92 
House & Garden 
bi 
*r. 
"0giiiBga 
^i:^S pt*x>t‘^'C:ti'0'»v arvdC ^xiat^a'nto^ 
MADE IN’ AMERICA 
(irh(9 ^££<9 m£ 
W HEN buying a piano a woman asks for a certain 
kind of piano. She knows before she buys it just 
what kind of a piano she wants and why. 
It is just as important in buying grass rugs to insist 
on getting the genuine CREX. I'here is the same rel¬ 
ative difference in tone and cpiality. 
CREX rugs are sanitary and made to withstand or¬ 
dinarily hard usage on any floor. Easily cleaned with¬ 
out beating they lighten the burden of housekeeping 
while their low cost makes them particularly desirable. 
Solid and beautifully blended colors in a wide range 
of patterns to harmonize with room decorations. 
Reware of imitations, some of which are even made 
of s])lit or crushed straw. Buy CREX rugs—the popu¬ 
lar favorite in millions of homes—they’ll please you. 
CREX is easily said and easily read. The name 
woven in the side binding provides an ineffaceable 
identiflcation mark. 
Handsomely illustrated catalog showing 
actual colors and sizes of the three CREX 
weaves DE LUXE, HERRINGBONE and 
REGULAR mailed free on request. 
CREX CARPET CO., 212 Fifth Avenue, New York 
COUNTRY 
ALL YEAR ’ROUND 
Tables and Chairs of 18th Century France 
{Continued from page 90) 
seem to discern in the generality of con¬ 
temporary table design. There were 
armchairs aplenty with upholstered 
seats and backs, wing chairs upholstered 
all over; bergeres or armchairs with 
continuous upholstery attained a mark 
hitherto undreamed of. Besides the 
sofas, which corresponded in design 
with the chairs, there were comfortable 
stools, large ancl small, both oblong and 
square. 
Perhaps the most characteristic of 
Louis Quinze chair shapes is that of the 
armchair with broad, shaped seat, and 
appro.ximately square back with shaped 
outline. With a few of the earlier 
chairs and stretchers, such bracing was 
soon discarded and the grace of the 
cabriole legs appeared without the dis¬ 
tracting horizontal line. Chair frames 
were ordinarily either of walnut or of 
some white wood intended to be painted 
or painted and gilt. Side chairs, whether 
with caned or upholstered seats and 
backs, corresponded closely in contour 
with the armchairs. Whether the frames 
were ornate or simple in their carving, 
they all had the same swinging grace. 
For upholstery the usual materials were 
brocades, tapestry, or printed linen, and 
occasionally leather. Caned chairs often 
had loose cushions. 
In the Louis Seize period legs were 
almost invariably straight and tapered, 
although one pattern of chair, not un¬ 
common, had forelegs of a very re¬ 
strained cabriole curve. Arms were 
commonly straight from front to back, 
with a sweeping curve upward to the 
junction with the backpost. Backs are 
usually square, round, oval, flaring, 
shaped, or with some form of lyre pat¬ 
tern conspicuously introduced. Sofas 
and stools reflected the same types of 
design. Side chairs, especially during 
the latter part of the period, frequently 
had upholstered or caned seats but 
carved backs into which the lyre, fret¬ 
work, or some comparable form of con¬ 
ventionalized motif was introduced. Be¬ 
sides frames of walnut or of painted 
wood, mahogany was used. The usual 
upholstery materials were the same as, 
in the preceding period, with the addi¬ 
tion of pleasing striped silks and bro¬ 
cades. 
D'rectoire and Empire Chairs 
The characteristic seating furniture of 
the Directoire period had straight legs 
or else legs with a single restrained 
curve, flaring outward toward the foot 
in the manner of the old Roman curule 
chairs. The backs also frequently dis¬ 
played the same outward flaring curule 
shape and had a fine swing. Side chairs, 
though often with upholstered seats,, 
usually incorporated a lyre, fretwork,, 
or some like carved design in the back, 
and often had a broad, rolled top-rail. 
