The Library of Work and Play: Home Decoration

After shaping, the design may be applied by means of transfer paper and the lines lightly scratched on the surface. Then imbed the tray in pitch and outline the design by following the lines with a narrow chasing tool. Reverse the tray on the pitch and, with a chasing tool of suitable shape, raise the body of the design to the height desired. Reverse on the pitch again and with a flat tool true the outlines and smooth the background. Remove from the pitch, trim the edge of the tray if it is forced out of line, clean with pumice stone and buff.

All the foregoing articles may be agreeably coloured by painting them with, or immersing them in, a weak solution (boiling) of liver of sulphur. If soft solder has not been used, another pleasing finish may be secured by applying a thin coat of lubricating oil and heating gently until the oil is volatilized. An antique green or verdigris finish may be obtained by painting with a mixture of acetic acid and copper carbonate. Several coats may be necessary; and it is desirable to lacquer the surface to ensure permanency.

Work in Other Materials

A CANDLE SHADE

The materials and tools for this problem are six ply card-board in dull shades of gray, brown or green, and with mat surface; Japanese paper of average thickness; passe-partout binding a little darker than the card-board and of harmonizing colour; paste; a penknife with a thin blade; and a water colour outfit.

Of the drawings included in the group on the opposite page one shows a development of the surface of the candle shade which is the subject of this problem. Referring to the elevation it will be seen that if the edges AE and DH be continued until they meet at O, OE and OH are really equal to the radii of the outer arc of the development shown in the upper part of the group, and OA and OD, to the radii of the inner arc. This upper developed surface really forms the pattern of the candle shade.

The decoration consists of openings cut through the card-board segments. These are covered with Japanese paper, thus allowing light to pass through, but adding the effect of colour. A margin of ³⁄₈ of an inch is allowed along the openings, the remaining spaces being divided by partitions of card-board, as shown in the different typical designs at the right of the illustration. It will be noticed that the group of openings forming the decoration of one side conforms in the main to the shape of that side. It will also be noticed that there is a variety of size and shape in the openings, but that they all show a certain unity and harmony of space division.

The openings are cut with a penknife, care being taken to make as clean a cut as possible. Japanese paper, of pale green, orange, or some suitable light colour, is pasted under the openings. The process of pasting is one that requires some care. It is well to paste only a portion of the pasteboard at a time taking care not to use more paste than necessary and not to let any get over the edges of the openings. The paper should be pressed on while the paste is still moist, and the paper itself should, of course, not be pasted at all. It should be placed with colour side next to the openings.

When the paste is dry the card-board should be lightly scored on the lines AE, BF, etc., and bent on these lines, bringing the sectors together into the form of the shade and fastening them at the top and bottom temporarily with a bit of passe-partout binding. If the binding is of the ordinary width (⁷⁄₈ of an inch), it should be cut lengthwise into two strips of equal width, to be used for mounting the edges. No attempt should be made to run the binding along more than one edge. The separated strips should then be cut the exact length for each top and bottom edge and applied one at a time. Then the side edges are bound, with the apex of the angle at the middle of the binding. When the binding is firmly fastened it is carefully trimmed off at the top and bottom.

ELECTRIC LIGHT PENDANTS

Two designs for such pendants are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. They were derived from suggestions in the Craftsman, and were successfully worked out in remodelling a house. The seven-light fixture consists of a circular pendant-board about 30 inches in diameter, made from 2-inch plain oak stock, cut into 60-degree segments and, with splined joints, glued up to form a circular piece which was turned up on a large lathe. An open space 7 inches in diameter was left in the larger circle, which was covered by a cup-shaped cap turned from plain oak stock and attached to the larger circle by screws. The considerable opening covered by this cap contained the cut out and the wiring necessary for connecting with each of the seven lights. Seven medium-sized hooks of composition metal were procured which had large, coarse threaded screws. A ³⁄₁₆-inch hole was drilled lengthwise through the shanks of these hooks. Holes were bored near the centre of the arc of each segment in the board circle to receive these hooks. When the fixture was assembled the wires for each light were carried from the cut out across a channel made for that purpose on the upper surface of the board, passed down through the hole in the shank of the hook, woven into the links of the chain pendant and connected with the corresponding bulb socket after passing through another hook, like those described above, which linked the socket to the chain. As a finish around the hooks shallow cups of beaten copper were fashioned over a wooden form, turned for the purpose, and oxidized to a tone somewhat darker than the brown of the oak board. Copper cups in a conventional petal design were made to place over each of the bulbs. The chains were also oxidized to conform with the other metal work. The entire combination was satisfactory.

