Selling Home Furnishings: A Training Program

Chapter VII: Part III: , pp. 75-98. United States Government Printing Office (3)

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2. These emotional values of light, color, line, shape, proportion,
and texture must be employed in such a way that the effect of
each is increased by the effects of all:

_Effects of restfulness and tranquillity result when_--

_a._ The amount and intensity of illumination are reduced.

_b._ The tone of all colors is lowered.

_c._ Horizontal lines are predominant.

_d._ Large size is emphasized.

_Effects of animation and activity result when_--

_a._ The amount and brilliance of illumination are increased.

_b._ The tone of all colors is raised.

_c._ Vertical lines are predominant.

_d._ Small size is emphasized.

COLOR MANAGEMENT IN DECORATION

The moment anyone undertakes to furnish a home, that moment he begins to use color. Ross Crane, when conducting experiments in which color schemes for complete rooms were planned and executed step and step, determined that there are only four steps to take in building a color scheme.[15] These four steps are:

1. Decide on a dominant or controlling color.

2. Decide on the colors to go with it.

3. Bring these colors into the room in everything.

4. Accent the scheme by means of small objects (flower bowl and
flowers, lamps, pictures, smoking trays) in high intensities of
the leading color. These are the high lights that produce life
and sparkle.

Another writer puts it this way:

In deciding on a color scheme for a whole room, fix on some
foundation color, and then introduce relief and contrast.[16]

PLANNED PROCEDURE FOR THE SALESPERSON

With this information well in mind the home furnishings salesman will do well to leave learned and scientific discussion of color management to the scientists and concentrate on a few principal facts which will be dominant throughout the sales procedure.

He may be assured that his customer's decisions to buy furnishings for a complete room, a few pieces only, or none at all, will be conditioned by her likes, by the family budget, by the size and use to be made of the room, and by the necessity to use "left-overs."

He certainly will profit by having a rather definite knowledge of chromatic scales, complementary colors, adjacent colors, nuances, and concentric circles as devices which he may use to show how we get the many varied colors. It is the opinion of leading experts that the average salesman will find it far easier and more satisfactory to talk convincingly of color management for any given room or combination of rooms by using a simple color story which starts with the six basic colors, and which may be understood easily by the customer. If a simple color chart is close at hand and ready for use at any time, the sales talk will deal with facts, not generalities.

He must be able to take an inventory, by personal inspection or through questions, of the color possibilities in the decoration problem presented by the customer. Such facts as room exposure, size and type, wall color, floor covering, furniture already in the room; use to be made of the room, number, sex, and characteristic traits of those who will live, eat, work, or sleep in the room; and approximate price ranges must be known if real help is to be given.

He must know the stock so thoroughly that within the given price range, the designation of the proper color schemes will be comparatively easy. He must use his knowledge of color through the furnishings, to interpret, as needed, two different sets of ideas:

1. One in which the color scheme is daring, with unusual
combinations, startling, gay, and sophisticated.

2. The other, with a color scheme recognized as gentle, restful,
and never monotonous.

If he has a feeling of intimacy with both and will use his knowledge consciously to produce definite emotional effects, in a progressive series, he will see sales come as a reward for his effort.

THE SALESPERSON AS INTERPRETER OF APPRECIATIONS

When next you find a room in the home of a friend, in a model house, or illustrated in a magazine that awakens a response of pleasure when you first see it, stay with it long enough to find out why. Study the handling of color in curtains, rugs, chair upholstery, lamps, and bits of pottery; ask yourself where the abiding interest of the room is centered. Seek to uncover the secret of the spell this room casts over your senses. Unconsciously, you thrill to the thought that you, yourself, would never tire of such a room. It is the ultimate in color management.

This glorious adventure must be experienced by you, yourself. To you is given a power to enrich your appreciation of lovely things, and in turn to convey similar appreciations to your customers.

The salesman who has learned to exercise this power is far from being an order taker or even an order solicitor. Literally, he is counselor and guide--an interpreter of the store services which exist to help the customer, and the one to show the store management the need for expert customer guidance in color management.

If once, you, the salesman, have experienced the personal satisfactions of studying a room which has unmistakable distinction, which literally glows with the light of a personality reflected against a background of culture, understanding, and sympathy, you in turn will seek eagerly to share your adventures in color management with those who come to you seeking to express their desires and aspirations in terms of usable, lovely surroundings.

Difficult? The difficulty is in deciding to make the effort.

