in Argyleshire, west coast of Scotland. The
chairs in question are covered with sealskin from the seals caught off
that rugged coast. They are quite delightful in a remote country
house; but they would not be tolerated in London.

The question of placing photographs is not one to be treated lightly.
Remember, intimate photographs should be placed in intimate rooms,
while photographs of artists and all celebrities are appropriate for
the living room or library. It is extremely seldom that a photograph
unless of public interest is not out of place in a formal room.

To repeat, never forget that your house or flat is _your_ home, and,
that to have any charm whatever of a personal sort, it must suggest
_you_--not simply the taste of a professional decorator. So work with
your decorator (if you prefer to employ one) by giving your personal
attention to styles and colours, and selecting those most sympathetic
to your own nature. Your architect will be grateful if you will show
the same interest in the details of building your home, rather than
assuming the attitude that you have engaged him in order to rid
yourself of such bother.

If you are building a pretentious house and decide upon some clearly
defined period of architecture, let us say, Georgian (English
eighteenth century) we would advise keeping your first floor mainly in
that period as to furniture and hangings, but upstairs let yourself
go, that is, make your rooms any style you like. Go in for a gay riot
of colour, such combinations as are known as Bakst colouring,--if that
happens to be your fancy. This Russian painter and designer was
fortunate in having the theatre in which to demonstrate his
experiments in vivid colour combinations, and sometimes we quite
forget that he was but one of many who have used sunset palettes.

PLATE IV

Here we have a man's office in Wall Street, New York, showing how
a lawyer with large interests surrounds himself with necessities
which contribute to his comfort, sense of beauty and art
instincts.

The desk is big, solid and commodious, yet artistically unusual.

[Illustration: _A Man's Office in Wall Street_]

Recently the fair butterfly daughters of a mother whose taste has
grown sophisticated, complained--"But, Mother, we dislike
_periods_, and here you are building a Tudor house!" forgetting, by
the way, that the so-called Bakst interiors, adored by them, are
equally a _period_.

This ho