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House & Garden 
THE BEAUTY OF DARK WOODWORK 
JJ e Draw on Both Native and Foreign Forest for the 
II oods to Give Our Rooms Distinguished Atmosphere 
MARY H. NORTHEND 
A! 
T HE finishing of interior walls is a 
problem that changes continuously, 
for with each new combination of 
colors, appropriate backgrounds are de¬ 
manded, backgrounds that are suitable for 
correct room picturing. Walls are a struc¬ 
tural necessity, lending as they do to each 
individual room a privacy that could not 
have been attained if mere hangings were 
utilized. Yet the spacing of rooms, 
especially in a small house, taxes the archi¬ 
tect’s ingenuity to the utmost, as all elab¬ 
orate conceptions must be eliminated and 
every inch of space utilized in order to 
produce right results. 
Simple walls are an absolute necessity 
for only they are in sympathy with the 
furnishing, yet they must be carefully 
planned that they may lend added space to 
rooms already so limited in size as to 
appear cramped, a fatal mistake in apart¬ 
ments where women live the major part of 
their lives and the man of the house rests 
from his work and worry. 
Wood has been used for wall finish ever 
since houses were built, never losing its 
popularity through the ages, so that today, 
when there are so many kinds and tones on 
the market, it seems a 
very simple matter to 
work out harmonious 
schemes, not only in small 
houses, but large ones and 
through its use to lend 
dignity to the home. 
In our early architec¬ 
ture there existed a defi¬ 
nite charm brought about 
through the bold spirit of 
the master builders, a fine 
example of whose work is 
still in existence in the 
Fairbanks House at Ded¬ 
ham, Massachusetts, where 
the oldest room retains its 
original feather edge boarding, the ancestor 
of dull dark woodwork in America. 
We find an interesting example of native 
wood finish in the white and pumpkin pine 
used in some of our fine old houses, mel¬ 
lowed and smoke-stained by the fires that 
burned continuously in the cavernous fire¬ 
place. Color tones, tire first semblance of 
interior decorating, appeared here, creat¬ 
ed through the garlands of dried red pep¬ 
pers and bunches of yellow corn depending 
from the ceiling beams. And an added 
decorative charm was given by placing 
pewter, brass, and copper on the dresser, 
repeating the color note by decorating the 
fireplace mantel in a similar manner. 
Even the pots and kettles that hung on the 
crane added interest, with the glow of the 
firelight playing over their brightly pol¬ 
ished surfaces. 
The next step in dark woodwork came 
when larger and better houses were erected, 
and the owners, recalling the manor houses 
across seas, imported dark woodwork for 
interior use. This is true in both of the 
Lee manor houses in Marblehead, Massa¬ 
chusetts, the woodwork ready for insertion 
having been brought over in the holds of 
*m 
Butternut was used for the paneling of this oval reception 
room in the New York home of Mrs. Willard Straight. 
Delano & Aldrich were the architects 
the ships. Here simplicity of the interior 
finish is livened by priceless hand tooling, 
the handicraft of Grinling Gibbons and 
Samuel McIntyre. 
As time passed and the country became 
more thickly settled, we find that woods for 
wall treatment were freely used, and there 
were so many kinds that they could 
be suitable for decoration in both large and 
small houses; the color note varying to 
such a degree, that even in smaller houses it 
was possible to include dull dark wood for 
interior finish. 
Many of us have become so accustomed 
to the use of white painted backgrounds, 
which were a necessity to bring out the 
value of dark, rich, Colonial mahogany 
furniture, that we have failed to appreciate 
the value of these wonderful dark woods, in 
fact we have taken little pains to acquaint 
ourselves with their color value, depending 
upon the few unrelated facts gleaned here 
and there, often incorrect in detail, thus 
prejudicing the public against its use. 
Then, too, wood seemed such a common 
means of interior finish that little thought 
was given to its study. In these days, 
however, with the whole world at our 
doors and much of the fine 
woodwork in foreign lands 
purchasable, we are find¬ 
ing out what a charming 
setting it is for rooms 
where rich tapestry or 
colorful fabrics are a ne¬ 
cessity. 
Architects, too, are 
B realizing how invaluable 
these dark woods are, and 
impressed with their in¬ 
creasing value are search¬ 
ing the lumber yards both 
in Boston and New York 
to discover rare bits that 
may have lain neglected 
A slab of mahogany showing 
the delicate grain of that beau¬ 
tiful wood 
Another type and cutting of 
mahogany shows quite a differ¬ 
ent grain pattern 