PRINCIPLES OF FURNITURE ARRANGEMENT

"Next in importance to the actual selection of furniture and accessories is a skillful and sensible arrangement of it all in a room. Every salesman should understand that in the placing of the furniture you may make a small room appear more spacious; a large barn-like one seem more cozy; express the idea of formality or informality; quiet restfulness or agitated confusion, sedateness or gayety, order or disorder."[17]

One secret of getting a homelike quality in the arrangement of furniture is to assemble it in small groups or units which suggest specific uses, as for instance a reading group, a writing or business nook, a rest corner, or a music section.

GET A CENTER OF INTEREST FIRST

If you are arranging furniture in the living room, decide on a central interest. Often this is called a built-up composition--table, be grouped. A fireplace with its cheerful fire-glow may well be a natural center of interest. (See fig. 31.) A window or group of windows opening upon a lovely vista may serve equally well. If the family is musical, the grand piano may be so placed as to become the pivotal point of interest.

_Secondary centers of interest_ naturally are created once the fireplace, a window, or the grand piano is assigned to the major role. There may well be more than one of these secondary centers, i. e., a writing corner, and a reading group.

_Objects of central interest._--Every wall should have an object of central interest. Often this is called a built-up composition--table, desk, cabinet, or couch standing against the wall--with, in each case, a picture, mirror, hanging bookcase, or tapestry above. The focal point may be a single tall piece of furniture such as a secretary or highboy. The pictures, mirrors, or tapestry hangings tend to build up a kind of "skyline" and the furniture is united with these wall decorations to create the necessary feeling of orderly stability which proper balance and color harmony can give.

BALANCE AND COLOR HARMONY

An effect of balance in the arrangement of the furniture is as essential to the comfort of the occupants of the room as proper lighting, easy chairs, or unobtrusive orderliness. In fact, it is a species of order. It gives a feeling of repose.

Courtesy American Walnut Manufacturers Association.

Figure 31.--Living room showing harmonious arrangement. View from living room to hall in a city apartment. Interior woodwork, mantel, and furniture are of wood in tones which range from the dark chest to the blond chair.]

A room, or a group, is in balance when it appears to be at rest; that is when the total imaginary weight, or pull, on the attention, of everything on one side of a center appears to the mind to equal the total weight of everything on the other side. An accurate feeling for balance can be acquired easily by experiment and practice. There are two kinds of balance: Even or formal, known as _bisymmetric_ balance; and uneven or "off center" known as _occult_ balance.

_Formal or bisymmetric balance._--The simplest form of balance is produced by placing two things exactly alike on either side of a center and at exactly the same distance from it. This is called either bisymmetric (double symmetrical) or formal balance--usually the latter because such an arrangement is somewhat stiff and precise in its effect upon the mind. To test it, exactly in the center of a piece of paper draw a rectangle 1 inch long and one-half inch wide. Imagine this to be a console table. Equidistant from this rectangle, in a straight line, draw two small squares (one on each side of the rectangle) to represent a pair of chairs. If you successively place a circle over the rectangle to represent a mirror, you will clearly see the bisymmetric balance. The effect of formality becomes more marked as you add more units to the group. While too many formal groupings will make the room seem stiff and unlivable, at least one formal grouping may be desirable in every room since formal balance affects the mind with a sense of stability and repose.

If the motive of formality is to be emphasized, the number and importance of formal groupings should be emphasized; if informality is desired, the use of formal balance should be limited.

"_Off center_" or "_Occult balance_."--There is another kind of balance, usually called "occult" because it is less easy to see or to create. It is produced by arranging a number of unlike things with reference to a center on the basis of the mechanical formula that the "weight" of each will increase directly with its distance from the center.

As an experiment in occult balance, draw a rectangle 2 inches long and 1 inch wide to represent an imaginary fireplace. One-fourth inch to the left of the exact center, and at right angles to the "fireplace," draw a small rectangle 1 inch long and one-fourth inch wide to represent a love seat. Now, one-fourth inch to the right of the center, and at right angles to the "fireplace" draw two ½-inch squares to represent two chairs. Together the chairs will seem to the mind to "weigh" about the same as the love seat, and the whole group will be substantially in occult balance. Now erase the "love seat" and exactly in the same position draw a rectangle three-fourths inch in length to represent a sofa. You will notice the balance has been destroyed. It may be improved either by moving the "sofa" closer to the center, which will make it weigh less; or by moving the chairs farther away from the center, which will make them weigh more. In order to create a perfect balance, however, the chairs should be separated and a small rectangle placed between them to represent a table and lamp.

The salesman, if he is wise, will suggest pieces which, after suitable arrangement, meet the real needs and tastes of the family whether those needs be musical groupings, game-corner groupings, or conversational groupings. It may mean the sacrifice of some rule of decoration to make or keep a place for a favorite rocker, a grandfather's clock, or a treasured piece, but careful planning can make such a piece either a featured asset, or an unobtrusive addition if appropriately arranged in a proper setting.