Another design for the dining-room of the same house and much easier to construct is also illustrated. It will be observed that the square form instead of the circle is carried out consistently in the woodwork and metal caps. These caps and the chains are in natural brass of a dull finish. The shades are of ground glass, decorated with a flower design in heavy black lines. The central light has a larger shade than the others, wholly enclosed. In this one is placed a red incandescent bulb for use whenever such decorative effect is desired.

DECORATIVE FORGINGS

In the story of the designing and building of the model house reference was made to contributions from the forge shop. Among these were the andirons, door knocker, lantern bracket, and other articles shown in the accompanying illustrations.

It should be understood that all wrought iron work that has any reality in it requires an equipment especially adapted to its production. There must be a good forge and fire, an anvil, and proper tools, all in the hands of a workman of some experience and skill. Successful forge work can hardly be considered among the handicrafts easily adapted to the needs of the amateur working without instruction and with poor equipment. But with good tools, proper equipment, and a little experience any clever boy will be able to design and fashion many useful articles for the home which have real artistic merit.

For the fireplace, in addition to andirons, there may be made the shovel, poker, and tongs, and possibly the old-fashioned crane and pot hooks. Other fixtures that may be made are ceiling hooks, lantern brackets for the wall or for lantern posts, standards for the newel post, the hall lantern or the porch lantern, the latch and the knocker for the door, and, if the architectural design permits, hinges, plates, and bolts for the door. This list by no means exhausts the uses of wrought iron in house decoration. It may be extended to include draw pulls, key escutcheons, furniture handles and hinges of great variety, nails with ornamental heads for use with heavy construction, and many small articles such as trivets for steam kettles, toasting forks, candle holders, and many other useful articles which have also decorative value.

XII

CONCLUDING SUGGESTIONS

COUNTRY HOMES

Keen observers of American customs, who have studied the development of our taste in house designing and furnishing, tell us that the best expression of our art in architecture and home decoration is to be found in our country homes. They do not overlook, of course, a beautiful public building in this city or that, perhaps ten altogether, or an occasional private residence on Millionaire Avenue, which are monuments to the genius of the men who created them and of which any country may be proud. What they mean is that as a people we seek and secure the right combination of utility and beauty in our homes more frequently in the country than in the city.

At first thought such a criticism may seem to be an exaggeration. Is it reasonable, we ask, that people of good sense, such as most Americans are, really succeed better in planning, building, and decorating the houses which they are to occupy but a few weeks in the summer than they do in developing their city homes? We are told that it is true and that there are good reasons for it.

Simplicity of Country Life.—It is the life in the country and at the seashore that is the simple life, the natural life, the life that sets us free from the accumulated burden of mere "things." Here we come to forget for a time the many and find pleasure in the few. Here we are to feel the joy of living. Nature is all about us, and she gives of her bounty freely. Our wants are few because we are so well satisfied with the free gifts. What wants we have keep step with our needs here as they do nowhere else. We care less for what others have; we are more individual, more rational. Here we generally demand what we really need and we more frequently obtain it. And this is true whether it be something that appeals to the æsthetic side of our natures or whether it be that which ministers to our material needs. In seeking the beautiful for the simple home in the country we do not so often forget the useful; for here, away from the world of museums and studios and collections, we learn that art is possible without paintings and statuary. In the exterior form and colouring of the shingled cottage, set like a gem on the hillside or by the sea, in the harmonious arrangement of its interiors, with every article of furniture chosen only for use and comfort and placed where needed, and with decorations, cheerful but restrained and subordinate, suggestive of more glorious colours and more interesting things in the world without—in such surroundings we have beauty and utility combined. Here we have the time and the opportunity to realize the truth that all art is one and that it may find in the problems of decoration in the country home, if not its highest mission, its most open field for giving to appreciative people the pleasure of seeing and enjoying the beautiful.

