January, 1921 
31 
shapes is forgotten; your in¬ 
terest centers in the wood, in 
the remarkable effects that 
can be gotten with unusual 
woods naturally finished. 
This phase of modern 
Parisian decoration does not 
offer so many alluring bibe¬ 
lots, though it has created 
unusual fabrics handled in 
an unusual way. A curtain, 
for example, made of blue 
and white braid tacked at one 
inch intervals along a pole 
top and bottom and stretched 
the full length of the win¬ 
dow. A valance covers the 
top. Ample light comes in 
between the braid strips. 
The Shop of Mam 
Leave Jourdain and go 
down the Avenue de l’Opera 
to Mam. The exterior of 
the shop is imposing. You 
linger for a moment in a re¬ 
ception room, then are led by 
a winding stairs down to 
crypts in the cellar under the 
pavement. The darkness is 
broken by concealed lights in 
jars, behind shades of gold 
and silver cloth and above 
the cornice; it is a subdued 
glow, warm in spots and shot 
with color. There is no nat¬ 
ural light. Here again are 
the padded stools that Poiret 
affects. The walls- are 
draped. A great amount of 
gold cloth is used and bril¬ 
liant colored objets chart to 
catch and reflect light. You 
wonder how these rooms would look in sunlight. 
By no means do Martine, Jourdain and 
Mam represent all the varieties of modern dec¬ 
oration in Paris, but they suffice to answer our 
questions. Can such rooms be lived with? 
Do they fit in with our type of life here in 
America ? 
Ihey can, if you are that kind of person, 
but that kind of person is not so numerous here 
as on the Continent. American life hasn't 
attained the subtleties and variations that are 
found in European capitals. We are a direct 
people and it is not so long since our forebears 
took the axe in hand and cut the clearing in 
the wilderness. Except in the rarest spots we 
cannot call American life effete; we are not 
The new trend in decoration is shown in the brilliant colors of 
stercd chair and the same fabric used on the wall. More colors 
lamp shade and interesting wool rug. Courtesy of Chambor 
The morning glory screen, color fid and 
realistic, could be used in many rooms. 
From Martine 
accustomed to the cushioned 
banks and we prefer chairs. 
Also, we like sunlight. 
True, we curtain our win¬ 
dows and even over-curtain 
them, but in the majority of 
homes the owner wants all 
the light she can get; cer¬ 
tainly, the men of the family 
want it. Now the strong 
colors used in modernist dec¬ 
oration do not seem com¬ 
patible with a flood of sun¬ 
light. In dim light they are 
harmonious, they blend into 
a richness that is very pleas¬ 
ing to the eye, but it would 
be difficult to visualize them, 
or ourselves living with them, 
seven sunny days in the week. 
The Lesson for America 
On the other hand, Ameri¬ 
cans can well learn a lesson 
from these strong colorings. 
Our interiors are too tame. 
We are afraid of brilliant 
colors. Used judiciously in 
small spots, such as a lamp 
or cushion or the coverin'! of 
an occasional chair, they key 
up the tone of a room. 
Except in rare instances it 
would not seem to be advis¬ 
able to use this modernist 
decoration in American 
homes. It does not express 
our type of civilization and 
it would only be a pose of 
this up hoi- which we would quickly tire. 
are in the What we can do is to adapt 
d> Inc. some of its elements, just as 
we pick and choose from the 
past to create our good interiors today. 
The bibelots of Martine, and the occasional 
chairs in a vivid color—-these would enliven 
an American room and give it added interest. 
Our furniture designers might also learn the 
value of unusual woods, such as Jourdain 
uses. We have such an abundance of ma¬ 
hogany, oak and walnut. Why not silvery 
sycamore or the sheen of the pear? Why not 
the boldness of a panel in ebony? As for 
lighting, such as can be seen in Mam, that is 
a subject we have only begun to touch upon. 
The question of modernist decoration in 
America, then, seems to resolve itself to this: 
not can we use it, but how much of it can we 
adapt to our way of living? 
Of Poiret’s many creations the most adapt¬ 
able is the folding cushion, which can be 
piled up for a seat, half-piled for a cushion 
or laid out flat as a mattress. It is made in 
a variety of colors, with gilt buttons at 
regular intervals 
