Furnishing the Home of Good Taste Part 10

Lamps should be chosen to harmonize with the room, to add their usefulness and beauty to it as a part of the whole and be convincingly right both by day and night. There are many possibilities for having lamps made of different kinds of pottery and porcelain jars; some crackle-ware jars are very good in color. Chinese porcelain jars, both single color and figured, make lovely lamps. Old and valuable specimens should not be used in this way, for they are works of art. Many modern jars are copies of the old and these should be used. There are lacquer lamps, bronze, and bra.s.s, and carved wood lamps, and lovely Wedgwood and alabaster vases. There are charming little floor lamps, some of wrought iron with smart little parchment shades, some in Sheraton design, some in lacquer or painted wood, which can be easily carried about to stand by bridge tables or a special chair. There are dozens of different jars and lamps to use, but the one absolutely necessary question to ask oneself is: is it right for my purpose?

Lamp shades are a part of the scheme of the room's decoration and should be chosen or made to order to achieve the desired effect. Special shades are made by many clever people to harmonize with any room or period and are apt to be far better than the ready made variety. There are all manner of beautiful shades, lace, silk, plain and painted parchment and paper, mounted j.a.panese prints, embroidery, and any number of other attractive combinations. To be perfect, beside the fine workmanship, they must harmonize in line with the lamps on which they are to be used, and harmonize in color and style with the room, and have an absolute lack of frills and furbelows. The shade for a reading lamp should spread enough to allow the light to shine out. Lamp shades simply for illuminating purposes may be any desired shape if in harmony with the shape of the lamp. Lacquered painted tin shades are liked by some for lamps on writing tables. There should be a certain amount of uniformity in the style of the shades in a room, although they need not be exactly alike. Too much variety is ruinous to the effect of simple charm in the room. The chintz which is used for curtains will supply a motif for the painted shades if one wishes them, but if there is a great deal of chintz, plain shades will be more attractive. Side lights may have little screens or shades, as one prefers, or none may be used. In that case the bulbs may be toned down by using ground gla.s.s and painting them with a thin coat of raw umber water color paint. Bedroom shades follow the same rule of appropriateness that applies to the other shades in the house. There should be several sets of candle shades for the dining-room.

There is really no reason why so many houses should be so badly lighted.

Often simply rearranging the lamps and changing the shape of the shades will do wonders in the way of improvement. Radical changes in the wiring should be carefully thought out so there will be no mistakes to rectify.

_Painted Furniture_

The love of color which is strong in human nature is shown in the welcome which has been given to painted furniture. If we turn back to review the past we find this same feeling cropping out in the different periods and in the different grades of furniture. The furniture of the Italian Renaissance was often richly gilded and painted; the carved swags of fruit, arabesques, and the entwined human figures, were painted in natural colors, or some of the important lines of the furniture were picked out with color or gold, or both. As the influence of the Renaissance spread to France and England, changed by the national temperament of the different countries, we find their furniture often blossoming into color--not covered by a solid coat of paint but picked out here and there by lines and accenting points. During the time of Louis XIV everything was ablaze with gold and glory, but later, during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, a gentler, more refined love of color came uppermost, and the lovely painted furniture was made which has given so much inspiration to our modern work. The simpler forms of the Louis XV period, and the beautiful furniture of the Louis XVI period, were often painted soft tones of ivory, blue, green, or yellow, and decorated with lovely branches of flowers, birds, and scenery where groups of people by Fragonard and other great painters disported with all their eighteenth century charm. These decorations were usually painted on reserves of old ivory with the ground color outside of some soft tone. Martin, the inventor of famous "vernis Martin," flourished at this time, and the glow of his beautiful amber-colored finish decorated many a piece of furniture from sewing boxes to sedan chairs. In England the vogue of painted furniture was given impetus by the genius of the Adam Brothers and the beautiful work of Angelica Kaufmann, Cipriani, and Pergolesi. In both France and England there was at this time the comprehension and appreciation of beauty and good taste combined with a carefree gaiety which made the ineffable charm of the eighteenth century a living thing. There are some of our modern workmen and painters of furniture who feel this so thoroughly that their work is very fine, but the majority have no knowledge or understanding of the period, and, although they may copy the lovely things of that time, the essence, the true spirit, is lacking. Cabinet making and painting in those days was a beloved and honored craft; to-day, alas, it is too often a matter of union rules.

