20 
House & Garden 
Corner of Grand 
Salon, Hotel Delisle, 
Mansart, Paris 
In Louis Quinze 
characteristics of the 
Louis Quinze mode, 
background and mov¬ 
ables considered as 
one complete composi¬ 
tion, we shall not at¬ 
tempt to portray the 
extremes or exaggera¬ 
tions. Instead, we 
shall endeavor to point 
out the sane and ser¬ 
viceable phases of the 
mode—its simpler and 
more stable forms with 
which it is possible to 
live comfortably in 
modest households. 
In Louis Quinze 
style there is a studied 
avoidance of every¬ 
thing oppressively for¬ 
mal or ponderous. Deep shadows cast by 
heavy cornices or boldly projecting mouldings 
are eliminated. This flattening of projections 
was a part of the revolt from the massive di¬ 
mensions and heavy contours of the Louis 
Quatorze style and does not rob moulding pro¬ 
files of a due emphasis of an agreeable relief 
of light and shadow. It is worth noting that 
the suppression of bold projections tends to in¬ 
crease the apparent size of small rooms. 
Straight lines—especially horizontally straight 
lines—are not emphasized; indeed, they are 
more apt to be suppressed or replaced by curv¬ 
ing lines. The emphasis of vertical straight 
lines is modified, as a rule, only by the elimina¬ 
tion or disguising of right angles and the round¬ 
ing off of corners. These are general principles 
that it is well to keep in mind. 
In the Hotel de 
Breteuil, Paris. 
Courtesy Helburn 
Showing the adaptability of Louis Quinze, 
another view of Hotel Delisle salon. 
Courtesy Wm. Helburn, Inc. 
A salon in the Hotel de Matignon, Paris, 
showing the abandon of the unrestrained 
Louis Quinze 
The Louis Quinze mode had little influence 
upon exterior architecture and its expression 
was chiefly confined to interior decoration. 
There was a tendency, however, to accentuate 
the size of windows, which often extended all 
the way to the floor, and whether full length 
or not, were of the casement type with wooden 
muntins, stiles and rails. Window heads were 
rectangular, arc-shaped with either angular or 
rounded shoulders, round-arched, or in the 
form of a much flattened ellipse. The char¬ 
acteristic divisions of windows appear in the 
illustrations. Door heads were shaped in much 
the same way as window heads. By ingenious 
manipulation of door and window trims, the 
interior effect was sometimes modified from the 
more severe aspect of external lines as already 
described. 
Wall treatment was 
of paramount impor- 
i tance. Classic orders, 
previously so conspic¬ 
uous in the make-up 
of the fixed back- 
ground, were ad¬ 
judged too formal and 
were either radically 
disguised or entirely 
omitted and their 
place taken by a sys¬ 
tem of carefully 
framed and bordered 
panels. Paneling, in¬ 
deed, was the chief 
resource for wall treat¬ 
ment. Paneling in 
natural wood was gen¬ 
erally of oak or of 
light - colored walnut 
and was not disguised 
by artificial darkening mixtures. Painted panel¬ 
ing was largely used and lent itself to a wider 
diversity of expression. 
Panels were large and vertically oblong, ex¬ 
tending all the way from a low dado to the 
cornice. Their widths varied according to the 
needs of the room and the distribution of open¬ 
ings. Some were narrow, others fairly wide, 
but they were always spaced in a symmetrical 
manner. Both tops and bottoms of panels were 
very generally shaped, while angles and junc¬ 
tions were managed by sundry softening de¬ 
vices. In the more elaborate phases of the 
mode, the boundary moldings of the panels 
were enriched with various carved or applied 
motifs, but in the simpler aspects of the style, 
as shown in the cut, most of these embellish- 
(Continued on page 62) 
