The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 16, 1901, Page 10

10 THE SUNDAY CALL CANTRELL IS department, under i the =able editorship of Greenleaf Locke. Kate be found of interest and benefit to all classes. Whether rich or poor, there is no reason your home should not be | made beautiful by artistic ar- rangement and the properout- | lay of time and energy more i than by the expenditure of money. Correspondence | wvited. Just address your let- ters to Kate Greenleaf Locke, Sunday Call, and these ques- tions on making the home ar- tistic will be answered at length in subsequent columns of this department. will e wh in- c house furnishing I wo them that the day for on of the home and its be- has passed away. We a 2 material and practical age household use are no longer iful because of affectionate as- to be admired, to afford us hey must now be beautiful in and so recognized by all the A wave of artistic feeling e (which is the outside) nn’q tion (which Is the inside) of sweeping over the country, passed many beloved but longings living in a new feeling for the har- ng of rich, soft colors and arrangement of furniture will ion that it is not the amount pended which secures a beau- k the taste and discretion it is spent, is being forced There is no valid reason why s and the workman's cot- d not give pleasure to the most tastes and yet, on the other hand, de d that the interior of re’s mansion often_induces sense of failure. It must be admitted t the correct e arrangement of one’s house- will have to be with of education. To help suggestions this corre- conducted, and 1 will ¥ clearly written ques- o me in care of The Call mansions and te content themselves « ge home there is much to be be the object of this de- s The Call to afford practical ose whose ambition it is to make besutiful in the artistic sense. seak of a monious effect product of the mind which et perception of the fitness n in certain things, of the )r which throws the proper right colors into conjunc- courageo eliminate > individuals culty. Such a she can midst of rren surround- s can make themselves, t and a study of the sub- this work of home making. is said in these days about and it is conceded that the elevating influence of a refined and beau- tiful home cannot be overrated There are many desirable things in life of which a Woman of narrow means has to self. The slender purse renders them impossible to her, but an attractive rming home lies within the possi- for every woman who earnestly it, no matter how short her purse Let her begin at once to beau- it in every little way which upon careful thought suggests itself, The Unlovely Conveniences. There may be in it objects which for vears have caught and held her eye with a sense of repulsion. She has looked at them unthinkingly, but she has never put them out of sight. She should, therefore, begin her work by making a clean sweep of all unlovely objects. There are many articles, as we all know, which are neces- sary, but far from beautiful, that we are compelled to have constantly and con- Seniently at hend. These may be so placed, so disposed of by an intelligent &and determined woman that If not alto- gether hidden they will cease at any rate 10 force the ves upon the attention. Then the first step toward making & beau- ©ful home with siender means 18 to bring all that is beautiful to the front and rele- gate the homely things to the background. The difference between the feeling of pride with which one exhibits a home which is comfortable, beautifully adorned and attractive, and the shame with Which she ailows others to perceive that life in her home is shorn of both comfort and beauty is just the difference between hap- piness and misery. A lack of means no onger furnishes sufficient excuse for a failure to accomplish this. The materiats which are now at hand are often of so inexpensive a description that they fall within easy reach of the smallest purse. The great point is to select the right thing. Things have to be bought and homes have to be fitted up. Human life demands certain accessorles, and 1 think that our study should be to buy these necessities with discretion and always with an eye to the beautiful. It is an established fact that béautiful colors, graceful lines, and harmonious ef- fects have actually an exhilarating influ- ence on human beings. Naturally then, our lives are constantly brighteried and lifteq out of the common place by beauty in ol homes. STAIRWAY‘N DINING RGO To look at a beautiful object, to listen to an exquisite strain of music, we all ad- mit, gives us—for a moment at least—a thrill of enjoyment. Every such thrill that we experience sends us along the road of life with & fresh impulse of strength and_vitality—thus, it is worth while to bend energies that are often wasted in other directions toward the higher one of filling our lives—as far as circumstances will allow—with beauty. Art in the Home. This means in a broad sense—to my un- derstanding—the introduction into our dally lives of a feeling for the'truly beau- tiful in line and color, and a correct ap- preciation of harmony In combinations. In order to work up