HOUSE AND GARDEN 
February, 19 ii 
sideration when 
planning a natural 
grouping of the 
family or its guests. 
The treatment of 
the room is Colo¬ 
nial. A low wains¬ 
cot, 2 ft. 6 in. high, 
comprising a base, 
panel and cap, is 
carried around the 
room. The ceiling 
is beamed with four 
substantial beams 
and a half beam to 
form a cornice 
around the room at 
the junction of the 
wall and ceiling. 
Over the heads of 
the doors and win¬ 
dows there is a 
wide wooden frieze with a cap which ties them, one might say, 
to the bottom of the cornice, and makes them more completely 
an integral part of the woodwork. The window stools form a 
part of the wainscot’s cap. 
The finish of the room is white wood, given four coats of lead 
and oil paint, with a fifth coat of white enamel, rubbed down, 
and a sixth and final finishing coat of enamel of an ivory shade 
that dries out with a very dull satin-like lustre that is very dur¬ 
able and not easily marred. Above the wainscot the walls are 
covered with a heavy background paper having a body color 
almost of a putty shade, enlivened in certain lights with a pinkish 
caste. This is accented by the panels, between the windows and 
doors, of a delicately hued fabric 
with a foliated striped design. A 
fiat molding covers the edge of 
the fabric and forms the panel. 
In order to balance these and add 
character to the room, the dra¬ 
peries at the windows and doors 
are of soft blue velour, without 
which the scheme would be life¬ 
less and flat. The facing of the 
fireplace is of Sienna marble sur¬ 
mounted with a simple mantel, 
consisting merely of a heavy 
classical architrave, with a shelf 
above and a large plate glass mir¬ 
ror over it. One must not lose 
sight of the fact that the colors 
of this room, while light 
and delicate, are all very 
rich and warm, due to 
the predominating ivory 
color of the woodwork, 
enlivened and strengthen¬ 
ed by the richer and 
heavier color used in the 
panels and curtains. 
The ceiling is sand- 
finished and tinted to 
match the walls. The 
floor is of quartered oak, 
filled and given two coats 
of a finish which pro¬ 
duces a durable even sur¬ 
face with a dull lustre that 
is not so slippery as a 
waxed floor. The disposi¬ 
tion of the rugs over this 
floor is a matter of person¬ 
al taste and the amount 
one can afford for rugs. 
The rugs should be Ori¬ 
ental and of light uniform 
coloring. The plans show 
probably the most eco¬ 
nomical way of covering 
the floor — using one large 
rug as a center and filling 
with smaller rugs. One 
large rug might be obtain¬ 
ed that would extend from 
the piano to the pier glass, 
but it would have to be an 
odd shape or specially 
made. Two large rugs 
might be used, one in each end of the room, with a small rug to 
fill in before the fireplace. The approximate positions and 
proper design for the various pieces of furniture used in the room 
are indicated. 
In order to realv obtain the benefit of the fireplace, it is 
necessary to have a broad comfortable sofa or an upholstered 
mahogany seat in front of it. In back of this should be a small 
mahogany table on which an ornamental lamp may stand. On 
each side of the table can be drawn up large comfortable chairs. 
This arrangement permits the light of the lamp to fall in the cor¬ 
rect position for anyone wishing to read in the chairs or on the 
seat in front of the fireplace. At one side of the fireplace a large 
wing chair would be well placed. The bookcases would, of 
course, be unnecessary if there 
were a library in the house, but 
where the living-room is to an¬ 
swer the general purposes of the 
family, the book-shelves would 
be found very useful, and could 
be movable or built in as part of 
the finish. Between the northern 
windows a fine position is ob¬ 
tained for the piano, on the right 
of which is a good place for a 
davenport. 
The disposition of the minor 
pieces of furniture need not be 
mentioned, except the fact that a 
pier glass at the opposite end of 
the room, between the two south¬ 
ern windows is a very 
decorative treatment, and 
that the corner at the left 
affords a place for a tea 
table or a Colonial pie¬ 
crust table. 
In addition the electric 
lights are provided with 
switches, and in the base¬ 
board around the room 
are two plugs for attach¬ 
ing portable table lamps. 
There must also be a bell 
registering its signal on 
an annunciator in the 
(Continued on page 116) 
A Martha Washington wing-chair was 
designed and built for the room at a 
cost of $54 uncovered 
P I A Z. Z A • 
The plan shows a good working arrangement of rugs and 
furniture for the typical modern living-room measuring 
15 x 30 ft. 
An 18th century type of sofa was made from the architect’s drawings at a 
cost of $90, in the cotton covering 
An armchair to harmonize with the 
wing-chair cost $40 to make 
