Interior Decoration For The Small Home | by Amy L. Rolfe
It has been the purpose to bring together in this book the chief principles of art as they may be applied to the furnishing of homes of people of moderate means. Many volumes have been written upon the subject of house furnishing which describe in great detail the expensive furniture, rugs, and tapestries which can be purchased only by those few individuals who are also financially able to employ professional interior decorators and who for that reason have less need for a simple guide. It is the people who must make their own selections of furnishings and plan their arrangement who especially require some economic and artistic knowledge on the subject, so that they may obtain the greatest amount of beauty and convenience for the least expenditure. If they understand color and form harmony in the essential relation to artistic unity, they should then have sufficient confidence to express some of their own individuality in their homes as they endeavor to combine the ideal with the practical. Beauty and suitability will by this means be the result of a conscious obedience to the laws of art.
| Title | Interior Decoration For The Small Home |
| Author | Amy L. Rolfe |
| Publisher | The Macmillan Company |
| Year | 1922 |
| Copyright | 1917, The Macmillan Company |
| Amazon | Interior Decoration for the Small Home |
By Amy L. Rolfe, M.A Instructor Of Home Economics, University Of Montana
To My Father
The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful criticism of Miss Anna Cooley of Columbia University.
Introduction. The Difference Between House and Home - The Home-maker as Interior Decorator- House Or Home? There is an especial meaning attached to the term home which is entirely distinctive. The humblest cottage may be a home - the most beautiful mansion may be merely a work of decora...
- Chapter I. Walls And Ceilings
- The Treatment of Walls and Ceilings regarding Color, Value, Subordination, - Choice and Arrangement of Wall Decorations. When The House Is New Fortunate indeed is he who has the privilege of...
- Walls And Ceilings. Part 2
- Size Affected By Color And Value If the home is an apartment or a small cottage, it will usually be found well to have the same tone of woodwork and the same tone of wall in all the adjoining rooms...
- Walls And Ceilings. Part 3
- Paneled Walls Wood-paneled rooms are very beautiful and are seen far too seldom. While they are of course more expensive, there is still a richness given by a high wainscoting and a beamed ceiling ...
- Chapter II. Windows And Their Decorative Treatment
- The Use of Curtains as a Decorative Medium - Colors - Values - Textures - Cost. The Need Of Curtains The windows of a room, together with their hangings, constitute a very important item in ...
- Windows And Their Decorative Treatment. Part 2
- Sunshine Better Than Shades If it is felt that there must be roller shades, they should be drawn up to the very top of the windows, out of sight, during the daylight hours. It is never a mistake to...
- Windows And Their Decorative Treatment. Part 3
- Method Of Hanging Thin Curtains The proper hanging of curtains is quite important. Thin white curtains should never be hung from rings or hooks. As they are usually not required to draw, the rod is...
- Windows And Their Decorative Treatment. Part 4
- Value Where the walls of a room are finished in light tones, it is usually best to have white curtains, if only one pair of curtains is used. If, however, the walls are toned darker, and only one p...
- Windows And Their Decorative Treatment. Part 5
- Color Harmony Color, however, is of vastly more importance than material. It is better to buy unbleached muslin or some other very cheap cloth and have it dyed the proper hue, than to use hangings ...
- Windows And Their Decorative Treatment. Part 6
- Modern Tapestries Wool tapestries of close, hard weaves, reproducing many of the designs and colors of priceless stuffs, may be purchased at prices ranging from four dollars a yard upward. These ar...
- Chapter III. The Finishing Of Floors
- The Treatment of Wood Floors, Old and New - The Use of Linoleum, Tiles, and Cement for Floor Coverings. The Floor As The Decorative Foundation Of The Room The floor is the decorative foundat...
- The Finishing Of Floors. Continued
- The Care Of The Floors The floors should be rubbed about every two months and additional wax applied to all worn places. If a floor is allowed to become worn down to the bare wood, dirt is ground i...
- Chapter IV. Domestic Rugs And Carpets
- The Treatment of Floors regarding Color, Value, Subordination - Different Varieties of Domestic Makes and their Relative Cost. The Floor As A Background As has been said, the floor of a room...
- Domestic Rugs And Carpets. Part 2
- The Plain Rug The plain rug or carpet is perhaps in greatest vogue to-day among those of domestic make. There are many good reasons favoring its choice. A plain floor covering, like a plain wall, s...
- Domestic Rugs And Carpets. Part 3
- Wilton Rugs Plain Wilton rugs are also very satisfactory. They may always be relied upon for appearance and service. The warp is closer than the Axminster, and the pile is deeper in the less expens...
- Domestic Rugs And Carpets. Part 4
- Scotch Rugs Scotch rugs are also reversible and are made of Scotch wool. A large rug costs twenty-five dollars. They are made with the weave of an ingrain carpet and are usually artistic in design ...
- Chapter V. Oriental Rugs
- The Ęsthetic Appeal of the Oriental Rug - The Four Principal Classes and Some Subdivisions - Risks Encountered in Purchasing. The Aesthetic Value Of The Home A home is something more than a ...
- Oriental Rugs. Part 2
- Relative Cost Small rugs, four by five feet and less, of modern make, of good design and color, may be purchased all the way from ten to fifty dollars. Large rugs and antiques are higher in price, ...
- Oriental Rugs. Part 3
- Persian Rugs The finest rugs in the world are woven in Persia. Rug weaving in Persia is especially fostered by national pride and strongly encouraged by the rulers of that country. Great care is ta...
- Chapter VI. A Brief History Of Furniture
- The Home of Ancient and Medieval Times and Its Furniture - The Renaissance - Period Styles of Furniture - The Modern Reawakening. Vague Ideas Of Public In Regard To Period Furniture One of t...