to real judgment and discretion we must first rid ourselves of all fondness for tawdy cheap looking effects however glittering they may be. There are certain lines to be laid down and adhered to in a deliberate cultivation of taste; and having made a study of it for many years, I feel that I may safely offer a few helpful suggestions fo those who are just beginning to study it. We will take, for example, a room which by reason of inclination or limited means, {s to be dealt with in, extreme simplicity. Perhaps we have a/few pret- ty trifles that we wish to bring to the front in this room. We will prepare to give them 1 Promlnence by arranging for them a soft harmonfous background in ageeable, clear colors. We have for dra- peries, furniture covering—and even sometimes floor covering—denims—in dark blue, reds, rich or dull, as our taste may call for, warm browns, soft yellows and fresh greens. This materlal wears like iron, ‘hangs in good folds, never looks cheap or tawdy, and in the darker shades does not soll or fade. Perhaps a qualifi- cation which recommends it most highly to us is that it is also quite inexpensive. What more could we ask for our back- ground than this? Now take for instance a small pine table and paint it some dark color, preferably black, cover it smooth- ly with dark blue denim brightened at the edges with brass tacks. ‘When you lay a book on this table it becomes decorative at once. You have by this simple device struck a note of taste in your room. See how the gilding on the cover and the decorative design stand out to recommend themselves to your notice and admiration. This is be- cause you have given the book a pro%er background. If you had laid it on a table cover of mixed or jarring colors it would have remained merely & book and not a decoration. This 18 one of the secrets of simple and good effects. You need not study your backgrounds as artists do in the com- position of their pictures, unless you wish to make a specialty of decorative work. But it is necessary to give some thought to this subject of keeping your back- ground clear and simple in treatment— or much of the money you may spend for decorative articles is wasted. To return to our blue denim—place on it a glass bowl of yellow roses—you will find their delicate outlines and coloring, their green leaves and stems showing through the crystal of the bowl take an added beau- ty from the background of this table. '[yhay stand clearly out against the light with no confusing shadows and colors such as would be thrown around them by « cheap flowered or figured material. A glass of purple violets, a vase of white roses—in fact, almost any color of flowers that you might use would show in the samé charming and effective way. A clear wash In water color—in other words, calcimining—for rough plastered walls is an inexpensive finish and a good background. There are also many cheap papers with delicate well-toned figures on them which are charming when the floor has a plain matting or carpet on it and the curtains are in plain colors. It seems to me, with this much that is good, with sheer muslin or soft white cheese cloth curtains at the windows, it is an easy matter to render a room attractive and pretty. The Importance of Color. In making up an interfor effect the most fmportant thing to be considered is color. Imagine an apartment furnished in the simplest style, but in which the colors are as carefully selected as they would be upon the canvas of a charming pic- ture—all _softly brilliant, they melt into one another, or, cool and quiet, they give distinction to the light and ‘airy furniture of the room. Contrast with this a room in which the handsumest pieces of furni- ture are thrown thoughtlessly together. Another point of value to remember is that a room which conveys an idea in its decoration gives a miore subtle pleasure to all who enter it than one which is merely pretty. If, for instance, one has means to build a charming cottage home, complete in all of its appointments, comfortable and fin- ished in its details, appropriate in its dec- orations, he will undoubtedly make a ter- rible mistake if he devotes this money to the building cf a large unfinished house. If the style of the Se assumes a cer- tain luxury of accessories and surround- ings and these are lacking, the whols thing i1s a failure. And If you live in a cottage, by all means keep it a cottage; study cottage effects and work them out thoughtfully and with taste and you will vourself be charmed with the result. Un- jess you have previously studied the sub- jeet, you will be surprised to find how artistic and even luxurious a cottage may become. The cottage 1dea does not exclude a Ii- brary, for one may huve a long, low room lined with books In a cottage. French windows may open from this room on a terrace bright with flowers, and deep- embrasured casement windows may have cushioned seats where one may read as much at her ease and in as deep seclu- sien as she would find in the most im- posing mansions. The cottage idea Goes mnot exclude oil aintings and exquisite water colors, Cop- y prints and etchings, nor good plaster casts of