Chinese lacquer, while not strictly coming under the head of painted furniture, was another branch of decorated furniture which was in great demand at this time. The design in gold was done on a black or red or green ground and was beautiful in effect.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The delicacy of the painting and the graceful proportions of these reproductions are in the true spirit of Adam.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: A three-chair settee of the Sheraton period, lacquered, and with cane seat. It would be appropriate for a living-room or hall.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: A wing-chair with a painted frame is comfortable and harmonizes with painted furniture.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: This simple slat-backed chair can be made most attractive at small expense with paint and a motif from the chintz for decoration.]

While the upper cla.s.ses were having this beautiful furniture made for their use, the peasant cla.s.s was serenely going on its way decorating its furniture according to its own ideas and getting charming results.

The designs were usually conventionalized field flowers done with great spirit and charm. From the peasants of Brittany and Flanders and Holland have come down to us many beautiful marriage chests and other pieces of furniture which are simple and straightforward and a bit crude in their design and color, but which have done much to serve as a help and guide in our modern work.

The supply of painted furniture to-day is inspired by these different kinds of the great periods of decoration. There are many grades and kinds in the market, some very fine, keeping up the old traditions of beauty, some charming and effective in style and color, but with a modern touch, and some very very bad indeed; "and when they are bad they are horrid." I have said a great deal in other chapters on this subject, but I cannot too often urge those of my readers who have the good fortune to live near one of our great art museums to study for themselves the precious specimens of the great days of genius. It will give a standard by which to judge modern work, and it is only by keeping our ideals and demands high that we can save a very beautiful art from deteriorating into a commercial affair.

When selecting painted furniture, one can often have some special color scheme or decoration carried out at a little extra expense; and this is well worth while, for it takes away the "ready made" feeling and gives the touch of personality which adds so much to a home. One must see that the furniture is well made, that the painting and finishing are properly done, and that the decoration is appropriate. If the furniture is of one of the French periods, it should be one of the simpler styles and should be painted one of the soft ground colors used at the time, and the decoration should have the correct feeling--flowers and birds like those on old French brocade or _toile de Jouy_ or old prints. The striping should be done in some contrasting color or in the wonderful brownish black which they used. The design may be taken from the chintz or brocade chosen for the room, but the painting must be done in the manner of the period. This holds true of any English period chosen, such as Adam furniture or the painted furniture of Sheraton. There are several firms who make a specialty of this fine grade of furniture, but it is not made by the car load; in fact it is usually special order work. The kind one finds most often in the shops is furniture copied from the simpler Georgian styles or simple modern pieces slightly reminiscent of Craftsmen furniture, but not heavy or awkward in build. This furniture is painted in different stock colors and designs, or can be painted according to the purchaser's wishes as a special order. These "stock"

designs are often stenciled, but some of them have an effective charm and are suitable to country houses, and also many city ones. When there is much chintz used, the furniture will often be more attractive if it is only striped with the chief color used in the room. The designs which are to be avoided are of the Art Nouveau and Cubist variety, roses that look like cabbages gone crazy, badly conventionalized flowers, and crude and revolting color schemes. It sounds as if it should not be necessary to warn people against these monstrosities, and I have never heard of any one who buys them, but some one must do so or they would not be in the shops.

