FLOORS, WALLS, AND WINDOWS
Tradition has established the condition of her floors as the prime test
of a good house-keeper, and the amount of effort that faithful
homemakers have had to waste upon splintery, carelessly laid cheap
boards would, if it could be represented in money, buy marble footing
for all of us.
But we don't want marble floors. We are not building a palace or a
showplace, but a house to live in. We are not seeking magnificence,
but comfort and durability (which are almost always allied), as well as
sightliness (which is not always in the combination).
THE NECESSITY OF GOOD FLOORS
Happily, when we come to floors we find that those which may be
depended upon to endure and to give their share of home comfort are
also the best to look upon. It would be agreeable to say, further,
that they cost least, but that would be misleading. This book fails to
say not a few things that would be interesting but which wouldn't be of
much real use to the homemaker, because they aren't so.
Leaving the everlastingly pestiferous question of cost aside, what is
the best all-around flooring? Well, so far no one has been able to
suggest anything that seems so appropriate as a good quality of hard
wood--which means oak or maple, or both--properly treated and, above
all, laid down as it should be. The flooring is a permanent part of
the house, or, if it isn't, we'll certainly wish it had been. As it is
subject to harder and more constant usage than any other part of the
structure, it must be strong, and it must have a surface that will
resist wear, or we shall simply store up trouble for the future. It is
also a part of the decorative scheme, and as such must help to furnish
the keynote of our plans. All these requirements are met by hard wood.
It is possible, we may admit, to have a happy and comfortable home with
cheaper flooring; but the price that is not paid in money will be
afterwards collected with interest in effort and sacrifice of
satisfaction. Doubtless it is not wise, as some one suggests, to put
so much money into our floors that we cannot afford to buy anything to
put on them; but in many instances the appearance of our house
interiors would be much more pleasing if fewer pieces of superfluous
furniture were brought in to cover the floors. At any rate, the
longed-for furniture may be "saved up for" and bought later; a mistake
in floors to start with is hard to rectify.
MATERIAL AND COST OF LAYING
Oak flooring comes in narrow, thin strips of plain- or quarter-sawed.
At this writing the plain-sawed costs, laid, usually 16 cents per
square foot. It will never be cheaper. Where quarter-sawed is
desired, a cent per foot must be added. Borders, which are by no means
essential, cost from 20 to 45 cents per lineal foot (laid). In a
country house, where local artisans do the laying, the expense may be
somewhat less for labor. But it must be remembered that fine floor
laying is a trade of itself, and that the time to make sure of the work
being properly done is when the wood is put in. If the building is
properly constructed, a bulging or cracked floor is unnecessary. At
all events, if we are in doubt as to the village carpenter's skill, we
would do well to pay the few dollars extra for the expert from the
city. Careful measurements are also important, especially with borders
and parquetry.
ORNAMENTAL FLOORING
The hall, if large, will permit of rather more elaborate treatment than
the rooms which are to be constantly occupied. No part of the house
that is in use for hours at a time should be at all over-elaborated,
particularly in its unchangeable features. Care must be taken even in
the hall to avoid any freakish combination that will either stand out
conspicuously or demand a like treatment of the walls.
[Illustration: An attractive and inexpensive hall.]
Some folk like tiling in the hall, and if we have little more than a
vestibule, tiling is quite satisfactory. It is durable and can be
easily cleaned. But if the hall be of the medium or generous size,
parquetry will be found more approvable if the expense can be afforded.
The designs are richer without being so glaring as many of the tile
effects, and the wood seems to have less harshness. Rubber tiling,
however, has been found useful in places where there is frequent
passing in and outdoors, and has been developed in some pleasing
designs.
The additional cost for parquetry is not formidable in a moderate-sized
hall. Prices range from 20 to 40 cents per square foot, according to
design. We shall be wisely guided in choosing a simple square
arrangement that will not protest against any passable decoration of
the walls. Unless the hall is spacious borders would better be
omitted. They need to have the effect of running into hearths and
stairways, and in a narrow passage the center will be too crowded.
Dining room and living room suggest the quarter-sawed flooring, the
former admitting perhaps the stronger border, unless the two rooms are
in such direct connection that they require continuous treatment.
Upstairs, plain-sawed will do nicely for the hall and chambers, and
also for the bathroom if it is not tiled. Borders, of course, may be
dispensed with here, as there should be no suggestion of
over-ornamentation in the permanent features of a sleeping room.