world-famous pieces of sculpture, nor rarely beautiful Chinese jars ' with growing plants in them. All of these beautiful things may be used in a cottags and yet the house wiil not lose its charac- teristics. The point I wish to make is this: It is much better to build a wide, spreading, roomy cottage or bungalow, 14 furnish it with light and inexpensive fur- niture, curtain it throughout with white muslin and pretty figured cottons, and through the rooms scatter articles of real artistic value—pictures that delight a con- noisseur, curios that would be of interest to your most cultured and intelligent uests, rugs from Uriental looms—than to Euiia & more pretentions house and be un- able to carry to a satistactory finish all of {t¥elaborate suggestions. As a woman aptly said the other day in referring to herexpenduure.“Everythlngdchnds upon the-scale you start in: if you go'on an ex. pensive scals there Is no telling where you will end.” And I say to you, if you siart in on a lower plane, realizing all the time your limitations, you may be able to mold everything to such completeness that io the end you will attain the more artistic effect. The Consideration of the Hall. There may be halls presentin, ems to their owners In the way o m‘;‘ too fur- narrow, bare looking, 1 nished, dark or nmfify’"fi‘,}i’?."{i“ I ) may help to solve. If the dissatisfled one will write me, stating the case exactly and giving the dimensions, general shape and the color of walls, together with, pres- ent furnishings, I will gladly help out of the difficulties through these columns. There was a time, which we have left not far behind us, when in the modern conventional house the hall was often con- sidered solely as an entrance way to the rooms which opened out of it. In this case it was narrow and also frequently bare and ugly. 1 have Seen many com- fortable homes which boasted well fur- nished, cheerful rooms, and which yet re- pelled intensely at first glimpse by usher- ing you through a scantily furnished, un- embellished, narrow hall—a mere ge- way, in fact, to these pleasant apart- ments, Since architects, householders and dec- crators have unanimously recognized re- cently the necessity of an ethical and artistic consid tion of the home, these indications of crudity are passing away. Now often we see the hall space widened into a broad, open room. Sometimes, where space is a consideration and the hall can be scarcely more than an en- larged vestibule, it is richly and ecozily furpished as a reception room; again it spreads out into a great, airy living room. Its central and get-at-able position in the house pecullarily fits It for this adapta- tion. Again, when a house has stately pro- portions and an imposing effect is _the ome aimed at, it remains simply a hall- way, but is so clothed and embellished and dealt with as to impress the beholder with the dignity of its mission. It is the first part of a house to present itself to a guest. It leads to the inner, more pri- vate portions of this temple of domestic life. It must, therefore, put its best foot fcremost, /as its expression will be con- sidered a sure indication of what s to come afterward. To the critical visitor it is pretty sure to strike the note either of harmony or discord, which will appear upon further xploration. The importance, then, of treating this portion of a dwelling with careful thought is palpable to all thinking people. Concerning Oriental Rugs. There Is in many places a mistaken idea prevalent that the Turkish rug is a lux- ury which is beyond the means of the ordinary purchaser. Also, that to set the pace with a Turkish rug means that one is {0 be led into all sorts of extravagances and that it looks well only with the ri est accessories. Both of these ideas are mistaken ones, and it would be greatly to the advantage of many people to di card them. First, as to p Bru: sels or Moquet rug, an American “Smyr- na,” will often exceed in price a rare, soft-toned, everlasting and always beau- tiful Oriental one. Of course, there are Tugs and rugs, even when genuinely Ori- ental. Sometimes, but rarely, they are really ugly; but If one will, in selecting, choosd one in which her favorite colors predominate, if she will assure herself tkat these colors are softened so that they tone readily into one another (and this toning is only accomplished by age) that, in other words, there are no colors which are crude and staring, she will be surs to buy a good one and will never regret the purchase. Whether the weave be that of an Anatolian, with its si'ky sheen; a Kazake, velvety and deep In tone, or a cashmere, with its heavy fringe and its Indian designs, she will extract a thrill of pleasure from it every time her eye encounters its soft beauty. A word as to the purchase of a cashmere: I would ad- vise the avoidance of those which have a strong yellow in them. Many very handsome Dieces present a strong yellow against a dark background and running as a border into the fringe. If this light thread Is white instead of ysllow and the fringe is strong, pure whife. you have a much more able rug and one which will look well wherever you place it