Attractive and inexpensive painted furniture can be made to be used in simple surroundings by buying slat-backed chairs with splint seats and a drop-leaf pine table and having them painted the desired ground color and then striped and decorated with a motif from the chintz to be used in the room. A country house dining-room or bedroom could be most charmingly fitted up in this way, chintz cushions could be used on the chairs, and candle shades could be made to match. One can sometimes find a bed or chest of drawers or other piece of furniture which is a bit shopworn and can be had for a bargain. Old bureaus can be made to serve as chests of drawers by taking the mirror off and using it as a wall mirror. In many houses there are old sets of ugly furniture which can be made useful and often attractive by having the jigsaw carving removed and painting them. In a set of this kind, which I was doing over for a client, there happened to be two beds with towering headboards, quite impossible to use, but I combined the two footboards, thus making one attractive bed. The furniture was painted a soft pumpkin yellow, striped with blue and with little, old-fashioned nosegays, and a lovely linen with yellow and cream stripes and baskets of flowers was used and turned a dark and dreary room into a cheerful and pretty one.

One can find some kind of suitable painted furniture for nearly every room in the average modern house. People everywhere are turning away more and more from the heavy, depressing effects of a few years ago; but unless they know the ground they are walking on they must tread with care. The style chosen must be appropriate and in scale with the style of house. The fine examples would look quite out of place in a bungalow or very simple house, and the simple kind founded on peasant designs would not be suitable in rooms with paneled walls and lovely taffeta curtains. In Georgian and simple French designs there are fascinating examples of chairs, settees and tables, corner cupboards and sideboards, beds and dressing-tables and chests of drawers, mirrors and footstools and candlesticks, everything both big and little which can be used in almost any of our charming rooms in the average house, with their fresh chintz and taffeta and well planned color schemes.

Lacquered furniture is more formal than the average painted furniture, and often one or two pieces are sufficient for a room. A beautiful lacquered cabinet with its fascinating mounts and its soft, wonderful red or black and gold tones is a thing to conjure with. Lacquered furniture is lovely for some dining-rooms and morning-rooms. The tables should always be protected with gla.s.s tops, which also applies to other painted furniture.

One or two pieces of painted furniture may be used in a room with other furniture if they happen to be just the thing needed to complete the scheme. A console table, for instance, with a mirror over it and sidelights, might be just the touch needed between two windows hung with plain taffeta curtains. Like all good things there must be restraint in using it, but there are few things that have greater possibilities than painted furniture when properly used.

_Synopsis of Period Styles as an Aid in Buying Furniture._

When trying to select furniture for the home, people often become bewildered by the amount and variety to be found in the shops, and, not knowing exactly what to look for in the different styles, make an inappropriate or bad selection. One does not have to be so very learned to have things right, but there are certain anachronisms which cry to heaven and a little knowledge in advance goes a long way. A purchaser should also know something about the construction and grade of the furniture he wishes to buy. There are good designs in all the grades, which, for the sake of convenience, may be divided into the expensive, the medium in price, and the cheap. The amount one wishes to spend will decide the grade, and one naturally must not expect to find all the beauties and virtues of the first in the last. The differences in these grades lie chiefly in the matters of the fit and balance of doors and drawers; the joining of corners where, in the better grade, the interior blocks used to keep the sides from spreading are screwed as well as glued; the selection of well seasoned wood of fine grain; careful matching of figures made by the grain of the wood in veneer; panels properly made and fitted so they will not shrink or split; careful finish both inside and out, and the correct color of the stain used; appropriate hardware; hand or machine or "applied" carving. In the cheap grades it is best to leave carving out of the question entirely, for it is sure to be bad. Then there are the matters of the correctness of design and detail, in which all the knowledge one has collected of period furniture will be called upon; and in painted furniture the color of the background and the charm and execution of the design must be taken into account, whether it is done by hand or stenciled. Nearly all kinds of woods are used, the difference in cost being caused by the grade and amount of labor needed, the kind of wood chosen and its abundance and the fineness of grain and the seasoning. Mahogany costs more than stained birch, and walnut than gum wood, but there are certain people who for some strange reason feel that they are getting something a little smarter and better if it is tagged "birch mahogany" than if it were simply called birch. Some of the furniture is well stained and some shockingly done, the would-be mahogany being either a dead and dreary brown or a most hideous shade of red, a very Bolshevik among woods. One must remember that the mahogany of the 18th century, the best that there has ever been, was a beautiful glowing golden brown, and when a red stain was used it was only a little to enhance the richness of the natural color of the wood, more of a suggestion than a blazing fact.