Painted wood and mahogany were com¬ 
monly employed for frames. Even the 
side chairs, which were made of such 
cheaper woods as elm or beech, com¬ 
monly displayed the same frets or 
carved motifs in the backs. 
The Empire period, in all except the 
curule type of chairs, inclined to exceed¬ 
ing substantiality and oftentimes to pon¬ 
derosity and pomposity. The motifs, 
whether straight or curved legs were 
used, were all supposedly drawn either 
from Classic architectural precedents or 
else from the patterns of such Greek 
or Roman furniture as the archaeolo¬ 
gists had discovered. 
Mahogany with profuse and ornate 
brass mounts, or else white wood paint¬ 
ed and gilt, made the frames, while the 
upholstery consisted chiefly of silks, 
satins and brocades of strong and in¬ 
sistent colors. 
American Decoration 
{Continued from page 35) 
the chief points to receive first con¬ 
sideration in the selection of furniture 
for a home. Failure to realize these 
principles has resulted in the market 
being flooded with much modern so- 
called “period” furniture, having noth¬ 
ing at all to recommend it, and casting 
a slur on the craftsmanship of those 
nations of which it is distantly rem¬ 
iniscent. 
Decoration should be more than 
mere plagiarism. The Greeks taught 
us that beauty and comfort can be 
synonymous. From sad experience we 
continually learn that ugliness and dis¬ 
comfort invariably go hand in hand. 
Perhaps because some scholarly re¬ 
search is involved as a pre-requisite, it 
is most unusual to find any modern in¬ 
terior decoration carrying the mind 
back, in inspiration, to an age preced¬ 
ing the mediaeval period in Europe. 
Thus to turn the pages of history, and 
to do it with success, must be rated in¬ 
deed a very high and refreshing achieve¬ 
ment. That it can be done without 
sacrificing either comfort, beauty, or 
modern utility, three of our illustrations 
will prove. 
The interiors here presented show two 
views of the living hall in the home of 
a celebrated New York architect. The 
inspiration is Greek, but Greek art 
adapted to the every-day life of a re¬ 
fined American home. American mate¬ 
rials and native craftsmanship were 
used without losing any of the atmos¬ 
phere and dignity dominating the whole 
scheme. Kentucky stone was used for 
the entablature and columns, flanking 
the mantel breast, while the mantel it¬ 
self is of Alabama marble. 
Notwithstanding its classic frame¬ 
work, the fireplace is a delightful spot— 
suggestive of social reunions around a 
log fire at the day’s end. And to start 
one’s imagination wandering, there, in 
the panel above, is Dionysius setting out 
on a voyage of discovery. 
The Chinese biscuit-hued pots and 
the green-blue Rakka vase standing be¬ 
tween them on the mantel shelf, provide 
the color inspiration, in varying tones 
of tan and blue. 
Graceful carved draperies on an 
Etruscan tomb suggested the wall hang¬ 
ings, while the paintings beneath are 
derived from those in the House of 
Livia on the Palatine Hill in Rome. 
The reclining couches, chairs, stools, 
and dining table (the last being three 
sides of a hollow square on plan, in or¬ 
der to facilitate quick service when 
guests are present), all show their 
Greek origin, but are the acme of 
modernity in comfort and convenience. 
One illustration shows the entrance 
hall and stairway. A “Walking Naiad” 
in bronze replaces the usual newel post. 
Extending from ground to upper floors, 
there is a pierced bronze screen, accessi¬ 
ble at all times while ascending the 
stairs. This obviates the need for 
either hand rail or balustrading. 
The same principles, applied in a dif¬ 
ferent way, are responsible for the en¬ 
trance hall in our next illustration. 
There is a faint suggestion of Italian 
inspiration in the floor treatment and 
the judicious use of wrought iron, rich 
color being introduced by the tapestry 
and window draperies. 
.■\t the end of the enticing vista is the 
(Continued on page 94) 
