February, 1921 
29 
CURTAINS THAT ONE REMEMBERS 
Color as Much as the Quality of the Fabric Lends 
brilliantly colored plumage. In fact, quite 
the reverse is true. And a small cottage can 
be made charming, livable and unusual through 
the use of comparatively inexpensive hangings 
and upholstery that are remembered chiefly for 
their radiant color. 
There are many ways of introducing this 
element into the general scheme of decoration. 
A bright vase in a dark room will instantly 
focus attention; a vivid hanging on the wall 
can make one oblivious to the surrounding set¬ 
ting and will be remembered long after the 
rest of the room is forgotten. 
The most natural and graceful way of bring¬ 
ing about interesting color effects is by means 
of hangings. For the summer cottage which 
relies for its charm on a certain distinctive 
simplicity nothing could be a better choice for 
curtains than gingham. This fabric is inex¬ 
pensive, durable and a welcome change from 
the ever-present chintz. 
In a cottage bedroom that has cream walls, 
plain French blue gingham edged with yellow 
(Continued on page 54) 
In, the rooiji below two figured materials 
have been used, the bold design of the 
hangings in no way impairing the effect 
of the thin, shimmering under-draperies 
Distinction to Modern Hangings 
MARGARET McELROY 
A NEW era has arisen in America in in¬ 
terior decoration. It might be called 
The-After-the-War Period and it relies 
for its existence solely on the broad usage of 
splendid color. We have been subservient to 
line for so long that it is a little startling to 
realize a factor has come up that makes even 
line fall into the background. As a proof of 
this witness the ugly monstrosities made pos¬ 
sible by a few coats of paint; the barns and 
stables turned into attractive living quarters, 
and the mid-Victorian furniture made almost 
graceful by a clever use of painted decoration. 
So in the last analysis the most important 
element to be taken into consideration in deco¬ 
rating is color. It is the thing we are conscious 
of first and remember longest about a room. 
Also it is rare. For years we have been afraid 
of it, accepting drab color combinations as 
being beautiful and right simply because we 
had grown used to them. It was a case of 
mental laziness and only recently have we had 
enough daring and initiative to break away 
and blaze a new path, demonstrating anew that 
In the room shown at the right, the 
casement windows are simply curtained 
with a deep, reddish-orange silk, a strik¬ 
ing spot of color against neutral walls 
sheer color is among the foundations of hu¬ 
man happiness. 
There is also satisfaction in knowing this 
does not necessarily mean expense. In the 
jungles of the old and new world, it is not 
always the rare birds that flaunt the most 
