Japanese papers prepared with what may be called a textile or canvas
surface give the same effect, and indeed quality of tint and tone is far
more easily obtained in wall-coverings or applied materials than in
paint, because in most wall-coverings there are variations of tint
produced in the very substance of the material.

This matter of variation without contrast in wall-surface, is one of the
most important in house decoration, and has led to the increased use of
textiles in houses where artistic effects have been carefully studied
and are considered of importance.

Of course wall-paper must continue to be the chief means of
wall-covering, on account of its cheapness, and because it is the
readiest means of sheathing a plaster surface; and a continuous demand
for papers of good and nearly uniform colour, and the sort of
inconspicuous design which fits them for modest interiors will have the
effect of increasing the manufacture of desirable and artistic things.

In the meantime one should carefully avoid the violently coloured
papers which are made only to sell; materials which catch the eye of the
inexperienced and tempt them into the buying of things which are
productive of lasting unrest. It is in the nature of positive masses and
strongly contrasting colours to produce this effect.

If one is unfortunate enough to occupy a room of which the walls are
covered with one of these glaring designs, and circumstances prevent a
radical change, the simplest expedient is to cover the whole surface
with a kalsomine or chalk-wash, of some agreeable tint. This will dry in
an hour or two and present a nearly uniform surface, in which the
printed design of the paper, if it appears at all, will be a mere
suggestion. Papers where the design is carried in colour only a few
shades darker than the background, are also safe, and--if the design is
a good one--often very desirable for halls and dining-rooms. In
skilfully printed papers of the sort the design often has the effect of
a mere shadow-play of form.

Of course in the infinite varieties of use and the numberless variations
of personal taste, there are, and should be, innumerable differences in
application of both colour and materials to interiors. There are
differences in the use of rooms which may make a sense of perfect
seclusion desirable, as, for instance, in libraries, or rooms used
exclusively for evening gatherings of the family. In such semi-private
rooms the treat