_Relation of Furniture to Decoration._--So much for the treatment
of floors, walls, and ceilings. We may now turn to the more special
consideration of those objects of use or beauty that are to be
associated with these backgrounds--furniture, pictures, lamp shades,
and small ornaments. That these are closely related to decoration
has been implied in all that has been said. They are, in fact, in
themselves elements in the decorative scheme and as such must obey
the same laws. Their value, however, depends more or less upon their
utility, and for this reason they seem to require consideration
somewhat apart from their merely decorative functions. This is
especially true of furniture, which would have very little reason for
being if it were not for its usefulness.
In designing the furniture for the model house the questions that
constantly suggested themselves were: What is this piece of furniture
under consideration to be used for? What form, construction, and finish
will enable it to give the best service? What features of design are
needed to render it suited to its surroundings? In considering the
furniture for the model house it was most natural to apply these tests
to the various rooms in order.
[Illustration: A library desk in fumed oak]
_Hall of the Model House._--First, there is the hall. This is the room
into which a visitor is first admitted, and from its atmosphere he gets
his first impressions. But in this house it is a very small room and
designed to serve not merely as a place for the formalities of welcome
but also as an expansion of the rooms on either side. Its furniture
must consist largely of the fireplace. There is no room for a hall
settle nor even for a chair. A mirror, simply but richly framed, might
hang on the wall near the front door, balanced by a picture on the
opposite wall behind the door. An umbrella rack should stand outside on
the porch.
[Illustration: A hall chair]
[Illustration: A hall settle--simplicity, strength, dignity]
_Hall Furniture in General._--The halls of modern houses vary greatly
in their relative importance. In some the traditions of the old English
manor houses seem partially to survive. In mediæval England the hall
was the principal room, if not the only one comfortably furnished. When
modern houses combine the living room and library or reception room
with the hall, there is need of something more than hall furniture
of the formal kind. The requirements of comfort must be met. But,
generally speaking, hall furniture is of little real use. Odd chairs,
attractive by reason of their oddity, the richness of the materials
used in their construction, or some other assertive quality, but not
fit to sit in, are suitable or at least excusable in the hall. The hat
and coat rack of our fathers has been declared insane and no longer
appears in well-regulated houses. In place of it is found the hall
settle, which is of real use. It should be designed on simple lines and
give the impression of strength and dignity. If the hall is to be used
as a waiting room for guests, a few good chairs, conveniently placed,
will be needed for their comfort and a choice picture or two on the
walls will add greatly to their pleasure.
[Illustration: Two Morris chairs that invite to solid comfort]
[Illustration: A satisfactory writing desk]
_Living Room Furniture._--In furnishing living rooms there is bound to
be a wide range for the exercise of good taste because of the variety
of needs to be met and the large facilities afforded in the markets
for meeting these needs with due regard to artistic requirements. It
will be quite impossible to go into detail in discussing so large a
topic. The important thing is to keep in mind the central idea of a
living room--the place of all places where the freedom, comfort, and
protection of home life are to be enjoyed. The very atmosphere of
the room should suggest simplicity, sincerity, and good cheer. Every
article of furniture should be there to serve a genuine need, and it
should be strong enough to do its full duty. Spider-legged, top-heavy
tables; light, weak chairs; chairs on casters or rockers; sofas with
carved backs or couches with none at all,--these have no place in the
living room. The long, straight lines of the craftsman or mission
style of furniture are in the right direction; but if these be used at
all they must be made quite general, since few other styles harmonize
with them. Wicker or reed furniture is a notable exception. When well
designed it will fit in almost anywhere.
[Illustration: An ample library table]
[Illustration: A plain but useful magazine stand]
The frequent combination of the library with the living room requires a
suitable adjustment of the furniture to this use. A plain, serviceable
magazine rack, which may be easily made, will relieve the tables of an
accumulation of weeklies and monthlies. Moderately low bookcases, with
or without doors, are to be preferred to the more ordinary high ones
because this form harmonizes better with the lines of a room, which are
generally longer horizontally than vertically. If doors are used, it
is well to break up the glare of the glass by heavy sash, the spacing
of which may be arranged in a very pleasing manner. Good design in
library tables calls for ample size. Firmness and convenience as well
as satisfactory proportions should control the choice of a writing desk.
[Illustration: A low bookcase with sash doors]
_Dining-room Furniture._ Only a few elements enter into the design for
the furnishing of a dining-room; but they are evident and should have a
controlling influence. The table and chairs are for a definite purpose
and this should show itself in good design. Heavy construction is
permissible since the chairs are to be moved but little and the table
is practically stationary. Moreover, weight and generous dimensions
are suggestive of bounty and good service. The rectangular extension
table is most readily adjusted to varied demands, but the round table
is preferable for the family circle; and for a company of twelve or
fifteen a large, round, temporary table top, placed on an ordinary
extension table, has been found very attractive.
[Illustration: A round dining table]
[Illustration: A sideboard of good proportions. Convenient and generous
but not overdone]
As comfort is the chief result to be obtained in furnishing a living
room, so richness, within one's means, is an appropriate aim in
furnishing a dining-room. The history of sideboard design might be
cited in proof of this statement, if proof were needed. Probably no
single article of furniture has been subjected to greater elaboration;
but the desirable suggestion of plenty with convenience may be secured
without overdoing it. The unique purpose of the sideboard makes it an
interesting study for one who wishes to design and construct his own
in conformity with the architecture of his dining-room. The buffet or
serving table furnishes an equally interesting, though simpler, problem.
[Illustration: A buffet of simple but effective design]
For the care of the china, the built-in cabinet as a feature of
the architecture of the room is to be preferred to the movable
cabinet designed for this purpose, because of its richer decorative
possibilities. Large, glazed doors are desirable in either case, not
for the full display of china and glassware but to give a suggestive
glimpse of it. As this cabinet is for decoration and not for show, it
is well to avoid plain glass doors unbroken by sash. Leaded panes are
frequently employed with good effect. The decorative effect of old
and odd pieces of china--not too many of them--is most appropriately
employed by the use of the plate rail; but it is better to leave
the plate rail bare than to load it with commonplace crockery and
inappropriate ornaments.
[Illustration: A china cabinet. A part of the finish of the room]
_Chamber Furniture._--The bedroom speaks for itself. A dainty freshness
in all its appointments is conducive to sleep and rest, which it is the
distinctive purpose of this room to provide. The necessary articles
of furniture are a bed, a dressing table, a bureau or chiffonier, a
few chairs, and, if there be no bath room attached, a commode or wash
stand. A couch is an appropriate addition; and here, if anywhere,
rocking chairs are allowable. When the bedroom must be used more or
less as a living room or sewing room, as it too often unfortunately
is, furniture to serve such uses must be provided. In selecting or
designing all this furniture, lightness, and simplicity of design,
combined with strength, should be allowed a controlling influence.
The recognition of this idea has given great popularity to the brass
or iron beds; but it is possible to design and construct beds of oak,
maple, or other woods that harmonize with the rest of the furniture,
carry out the idea of daintiness, and have sufficient strength for
service.
[Illustration: Leaded panes]
Many of these suggestions on furniture design are being carried out
in fitting up the model house described in our introductory chapter.
A small house like this, limited to one story, does not permit great
variety in its furnishings. Certain standard conditions, however, were
to be met here, as everywhere else, and the young designers found much
pleasure and great profit in working out the furniture problems. Some
of the construction details will be given in the later chapters.
[Illustration: A Duxbury chair]