- A Brief History Of Furniture. Part 2
- The Bower The bower contained a bed, sometimes a bench or stool, and always a chest of some kind. The chest was the most important article in the house and hid all valued possessions. Beginn...
- A Brief History Of Furniture. Part 3
- The French Renaissance From Italy, the spirit of the Renaissance spread to France, but here the transitional period was of longer duration, due to the Gothic art being more firmly rooted in France ...
- A Brief History Of Furniture. Part 4
- The Louis XIV Style The seventeenth century closed with the furniture of Louis XIV, a style which ever since that day has been misunderstood and misused. It was designed by a man named Andre Boulle...
- A Brief History Of Furniture. Part 5
- The Queen Anne Style During this time the furniture of the Dutch people had been finding its way into England and influencing English design. But it was not until the reign of Queen Anne that the D...
- A Brief History Of Furniture. Part 6
- The Adam Style James Adam and his brother Robert probably never designed the furniture which is attributed to them, but to them was largely due the reaction that took place at this time, - a sudden...
- A Brief History Of Furniture. Part 7
- Transition To Modern Styles After the Empire, there was no other distinctive style of any value produced during the remainder of the nineteenth century. There was a great quantity of furniture manu...
- Chapter VII. Modern Period Furniture And Its Use
- Types of the Antiques which are Reproduced - Consistent Use of Period Styles in the Various Rooms of the Home - Bisymmetric and Occult Balance -Comfort. Antiques And Reproductions There are ...
- Modern Period Furniture And Its Use. Part 2
- Furniture Styles Of Different Periods Which May Be Used Together To some people, however, the entire house furnished in one period seems rather monotonous, and more variety is desired. In this case...
- Modern Period Furniture And Its Use. Part 3
- Bisymmetric Balance There can be no pleasing harmony in a room unless the laws of balance are observed in the arrangement of the furniture and wall decorations. A room is only in balance when its f...
- Modern Period Furniture And Its Use. Part 4
- French Furniture French furniture is not so suitable for living room use. It is too ornate, too elaborate in the early styles, and too delicate in the later productions, for the everyday life of a ...
- Modern Period Furniture And Its Use. Part 5
- The Library The library should have the same spirit of repose as the living room, but at the same time should be furnished in a manner to give greater dignity and solidity. The interest in the room...
- Modern Period Furniture And Its Use. Part 6
- Simplicity There should be great simplicity in the furnishing of the library. In the center of the room there should be a substantial table covered with a flat mat which does not slip, or, better s...
- Modern Period Furniture And Its Use. Part 7
- References De Wolfe, Elsie The House in Good Taste. The Century Company, New York, 1913. Reproductions, Chapter XVII. Arrangement, Chapter XI (Artificial Lighting). Suitability, Chapter II (Windows...
- Chapter VIII. Furniture Of Modern Design
- A Reflection of the Spirit of To-day - Different Styles which may be Purchased and Their Use in the Home - Rugs, Upholstery, and Wall Coverings which Harmonize. Furniture Which Reflects The Spi...
- Furniture Of Modern Design. Part 2
- Consistent Use Of Draperies, Rugs, And Wail Coverings As with mission furniture, the most simple draperies, rugs, and wall coverings should also be used with craftsman furniture. With some of the m...
- Furniture Of Modern Design. Part 3
- Grass Furniture A more luxurious furniture of much the same kind is made of prairie grass. The weave of this furniture is usually very close, the fibers well woven together to withstand hard usage....
- Chapter IX. Furniture Woods
- Mahogany - Oak - Ash - Red Gum - Walnut - Maple - Beech - Birch - Rosewood - Veneered Furniture. The essential points which should be considered in the purchasing of furniture for the home are comf...
- Furniture Woods. Part 2
- Ash There is a very valuable wood which is used as a veneer commonly known as Circassian Walnut. It is not a walnut at all, but is an ash called by the name of Hungarian Ash. It is very beautiful, ...
- Furniture Woods. Part 3
- Veneered Furniture Of High Grade Not all veneered furniture is less expensive than the solid, however. A fine veneer is more valuable than the solid wood which is less beautifully figured. The rare...
- Chapter X. The Fireplace In The Home
- Ęsthetic Value - Historical Significance - Period Styles - Arrangement of Furniture about Fireplace - Materials. Period Styles In Fireplaces The history of the fireplace is very closely conn...
- The Fireplace In The Home. Part 2
- The Center Of Interest The fireplace was the heart of the home in those days and in the centuries before. It was the necessary feature of the house and was always present until the time when stoves...
- The Fireplace In The Home. Part 3
- Arrangement Of Furniture About The Fireplace Much can be accomplished in the way of extending this feeling of hospitality which every open fire gives, by the arrangement of the furniture about the ...
- Chapter XI. Artificial Lighting
- The Importance of Artificial Light as a Part of a Scheme of Interior Decoration - A Brief History - Period Styles - Arrangement - Colors and Materials of Shades. Candles In artistic effect t...
- Artificial Lighting. Part 2
- Shades It was, however, not long before the discomfort caused by the glare of the new method of lighting came to be felt and an effort was made to soften the sharp brilliance by opaque globes and s...
- Artificial Lighting. Part 3
- Where Lamps Should Be Placed When lamps are used they should be placed with the same strict regard for proper position as with side lights. They should always be arranged to call attention to espec...
- Conclusion
- Interior Decoration as Art - How Knowledge of the Subject may be Gained - Suitability of Each Room and of the House as a Whole to Its Use - Sincerity in the Outward Expression of the Owner's Personali...
- Conclusion. Part 2
- 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 ...
- Conclusion. Part 3
- The Rooms As The Expression Of Personality The room should be the outward expression of the spiritual and mental attributes of its occupant, and this expression may often be given in the most simpl...
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