52 
House & Garden 
CREATING A CHEERY ROOM WITH PANELING 
IJ'hat Can he Done JJCth Paneled JVood, JPith Canvas and Molding, With Molding and 
JPith Paint to Create a Background for Pnrnitnre and Living 
MARY H. NORTH END 
A PANELED wall treatment is 
of paramount importance be¬ 
cause it creates a seemly back¬ 
ground against which to group fur¬ 
niture. Especially is this true of 
paneled walls finished in the light¬ 
er tones. The oak paneled wall, 
characteristic of the Elizabethan 
era, demands the furniture of that 
era, hut a light paneled wall af¬ 
fords greater latitude in the selec¬ 
tion of furniture. This lighter 
style of wall treatment avoids the 
formal, oppressive and ponderous 
atmosphere of architectural finish 
and gives us an atmosphere that is 
cheery and livaljle. Directly we 
think of a white paneled wall we 
think of a pleasant, friendly room 
•—comfortable chairs, a dignified 
but hospitable hearth, wall spaces 
broken here and there with mirrors 
and picture inserts. 
riiat paneled effect can be pro¬ 
duced in several ways. Wood pan¬ 
eling is the first method. .And 
here let me say that fortunate is the 
woman who has come into posses¬ 
sion of a late 17th or early 18th 
Century home for, if the walls are 
finished in white paneling, she has 
acquired a treasure. It matters little 
if the paint has grown shabby or 
}-ellow with age, for it can be easil}' 
rubbed down and given a new sur¬ 
face. Of the j)aneled finish the 
over-all wood is the 
most e.\j)ensive and 
great care should Ije 
taken to have the 
panels the exact pro- 
j)ortion. The)’ vary 
with periods. IMore- 
over, one must take 
into account the size 
of the room and the 
disposition of the 
windows and doors. 
On such work it is 
advisable to consult 
a good architect or J 
decorator. 1 
Using Molding J 
I'he second meth- j 
od is to make pan- j 
els with molding. I 
Here again the I 
measurements must I 
be exact in order to ' 
secure restful wall 1 
spaces. The mold¬ 
ing can be applied 
directly to the plas¬ 
tered wall or, as is 
usual!}" done, canvas 
is stretched on the 
wall and the molding. " 
applied over that * . .•*. t 
.Apart from .tSrtN '• 
size and shape,^'<(jf“ 
When the panels are large, as in this living room, it 
and effective to hang a portrait in one of 
is permissible 
them 
Apple-green piine\ed(Walls ivith old gold satin curtains, black carpet, 
combination t-f-'satinwood and black and green lacquer furniture 
black and gold cushions, and a 
create this attractive boudoir 
these molding panels the most im¬ 
portant (juestion is their paint fin¬ 
ish. .A flat tone paint over all would 
oljviously lessen the effect of the 
molding. The molding should be 
slightly pronounced. Conseejuent- 
1}', the custom is to paint the wall 
surface one tone and the molding a 
shade lighter. If the walls are an¬ 
tiqued, i. e., finished with a wiped- 
off coat of umber or gray and shel¬ 
lac, the hollow members of the 
molding will hold shadows that 
greatly enrich the general effect. 
There are divers other finishes— 
the molding may be gilded and an¬ 
tiqued, toning down the gold, Imt 
this finish requires a dark wall, 
such as blue or blue-green—a fin¬ 
ish suitable for living rooms and 
salons; the walls may be oyster 
white and moldings faintest green 
for a country morning room. 
Another Method 
I'he third method is to paint the 
walls so that the molding is simu¬ 
lated to an extent. No attempt 
should be made to paint molding 
(insincerity in decoration is just as 
Ixid as insincerity in anything else) 
l)ut the wall space can be divided 
off into panel effects with two or 
three tone painted strips of shades 
taken from the cretonne used in the 
room. The wall can then be glazed 
or stipple antiqued, 
i. e., a gray or 
umber or even green 
paint—according to 
the over-tone desired 
—mixed with the 
shellac and stippled 
on with a stiff brush. 
The purpose of this 
paint treatment is to 
break the wall space 
into pleasing, deco¬ 
rative panel effects. 
To return, finally, 
to the wood paneled 
wall, what sort of 
decorations should 
be given it? In 
many instances the 
very paneling itself 
is sufficiently rich 
and a picture hang¬ 
ing over it would 
detract from its dig¬ 
nity. On the other 
hand, there are 
rooms that require 
such enrichment and 
a painted, glazed 
paper or even tapes¬ 
try insert may be 
used. The paneled 
wall can be broken 
with sconces or wall 
lights. 
