EFFECTIVE WALL PAPERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 265, 1 August 1908, Page 11

EFFECTIVE WALL PAPERS.

Judging by tlio grey and gold wall-papers, nondescript furniture, and chilly-looking carpets still to be found in oldfashioned houses, a correct fcoling for colour must have been lost for sovural generations (says an Australian paper). Going back further citill, there were some' beautiful* combinations of rich and brilliant tones in ancient capestries, and this was to be seen in several of the specimens of old needlework shown in the Royal pavilion of the recent Exhibition of Women's Work. There is nowadays a strong preference for concentrated tones as against the old lovof' of little scraps of all shades, with 1 no prevailing colour scheme, which state of things spoilt so many rooms in our grandmothers' days. But timidity in respdet .tovcolour still peeps out, and shows itself in the monotone rooms so frequently met with v Just now> sclfcoloured carpets and plain ingrain wall-papers aro very popular, making a pitfall into which the unwary easily fall. Of course, there aro plenty of people honestly pleased with characterless room 3, and. the pity is that there are so many others who, their tastes not inclining that way; arrive at much tho same result through want of discretion in the sense of colour. They do

K • not, know when and where to introduce the contrasting note which means so much. But colour must be handled with common sense anil proper perception. For example, a glowing red paper on. a room with a northern aspect would result in failure at any rato during tho summer months, and a green scheme for a room that'gets tho morning sun only is also wrong. With such an aspect, a huttorcup paper has an excellent result, and almost as good are some of the plain white patterns on a white ground. Tho contrasting touch can easily bo introduced by means of a deep frieze, and when this is judiciously chosen the working out of the colour scheme of any sort of a room becomes at once, both simplo and satisfactory. < .