For the kitchen hard maple is found to serve well. One may not find it
amiss to inquire into the merits and costs of composition and rubber
tiling, but they are not essential to comfort and cleanliness. Here we
are concerned with essentials; it is fully understood that we have our
own permission to go farther afield in pursuit of more costly things if
we choose.
WAXED, VARNISHED, AND OILED FLOORS
Unless there are small children, expert opinion and the demands of
beauty favor waxed floors. Ordinarily the floor must he rewaxed about
every three months, but a pound of wax, that will cover two ordinary
sized rooms, costs only 50 cents, and it may be applied by anyone. To
keep the floors in best condition the wax brush should be passed over
them every fortnight.
Varnish floors scratch but are not affected by water, and on the whole
are rather more popular than oil or wax. They cost something less to
maintain, and are less conducive to embarrassing gyratics on the part
of dignified persons wearing slippery shoes.
If we may not demand oak or maple floors, well-laid Georgia pine,
carefully oiled or varnished, would be our next choice. There is a
large saving in initial expense, and perhaps some one else will be
using them five years from now! Though we cannot expect to get
anything like equal satisfaction from the cheaper wood as compared with
oak, if we do feel bound to adopt it we shall have less cause for
complaint later if we view very carefully the material and the
operations of laying and finishing. Poor workmanship can spoil the
best of materials; what it can do with cheaper stuff is absolutely
unmentionable. Paint may be used on the upper floors and even limited
to a border in the bedrooms.
CARPETS
The floors would not be quite so important if we were planning to
entirely cover up their beauties or their uglinesses with another kind
of beauty or ugliness in the form of carpets. But experience has long
since made it clear to all of us that rugs are not only more healthful
and in better taste, but, taken by and large, give less trouble to the
housekeeper than carpets. Owing to the fixed position of the latter
they are, too, quality for quality, less durable. It is true that in
some parts of the house a rug or carpet fastened down may be desirable,
but with good floors no such thing will suggest itself in the living
rooms at least.
LINOLEUM AND MATS
Where a very small vestibule is substituted for the reception hall a
parquetry or tile flooring would be left uncovered. Over a cheap floor
a good quality of linoleum, costing about 50 cents per square yard, may
he placed. A small mat of neat design, if such can be found, will take
care of those persons who have the foot-scraping habit, regardless of
what they scrape upon, though the mat outside should do the important
work. Serviceable mats are seldom things of beauty. As they come
under the head of floor coverings, it may be well to note that the best
quality leather mat, guaranteed to last twenty years, costs $1.25 a
square foot. A fair imitation may be had for less than half that
figure, and has the same proportion of value. The open-steel mat that
serves best with tenacious mud costs 50 cents per square foot, and for
rubber we must add a half or double the price, depending on whether we
demand the made-to-order article or are content with stock. The old
reliable cocoa mat may be had from 35 cents per square foot up, and is
quite as useful and scarcely uglier than the others.
THE STAIRWAY
For appearance' sake, if our stairway is well constructed of good
woods, we should forbear to hide it. But there is no place in the
house where little Willie can more effectively proclaim to all the
household world his possession of double-nailed heels than on the
unprotected rises of the stairway. Even the tiny heels of the mistress
of the home seem to clump like the boots of a giant in their numberless
journeys up and down. So the hall runner must have a place. Perhaps
the carpet will be of red or green, depending on the walls, but it need
cost little more than $1 per yard for a fair quality. It is put down
with stair pads ($1 per dozen) and ordinary tacks, and the expenditure
of 10 cents per yard for a professional layer will not be regretted.
The amateur who can do a really good job on a stair carpet is a rarity.
[Illustration: An artistic staircase hall.]
RUGS
The Biglow Bagdad domestic rug in 27 by 54 and 36 by 63-inch sizes is
inexpensive but looks and wears well in the hall. The first size costs
about $4 and the second $7. A little better quality in Anglo-Indian or
Anglo-Persian costs a dollar or so more per rug. Where there is
constant direct use in the hall we will do wisely to get either a
moderate-priced article that may be renewed or something expensive that
will wear indefinitely. Sometimes the latter is the more economical
plan. Very often halls are so shaped that a rug must be made to order.
It is better to do this and have a good-sized rug that will lie well
than to risk tripping and slipping with smaller ones.
For the living room a variety of choice in rugs is offered. Attempts
to utilize a number of small rugs are not usually joyous in their
outcome; besides, the floor space is too badly broken up. The large
center rug holds its own, with some reenforcement in the alcove or
perhaps before the hearth.