_The master rule for furniture grouping._--There is one all-inclusive rule for grouping furniture: "Bring together in a convenient place, those objects which will be used together."[18]

So many rooms become mere collections of furniture that along with this master rule for furniture grouping is placed William Morris' little rule, "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

If a reading chair is placed in a room, make sure adequate lighting provisions are made, either by the addition of a small table lamp or a standing lamp. If possible, a table should be provided for smoking accessories, candy, or a bowl of fruit. If a "quiet" corner is desired, select one away from general room traffic. If the radio is a feature of the room, and the occupant likes to lounge in an easy chair while listening, place a comfortable chair near the radio. Remember that the chair also may be used for reading, so be certain to provide adequate light. Conversational groupings require two or more chairs placed close together with a table for refreshments.

PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HARMONY

Speaking in general terms, it may be said that things harmonize, or go well together when they are more or less alike, and that they may be alike either because they look alike or because they affect the mind in the same way.

For example, if you cover a Sheraton satinwood bed with a fine silk taffeta spread in apricot, the two units will be harmonious because both wood and taffeta are in colors which contain a large admixture of the same hue, namely yellow. Moreover, they also will be harmonious because the fine lines and slender proportions of the bed affect the mind with a sense of delicacy and daintiness, and the fine texture, silken luster, and pale coloring of the taffeta affect it in precisely the same way. We can call the first type of harmony _physical_, and the second type _emotional_. Both are basically important in the art of interior decoration, and make surprisingly powerful sales levers in dealing with that 60 percent of potential buyers whose primary interest in furniture lies in what it will do to make their homes more attractive.

_Tests for physical harmony._--There are numerous tests which might be made by a salesman on the floor such as placing a square white handkerchief on a mahogany gate-leg table and placing under it a pearl grey rug to illustrate inharmonious effect resulting from the fact that the three elements are unlike in hue, tone (degree of light and dark), defining lines, shape, and texture.

A much simpler method is to compare room harmony with ladies wearing apparel. Let us suppose a woman put on a brown dress, white belt, and pearl-grey shoes. Of course, the effect would be most inharmonious. On the other hand, suppose she substituted a gold belt and brown shoes. A harmonious effect would be achieved as was done in the instance previously referred to, in which a dull gold velvet or satin, folded to the same width as the table, was laid on the table and a deep warm taupe or mahogany-colored rug substituted for the pearl-grey carpet.

Good rules to follow for harmonious physical harmony are:

1. All elements of a grouping should be united by a common strain
of color regardless of whether that common strain is a warm or
cool color.

2. All elements of a grouping should resemble each other in a
textural effect.

3. Accessories should resemble the piece with which they are used
in correct proportion to the whole.

_Tests for emotional harmony._--Important points to remember when making tests for emotional harmony are:

1. Low illumination with areas of shadow is restful, but high
illumination is stimulating.

2. Horizontal lines and long, low shapes arouse a sense of repose,
but vertical lines and tall narrow shapes have the opposite
effect.

3. Dark colors (like low illumination and horizontal extension)
affect the mind with a sense of repose, but pale colors (like
brilliant light and vertical extension) affect it with a sense of
animation and activity.

4. Large, heavy objects give a sense of repose, but anything small
and light produces the opposite effect.

Bearing in mind these facts, turn on the ceiling lights in a room and notice the stimulating effect. Now turn off the ceiling lights and light the lamps in the room. Study the effect and you will see that the lamp-lighted room is more inviting.

In like manner, tests may be made to illustrate each of these points, such as substituting two high-back chairs in a room for the sofa. You will notice immediately that the room is less restful.

Figure 32.--Chart of color combinations.[19]]

SUGGESTIONS FOR ROOM COMPOSITION

Consideration of use will guide one to desirable groupings of various pieces. Consideration of balance will prevent placement of the pieces of heavy furniture on one side or one end of the room. Groupings of chairs and their accessories of lamps and stands should be made so as to foster social amenities.

The following suggestions for room composition have been offered by one specialist in the field of interior decoration:[20]

1. Furniture should always be arranged with the purpose of the room
uppermost in thought.

2. Each individual piece should be placed so that it is convenient,
so that its use is obvious, and so that it is not interfered with
by other pieces nearby.

3. Pieces should be distributed so that circulation is not
interfered with. Keep furniture away from door openings or
passageways.

4. Furniture should be practically placed in its relation to
the architectural or mechanical features, so that there is no
interference with the use of such features. Particular attention
should be given to the swing of doors, the opening of windows,
and the operation of electrical or heating devices.

