59 
September, 1923 
Because of the dig¬ 
nity of its lines Ital¬ 
ian fur7iilvre is espe¬ 
cially suitable for cer¬ 
tain types of halls. 
Here the walls arc 
sanded gray atid the 
rug is of dark blue 
being upholstered in back and seat similarly 
to the chair shown in the drawing of the 
hall. These straight Italian chairs may be 
found in all sizes and degrees of importance, 
and in all prices. Besides tables and chairs, 
typical Italian pieces are cupboards, chests, 
consoles, buffets, cabinets for writing or 
other purposes, settees, stools and benches. 
And we usually think of Italian 
furniture as being interpreted in 
walnut wood, or by surfaces that 
are painted decoratively. 
Without really going into the 
history of the Italian movement, 
which is not my purpose here, it 
is well to remember that the Ital¬ 
ian revival was governed by two 
historical influences; the first that 
of the 16th and 17th Centuries, 
when massive furniture was seen 
against ornate and richly colored 
backgrounds, an epoch of mascu¬ 
linity; and the second that of the 
i8th Century, when classicism was 
everywhere dominant, the back¬ 
grounds pale and chaste, the fur¬ 
niture more simple, the colors more 
subtle and restrained, an era fem¬ 
inine in its refinement and grace. 
These two influences account for 
the vital differences noted today 
in modern Italian furnishings by 
the amateur who finds it hard to 
believe that both can really be 
true Italian. But once satisfied 
that they can be. It is realized 
line Italian spirit, you might follow some¬ 
what the accompanying picture of the liv¬ 
ing room. Wood-paneled walls take the 
place of those that were highly colored and 
heavily decorated in the day when palaces 
were the vogue, an adaptation more in line 
with needs of the present. These paneled 
walls are toned the cool brown of walnut, 
with a putty-colored painted up¬ 
per wall and ceiling; and through¬ 
out the room, ])unctuating its 
mellow brownness, are insistent 
notes of the new sapphire blue, 
that color so intriguing when used 
with Italian walnut pieces. Dom¬ 
inating the room, the sofa is 
upholstered with sapphire blue 
frizette, the back jdain, the front 
slightly self-figured, the fringe 
matching, and seen in fine har¬ 
mony with the walnut legs and 
apron; on the mole-colored che¬ 
nille carpet this })iece is especially 
handsome. The brocaded cur¬ 
tains are of an e.xtremely dark 
gray, and the draw curtains at the 
leaded windows are of a change¬ 
able gold and blue silk gauze, pre¬ 
dominantly gold. On the walnut 
table set in the bay window is a 
{Continued on page 92 ) 
Various toties of blue and 
creatn are used in this hall¬ 
way—cream walls, sapphire 
blue hangings, and blue and 
cream tiles set in a pattern 
that much variety and leeway may result 
from a judicious mixture of Italian styles, 
and that there may even be the addition of 
such English forms as are suitable, pre¬ 
eminently Elizabethan, Tudor, and Wil¬ 
liam and Mary, when these are desired for 
variety or convenience. 
To interpret the earlier and more mascu- 
