The Business Of Decoration Previous Page (61)
The walls are one of the easiest matters to treat, but one of the most important. They may be papered delightfully either in panels of old French design or in old Colonial reproductions. Better than papering, in many cases, is painting, or even tinting with water color, as this supplies a wall against which pictures appear to far better advantage than they do against a colored background. If the walls are so old that one is in danger of destroying the plaster by scraping off the existing paper, which may be several layers thick, it is possible to tint right over the paper and secure often as good an effect as can be had by applying color directly to the plaster, although a fussy housekeeper might complain of this from a hygienic standpoint.
In many old houses, the ceilings are papered. This is regarded today as an objectionable condition, for it is supposed to have a disturbing effect on the beholder. The theory on which we work is that the floor may have rather a dark tone, that the walls should be somewhat lighter and that the ceiling in low rooms should be almost white. Some of the papers used on ceilings are extremely light in color but they always have a faint figure, and in most cases the room will be improved and heightened by having a coat of tint put over the ceiling as it stands.
In the bathroom, oil color paint must be employed, as this is the only thing that will stand wetting without injury. Of course, there are a hundred improvements of a luxurious nature that can be taken over from the
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76INTERIOR DECORATING
city, in the equipment of this room. Possibly no advance in interior decoration during the past hundred years has been so radical as that which relates to bathrooms. Some of our tubs, basins and tile work would have been unbelievable to people living a century ago. But these things are quite unnecessary in the making of an agreeable, satisfactory room. A couple of coats of white enamel accomplish a remarkable result and provide an unquestionable improvement over the dingy woodwork that may have been in the room before.
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