House & Garden 
INTERIOR DECORATIONS THAT SOLDIERS LIKE 
The Colors and Furnishings Used in Hostess Houses, Soldiers’ and 
Sailors’ Clubs , Canteens and Huts 
EMILY BURBANK 
canvas and sheets of 
corrugated iron. 
To speak of interior 
decoration in such cases 
seems absurd, yet as a 
matter of fact, it was ex¬ 
periments tried in can¬ 
teens and rest houses in 
the war zone that first 
proved the value of this 
art even under fire. 
Color and the Men 
Early in the war. Red 
Cross National Head¬ 
quarters received letters 
telling how whitewash 
and gay paints applied 
inside canteens and rest 
huts acted as a tonic on 
the jaded senses of men 
coming out of a region 
of smoke and dun col¬ 
ored earth. 
Color! 
Color! It was color 
that they craved! 
Someone discovering 
this and believing in its 
power, and the sugges¬ 
tion in design, had made 
the experiment. Great sunflowers, 
flaunting reds and greens, crude 
drawings of various sorts were 
dashed off on the walls, the idea 
being to suggest cheer, diversion, 
and relaxation after the depress¬ 
ing strain at the front. It met 
with immediate success. The sol¬ 
dier himself gave out the verdict, 
“Dress up the rest hut!” 
It is easy to believe that those 
in charge found it great fun try¬ 
ing to do an elemental decorative 
stunt under fire when the jury 
was to be worn poilus, Tommy 
Atkins and later the Yanks. A 
light in the eye, a faint smile or 
cheery slang for approval, coined 
in the trench, and hurled back 
over his shoulder as the man went 
Decorators’ Service 
Decorators, being also 
patriots, at once agreed to small 
commissions, some indeed giving 
their services free, counting it as 
a part of their war work. The 
immediate reward awaiting them 
was the unexpected possibilities 
for interesting line and color, 
suitability and durability, within 
the restrictions imposed by war. 
These classes of buildings for 
the refreshment of soldiers and 
sailors awaited decorative skill. 
There was the “hut,” quickly 
thrown together within some zone 
of intense activity, demanding no 
cluttering frills within or with¬ 
out. This type of emergency 
building was put up at the front 
by the Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., 
and Salvation Army, of boards. 
The Eagle Hut in Bryant Park, N. Y., is in blue and gold, with Wind¬ 
sor chaws, and Swiss reed. Mrs. Albert Hcrter, decorator 
D ecorators and 
furnishers, like 
architects, now plan with 
regard to both war needs 
and war incomes. They 
came head on against 
this situation when at 
the full tide of carte 
blanche orders to meet 
peace conditions. The 
shock was bewildering. 
But instead of checking 
the imagination of the 
creative, new brain cells 
have opened up and a 
flock of ideas-—beautiful 
and practical—are let 
loose every day. 
The magician wand 
has been stern utility, 
emphatic elimination of 
all but the essential, and 
a censored budget for 
outlay when the work to 
be done was the interior 
decoration of rooms used 
for the refreshment of 
our fighting men. 
At Camp Travis, Texas, the hostess house living room has walls of 
wall board and strips 
The Red Cross Building at Camp Upton has silver gray woodwork 
gray furniture, green cushions and curtains, green and yellow rugs 
