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Show Tie Home Harmonious. Modernizing an Old '-Mantel. T. HE first thing ono does upon buying an old house or moving Into an old apartment building is to alter the old tlmo mantel tops. Ugly man-X man-X teb of tho extremely passe type, having brackets at tho sides, mirrored center pieces with scroll edged frames ' ' and bits of oval mirrors under or over tho brackets, are clearly Indicative of age bordering on decrepitude, i All of the ornamentation of the over-i over-i mantel must bo dono away with If the Interior In-terior Is to be rejuvenated Into anything I ; that looks llko " up to datcness." t Among tho several hundred photo- graphs of successfully executed Interiors which I have beforo mo nono has a mantel I , piece with a built up top. All sorts of Bchemes are attempted to finish tho space abovo the mantel shelf. The most attractlvo fashion is that of having a painting inset in Uic allotted spaco. Tho painting selected for tho purpose usually is cither a reproduction of an old floral piece in quaint style, showing a vase of large rich colored flowers on a dark , ground, with a lacquered finish to make i tho piece look very old, or a fine old por-: por-: trait, alfo properly aged with lacquer. The canva3 Is stretched upon the wall ' and edged with a molding. Mirrors, while they no longer form a part of tho mantel piece proper, are also : 1 elfectlvcly used abovo tho shelf, or in some instances aro framed and suspended '; abovo the shelf. Sometimes the over-mantel space is slm-ply slm-ply Bhaped into a single largo panel or jj Into ono square center panel and two ) Bmall upright sldo panels by means of - ci narrow wood moldings, Tho moldings m , are tacked on to the wall and then tho w'e aPace Is painted, molding and all J or it may be calclmlncd. Iji ; Plaster panels are used with telling rc-ij rc-ij , fult as over-mantel insets. These aro partly par-tly i tlcularly good with period furnishing, (A 1 specially that of tho Adam or the Louis 3 XV. or XVL periods. 2 charming diulng room furnished in dj k William and Mary walnut furniture has -Sj 4 wood pahcllng a llttlo more than half jt i. way up tho height of the sldo wall clear r around the room. The woodwork is painted old ivory and tho upper wall is fS. h violet blu. At ono end of tho room is tho jj fireplace, with a. mantel shelf extending Jj1 J the full width of the room, and above this jjj? ) tho old' ivory wood paneling is repeated v ji clear up to the ceiling. Tho floor covering jjf ifl gray green, with markings of fawn $ color and little flecks of Ivor. The china jji -1, is of purple luster and "Wedgwood. ft it Striking indeed Is a fireplace without (J? a mantel shelf, but with the squaro sago $ green tiling that frames It extending in a flat, wldo panel above the flroplaco as w j high as the celling. Each tllo haea-whlto iff mark in its center, and they aro put to-:V to-:V Eethor with white cement lines, Tho f floor covorlng and tho casement curtains 5 are of autumn red, and tho dark brown j& rurnlturo is upholstered in deep bluo. f The sldo walls are a light tobacco brown, gSj -j and tho woodwork is cream colored. Pi j' In colonial rooms the ovor-manlol Is fc4 ' furnished with any one of tho many good "ff stylo colonial mirrors. The long horizontal V mirror Is moat excellent in point of bal-ijft, bal-ijft, ance. j4 Lighting brackets arc now placed at .Sp I either side directly above tho mantel shelf Jj4 Instead of on tho wall outside of tho ,A f mantels. Whcro it is not feasible to havo mi wiring dono for the actual electric candlo tfi fixtures wax candles In candlesticks are 9tfh used, 9 By Anita de Campi. More unlquo than pleasing is tho arrangement ar-rangement of a French mirror below a mantel shelf, completely covering the gas log, grate, and tiling of an old mantel piece. Tho mirror is divided Into small oblong panels by narrow moldings of whlto enamel. Above the shelf Is a painting paint-ing of Mmo. Pompadour, framed in a dull gilt frame. Candles with rose shades trimmed with gilt laco flank the portrait. These arc attached to tho wall. The picture pic-ture frame just escapes tho shelf, and no objects aro on tho mnntcl. The Avails aro papclcd with moldings on white decorator's deco-rator's canvas. The furniture is up- holstcred In wistaria velvet, and the llne-ly llne-ly Patterned carpet is of dull bluo and taupe. The mandates of present day good taflto require but llttlo brlc-a-brac to be used on mantel sholves. and the llttlo that Is used to be bl-aym metric In arrangement. A center plcco and two side pieces form tho accepted mode. Tho center plcco may be d vase, basket, or bowl of flowers, a small clock, or a carved box, and tho Fide pieces may bo a pair of urns, a pair of candlesticks, or a pair of vases-nothing vases-nothing moro. Many of these modes of over-mantel . flnlsh seem dlfllcult and expensive, but other methods arc simpler. Tho main Idea is to procuro a restful effect by getting get-ting rid of all those tortuous lines all of that undeslrablo mlxturo of beveled mirror and machine turned wood, Thl3 can bo economically d6ne by displacing tho old top and flushing tho spaco above the sho-lf with paper, paint, or calclmlno to match tho rest of tho wall. A pleco of fabric may bo stretched abovo tho mantel. man-tel. 1 havo seen a charming flnlsh mado of a breadth of dull colored velveteen, edged with a Hat baud of dark gold galloon, A breadth of machino mado tapestry Is also pleasing hung across tho apace. With this dull brass candlesticks topped with bayberry candles aro used. This arrangement supplies a radical chang in tho appearance of tho mantel, and iU achlovomcnt would not lnvolvo tho av-orago av-orago householder in untoward expense. ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES. LOIS B.: If you lowor your bedroom molding it will havo tho offect of lessening lessen-ing tho hoight of your room. UrVht yellow chambray curtains. Yes, V think a candlestick would look well on tho table. Havo you seen tho painted glass ones? "Why not buy ono or two of thcao and try painting them yourself? MRS. A. O. A,: I should adviso using old ivory enamel rathor than Btaln on' tho ground floor in your now homo. If you havo mahogany furniture upstairs, tho mahogany doors would bo pretty, but unless you aro going to furnish with mahogany, uso enamol doors llko the rest of tho woodwork. I would havo tho living liv-ing room and reception hall alike and probably contrast tho dining room. I think you would be better satisfied with ll a detachable sideboard, which will (per-mit (per-mit you changing tho stylo of furniture in this room at any timo. MRS. H. P.: Havo youi4 woodwork enameled old ivory, tho wall in tho living room pearl gray, and tho wall In tho bed- il room a light greenish gray. HH MRS. Y. B.: Mulberry is a good coloi and a popular one. You aro right in hav- jH lng for your eJdo walls a neutral gray. lH Tho roso lamp should not clash with mulberry. Yes, tho green tapestry will harmonlzo with mulberry. The largo da-venport with looso cushions is tho most practical, as ther cushions can be turned ll often, and thus tho scats do not wear out, 9 fH as tho davenport seats do when tho up- IH holserj' mado right to them. Have a taupo rug In your bedroom. Uso tan and green striped silk or sunfast for. your ( dining room windows. I |
