The Proper Adaptation Of Styles Of Past Days To Modern Use

The persons who have made a parallel study of period furniture, decorations, and history will be most apt to link the interior decoration of their homes with the style of architecture used at the time of building. They will not place mission furniture in a colonial house and will not install chandeliers of the Louis XVI period in a bungalow. Also, if they do furnish their homes with the style of furniture which the architecture calls for, they will not slavishly copy all the modes and mannerisms of another time, some of which must be entirely out of key with the life and materials of to-day. They will realize that not all the creations of the past are good, and will be able to pick out those qualities which are most beautiful and best suited to the present environment. At the same time they will do some consistent designing in the spirit of the period or periods of decoration, which they wish to employ, keeping in mind the details of historic ornament in its scale and surface relation, but employing their American inventive faculties in the use of expressive qualities and adaptations to accord with modern life.

Suitability Of The House As A Whole To Its Use

The function of the house as a whole should be carefully considered before the furnishings are selected. There is nothing more unsuitable than a house with a very simple exterior filled with furniture of a luxurious type, and in the same way people should adapt their homes to their own mode of life or they will not be at home in their environment. A house should be neither more nor less expensively furnished than the means of the householder warrants. The rule of proportion applies to the relation between the tenant and his home as strictly as to interior decoration.

A Consideration Of The Function Of Each Room In The Choice Of Furnishings

As the function of the house as a whole must be considered, so must the function of each room be carefully determined and expressed by the assembling of the articles of use and of ornament within it. The use for which it is intended should be kept in view, and there should be a real understanding of its needs. When a room conforms to the needs of some person who spends many hours within its four walls, it cannot help but reflect that person's individuality. The successful interior decorator is the one who becomes really acquainted with his client and in so doing finds out his likes and dislikes, his faults and idiosyncrasies, so that he can place himself in the mental state of his client and provide furnishings which are suitable. So the man who is decorating his own rooms should purchase for his use only those things which he really likes and which seem truly useful to himself, but he should be guided by the general rules of beauty and proportion so that the result shall be pleasing.

Essentials

There are certain essential features, such as the background values, the arrangement of the furniture to give proper balance, and the placing of the larger decorations, which must conform to general rules, but personal taste should always be regarded in the colors and the objects of chief interest, such as the choice of pictures or of the style of furniture.