What quality the rug shall be depends largely upon the length of our
purse; yet sagacity and a modest fund will sometimes do more than
plethora and no thought. Design selection is a task to vex the most
patient, but we must not be drawn into a hurried decision. If we are
near enough to the business house with which we are dealing, it is
advisable to have a selection of rugs sent out for inspection on the
floors. Seen in the salesroom and in our house they may present
different aspects.
Generally speaking, the showiest designs are in the cheaper goods, and
the showier a cheap article is the quicker its shoddy qualities will be
made manifest. Therefore, if we must count the pennies on our
living-room rug, let us select a simple design with a good
body--something that will be unobtrusive even when it begins to appeal
for replacement.
There is a considerable range of Wiltons, from the so-called Wilton
velvet to the "Royal" Wilton. They are by no means the cheapest,
though one may go fabulously beyond them in price; but their popularity
shows them to be a good average quality, suited to the home planned on
a modest scale. Body Brussels, although not affording such rich
effects, also has many friends, and tapestry Brussels may be
considered. There are names innumerable for rugs and carpets, some of
which have little real significance. If one knows a good design when
it is seen, a little common-sense observation of weights and weave and
a thoughtful comparison of prices will help to secure the best
selections. Here are some specimen sizes and prices quoted by one
establishment:
SIZE. Body Brussels. Biglow Bagdad. Anglo-Indian.
6.0 x 9.0....... $18.00 $25.00 $30.00
8.3 x 10.6....... 22.50 30.00 45.00
9.0 x 10.6....... 25.00 35.00 50.00
10.6 x 12.0....... 32.50 45.00 65.00
10.6 x 13.6....... 35.00 52.50 75.00
11.3 x 15.0....... 42.50 60.00 80.00
Saxony Axminster, 9 by 12, is priced at $45, and is considered to be
more serviceable than most grades of Wilton.
For the dining room the problem is about the same as for the principal
apartment. The rug need not be so expensive as the one in the living
room, but it must assuredly be of the enduring sort.
The Scotch Caledon rugs sometimes solve the difficulty here. Indeed,
they are not out of place in a really "homey" living room or elsewhere
in the house. They are made of wool, woven like an ingrain, with no
nap, and are especially pleasing for their artistic soft colorings,
mostly in green or blue two-tone effects. They are, strictly speaking,
not reversible, but some designs will permit use on both sides. While
they do not wear quite so well as a Wilton, they come at least a fifth
cheaper. Prices range from $9 for a 4.6 by 7.6 to $45 for a 12 by 15.
The sizes we have mentioned are standard. If our rooms have been
planned in such wise as to require rugs to order we shall have to add
ten per cent to our expenditures.
ORIENTAL RUGS
The subject of oriental rugs, to be intelligently discussed, would
require an entire book, and there are books that may be and should be
studied by those who can afford orientals. Most of us cannot. There
are, indeed, good reasons for the high cost of the genuine oriental, in
its superior coloring, wide range of design, and wonderful durability.
The right sort grows richer with age. But our plans are not so much
for posterity as for present uses, and we can get along very well
without testing our wits in the oriental rug market. It is a test of
wits, for there are no standards of size or price, and spurious goods
sometimes get into the best of hands. Small Daghestans and
Baloochistans may be had even lower than $20, but anything we would
care to have in living room or dining room would take $150 to $200 from
our bank account.
[Illustration: An oriental rug of good design: Shirvan.]
KITCHEN AND UPPER FLOORS
In the kitchen, and perhaps in a rear vestibule, unless the floor is of
a sort to be easily wiped up, linoleum may be demanded. The upper hall
will require a continuation of the stair runner, with perhaps a rug if
it broadens out at the landing. For the bed chambers the question of
individual use must be thought of. Brussels rugs will do in most
cases. A large rug means considerable shifting to get at the floor,
but is the more comfortable. Smaller rugs will permit sweeping under
the bed without moving it far, and should be placed under the casters,
which will injure the hard-wood floors if allowed to rest directly
thereupon.
MATTING AND CORDOMAN CLOTH
Next in choice would be to spend 25 or 30 cents a yard for matting and
cover the entire floor, adding one or two rugs to head off the shivery
feeling that arises from a contact of bare feet with cold matting on a
winter morning. The casters will cut the matting, too; we must look
out for that. A border of flooring, painted or not, may be left; but
generally, if anything is to be fastened down, it should cover the
entire space, avoiding the ugly accumulation of dust that otherwise
gathers under the edges.
