The finish of the standing woodwork of the interior of the pure Colonial house, as we have said, most frequently runs to the ivory enamel, showing an eggshell gloss used in combination with walnut or mahogany, although in certain beautiful rooms of these old houses, particularly in libraries and dining-rooms, oak was used for the standing woodwork.

In a later chapter the various materials best adapted for successful treatment of the interior will be fully considered..

In the modified Colonial, where the money to be expended is limited, whitewood or poplar is selected as the choice for the standing woodwork, as these take enamel admirably, and also show well under mahogany stain, although birch for the latter is preferable. The former woods may be depended upon to give the maximum of result at the minimum of cost.

Floors may be of maple, oak, or any other hard wood. While in form, architectural detail, and proportion, we find it hard to improve upon the old designers in the finishes which are to-day procurable for standing woodwork and floors, we realize the progress of the twentieth century. There are finishes now made for floors which give the full beauty of the rubbed wax of our grandmother's time, but with greatly reduced labor in first application and care. In the plumbing and heating appliances of the houses, also, as well as in bathrooms, laundries, and kitchens, we no longer follow the exact planning of the old Colonial residence. Here we mark the advance of hygienic and sanitary ideas as these should be embodied in the modern house.

Plate LXXXI. A Drawing Room of the Georgian Type.

PLATE H. Ivory Enamel Used With Mahogany. See Specifications, Chapter XXI (The Importance Of Working Specifications).

Hard plaster, marked off into tile and finished with a sanitary high-gloss enameled coating, gives an effect closely resembling the real tile, and by many is a preferred treatment for kitchen departments and bathrooms, as there is no possibility of the loosening, and, therefore, no opportunity for the lurking microbe in the setting of tiles. In the service department of the house this treatment, for a portion of the side wall, is exceptionally attractive and practical.

Plate LXXXII. The Fireplace and its Over Mantel is an Important Feature in a Colonial Room.

While there is no single feature of any room more thoroughly decorative than an open fireplace, these seem almost essential in Colonial houses. There are, however, but few to be found, in this day of luxurious living, which depend entirely upon the heating from an open fire. The radiator has become a fixed factor in the home, and while these are most unattractive features in themselves they seem absolutely necessary to the comfort of living.

Efforts are constantly being made by the architects to so place these as to least affect the beauty of the room. They are frequently set beneath window seats, in corner cabinets, and other disguises, but where very much heat is required such measures are not practical. Therefore, if the ugly pipes must stand frankly forth they should, at least, be treated like the standing woodwork of the room in which they are placed; if they stand against a wainscot, or it they come directly against the wall covering, they should take on a color similar to it.

It is possible to obtain finishes by which one can meet almost any color combination.