eiling, if lighter in tone than the walls, gives a sense
of airiness to a room. Floors, whether of exposed wood, completely
carpeted, or covered by rugs, must be enough darker than your
sidewalls to "hold down your room," as the decorators say.

If colour is to play a conspicuous part, brightly figured silks and
cretonnes being used for hangings and upholstery, the floor covering
should be indefinite both as to colour and design. On the other hand,
when rugs or carpets are of a definite design in pronounced colours,
particularly if you are arranging a living-room, make your walls,
draperies and chair-covers plain, and observe great restraint in the
use of colour. Those who work with them know that there is no such
thing as an ugly colour, for all colours are beautiful. Whether a
colour makes a beautiful or an ugly effect depends entirely upon its
juxtaposition to other tones. How well French milliners and
dressmakers understand this! To make the point quite clear, let us
take magenta. Used alone, nothing has more style, more beautiful
distinction, but in wrong combination magenta can be amazingly,
depressingly ugly. Magenta with blue is ravishing, beautiful in
the subtle way old tapestries are: it touches the imagination whenever
that combination is found.

PLATE VI

The table is modern, but made on the lines of a refectory table,
well suited in length, width and solidity for board meetings,
etc.

The chairs are Italian in style.

[Illustration: _Another View of the Same Office_]

We grow up to, into, and out of colour schemes. Each of the Seven Ages
of Man has its appropriate setting in colour as in line. One learns
the dexterous manipulation of colour from furnishing, as an artist
learns from painting.

Refuse to accept a colour scheme, unless it appeals to your individual
taste--no matter who suggests it. To one not very sensitive to colour
here is a valuable suggestion. Find a bit of beautiful old silk
brocade, or a cretonne you especially like, and use its colour
combinations for your room--a usual device of decorators. Let us
suppose your silk or cretonne to have a deep-cream background, and
scattered on it green foliage, faded salmon-pink roses and little,
fine blue flowers. Use its prevailing colour, the deep cream, for
walls and possibly woodwork; make the draperies of taffeta or rep in
soft apple-greens; use the same colour for upholstery, make shades for
lamp and electric lig