October, 19 IS 
43 
Dining Room Vases 
In the dining room the between- 
meals dress of a refectory table 
should be either candles or cande¬ 
labra with a strip of filet or linen 
with filet inserts in the center, laid 
across the boards to break the long 
line. A pottery bowl with flowers 
will add a touch of color. A strip 
The Italian feeling is perfectly 
preserved in this dining room 
with its long table and leather 
upholstered chairs 
Even in the small dining 
room where the other fur¬ 
niture is Colonial the re¬ 
fectory table harmonizes 
pleasantly 
wrought iron may be enriched 
with gold or antiqued color 
rubbed into its turnings. Some¬ 
how, silver does not quite har¬ 
monize with the rough planks 
of an antique refectory table. 
It does, however, with the more 
ornate and meticulously carved 
types that bear a heavy polish. 
Perhaps it is merely a matter 
of taste. 
The shape of the refectory 
table almost connotes a bal¬ 
anced arrangement of acces¬ 
sories—a pair of lamps, a pair 
of vases, a pair of candlesticks, 
a pair of book racks and 
spreads of magazines. A cen¬ 
tral group, in scale with the 
terminal group, will give the eye a 
sense of harmony. 
In the hallway lamps and a piece 
of bronze statuary will suffice for 
decorative accessories, with a bowl 
of flowers in season. The hall table 
should be kept fairly clear save in 
a hall that serves also as reception 
room, where magazines and books 
can be laid out. 
m a 
of rich damask bordered in antiqued 
galloon may also be used. 
Apropos of this let me mention an 
abominable practice that one stum¬ 
bles on occasionally. I have found, 
in some dining rooms, a strip of plate 
glass laid over the refectory table and 
beneath it stretched a piece of the 
fabric that serves for curtains. This 
completely robs the refectory table of 
all its original beauty. Of course, it 
is easier to rub off plate glass after 
a meal, but such shirking doesn’t go 
with refectory tables. Wax and el¬ 
bow grease—an abundance of the 
latter—should be applied regularly 
to the table top and any such pretty 
nonsense as a piece of fabric and a 
strip of plate glass, smacking of 
office desks, is an offense to good 
taste. One may have it in a summer 
cottage where the housework should 
be light, never in a dignified dining 
room, such as the refectory fits. 
Following Precedent 
Remember that the refectory table 
was a bare table in its original en¬ 
vironment, and that such enrich¬ 
ments as have been given it in 
the course of time were made 
'' | solely to add to its greater dig¬ 
nity. With this in mind you 
cannot go very far wrong in 
the selection of the other fur¬ 
niture in the room and in the 
treatment of the table itself. 
With few other types of fur¬ 
niture will a violation of his¬ 
torical associations be more 
disastrous than here. The re¬ 
fectory table possesses a dis¬ 
tinct personality, to be guarded 
as jealously as that, of an old 
and valued friend ' 
With rough walls, tiled 
floors and wrought iron 
accessories the refectory 
table is in perfect accord 
