he whole question of household comfort evolves
from the careful planning of the service portion of the house. My
servants' rooms are all attractive. The woodwork of these rooms is
white, the walls are cream, the floors are waxed. They are all gay and
sweet and cheerful, with white painted beds and chests of drawers and
willow chairs, and chintz curtains and bed-coverings that are
especially chosen, _not_ handed down when they have become too faded to
be used elsewhere!

V

THE TREATMENT OF WALLS

Surely the first considerations of the house in good taste must be
light, air and sanitation. Instead of ignoring the relation of sanitary
conditions and decorative schemes, the architect and client of to-day
work out these problems with excellent results. Practical needs are
considered just as worthy of the architect as artistic achievements. He
is a poor excuse for his profession if he cannot solve the problems of
utility and beauty, and work out the ultimate harmony of the
house-to-be.

If one enters a room in which true proportion has been observed, where
the openings, the doors, windows and fireplace, balance perfectly, where
the wall spaces are well planned and the height of the ceiling is in
keeping with the floor-space, one is immediately convinced that here is
a beautiful and satisfactory room, before a stick of furniture has been
placed in it. All questions pertaining to the practical equipment and
the decorative amenities of the house should be approached
architecturally. If this is done, the result cannot fail to be
felicitous, and our dream of our house beautiful comes true!

Before you begin the decoration of your walls, be sure that your floors
have been finished to fulfil their purposes. Stain them or polish them
to a soft glow, keep them low in tone so that they may be backgrounds.
We will assume that the woodwork of each room has been finished with a
view to the future use and decoration of the room. We will assume that
the ceilings are proper ceilings; that they will stay in their place,
i.e., the top of the room. This is a most daring assumption, because
there are so many feeble and threatening ceilings overhanging most of us
that good ones seem rare. But the ceiling is an architectural problem,
and you must consider it in the beginning of things. It may be beamed
and have every evidence of structural beauty and strength, or it may be
beamed in a ridiculous fashion that advertises the beams as