The wood was carefully rubbed with oil and pumice, and the sh.e.l.lac finish was rubbed to a soft glow. Modern furniture, especially in the medium and cheap grades, is apt to look as if it were encased in a hard and shining armor of varnish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: This chair with its silk damask covering edged with gimp, the shape of the underframing and arms, and the dull gold carved ornaments, shows many characteristics of the Italian Renaissance.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: An elaborately carved Chippendale chair, with late Queen Anne influence in the shape of the back. Pet.i.t point covering which was so popular in her day is now wonderfully reproduced.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: This Chippendale pie crust tip table shows the tripod base with claw feet and the carved edge which gives it its name, and which was carved down to the level, never applied. A genuine antique pie crust table is very valuable.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: This fine example of a Queen Anne lacquered chair shows the characteristic splat and top curve, the slip seat narrower at the back than front with rounded corners, and cabriole legs.]

Beside this practical knowledge one should have a general idea of the artistic side or the appearance of the different period styles and the manner in which they were used. To achieve this, one must study the best examples it is possible to find in originals, pictures, and properly made reproductions. Many of the plates in this book are from extremely valuable originals and should be studied carefully as they give a fine idea of some of the chief points in the different styles. One should also go to libraries and Art Museums whenever possible and study their collections. The more knowledge gained the more ease one will have in furnishing one's home whether there is everything to buy, or one is planning to add a few articles to complete a charming interior, or, with an eye to a future plan, is buying good things piece by piece and slowly eliminating the bad. It is this knowledge which will help you to study your own possessions and decide what is needed and what will be correct to buy. That, is one of the most important points, to have a well thought out plan, and never to be haphazard in your purchases. Very few of us have houses completely furnished in one period, but we do try to have a certain unity of spirit kept throughout the whole, whether it be French, Italian, English, or our own charming Colonial. There can be a great variety in any one of these divisions, and suitable furniture can be found for all rooms, from the simplest kind to the most elaborate. It is easier to find good reproductions in the English periods of Jacobean, Charles II, William and Mary, Queen Anne, and the Georgian time, and the French periods of Louis XV and Louis XVI.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The upholstery of this Sheraton chair is fastened on with bra.s.s-headed tacks placed in festoons.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Notice the curved seat of this Hepplewhite chair.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The wheel back design was often used by Adam. The arms, the curve of the seat and carving, the tapering reeded legs, and the angle of the back legs should all be noticed.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: As Chippendale did not use this style of leg they show that the chair was probably reconstructed from two old chairs.]

If one wishes a house furnished in the Gothic period it will be necessary to have nearly all the different pieces made to order, as there are few reproductions made. As our modern necessities of furniture were not known in those days, the designs would have to be carried out more in the spirit of the style than the letter, and one must be certain to have advice and designs from some person who thoroughly understands the period and who will see that the whole is properly carried out.

Gothic days were rough and strenuous, and the furniture was strong and heavy and was made chiefly of oak with no varnish of any kind. The characteristic lines of the furniture and the designs for carving were architectural, and a careful study of the Gothic cathedrals of France, Belgium, and England will give a very satisfactory idea of this wonderful time. The idea of the pointed arch, rose window, trefoil, quatrefoil, animal grotesques, and geometric designs, as well as the beautiful linen-fold design, were all adapted for use as carving in the panels of the furniture of the day, which consisted of chests that served as seats, buffets, armoires, screens, trestle tables, as well as the choir stalls of churches.

This style is appropriate to large and dignified country houses. The architect must see that the background is correct.

