The late Mr. Owen Jones, whose works on colour decoration are well known, was employed a few years since by Mr. Alfred Morrisson to decorate his town and country houses. At the country house (Fonthill House), Mr. Jones built a room for the display of Chinese egg-shell pottery, the chimneypiece and fittings being entirely of ebony, inlaid with ivory, and the ceiling of wood, panelled and inlaid, the mouldings being black and gold. At the town house, in Carlton House Terrace, London, the woodwork of the panelling, dadoes, doors, architraves, window-shutters, and all the rooms on the ground and first floors is inlaid, from designs by Mr. Jones, with various woods of different kinds, the colours of which were carefully selected by him, with a view to perfect harmony of colouring.
A house has recently been erected (from the designs of Mr. J. W. McLaughlin, architect) near Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, which is a perfect model with regard to the amount of woodwork used. The walls of the hall are finished with walnut wainscoting; the fireplace is an open one, with a walnut mantelpiece, surmounted by three statues, Peace, Plenty, and Harmony, supporting the carved wooden cornice. The Elizabethan staircase has carved panels of maple. The library is wainscoted to the ceiling in black walnut, inlaid with ebony. The dining room is also wainscoted in the richest style in oak, with polished mahogany panels. The floors are of marquetry, of different woods and patterns. The chamber story is finished in oak and walnut, with mahogany in the panels. The entire interior finish of the house is of hard wood, varnished and rubbed in cabinet style. This is as it should be for a gentleman’s residence.
We believe the largest house now being erected in London is from the designs of Mr. Knowles, jun., for Baron Albert Grant, at Kensington. We have not seen it, but we hope it will be finished in the Cincinnati style, as far as regards the amount of ornamental woods used.
There is a cynical French proverb, which says, “When we cannot have what we love, we must love what we have.” But surely this cynical proverb cannot be applied to “stone colour” paint on wood. The Japanese, however, some years since, determined not to follow this advice, for when the English Government, at Admiral Sterling’s suggestion, sent to the Tycoon a very fine steam vessel, the Japanese (who abhor paint about their ships) immediately commenced to scrub off the paint. According to Sir Rutherford Alcock, they have been steadily engaged in scrubbing it off ever since the boat has come into their possession, and by dint of labour and perseverance have nearly succeeded. All the fine imitation satin-wood and the gilt work have been reduced to a very forlorn state. The Japanese not only decline to follow advice, but they are a very difficult race of people from whom to obtain correct information. When Mr. Veitch was at Yeddo, on a visit to the Legation, in quest of botanical specimens, he saw a pine-tree from which he desired a few seeds. “Oh,” said the inevitable yaconins, “those trees have no seed!”—“But there they are,” replied the unreasonable botanist, pointing to some. “Ah, yes, true; but they will not grow,” was the reply.
If we must take our fashions from royalty and the aristocracy, and if we must go abroad for them, surely the above examples will suffice; but if we must have paint, then the preservative solution, now being extensively used in the restoration and renovation of St. Paul’s Cathedral, under the superintendence of Mr. F. C. Penrose, the architect to the Dean and Chapter, appears to possess several good qualities. The preservative solution, which is manufactured by the Indestructible Paint Company, is said to be as follows: 1st, that it is colourless and invisible; 2nd, in no way does it alter the appearance of the surface; 3rd, it prevents the growth of vegetation; and 4th, that it resists the action of the atmosphere and changes of weather, not only preventing but also arresting decay.
It is necessary that the wood selected (if not to be painted) should be well grown, and from a fully developed tree, where all the fibres or grain are distinctly marked. The beauty of the wood, when properly treated, consists in the brilliant manner in which the rich, deep yellow streaks or layers of the hard wood are developed under the hands of the skilful polisher. These yellow veins show through the polish like clear and beautifully marked streaks of amber; and strongly reflecting the light, they produce a very pleasing effect. The yellow, variegated, hard part of the wood forms a very excellent contrast to the delicate whiteness of the softer parts of the board; and, if skilfully selected, the effect will be much admired, and certainly preferred to the best imitation of the more rare and expensive woods. In arranging doors, panels, &c., much will, of course, depend in selecting the wood, in placing the best parts in the panels, so that when polished the most pleasing effects will be produced. Much, too, depends on skilful workmanship and smooth finish, which can only be obtained by care, and using well-seasoned wood; but this is the case with all species of wood.
Should any young architect, after reading the preceding remarks, be desirous of employing natural woods in his building works, we advise him, before he attempts this kind of colour decoration, to study Mr. Owen Jones’ lecture on “Colour in the Decorative Arts,” delivered before the Society of Arts, 1852; and likewise M. Chevreul’s ‘Laws of the Simultaneous Contrast of Colours’; we also recommend him to—
Use moderate things elegantly, and elegant things moderately.
Oak, walnut, maple, elm, and some other woods become of very dark colour, but can be made to receive a fine polish, and could often be employed for panels with good effect. In some cases there is great contrast of tint in the same log after preparation, so that these might be inapplicable except in smaller pieces, or perhaps by applying the process after the work has been made; but sycamore, beech, and some other woods are generally uniform, except as regards the previous grain of the wood.
As to the matter of showing the end of the grain, according to the Gothic principle the beauty of a wood consists in showing the end of the grain; but, at the same time, the classic principle is that there is a greater beauty in the side way of the grain than in the end way.