A manual of home-making

The hghting of the room is an important consideration in selection of window draperies, If the room is poorly lighted, thin draperies light in value, tending toward yellow — the most luminous color — will be the most effective choice, provided it is consistent with the color of the walls. If the room is too Ught i Ito. 21. — Two metbodi of curtaining a croup of winduirs. HOME FURNISHING 61 and siinBy, darker and cooler colors and hc^avier fabrics should be used. Curtain material should jiever be chosen without hanging a lai^e sample in the window of the room in which it is to be used, Ix^cause the color effect is frequently quite dif- ferent under transmitted light. Material with a black thread is likely to look dull and dingy; a fabric woven with blue and yellow threads l>ecomes green when ^een against the light* The effect of artificial Bght on the draperies should also be considered, since colors change surprisingly from their day- time effects. Valance is the tenn used for a short drapery hung at the top of the window. It shoidd preferably extend across the en- tire curtain space, or in emei*gcncy cover only that space be- tween the curtains. Valances are dccoratively useful in fur- nishing a continuation in color and line between curtains that hang too far apart, or in enipha^sizing the shape of tiie window. They may sei*ve as a decorative connecting hnk between the outside curtains at a group of windows, nrnking it possible to dispense with other drapery in the group. Valances emphasize the horizontal in a room. Portiferes, or door draperies, sometimes serve in place of doors in the openings between rooms where only a temporary separation is required. They may serve also to soften the lines of the trim, to cover an expanse of objectionable wtKid in the doors, or to add a decorative note of color or pattern. There is a wide variety of fabrics to choose from. CJenerally a hea\'y fabric hangs lietter and seems more appropriate in a doorway than a light one^ and a doul)le-fac€*d material is simpler to make up. Manifestly, skeleton draperies composed of cords and tassels, strings of beads and shells, are an absurd substi- tute for a useful draperv^ . Door draperies may continue the color of the walls, or, like the window itrapery, may be of a contrasting color. If the rooms connected by the opening require difYerent color treatment, the portidre may be made double. The same considerations regarding pattern that guide the selection of window hangings are applicable to door drapery. I 62 A MANUAL OF HOME-MAKING I Color and pattern,