5. The location of movable pieces of furniture should be carefully
studied for their compositional relationship to the fixed
architectural features--doors, windows, built-in furniture,
alcoves, niches, mantels, paneling, etc.

6. An agreeable balance of high and low pieces of furniture
should be introduced. High curtained windows and doors may be
substituted for high pieces of furniture in a composition.

7. The quantity of furniture used should not give the effect of
either under-furnishing or overcrowding.

8. The distribution of the pieces should be relatively even. In
a long room, one end should not appear crowded and the other
end bare, nor should one wall appear more crowded than the one
opposite.

9. Opposite walls should have similar groupings, or, if this is
not possible, they should appear evenly balanced in quantity and
arrangement.

10. Pictorial wall surfaces (scenic papers, mural decoration,
tapestries, and large hanging pictures) should not be hidden by
furniture or other objects to such a point that their visibility
is marred.

11. Furniture should be related in scale to the size of the room.
Large pieces of furniture creating heavy shadows or dark spots
are inadvisable except in large rooms.

12. Furniture placed with lines parallel to the walls gives a
greater effect of unity in a room than when placed in diagonal
positions.

QUESTIONS

_1. A customer asks: "Is it absolutely necessary to have a pair of these tables? Or can I get a balanced effect without having everything just like soldiers lined up precisely?" How would you demonstrate an answer?_

_2. What phrases or words have you found which seem to make a favorable impression on a "typical" customer, without overdoing the decorative approach?_

_3. How would you employ color to make a small room seem larger?_

_4. Explain the emotional appeal of color. Under what conditions would you employ violet? Yellow? Gray?_

_5. What color scheme would you suggest for painting or papering the walls of a room which has a northern exposure?_

_6. "In the living room, family life should center, * * * and guests find friendly greeting." To the interior decorator as to the furniture salesman, this means grouping. What groups should a living room have?_

_7. How many of the common color names are important in selling goods in your store at this time and how may you learn and apply them to your merchandise?_

_8. Discuss the proposition that you are not properly equipped to meet special color demands when stock merchandise cannot be sold._

_9. Discuss the principles involved in getting the proper color treatments for connecting rooms._

_10. To what extent should a furniture salesman attempt to understand the art of interior decoration?_

SUGGESTED READING LIST

BURROWS, THELMA M. _Successful Home Furnishing._ The Manual Arts
Press, Peoria, Ill. 1938.

Color Radiation, Color Harmony, and Color Schemes, V, pp. 85-95.
Balance in Furniture Arrangement, VIII, pp. 103-123.
Art Objects, VII, pp. 101-103.

CRANE, ROSS. _Interior Decoration._ The Seng Co., 1430 North Dayton
Street, Chicago, Ill. 1928.

FALES, WINNIFRED. _What's New In Home Decorating._ Dodd, Mead &
Co., New York, N. Y. 1936.

Color, IV, pp. 71-85.
Furniture Arrangement, VI, pp. 120-138.

GILLIES, MARY DAVIS. _Popular Home Decorations._ Wm. H. Wise & Co.,
New York, N. Y. 1941.

GOLDSTEIN, HARRIET _and_ VETTA. _Art In Every Day Life._ Macmillan
Co. 1925.

How To Know Color, VIII, pp. 184-204.

JACKSON, ALICE _and_ BETTINA. _The Study of Interior Decoration._
Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., Garden City, N. Y.

Color Harmony in Interior Decoration, pp. 56-100.

KNAUFF, CARL G. B. _Refurnishing The Home._ McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
New York, N. Y. 1938.

Color In the Home, pp. 59, 118, 122, 203-223, 300.

KOUES, HELEN. _How To Be Your Own Decorator._ Tudor Publishing Co.,
New York, N. Y. 1939.

How To Use Color, VI, pp. 61-73.
Lighting, pp. 73-85.

MCDONALD, STERLING. _Color--How To Use It._ American Colortype Co.,
Chicago, Ill. 1940.

MILLER, DUNCAN. _Interior Decorating._ The Studio Publications,
Inc., 381 Fourth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 1937.

PALMER, L. _Using Color in Decoration._ Ladies Home Journal, Curtis
Publishing Co., New York, N. Y. 1930 Reprint.

PARSONS, FRANK ALVAH. _Interior Decoration._ Doubleday, Doran &
Co., Inc., Garden City, N. Y. 1915.

POWELL, LYDIA. _The Attractive Home._ The Macmillan Co., New York,
N. Y. 1939.

Secrets of Color, pp. 39-51.

SARGENT, WALTER. _Enjoyment and Use of Color._ Scribners. 1924.

