SUBDUED COLORS IN DECORATION.

Manawatu Herald, 25 July 1896, Page 4

SUBDUED COLORS IN DECORATION.

The Popular but Mistaken Fad of I"-ar : iilshlng In Faded Oat Tints. What with our ' ■symphonies in gray" and our' 1 nocturnes in diluted bluo," ifc has beconio a question •whoiher wo are nob carrying this fad for subdued coloring in decoration to a point where it ha 3 booonie ridiculous, to say the least. People who aspiro to bo in fashion seom to consider it 2 - vulgar and in decidedly bad form to 3 * -ifc faded out tints in furnishing, S^fn^M ." lilo "orator and Furnisbaccord ng td *.. , nal , pursued in thl er. The method v* 4 10n t is certainBpecles of household adow ,no k h ly a safe one when people havo , .., i;,.?---edge of the laws of color or taste iv ' l '",_ Beleotion. The formula is about as to** h'Ws: They first select their carpet of a pattern that is usually described as quSot and unobtrusive. For the walls they will choose one of the colors shown in the carpet, for tho draperies another, for the upholstery anothoi 1 or perhaps several, and bo on until wo have ono of those mifk and water combinations obtained by tho toning up pro'jess. There are those who praotica this system to such an extent that one might bo tempted to believe it o;> poaccl to all canons of art to make ush ;." tho primary colors in decorativo schemes. Let us imagino a room got up in this fashion, tho prevailing coloring being pale coral and green, perhaps a perfect dream of soft harmonious tones, and the lady to preside over it all with a complexy ion of — well, not tho pink and whito of '■■ ' the new blown rose, but something far removed from it. If nature has been unkind to her ia this regard, can she not see that by selecting for her domestic environment such a system of coloring she rendors her facial dofects the more conspicuous? It is a mistake to suppose that only by using tho faded scale of coloring can we secure that "restful feeling" wo hear so much about nowadays. Some of the most charming interiors to be seen are those in which tho color schemo ranges from golden olive to tho warm rich browns, with the primary tints to emphasize the ornamental * portions, bright bits of color in the shape of pottery and water colors in gold frames to accentuate and punotunte, as it were, the points of special intorest.