Floral and Chintz Patterns - Small All-over Designs - Trellis Designs - The Panelled Bedroom Restfulness Must be the Aim of All Bedroom Decoration

There is no need to go into statistics to show how much of our life we spend in our bedchamber. Everyone nowadays fully realises the importance of the proper furnishing and decorating of this apartment, and the hygienic need of at least three changes of wallpaper every decade.

Floral and chintz patterned papers have made immense strides in popular favour, and have been produced in such a variety of beautiful designs that it is a case of embarras de choix. The floral paper is a very pleasant one to live with, and, provided the surrounding draperies accord well with it, will usually afford us a very satisfactory bedroom.

Clover is specially decorative in this connection and looks delightful when hung, but care must be taken when choosing the design. Sprays and clusters are more effective than an all-over pattern, which is apt to produce a "spotty" appearance. Daffodils are extremely artistic, some of the papers decorated therewith being worthy to inspire a second Wordsworth; to assist in the production of a "yellow" room, such a paper may be cordially recommended.

Boughs and sprays of white hawthorn on a pale green ground produce yet another example of the pleasing possibilities of a floral paper. These three are merely cited by way of novelties. We still have our old friend the rose paper in every possible shade and design, as well as clematis, sweet-pea, wistaria, almond blossom, and laburnum, all of which play an important part in producing very pretty rooms.

Wallpapers in chintz design on vari-tinted backgrounds account for themselves with much persuasion, when used in conjunction with antique furniture or its modern reproduction, as will be seen in our illustration, which depicts the "very latest," the black background.

Quite delightful are the wallpapers in small all-over designs. They are specially suitable for cottage and small bedrooms generally.

The groundwork of these papers presents a very pleasing surface, usually produced by a succession of finely ruled lines in a neutral tint, arranged in irregular groups. Upon this will be printed an all-over of fine spots in some pretty shade, while in the case of many colours being used for the super-design, the groundwork of stripes is varied by the addition of spots and small geometrical patterns.

Black wallpaper. A novel but very effective idea for a bedroom Warings

Typical of this latest note is a design which gives us a variegated background and a chintz stripe of clusters of coloured flowers held by a trailing ribbon and bows. Equally pretty is a rather wide stripe of blue ribbon, holding baskets of naturally coloured primroses, at intervals.

Another pleasing design has an alternating fancy cream-stripe background, and a small heather spray treated conventionally at intervals over the surface.

These wee conventional sprays are quite a feature in the newest papers, and are particularly dainty in appearance, and eminently suited to the purpose for which they are intended.

Even more worthy of praise is a design in which the groundwork is cream, ruled in clusters of mauve stripes, thick stripes alternating with narrow, upon which comes a design of button rose trees, with odd leaves and blossoms sprinkled over the whole surface of the paper.

It would hardly be thought that a black wallpaper would be suitable for a bedroom, yet some delightful effects can be obtained with some black designs, which give a lovely rich appearance to a room.

Then we have the trellis designs - the very large patterns with floral trails intersecting the trellis. This is most satisfactory when no pictorial adornment is needed. The smaller designs are better suited for town houses, and those with a cream groundwork, ribbon trellis, and perhaps a small floral spray in the centre, are ideal for a country cottage.

Maple & Co. An artistic treatment of a panelled wall in a bedroom

Of late years the practice of panelling bedroom walls has come very much to the fore, and one may employ this fashion in several ways.

One is illustrated. The panelling is carried up to within three feet of the ceiling. The wallpaper employed above it represents a succession of three or more designs; in this case floral and treated conventionally. Beautiful examples, however, are to be had in natural styles and colouring, scenic and figure subjects.

Another plan is to form a dado with the wooden panelling, above which should come a chintz paper, or one with a specially attractive design. A third idea being to have sunk panels of canvas paper, or some such fabric imitation, set in a framework of ivory or colour-stained wood. Such a treatment is particularly restful, and restfulness should be the object of all bedroom decoration.