Cutting and draping

by John W. Stephenson

The writer does not lay claim to any special dispensation of taste nor any extraordinary degree of artistic training, but he has seen scores of rooms which by their furniture selection and arrangement were a jumble of inarticulate profanity and defeated the purpose for which they were intended.

I have in mind the drawing-room of a wealthy dry goods merchant (who is something of a curio hunter), that is, considering the individual pieces, rich and sumptuous, but the assembled whole is such a conglomeration of style, design and color that it gives one the impression of a bazaar.

Another expensively furnished drawing-room which occurs to my mind imparts to the observer a feeling of strangeness. The various pieces are not only unrelated, but are so conspicuously separate in style and purpose that they are not even acquainted.

Then there are drawing-rooms that are so repellent because of their military austerity that the back of the visitor unconsciously stiffens and he feels that his entrance is presumptuous.

We have purposely drawn these descriptions in an exaggerated sense that we might in some measure give point to our statement that every room of a house should have as the fundamental purpose of its creation the comfort of mankind. And as man is many sided in his nature, having many moods and needs, these different moods create the necessity for a varying environment suited to the complexity of the hour.

Thus we have a sleeping-room, a dining-room, a reception-room, an entertaining-room, a cooking-room, and so on, each designed and furnished to create the atmosphere and stimulate the spirits of the occupant to the mood which the environment best serves.

The man who told his friend in confidence that the architect wanted to put a drawing-room in his new house, and he supposed he wpurposeould have to have it, though it was no earthly use to him, for he couldn’t draw a straight line, was in his way thinking pretty close to the line of purpose in home making, which should be the dominant factor in the furnishing of every room.

A sleeping-room should be not only provided with a bed and its complement of clothing, but in its location, furnishings and color theory should suggest restfulness, simplicity and repose. That this might be more easily produced, we would suggest the use of modified color and slight gradations of tone throughout, using a monotone or duotone carpet of a modified shade (a normal color is modified by the addition of white and intensified by the addition of black), a lighter shade of the same color introduced in the movable furnishings, as furniture and hangings, lighter shades still in the side-wall and frieze, and modified to the barest suggestion of a tint in the ceiling.

Avoid stimulating contrasts and keep to the same balance or modification of color where the slight contrasts are introduced.

For the living-room heavier colors and sharper contrasts may be introduced. But the same strength of color should be present in all contrasts, that the sense of balance be maintained. In the living-room will be assembled those with varied interests and purposes. So there will be present more or less of a jumble of different things which for the moment interest the various members of the circle. Consequently more license is permitted in the furnishings. But those things which by their design or construction suggest austerity or dignity should be forever banished from this room. In fact, we know of no room in the modern house where there is space to waste on furnishings which suggest or actually impart discomfort.