Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art - Fawcett Yearbook (Newark, NJ)

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INTERIOR DECORATION re pensive than had it been comfortless, inconvenient and in bad taste. A contemporary fashion is a passing phase, but the choice of a basically correct background and specimens of the best works of art that have been produced in a period of over three hundred years is one that can only increase in charm, rarity and value. [21]

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INTERIOR DECORATION T is a known fact that the history of decoration is inter- woven with the history of mankind. The most prim- itive peoples had a desire, very crudely expressed it is true, to make their dwelling places individual and of interest to themselves. A rude doorway, hewn from a panuie tree, was carved in a curious notched effect of geometric design. A little stool was covered with the skin of ante- lope or deer; it too was decoratively carved. The jungle grass, carefully woven for the roof, is the forerunner of the later thatch. With highly civilized races this inborn desire for beauty again finds outward expression in the home but now the setting must be more complex and, from the bewildering variety and range of objects available, the difficulty is to select just those things which will prove harmonious and “right” in order that a suitable and distinc- tive setting for a home and its inhabitants may be created. Charm is not achieved by blindly following the period work of the past. The only effect worth attaining is a gracious and enduring one— one that accentuates the personality of the occupant, as well as the dignity and comfort of the home. First of all, one must answer this question “What do I wantr” There may be decided ideas about the basic period to be used. Perhaps walls of rich brown pine would prove an interesting background. Certainly the decorative treatment of walls, as well as the height of the ceilings and the general size of the room, re- quires careful consideration. Should drapery and rugs be strongly contrasted in color, then one will accentuate the other. Again, one tone throughout may be better with the particular furniture to be used; the effect is softer. In this way a general idea is worked out. Odd to relate, it is usually by a gradual elimination of previous ideas that a concrete decorative scheme is evolved. All of the essentials having been decided, including the lighting effect upon draperies, it is time to think of accessories, and it is highly im- portant that these decorative objects be happy in their enviroment —that they be a truly intimate expression of their owner—for under their magic, what might at first glance have appeared a slightly cold room becomes a living thing of personality. It is impossible to over-estimate the influence exercised by one’s surroundings. A home furnished with a view to the comfort and convenience of the occupant, and in good taste, is a lasting source of enjoyment and of quite legitimate pride, and it is no more ex- [ 20 |

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CERAMICS FOC CTE Cen) Fee ery! i) i) Le