S e p>t e m be. r, 19 2 0 
27 
COMPOSITION IN DECORATION 
The Test of the Maker of Homes Is the Ability to Devise Arrangements of Furniture 
Which Satisfy the Double Demands of Use and Beauty 
RUTH de ROCHEMONT 
T HE beginning of wisdom in decoration is 
a just fear of the laws of composition. 
It matters less—and they who will not wise¬ 
ly listen to the word w T ill learn it in the costly 
ways of experience—what one puts into a 
house than where one puts it. 
A well-planned room has the perfection of 
a Japanese print. Taken as a whole, it is an 
impeccable and complete composition, but it 
breaks up on analysis into many subordinate 
compositions, each no less perfect in itself. 
The room, however, must also meet a de¬ 
mand not made upon 
the Japanese print, for 
each of its various 
groupings must be suit¬ 
ed to the needs of those 
who pass some part of 
their hours within it. 
The occupations of 
these people, their fan¬ 
cies for certain types 
of chair, for light from 
the left or the right, 
the hours of the day or 
the night at which they 
will use the rooms, all 
must be considered. 
The reconciliation of 
those needs with the 
laws of beauty is the 
rock on which many a 
room comes to grief. 
Things to Avoid 
Seasonal Changes 
Who has not met 
them—the coldly lovely 
drawing rooms in which 
conversation languishes 
and the guest becomes 
deeply conscious of be¬ 
ing an incongruous ex¬ 
hibit in a museum of 
decorative art; the bra¬ 
zenly comfortable liv¬ 
ing rooms in which 
beauty is not and the 
mind sinks to sleep in 
the well-padded arms 
of davenports and ca¬ 
pacious armchairs 
which give the room 
the air of a hotel 
lobby ? 
It is not a question 
of rare and handsome 
The fireplace and 
the low table with its 
well-placed and adroit¬ 
ly shaded reading 
lamps are the natural 
focal notes of the win¬ 
ter room. 
When summer comes, 
the outdoor world 
claims the leading role 
and sunny casements 
or long ’ win¬ 
dows o] r u. loon- 
lit terra become 
the mo in,| . tant fea¬ 
tures o; th* room. 
That i r.c is one 
Of the ' f SUC- 
cessfc. nent— 
to sei ■ upon . salient 
pieces; still less is it a question of cost. Glim¬ 
mering lengths of lovely materials do not neces¬ 
sarily make a smart costume, and a house may 
be overflowing with costly furnishings and yet 
be a decorative failure and a menace to the 
peace of mind of those who dwell therein. 
A nicety of taste in the selection and group¬ 
ing of its furniture may give to the simplest 
room a charm and a livable quality sought in 
vain in rooms which contain a far greater 
number of things lovely in themselves. Again, 
a room which has been the despair of a hostess 
and the terror of guests may be transformed 
and its glacial atmosphere changed to glowing 
warmth by a mere rearrangement of the 
furniture. 
In general, it may fairly be said that most 
people rearrange their houses far too seldom. 
Their furniture could hardly be more static if 
it were built with the house and securely nailed 
in place. 
Now, as a matter of fact, a single new 
piece of furniture may often necessitate the re¬ 
arrangement of a whole room, and constant 
minor changes are 
needed to give variety. 
Moreover, the arrange¬ 
ment of many rooms in 
the all-year house 
should be altered great¬ 
ly with the change from 
summer to winter. This 
does not mean a mere 
substitution of gay 
glazed chintz for the 
heavy damasks and 
silken stuffs of winter 
or the acquisition of 
taffeta slip-covers and 
lighter rugs. 
Some of the best 
changes of all are the 
fundamental changes 
in the grouping and 
the position of the fur¬ 
niture. 
Tebbs 
They are wise who, possessing a rare old piece, display it to the best possible advantage by 
thus making it the dominant note in a composition all its own. Rug, chairs, and wall lights 
are all admirably in keeping and all jocus attention on the cabinet 
