ARRANGEMENT OF THE FURNITURE
Arrangement Follows Selection.—The problem of furnishing a home is not fully settled when the questions of design have been answered and the right selections made. After selection comes arrangement, or, to speak more accurately, after a certain amount of selection a certain amount of arrangement; for, as has already been suggested, there is considerable dependence of one upon the other. It is not wise to drop the arrangement till the selection is complete, for the simple reason that the happiest choices are often the late ones, determined by the disposition of the earlier ones. And yet in the main the order as stated is the true one. It should be noted, too, that in arrangement there is a larger field for the exercise of individuality and taste. While artistic principles still hold sway, they yield more readily to exceptional interpretation by the ruling spirit of the household, to the demands of style, and to the larger number of possibilities for pleasing effects when the question is one of the arrangement of things already well chosen for their usefulness and for their artistic value.
A dainty bed in white maple
Utility the Controlling Principle.—The problems of arrangement, however, are by no means vague and uncertain. The natural law of adaptation to purpose is not difficult to follow. In some rooms obedience to it has become a settled custom. No one, for example, would think of placing the dining table in any other place than the centre of the dining-room or, if the room be a long one, in the centre of one end. The sideboard, serving table, and china closet likewise fall into their natural places. So also the bedroom and the hall, though perhaps to a less degree, present comparatively easy problems in furniture arrangement when due regard is paid to the purposes for which such rooms are designed.
Importance of Appropriateness.—But it is in the library and the living room that we find the most difficult and at the same time the most interesting problems. And this is due to the operation of the same law of adaptation to purpose. It is the variety of uses and the diversity of useful objects that make the problem somewhat complex. However refined and beautiful the different units may be, there must be some arrangement of them into working groups. The important elements should dominate and those of lesser importance should fall naturally into related but subordinate places. The easy corner with its couch, pillows, and its low seats, has a definite function to perform. So also have the piano and the music rack, the bookcases and library table, the Morris chairs and tabourettes, the window seats and screens, the writing desk and its proper lighting by window or lamp, the fireplace and all the accessories of comfort that may belong to it. The various centres of interest should be accentuated by grouping around them the most appropriate furnishings and the most suggestive decorative features. It may be well to add one word of caution, and that is that a proper balance should be maintained between the various centres of arrangement in order that no part of the room may seem neglected and bare.
The Danger of Overcrowding.—Finally, the one great danger to be avoided in meeting the requirements of good arrangement is the temptation to overcrowding. Many otherwise excellently appointed living rooms suffer from an embarrassment of riches. Such overcrowded rooms are worse than an overloaded ship because they cannot topple over and sink as one might well wish them to. To secure the right things and just enough of them, arranged with a proper balance between utility and beauty, is the true aim. It is as true to-day as it ever was in the arrangement and beautifying of the home, and, for that matter, in everything that concerns every-day life—just as true as it was in ancient times when men wrote those famous inscriptions over the doors of the temple at Delphi: over one, know thyself, and over the other, the golden mean of not too much.
[III]
PICTURES
I now require this of all pictures, that they domesticate me, not that they dazzle me. Pictures must not be too picturesque. Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. All great actions have been simple, and all great pictures are.—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The decoration of a room is generally not complete without pictures. There is, of course, great value in good pictures entirely aside from their decorative effect; and too great care cannot be exercised in their selection. But our present purpose is to consider them as decorative features; for, though a decoration is not a picture, pictures themselves are properly regarded as important elements in the general scheme of decoration. And this is especially true as regards matting and framing, the distribution of pictures upon the wall spaces, and the method of hanging them.
Importance of Space Relations.—A picture mat and frame are simply elements of finish, and their function is to give the picture a certain individuality and yet connect it harmoniously with the space in which it hangs. In fact, the wall space is a part of the framing of the picture. The importance of giving some study to the relations of all the spaces involved is evident. The mat and the frame should not be of equal width. Here is a fine opportunity to secure variety in spacing. No definite rules can be given; sometimes the one, sometimes the other should give way. Generally speaking, tall wall spaces require vertical pictures, and spaces longer horizontally demand horizontal pictures. But variation from this rule is possible and even necessary through the grouping of several pictures. In grouping, however, there is danger of being tempted to allow too many pictures. In the houses of the well-to-do, and even in the homes of those of moderate means, too many pictures, rather than too few, are often found. The example of one New England home, known to the author, may be mentioned. The house is new, of generous proportions, and it is the home of an artist. There are few pictures on the walls, but they are distributed with rare artistic effect. There are many good pictures stored in the attic because there is no suitable space in which to hang them.
The Japanese Way.—The Japanese have taught us many valuable lessons in art, and in the matter of the number of pictures to be displayed they have a very interesting lesson to teach. It is their practice to hang a single choice picture for a season in a space where it may be best enjoyed, and then after a time to replace it with another picture, and this, perhaps, by another if circumstances permit. There are many conditions that determine the selection of the picture to be displayed. It may be the preference of a guest, or it may be the season of the year, or, in fact, any occasion that may give a certain picture special significance. There is, in this singular custom, a very definite service which the picture is made to perform, and it is given an individuality which perhaps has no parallel in our own practice.
Grouping of Small, Simple Pictures.—If a considerable number of pictures are grouped together, it is quite essential that all the pictures of the group should be of similar character and tone and similarly framed. It is hardly possible for them to be all of the same size, nor, indeed, is such agreement desirable except in so far as is required to give proper balance to the group. Small pictures in light frames are, of course, the most desirable for such grouping, and if possible there should be an evident reason for the grouping. A series of photographs of a certain locality, for example, might form a group of four or five or even more pictures so that they could be easily seen together and so more thoroughly enjoyed. A collection of photographs in passe-partout bindings, especially if they deal with subjects in any way related, may form an attractive group. But pictures of any considerable size or those having decided individuality are generally not suited to any plan of grouping. They should appear by themselves, in frames and other surroundings which accentuate their peculiar merits.
The Kind of Frame.—The material of the frame, its colour, and the colour of the mat are determined by the tone of the picture. Oil paintings easily support gilt frames and should be hung in good light. Pictures of light values with white mats are well finished in narrow gilt frames. Carbon photographs and other pictures of dull tones, are appropriately framed in wood of dark or medium colour, and appear best when hung against a dark wall. The truth of these statements will hardly be questioned by any one who has a good sense of colour harmony. But there are many other elements that enter into a concrete problem of picture framing that cannot be brought under general rules or formulas. It is generally best to depend largely upon the tests of trial. In framing and hanging pictures, as in many other things, observation and experience are the best teachers. Some suggestions may be found in the following record of two actual framing problems that were satisfactorily solved.