Pleasing decorative effects may be obtained by bringing out the natural graining of the woodwork. Chestnut and cypress are particularly suitable for this as they may be stained and wax finished, or stained and rubbed down to produce this effect. This fireplace was built with outside bricks selected for their color. There is a mottling of purple and bluish tones among the reds that harmonizes strikingly with the Oriental rug before it

Planning the Living-room

Table of Contents

A lounge before the fireplace becomes more useful if a table bearing a lamp is placed behind it. Cypress is reasonable for interior trim, costing from sixty to sixty-eight dollars a thousand feet

After the method of modern planning, the living-room is treated as the principal room in the house. I do not mean to say that this room should be overdone, or given undue prominence to the exclusion of the other rooms, but it is essential that this room be treated differently from the old-fashioned way we formerly treated our living-rooms, then generally a front and back parlor. These two rooms have now been superseded by one large room, as our mode of living and entertaining makes it more desirable than the two small, stuffy rooms, then used only occasionally. To-day we plan to give pleasure and comfort to the family, rather than the occasional guest.

The drawing of the suggested room arrangement shows the fireplace and the French doors leading to the piazza. Above the ivory tinted wainscoting the background paper is of a putty color and panels are filled with a striped and foliated fabric held in place by a molding strip

The ground plan of the room shows a good arrangement of rugs and furniture in order that advantage may be taken of the fireplace and the various lights. Conversation may be carried on with ease and comfort and the room used for various purposes conveniently

This reception room has chiefly Louis XVI furniture, which appears well with the light gray and white woodwork designed after the Adam style

There are probably two or three dozen ways that the living-room can be planned and decorated and at the same time be comfortable and attractive. I have chosen to illustrate this with a type of living-room that adapts itself to almost any house and offers the greatest amount of free space when the room is properly furnished. The room is 15 ft. × 29 ft. 6 in., with a ceiling height of 9 feet, these dimensions giving a well-proportioned room. The fireplace is in the center of the west wall, flanked on each side by two French doors which open out on a piazza. At each end of the room are two windows, balancing one another. On the east wall a wide opening with French doors permits access to the main hall. The most prominent feature of the room is the fireplace, which is accentuated and made a natural center. This is an important consideration when planning a natural grouping of the family or its guests.

Such architectural features as beamed ceilings should only be used in rooms of pretentious size. A good example of Caen stone fireplace is found here

The treatment of the room is Colonial. A low wainscot, 2 ft. 6 in. high, comprising a base, panel, and cap, is carried around the room. The ceiling is beamed with four substantial beams and a half beam to form a cornice around the room at the junction of the wall and ceiling. Over the heads of the doors and windows there is a wide wooden frieze with a cap which ties them, one might say, to the bottom of the cornice, and makes them more completely an integral part of the woodwork. The window stools form a part of the wainscot cap.

A summer living-room that achieves a brilliant note through white woodwork and figured hangings with upholstery to match

The finish of the room is white wood, given four coats of lead and oil paint, with a fifth coat of white enamel, rubbed down, and a sixth and final finishing coat of enamel of an ivory shade that dries out with a very dull satin-like luster that is very durable and not easily marred. Above the wainscot the walls are covered with a heavy background paper having a body color almost of a putty shade, enlivened in certain lights with a pinkish caste. This is accented by the panels, between the windows and doors, of a delicately hued fabric with a foliated striped design. A flat molding covers the edge of the fabric and forms the panel. In order to balance these and add character to the room, the draperies at the windows and doors are of soft blue velour, without which the scheme would be lifeless and flat. The facing of the fireplace is of Sienna marble surmounted with a simple mantel, consisting merely of a heavy classical architrave, with a shelf above and a large plate glass mirror over it. One must not lose sight of the fact that the colors of this room, while light and delicate, are all very rich and warm, due to the predominating ivory color of the woodwork, enlivened and strengthened by the richer and heavier color used in the panels and curtains.

Some would consider it bold to combine white walls and white woodwork in the living-room. The rug, pictures and furniture covering, however, are chosen with an eye to bright colors

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A Book of Distinctive Interiors

Table of Contents

Planning the Living-room

A Book of Distinctive Interiors. Various
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