THE · APPLICATION · OF · GRILLE · WORK
Grille work, fret work or lattice work, as it is variously termed, may, when properly applied, serve a very useful and decorative purpose. Like many other decorative articles, however, its uses are not always governed by its limitations, and it is frequently misapplied.
As an aid to decorative fabrics in the artistic reduction of large openings, or as a partial screen or division that will not altogether obstruct either the vision or the light, it is unequalled by any other upholstery adjunct. Setting aside its uses for office railings, partitions, etc., in which we are not particularly interested, we consider it solely as a household fitment.
Unlike other furnishings, such as draperies, chairs, tables, etc., the grille is essentially a part of the room itself, and should conform to the style, color and composition of the wood trimmings of the room, which practically means that the fitment must be made to order.
There are scores of ready-made stock grilles and patterns on the market, some of which can be applied with comparatively little trouble to different purposes, but their greatest drawback as a general decorative stock is their set style and finish, and consequent lack of sympathy or relation to other furnishings.
We have been continuously advocating uniformity or conformity as the foundation of decorative thought, and in no branch of the trade is this more necessary than in the application of grille work. Few people would have the courage to advocate the use of quartered-oak polished doors in a room with white enameled wood trims, and yet grille work made and finished in natural oak is confidently shown by some salesmen as equally suitable for weathered oak dining-rooms, Oriental dens or Louis XVI drawing-rooms.
This, of course, is the salesman or check-book holder’s end of the business, and with incentives in the way of tally sheets and selling percentage, small wonder if he considers the amount of the sale rather than the suitability of the article. It would be better for the trade generally if every salesman could have expert training in the application of the goods he sells, and we believe this is possible to the man who studies and profits by experience. “There is always information for the man who is willing to dig,” but until this is considered possible the decision as to fitness rests with the decorator.
We illustrate suggestively a few designs in which the practical element is as much considered as the decorative.