Opportunities for Constructive Art.—If it be true that there is a more universal recognition of the true principles of art in the better class of our country homes than in our city homes, it is proof, if proof be needed, that the elements of art expression are found in the simple, natural materials of every-day life. It may be that in the development of art amid simple surroundings "necessity is the mother of invention," and that, more or less naturally, simplicity is thrust upon us. The general habit of our time is to extend the vacation period in the country or at the seashore to the point of making a home there for every summer season. But only a few can carry wealth and elegance with them. A great majority must be satisfied with simple and inexpensive homes. At first we accept them as the only thing possible, and then we discover that in their very simplicity they offer the best of opportunities for true æsthetic expression. And this opportunity is largely for the younger members of the family—for the boys and girls whose vacation period is more extended, whose interest in the summer home is perhaps the more vital and whose imagination is the more susceptible to the art suggestions of nature. We have seen that it is possible for boys and girls to build and furnish a house under the exacting requirements of city life. How much easier it must be to build a cottage for the summer season, decorating and furnishing it in harmony with the simple needs of a vacation home.

If such a suggestion meet with acceptance, those who undertake the work will find much practical help in the problems outlined in the foregoing chapters. It is not expected, of course, that the directions there given will always be exactly followed. In the furniture problems, for example, soft woods like pine and spruce may be substituted for the harder woods specified. Very attractive as well as very useful simple furniture has been made in this way at a merely nominal expense. Staining and finishing may easily bring it into harmony with colour schemes; but the bright, fresh colour of new pine and spruce is in itself by no means unattractive. The smooth, exposed beams of the ceilings and walls, if of well chosen stock, may be stained a beautiful gray green or a soft brown. A good colour suggestion may be found in the weathered gray of the hewn timbers of very old buildings. The effect of a ceiled-up wall or of a dado may be easily obtained by stretching burlap or denim over the studding or over a backing of inexpensive sheathing. These materials are very durable and inexpensive, and they may be found in a great variety of beautiful shades. They make excellent portières. A lighter, thinner material like scrim is better for window draperies. All these fabrics afford good surfaces for decoration by stencilling. Stained or painted soft wood floors, covered with grass cloth rugs or the more dainty hand woven rugs like those described in the chapter on weaving, with simple, useful furniture, a picture or two, and a few choice pieces of pottery, complete the equipment for a charming living room. If it all be the product of home industry, the cash outlay for the material need not be over forty dollars, though an outlay of ten times that amount for better materials would not in the least interfere with such a room being decorated and furnished by the unaided labours of the amateur artists and craftsmen of the family.

The chief expense would naturally be for the living room, dining-room, and kitchen. The dining-room, however, may well be simply a corner or alcove of a large living room. Such an arrangement greatly increases the value of a single fireplace, which will be required to give the summer home the sense of perfect comfort. This may be of rough field rock and should be large enough to take one-cut fireplace wood. The chamber furnishings may be very simple indeed. Furniture dealers make a point of supplying beds, bureaus, chairs, and cabinets of simple design, unfinished, so that the purchaser may stain them to harmonize with any desired colour scheme. But such furniture, or good substitutes for it, can be made very inexpensively. For example, the stock for a good bed will not cost over seventy-five cents. Cases provided with shelves and curtains in place of drawers, made at a cash outlay possibly of one dollar, will serve for bureaus. The cost of materials for building an eight-room cottage in every way satisfactory need not exceed five hundred dollars; and such a cottage could be beautifully furnished by clever boys and girls at an expense for materials of one hundred and fifty or perhaps two hundred dollars.

In the exterior finishing of summer cottages nature generally needs very little assistance. No colours harmonize so well with the gray rocks, sere fields and marshes, and the evergreen trees by the seashore, as the weathered grays of the shingled cottage. The window frames, door frames and facings, painted to preserve them, may be of the same colour or in dull green or brown, plainly marking the outlines of the house but without unpleasant contrasts. A stained roof in slate gray or creosote brown is also in keeping. The underpinning and outside chimneys in the field rock of the locality are eminently fitting. The house among the hills will stand more colour because the colours of nature are richer, especially in the autumn season. But wherever the house may be, it should repeat in its larger surfaces the prevailing colour tones of its natural setting. It should seem to fit into its surroundings as if it belonged there and would always remain there, a part of the simple, natural beauty all around it.

THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.