A manual of home-making

The distinction of a desifirn dej>ends not on the orifdn of ih&\ motif, but on its tk-corative treatment and color. The e^ ness of a pattern iis an eleuient in house furnishing n on its adapt aljility in cok»r and design to the sei'vice it b toj render in tlie room for which it is selected. A fabric with less] intrinsic merit than another in pattern and color may l>e thol lietter choice in some inslanres, hy rea>on of its happier n*hi^j tioo to the other furnishings in the room. By far the greater] number of motifs are taken from nature. Any nature raotll must t)e conventionalized, or adapted to its use as pattern, b}i chanj^in^ its form, size, or color, and arranging it in an orderly way, keeping in mind not its origin from nature, hut its purposa^ Hs de<*oraliun. Any pretense at naturalistic modeling or shmK ing should be very formal in character. That it i^ pattern and not picture should never he lost sight of in judging a design for i flat surface. Medal hons, scrolls without beginning or end, baskets of flowers or fruits, fluttering ril>lx)ns and bow*knot;i, are all absurd substitutes for real design. The figures in a design are parts of one whole and should connected or related in some way. Widely separated motifs tempt the eye to jiunp from one spot to another and provoki one to count rows, and mentally rearrange the pattern* Al effect of restfulness is thereby lost. Patterns that cover th^ ground well are in general better for furnishings than scattered spots. Some patterns that would l>e olijectionable on a flat wall, however, may be used acceptably in drapery, since the fulhiess of tlie folds rearranges the design.- One of thi* characteristics of a good design is its appropriate-^ nesH to the material in which it is developcnt. Patterns may be L Plate IV, — Types of furb with suitable pattern, developed in line and in in self tones and in contraslmfi ^^d vari-colored eBecta. 1 HOME FUltXIsmXG 53 woveUf em\}rokleredj or prinled — steiK^iled, sttinippti, or staiiied —on a fabric. Tlie puttern may appropriately declare the tnaleriftl in wliieh it is dc^velopod. Woven patterns should pref- erMy suggest warp and woof. The* de:>tgn in a raja; carpet, for example, naturally appears in stripes made by the woof, which is much more prominent than the finer tlireads of the warp. There is a great variety of patterns appropriate to printed wall papers that may be selected in preference to those that imitate leather or burlap or silk or oilcloth. A pattern may be cxpresi^cd in Htic^ alone on a background of another color, or it may be in masses or s[mls tliat are iigliter or darker or different in color from the background. In such patterns the shapes ratfier than the details are important* Sometunes the pattern is of masses that are broken up by a variety of detail and color. Pattern as used for walls ami floors