Harmony, of color and style (1879)

(Both the modern conception of nineteenth-century interiors as all scarlet flocked wallpaper, and the "Victorian Revival" fad for walls of deep burgundy, hunter green or teal are far from the complex arrangements of carefully placed hues advocated by the taste-makers of the time. Colors like "orange-maroon" and "bluish-pink" are frequently referenced in period writings, as are color schemes like blue walls with "orange-green" doors and red accents mentioned in the following article. -TPR)

Harmony of color and style are the objects to attain in all house decoration, whether costly or simple, and it is of course necessary that the room and furniture should look suitable to their purpose.

In endeavoring to make a drawing-room bright we should avoid garishness and glitter as carefully as dinginess and gloom. Perhaps the best treatment of walls is that of arranging a dado upon them. Make the wall cream color, for example, but the dado, a portion below the line, we paint maroon or chocolate; on this lower portion a pattern called a dado rail is placed. A cream colored wall contrast well with a dark blue dado. As the wall should look somewhat neutral, the blue should consist of ultramarine, with a little black and a little white added to give a certain amount of neutrality. With a rich and slightly orange-maroon dado a gray-blue wall of middle tint would accord well. Quaintness of effect is given by dados varying in height, in some cases they may be two-thirds the height of the room, and according to circumstances will ordinarily be from eighteen inches to seven feet in height. The more difficult it is to detect proportions in a wall the better, and it should never be divided into equal parts.

The carpet should be dark, but not dull, one of Persian pattern with a border all around looks well. A space should be left between the carpet and the skirting-board, and all the floor uncovered may be stained and polished in the ordinary way.

The best materials for curtains are woolen serge and Bolton sheeting of Pompeiian red or bluish gray shades, and with or without patterns on them. Woolen serge is soft looking, inexpensive, and hangs well, but Bolton sheeting is still cheaper, and a good effect at a small cost can be produced by working on curtains made of this material in a border of colored crewels. The wood-work of a room should generally be of darker tints than the walls. It is of paramount importance that the doors should be conspicuous. The articles of furniture may be in ebony or walnut, some of each if desired. The tables of different sizes and shapes, if possible; none large, but very firm on their legs. Any protruding articles of furniture, such as cabinets, etc., should be arranged at the top and bottom of the room, smaller things at the sides, and the same with the wall decorations, flat ones, such as pictures on the sides, and hanging shelves and brackets top and bottom. To lessen the appearance of length, small corner cupboards may be introduced.

The pictures desired should be hung in narrow gilt frames with small flat margins of black, and should be water-colors. If the wall be citrine in color, the doors should be dark, low-toned Antwerp blue, or it may be of dark bronze-green, but in the latter case, a line of red should be run around the inside of the architecture. If the wall be blue, a dark orange-green will do well for the door, or an orange-maroon, but a line of red around the door will improve it. A wall of bright turquoise in color will require a door of Indian red.

These are mere illustrations of numerous harmonious combinations which may be made, but they serve to show what is meant by harmonious decoration. If it is thought necessary to place an ornament on a door-panel, it is better quaint or slightly heraldic in appearance. A monogram may sometimes be applied to a door, but it should not be repeated frequently. In regard to the skirting in a room, it should always be dark, and it would be difficult to find a room where the skirting was light, which would be altogether satisfying to the eye. The skirting may often be black, the greater portion of it varnished, with parts left "dead," however, to obtain the contrast between a bright and dead surface. A few lines of color may be run upon its moldings, but not to ornament it, for its treatment must be simple to get a retiring, yet bold effect. If black is not desirable, brown, rich maroon, dull blue or bronze-green may be employed.

Of necessity, all decorations will cost time, labor and a comparatively small amount of money, but, as William Morris truly said: "All who care for art must make sacrifices for it, much greater in these days of transition than they would have to do if art were an admitted necessity, and cherished by all men." There are a few who, having given thought, time and means to making their homes truly "houses beautiful," do not feel repaid for their exertions, or, at least, consider them anything but profitless.

from "Hints for House Decoration" (Arthur's Illustrated Home Magazine, November 1879)