More expensive than matting, but likely to be quite satisfactory, is
cordoman cloth, a floor covering that comes in plain colors and may be
easily swept and wiped up. It costs from 45 to 55 cents per yard, and
the wadded cotton lining that goes with it is very cheap. Considering
its greater durability than matting, cordoman is really the more
economical, and the homemaker will do well to investigate its merits.
CHILDREN'S ROOM AND "DEN"
For the children's room linoleum will probably stand the wear and tear,
prove more hygienic, and do as much toward deadening noise as anything
short of an impossible padding could do. On the porch a crex-fiber rug
or two--the sort that stand rain and resist moths--may be desired, but
they can wait until we are settled and have found our bearings. The
"den," if there is to be one, or the separate library, may in the one
instance be left to individual caprice, in the other to good judgment
in suiting it to the prevailing thought.
USES OF THE DECORATOR
If we have not done so before, when we take up consideration of the
walls we will, if we can afford it, call in a professional decorator.
First, of course, we will make sure that he really may be of service to
us, for his duty is to give practical and artistic development to the
more or less vague ideas of which we have become possessed, and if he
seems, from examples of previous work, to be wedded to a "style" of his
own that would not jibe with our aspirations, we would better try to
struggle along without him.
But it is possible to secure the services of a decorative artist for a
sum not necessarily tremendous, and if we get hold of a sensible fellow
his advice will be, in the end, worth much more than the extra outlay.
If he is a sincere artist, he will plan just as carefully for a modest
six-room cottage as for a mansion, and he will be able to take the good
points of our own schemes and adapt them to expert application without
making us feel too insignificant.
Explicit advice as to decoration, where there are thousands of us, each
in different circumstances and with variant tastes, would be rather an
absurdity. We may emphasize to ourselves, however, a few phases of the
decorative problem in which lack of thought would lose to us some of
the joys of a house perfected.
If we are not to employ a decorator we must study out the problem for
ourselves. To leave it for the painter and paperhanger to settle would
be a fatal error. Much knowledge may be gained by the study of books
and magazine articles, provided they are very recent. It will be
advisable to weigh this knowledge in the scales of practical
observation, however, in houses of late date. This is not so much
because of changes in fashion as for the reason that improvements in
process are always being made, and even the omnipresent folk who write
books sometimes overlook a point. Concerning fashion, which of course
has its sway in decoration, we will remember that the simplest
treatment survives longest.
WOOD IN DECORATION
It seems that with the steady increase in cost of lumber we have grown
more and more to appreciate the beauty of our woods. At any rate, wood
is being used more extensively than ever in interior finishing. This
is in some ways a healthy tendency, as it makes for simplicity and
admits of artistic treatment at a reasonable cost.
Hall, living room, and dining room, for instance, may be treated with a
high or low wood wainscoting and wooden panels extending to a wooden
cornice at the ceiling. The wood may be a weathered oak, and between
the panels is a rough plaster in gray or tinted to suit the house
scheme. Friezes and plastic cornices are somewhat on the wane, in
smaller houses at least; though, of course, they will never go out of
use altogether.
PANELS AND PLASTER
This plaster effect is less expensive than 40-cent burlap or ordinary
white calcimine or paper. The picture molding may be at the bottom of
the cornice. Sometimes the cornice is dropped to a level with the tops
of the doors and windows (usually about seven feet), leaving a frieze
of two or three feet, the molding then going to the top of the cornice.
Ceilings and friezes of ivory or light yellow are usually in good taste.
The living room may carry out the panel and plaster effect, but is more
likely to demand a simple paper of good quality with no border. Here,
as in the hall, the wooden (or plastic) cornice with no frieze is
suggested. Grilles are discarded, and portières are avoided where
possible.
THE BEAMED CEILING
In the dining room the beamed ceiling has been found so appropriate
that it continues popular. It is simple, easily maintained, and has
the broad, deep lines that put one at ease. Here it is advisable to
carry a wooden wainscoting up to about 3 1/2 feet, the panels
continuing to the ceiling. Tapestry, burlap, or plaster may show
above. Plate shelves are somewhat in disfavor, partly because of abuse
and partly because the tendency is to eliminate all dust-catchers that
are not necessities. Where doors and windows are built on a line (as
they should be), shelves are sometimes placed over them. But there
should not be too many broken lines if we would preserve the
comfortable suggestion of the beamed ceiling.
