Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 April 1910 — Home Course In Domestic Science [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Home Course In Domestic Science

XV.-Use of Color In House Decoration.

By EDITH G. CHARLTON.

In Charge of Domestic Economy. lowa State College. Copyright, 1910, by American Press Association.

HAVE you ever considered how much environment has to do with the good or bad health of I the individual or family? If you have thought about it at all you know that cheerful, pleasant and suitable surroundings in the home lend their aid in maintaining good health. These also assist in character building. The influence of such things may be unconscious to persons who have given little or no thought to the subject, but without doubt the influence exists to some degree. The choice of color, the style and arrangement of furniture, even the pictures which adorn the walls, all have their part in developing the men and women who inhabit the home. Comparatively few persons have given much thought to the study of color, and as a result its selection for house or furnishings has been mpre the result of chance or mischance than of good judgment. Color gives atmosphere to our homes, and rightly chos a It brings a sense of comfort and satisfaction with one’s abode, if these are lacking the house has failed to be a home in the fullest sense of the word. For one who has never studied color the best advice is to choose quiet tones and copy nature as far as possible. If one has a favorite color it should surround one in either house furnishing or personal adornment whenever suitable. Why not choose colors according to personal tastes? We select our friends from sympathy in thought and feeling. We do not always philosophize about it or stop to analyze why we find greater pleasure in the society of some people than In others. But we recognize certain principles in our liking and know that we are happier and enjoy our friends better when we find those principles and charms have a place tn their tem peraments. Just so it is with color. We cannot always give a reason for our preferences, but we are sure they exist, and most people are sensitive to color to a greater or less degree. One’s favorite < lor brings repose and enjoyment, is conducive to health and

exercises an actual influence on our life and moods. But even in gratify* ing this preference wisdom must be shown, for there are* many colors of which a little is enjoyable when a mass would be unendurable. Constantly surrounded by a glow of vivid scarlet would be like close companionship’ with a brass band, but a touch of scarlet amid dull surroundings is a pleasing sensation. As far as effect is concerned, the color of a room makes its atmosphere. It may be cheerful or sad. cozy or disturbing, according to its quality and force. -"Without color a room is much like a bare canvas, which might, but does not, give a vivid picture of some phase of life. The colorless room has nothing to tell of the character of its occupants. Color in a house includes much that is classed as furniture. It applies to carpets, draperies ; and ornaments, but it is first and pre-eminently applied to wall treatment. In selecting color for a single room or for an entire house certain points must be borne in mind. The first is that one person does not make a home. It takes the combined influence and personality of every person living under the roof to give its true character. Every book, every picture, every carefully selected piece of furniture, brought into the house makes it a part of a beautiful,whole, and no house can be absolutely perfect without all these evidences of family life.

Good rules to follow in selecting colors for any room are to make the choice on this basis: With reference to the light in the room. With reference to other colors In adjoining rooms. With reference to the general character of the furnishing. Interiors with a southern exposure should be treated with cool, light colors, such as blues and greens In various tones, water green, emerald jreen and blue green; also the sil-

very tones of gray. Rooms in which little sunlight is admitted must be brightened and be given the effect of sunlight. This may be imparted by using warm colors in its decorations. These are yellow, red brown, reds, yellow with a hint of red, olive and gold green. ’ ' . * It is well to bear in mind that almost every color has a cold and a warm tone. The first Is produced by combining blue or green with the original color, ; while the warm tone is made by combining red or yellow with It Thus brown with a hint of blue is cold, while brown with a hint of red is warm, and the effect of the two is entirely different The number, size and placing of the windows also greatly affect the intensity of the color. It must always be remembered that any interior is dark compared with out of doors, and in the lightest room there wIU be dark corners or spaces where the color will seem much darker than it really is. This explains why wall paper which appeared perfectly satisfactory In the dealer’s store is often a disappointment on the wall of the room for which it was bought. The sample In the store was displayed in a different light from that in the room. Three principles will always govern the proper use of color in house decoration—first, that of color In relation to light; second. color in gradation, and, third, color in masses. These principles are not difficult to master, but they are as Important and as impossible to escape as climate. The shades of color used on walls or celling govern everything else. The color of the walls'prescribes the color that must be used in floor coverings, curtains and draperies. After the relation of color io light has been established and personal preferences have been taken into account the next principle is that of gradation. The strongest and purest tones of the color are naturally and almost by Instinct put at the base —that is, the floor covering should carry the darkest color or its strongest tone.

It is not often advisable to use what is known as a one color decoration—that is, confining the entire decoration to a single color. Such a plan is much like trying to make a melody on one note of the scale. The best effects in both sounds and color are produced by the skillful variation of tones. The gradation and combination of even opposing tints give the greatest satisfaction to the eye. But. whatever the color or colors used, they must be darkest on the floor. The walls will give the second grade tn color and the ceiling the last. These gradations, too, should be distinct and separate enough in tone to be perfectly apparent. The connecting grades may appear in furniture covering and draperies. Then the third principle, using color in masses, means that whatever color is used should be given space enough to establish itself freely. In other words, it should not be broken into patches and neutralized by divisions. Nature does not put a single red leaf on a tree and then change the color to yellow or green. Rather the whole forest will have its rarious colors so arranged that one is perfectly conscious of every one of them. The brilliant red is in quantity sufficient to make itself felt, yet '>t does not interfere with the glow of the yellow or the restfulness of the green. The general tone of the room may be what you will—green or blue or a division of each—but to be perfect every detail in the room must be related to one or both of these colors. If this rule is disregarded every piece of furniture unrelated to the whole becomes a spot which has no real connection with and puts the entire room out of harmony. Where to Use Different Colors. Some colors are much better suited to one room than another. If one’s favorite color is pink it should not be used in the dining room or balk Light blues, pinks, lavender and other dainty shades are more suitable for sleeping rooms occupied by young people, though for the average person there is no better color than a soft, unobtrusive green for a bedroom. Red has for years been the favorite color for dining room, and yet there are certain reasons why it is entirely out of place there. For one reason, the color soon becomes monotonous and has an irritating effect upon nervous dr highly strung persons. Although a warm color, it is inclined to absorb light. It is very rich and warm in sunlight or artificial light, but in ordinary daylight It makes a room seem dark and gloomy. If red is to be used at all in wall covering it should be confined to a hall or den, some room which is not in constant use. When yellow happens to be a favorite color it is a good one to use in the dining room, particularly when, as is often the case, that room has a northern exposure. Golden browns and tans are satisfactory in living rooms when conditions are right for them—that is, when there is not too, much sunlight in the room. Living rooms should be decorated not only with restful colors, but those which suggest cheeriness as well. Bleeping rooms should be soothing, and the colors which produce this effect are supposed to be quiet greens, soft grays and dull blues. The paneled wall and beamed ceiling of dark wood with color showing between make a splendid finish for living and dining rooms and hall, especially in a country house. One particularly attractive country home had the dining room celled with'birch logs op which the white bark had been retained to gleam in the firelight. A tinting of soft green on rough plaster gave the room a delightful woodsy effect quite in keeping with the rural surroundings. How much more appropriate a decoration like that In a country house than some artificial arrange* ment copied from a city bouse! -

ARTISTIC DINING ROOM.