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Home in Modern age
by Andrew Caxton
The custom of appropriate and harmonious treatment of home
decorating, interior decorations and suitable furniture, seems
to have been in a great measure abandoned during the present
century, owing perhaps to the indifference of architects of the
time to this subsidiary but necessary portion of their work, or
perhaps to a desire for economy, which preferred the cheapness
of painted and artificially grained pine-wood, with decorative
effects produced by wall papers, to the more solid but
expensive though less showy wood-panelling, architectural
mouldings, well-made panelled doors and chimney pieces, which
one finds, down to quite the end of the last century, even in
houses of moderate rentals. Furniture therefore became
independent and "beginning to account herself an Art,
transgressed her limits"... and "grew to the conceit that it
could stand by itself, and, as well as its betters, went a way
of its own."
Interior Conservatory Finishing
The interiors, handed over from the builder, as it were, in
blank, are filled up from the upholsterer's store, the
curiosity shop, and the auction room, while a large
contribution from the conservatory or the nearest florist gives
the finishing touch to a mixture, which characterizes the
present taste for furnishing a boudoir or a drawing room.
There is, of course, in very many cases an individuality gained
by the "omnium gatherum" of such a mode of furnishing. The
cabinet which reminds its owner of a tour in Italy, the quaint
stool from Tangier, and the embroidered piano cover from Spain,
are to those who travel, pleasant souvenirs; as are also the
presents from friends (when they have taste and judgment), the
screens and flower-stands, and the photographs, which are
reminiscences of the forms and faces separated from us by
distance or death. The test of the whole question of such an
arrangement of furniture in our living rooms, is the amount of
judgment and discretion displayed. Two favorable examples of
the present fashion, representing the interior of the Saloon
and Drawing Room at Sandringham House, are here reproduced.
How The Gather Inheritance Influenced On The Home Decorations
There is at the present time an ambition on the part of many
well-to-do persons to imitate the effect produced in houses of
old families where, for generations, valuable and memorable
articles of decorative furniture have been accumulated, just as
pictures, plate and china have been preserved; and failing the
inheritance of such household gods, it is the practice to
acquire, or as the modern term goes, "to collect," old
furniture of different styles and periods, until the room
becomes incongruous and overcrowded, an evidence of the wealth,
rather than of the taste, of the owner. As it frequently happens
that such collections are made very hastily, and in the brief
intervals of a busy commercial or political life, the
selections are not the best or most suitable; and where so much
is required in a short space of time, it becomes impossible to
devote a sufficient sum of money to procure a really valuable
specimen of the kind desired; in its place an effective and low
priced reproduction of an old pattern (with all the faults
inseparable from such conditions) is added to the
conglomeration of articles requiring attention, and taking up
space.
The limited accommodation of houses built on ground which is
too valuable to allow spacious halls and large apartments,
makes this want of discretion and judgment the more
objectionable. There can be no doubt that want of care and
restraint in the selection of furniture, by the purchasing
public, affects its character, both as to design and
workmanship.
About The Author: Andrew Caxton runs the online magazine on
home decorating and design
http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com. Your guide on home
decorating and how to choose from hundreds of decorating ideas
and tips. Andrew's site will inspire you and capture the look
you want. At his site you can find also reviews on flooring,
area rugs, blinds and railings.
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