PAINT, PAPER, AND CALCIMINE
For the kitchen, painted walls, which can be easily wiped off, and
resist steam, are preferable to calcimine. Tiling halfway up will be
found still better, but tiling paper, which costs more than painting,
is scarcely to be chosen. For the bedrooms the professional decorators
are disposed to over elaboration. A simple paper, costing 15 to 35
cents per roll, is best, or even plain calcimine, which many persons
consider more healthful. The latter costs only $3 or $4 a room and may
be renewed every year or two. Very nice effects are had in a
Georgia-pine panel trimming running to a wood cornice, and in natural
wood or painted white. With this the ceiling should be plain white,
and if bright-flowered paper is used, pictures should be discarded.
Lively colors, if not too glaring, give a cheerful aspect to the room,
but the safer plan is to stick to simplicity.
In the children's room a three-foot wood wainscoting is desirable.
Part of this may be a blackboard without costing more, and at the top a
shelf can be placed for toys. Figured nursery papers cost, per roll,
from 35 to 75 cents, and will be a never-ceasing source of delight. If
the walls are not papered they should be painted, for reasons that need
not be suggested. Isn't it wonderful how far a three-foot boy or girl
can reach?
SHADES AND CURTAINS
We have not advanced much in the production of window shades that will
let in light and air, shut out the gaze of strangers, hold no shadows,
match interior and exterior, fit properly, work with ease, cost little,
and last forever. The ordinary opaque roller shade still has no
serious rival, and usually the best we can do is to see to it that we
get a good quality which is not always reliable, rather than a poor
quality, which never is.
The good old lace curtains that were the pride of the housekeeper's
heart and the jest of the masculine members of the household seem to
have had their day. It has been a long one, and any article that holds
sway for so lengthy a period must have had some merit. But the soft
chintz, linen, madras, or muslin is now the vogue, and there is much
good sense in the innovation. No lace curtain ever made could be both
artistic and serviceable; some persons go so far as to say that they
never were either, but we have too much reverence for tradition to be
so iconoclastic. However, they certainly were expensive if they were
good enough to have, were difficult to wash, and usually caused a dead
line to be drawn about the very choicest part of the room. Linen
curtains, costing from 50 cents to $1.25 a yard, may be had in a set or
conventional design or plain appliqué. Chintz and muslin cost less,
and some remarkably pretty effects in madras are obtainable. Curtains
now sensibly stop at the bottom of the window instead of dragging upon
the floor.
Besides shades and curtains the window question involves not only
light, ventilation, and artistic relations, but such details as screens
and storm windows. These latter matters come under the jurisdiction of
the architect and should not be carelessly settled upon. Each room has
its uses, to which the window must conform as nearly as may be, and
then the outward appearance of the house must not be forgotten. It is
often made or marred by the character and placing of the windows.
LEADED PANES AND CASEMENTS
Leaded or art glass is attractive if not overdone. Small panes are
difficult to keep clean, of course; but we can probably endure that if
all else be equal. In living rooms the upper sash should be made
smaller than the lower, so as to get the median rail above the level of
the eye. In some parts of the house a horizontal window gives a fine
effect, besides affording light and air without affecting privacy.
Casement windows have their points of excellence, and are additionally
expensive chiefly in hardware. The frames are really cheaper, but they
must be very accurately fitted to avoid leaks.
Casement windows seriously complicate the screen and storm-window
problem, and expert planning is necessary. The durability of screens
depends mostly upon their care or abuse, but if it can be afforded,
copper wire will usually last sufficiently longer to repay its
additional cost. Metal frames are not so essential. The best form is
that which covers the entire window and permits both sashes to be
freely opened; but this costs practically twice as much as the
half-window screen.
STORM WINDOWS
Storm windows should be carefully fitted or they will come far from
serving their purpose. If they are of the right sort they will soon
repay their cost in easing up the furnace. Preferably they should be
swung from the top, both for ventilation and washing and to avoid a
check upon egress in case of fire. Some persons object to storm
windows on account of the supposed stoppage of ventilation, but that
rests entirely with the occupants of the house. They can get plenty of
fresh air without letting the gales of winter have their own sweet will.
With floors, walls, and windows determined upon, we have a good start
on the interior of our house. But we may only pause to take breath,
for we now have to give most careful consideration to two decidedly
important factors in our comfort--lighting and heating.