasing centuries ago. 
So if you know your personality is not 
spindled and quaintly frilled, and if you 
have a house that will lend itself to these 
Italian inspirations, seize your opportu¬ 
nity now while the wherewithal may be 
bought reasonably in the shops, unless 
you want to wait until Italian soars again 
into the connoisseur class. There are tables 
that make a wonderful showing for the 
price you pay, from massive library tables 
and dining room draw tables, to round or 
octagonal tables, and smaller chair arm 
stands, usually of walnut, and carved much 
or little, depending on the date of the 
inspiration. There are chairs and sofas, 
mostly inspired by the work of one of the 
later Italian periods, the typical chair type 
Italian fnrnilure may 
be mixed with Jaco¬ 
bean pieces, as both 
have sturdy lines. In 
this paneled living 
room the dominant 
color of the hangings 
and upholstery is blue 