The Renaissance period should not be attempted as a style to furnish one's house unless it can be carried out properly. The house should be large and architecturally correct, and there should be at least a near relation of a Fortunatus purse to draw upon. It is one of the magnificent and dignified periods, and makeshifts and poor copies have a pitiful appearance and are really time and money wasted.

Much of the furniture of the Renaissance was architectural in design, many chests and cupboards and cabinets having the appearance of temple facades. The carving was in both low and high relief and was extremely beautiful, but in the later part of the period became too ornate. Walnut and chestnut were the chief woods used, and there was much inlay of tortoise sh.e.l.l, ivory, bra.s.s, mother-of-pearl, lapis-lazuli, and fine woods. There was much gilding, and paint was also used, and the metal mounts were of the finest workmanship. The bronze andirons, knockers, candlesticks, of this time have never been equalled. There was a strong feeling of balance in the decorations, and the chief motifs were the acanthus beautifully carved, conventionalized flowers and fruit, horns of plenty, swags and wreaths of fruit and flowers, the scroll, dolphin, human figure, and half figure ending in fanciful designs of foliage.

Beautiful and fascinating arabesques were carved and painted on the walls and pilasters. The chief pieces of furniture were magnificently carved chests and coffers which were also sometimes gilded and painted, oblong tables with elaborately carved supports at each end, usually with a connecting shelf on which were smaller carved supports. The chairs were high backed with much carving and gilding, and there were others of simpler form with leather or tapestry or damask seats and backs. The Savanarola chair was in the form of a curved X with seat and back of velvet or leather or sometimes wood on which a cushion was used. Mirror frames were magnificently carved and gilded and picked out with color.

The rooms were a fitting background for all this splendor, for the woodwork and walls were paneled and carved and painted, the work often being done by the greatest painters of the day.

The French Renaissance followed the general line of the Italian but was lighter and less architectural in its furniture designs and ornament.

Chairs were slowly becoming more common, and rooms began to be more livable.

[Ill.u.s.tration: This Jacobean buffet is finely reproduced with the exception of the spiral carving of the legs, which is too sharp and thin, and gives the appearance of inadequate support. The split spindle ornament was much used on furniture of the period.]

The English Renaissance was of slow growth and was always marked by a certain English st.u.r.diness, which is one of the reasons why it is more easily used in our modern houses. It began in the time of Henry VIII and lasted through the Tudor and Jacobean periods.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A style that harmonizes with Chippendale furniture.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: This style of mirror was popular in the early nineteenth century.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The painted scene is often an important feature.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Empire style has columns at the sides and gilt ornaments.]

The best modern copies of Renaissance furniture are not to be found in every shop and are usually in the special order cla.s.s. There are some makers in America, however, who make extraordinarily fine copies, and there is the supply from Europe of fine copies and "faked" originals--a guaranteed original is a very rare and expensive thing.

The period of Louis XIV in France was another "magnificent" period and should not be used in small or simple houses. Louis XIV furniture was large and ma.s.sive, lavish in gilding and carving and ornament, but had dignity as well as splendor. The Gobelin and Beauvais Tapestry Works produced their wonderful series of tapestries, and Boulle inlay of bra.s.s and tortoise sh.e.l.l was lavished on furniture, and the ormolu mounts were beautiful and elaborate. All workmanship was of the highest. During the early part of the period the legs of chairs and tables were straight and square in shape, sometimes tapering, and much carved, and had underframing. Later they were curved and carved, a kind of elaborate cabriole leg, and had carved underframing. Toward the end of the period the curved leg and underframing became much simpler, some of the furniture having no underframing, and slowly the style merged into that of the Regency and Louis XV. The ill.u.s.trations for the long chapter on Louis XIV show some very fine examples of both the grand and simple form of chair, and also show that comfort was becoming more of a fact.

The materials used for upholstery were brocades of large pattern, tapestries, and splendid velvets. Tables, chests, armoires, desks, console tables, mirrors, screens, all were carved or painted or inlaid, gilded and mounted with wonderful metal mounts.