Characteristic Staircase Types and Hall Treatments
In the right place half-timber work on plaster has many possibilities for hall decoration
Japanese grass cloth in golden color is an excellent combination for chestnut stained light brown. Wood strips are used instead of paneling
In certain old Colonial halls the entrance is fashioned in a semicircular recess up which the stairs curve in a spiral. The effect is exceedingly beautiful but requires much space
The front door in this house opens directly into the living-room, into which stairs come down at one side. The wood has natural treatment and part of the banister forms the wainscot of the room
Some of the best Colonial detail is to be found in newel posts where careful craftsmen worked a variety of spirals
One method of securing pleasing decorative effects was the use of balusters in three different designs
In the old farmhouses for the sake of warmth the main stairway was made with the smallest possible well and often closed with a door at the main hall
This is a modern example by Wilson Eyre of the stair well inclosed for the greater part of its length. Such arrangement is only possible under certain lighting conditions
The stairs that rise from this living-room are designed to take up as little room as possible. In this they are very successful and little of the banister rail and stair woodwork can be seen
Where there is a large room made dignified by architectural decoration the twin stairways curving either side of a main flight are decidedly impressive; but one should not plan to make use of this effect in any but a pretentious house
The hall paper should not be a decided contrast to rooms opening onto it. Tapestry paper may often be found successful in this situation
Another stairway that divides on the way to the upper flight, but a treatment particularly fit for houses in English style of decoration
This view shows to good advantage the value of an archway between living-room and hall. Woodwork, simply carved, frames in delightfully the stairway which is so appropriately treated with a forest frieze. Curtains would be objectionable here
This hall is of generous width, and the stairs rise straight with but one landing lighted by a large window. A window is almost a necessity in the hall as it permits a free circulation of air throughout the house
A use of the Colonial flat arch which separates this stairway from the living-room and makes a small room of it
Simplicity characterizes this Colonial stairway that is very similar to the one at the top of page [114]. There is, however, a baseboard treatment which, like the banister rail, is crowned with mahogany
In the recess made by the vestibule the stairway is economically placed. The hall serves the double purpose of entrance and reception room
