38 
House & Garden 
THE DECORATIVE VALUE OF FRENCH PRINTS 
Elegance Typical of 18 th Century France Is Given a Room When 'These 
Pri nts Are Properly Ilung and Surrounded 
Bv HONOR EE RAOUI. 
H AVE you ever dreamed of a 
small, intimate room, filled 
with French marquetry furniture, 
chinoiserie lamps, perhaps a 
small French wall clock or table 
decorated with ormolu to hold 
under glass your cherished bibe¬ 
lots? Many a charming room of 
this type could take inspiration 
from the 18th Century “estampe 
galante” so typical of the charm 
and gallantry of that period. 
French ideas can be introduced 
into our small American homes, 
and when used with discretion, 
lend a dignified note to any room. 
Almost all of us have an odd 
piece of furniture in the French 
style—a walnut fauteuil with a 
cane seat, a marquetry desk or 
table, perhaps a small commode, 
or a garniture for the mantel— 
around which can be built up a 
cosy room, differing from the stiff 
parlors which are still sufficiently 
numerous. Nothing could be of 
greater assistance in this task 
than a few reproductions of 18th 
Century French engravings, which 
are accessible to those who, with 
moderate means, face the prob¬ 
lem of redecorating an unattrac¬ 
tive room. 
The Background 
If you are fortunate to be liv¬ 
ing in an old house which has 
paneled walls, your task is com¬ 
paratively easy, as the most im¬ 
portant part of the 
room, the background, 
is in readiness for the 
further development 
of your ideas. It can 
be readily seen that 
French prints look 
better on paneled 
Mi. 
The prints show best to 
advantage when hung 
hi proximity to small 
decorative objects or 
bibelots. Group by 
courtesy of Darnley 
“Le Messager Discret” 
is an interesting and 
decorative example of 
the romantic landscape 
type found among 
French prints 
walls mellowed by age than any¬ 
where else. Relatively few of us 
have that advantage, yet we can 
work just as effectively with sim¬ 
pler mediums. As is well known, 
paneled walls are produced by 
the use of moldings, which, if 
good proportions are observed, 
divide the walls attractively and 
create the paneled effect. Good 
proportions, however, won’t be 
impressive, unless you finish your 
walls in light colors. Paint your 
walls either a deep cream, or the 
lightest gray, or a soft, light green 
(in that case, with the moldings 
of white) and any of these com¬ 
binations will be an appropriate 
background for prints. A sim¬ 
pler way still, and one that gives 
splendid results, is to have your 
walls suitably papered. Select a 
plain hair-lined wall paper in 
French gray, light green or even 
buff, and have your woodwork 
painted gray or creamy white. 
Remember that while a simple 
background suits almost any kind 
of decoration, it is especially 
good with prints. If the back¬ 
ground is kept quiet and unob¬ 
trusive, it will lend itself to any 
color scheme. 
Framing 
An appropriate background 
can be instantly disfigured by 
overloading it with too orna¬ 
mental frames which also ruin 
the effect of the pic¬ 
ture. Prints can be 
absolutely spoiled by 
careless framing, and 
it is of vital impor¬ 
tance to give them the 
right setting. As they 
are light and graceful 
Another of Freudeberg’s 
famous set is the com¬ 
panion engraving 
known as “La Prom¬ 
enade du Matin” 
“La Promenade du 
Soir” is one of twelve 
intimate plates of the 
J e une Marine by 
Freudeberg 