STEWART, ROSS _and_ GERALD, JOHN. _Home Decoration._ Garden City
Publishing Co., Inc., Garden City, N. Y. 1938.

Color, IV, pp. 44-77.
Room Composition, V, pp. 77-96.
Lighting, IX, pp. 145-154.

WHITON, SHERRILL. _Elements of Interior Decoration._ The J. B.
Lippincott Co., New York, N. Y. 1937.

Color, XXIV, pp. 681-705.

WILLIAMS, FLORENCE _and_ TRILLING, MABEL. _Art In Home and
Clothing._ The J. B. Lippincott Co., New York, N. Y. 1936.

The Proper Use of Decoration, IV, pp. 77-90.
Lamps and Lighting, XI, pp. 242-253.

FOOTNOTES:

[15] The Ross Crane Book of Home Furnishing and Decoration, p. 39. Frederick J. Drake & Co., Chicago, Ill. 1933.

[16] Jane White Lonsdale in The American Home, March 1940, p. 22.

[17] The Ross Crane Book of Home Furnishing and Decoration, Frederick J. Drake & Co., Chicago, Ill., p. 109. 1933.

[18] Winnifred Fales: What's New in Home Decorating, p. 124, Dodd Mead & Co., New York, N. Y.

[19] Reproduced from "The Seng Handbook," The Seng Co., Chicago, Ill., p. 52. 1939.

[20] Sherrill Whiton: _Elements of Interior Decoration_, pp. 665-6. J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1937.

Unit VIII

FLOOR COVERINGS AND FABRICS

Drapery and Upholstery Fibers and Fabrics

Floor Coverings

Selling Coverings for Other Floors

Use of Ensembles in Selling

Figure 33.--A new note in contemporary floor covering is achieved in this sculptured, leaf-design, Wilton broadloom. The leaf design is achieved in the weave. The interesting lamp has a brass mask mounted on wood.]

Unit VIII.--FLOOR COVERINGS AND FABRICS

DRAPERY AND UPHOLSTERY FIBERS AND FABRICS

FIBERS AND THEIR ORIGINS

Fibers used in the manufacture of home furnishing materials are both of animal and of vegetable origin. The former include the true and "wild" silks; wool, or sheep's hair; mohair, the hair of the Angora goat; horsehair, chiefly from the tail and mane; and in limited quantities the hair of the cow, pig, camel, and rabbit. Vegetable fibers include cotton, rayon, flax hemp, jute, ramie, kapok, palm fibers, moss, coir, and paper made from wood pulp. Their general characteristics are discussed here.

Animal Fibers.

_Silk._--True silk is produced by the mulberry silk moth of China. Just how ancient the art of sericulture and the spinning and weaving of silk may be we do not know; but there is no doubt that it had reached a state of considerable development 4,500 years ago. It reached Japan about 1,600 years ago, and India somewhat later. About the year A. D. 550 two Persian monks brought eggs of the silk worm from China to Constantinople in a hollow cane, and the western silk industry was started.

The "wild" silks are produced by other worms, feeding for the most part on other leaves than mulberry. Most of the so-called _tussah_ silk comes from the oak-feeding tussah worm, a native of Mongolia. The fiber is coarser than that of true silk, and so difficult to dye effectively that fabrics woven from it are usually left in the natural ecru or pale brown color.

_Wool._--The many varieties of sheep yield wools which differ markedly in fineness, length of staple (2 to 16 inches for use in textiles), strength, resilience, and spinning quality. Accordingly, wools are sorted and "blended" before spinning, to suit the requirements of the particular fabric to be woven. Carpetings require the fairly long staple and fairly coarse fiber found in wools from Scotland, Russia, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, China, India, and the East Indies. The unsurpassable carpet wools of Persia and Asia Minor are largely consumed locally. Carpet wools naturally differ widely in desirability and cost, as do the many processes necessary to prepare wool for the loom. These differences require emphasis from the salesman in the demonstration of concealed values.

Most carpet wools arrive at the factory in the fleece, matted, dirty, and greasy. They are blended according to formula; passed first through a machine which separates the tangled masses and beats out free dirt; then to the scouring baths, which remove all grease and other impurities; then, after passing through a series of powerful wringers, to the dryer; and finally to the picker, from which they emerge ready for spinning.

_Worsted yarns_, used in making fine Wiltons, body Brussels, Wilton velvets and some chenilles, result from a succession of processes in which the fibers are placed parallel, the short ones eliminated, and the long fibers combed and drawn out into a fine, even "roving," which is spun into a thread, two such threads then being tightly twisted together to form a single-ply worsted yarn. These single-ply yarns are then twisted together to form two-ply, three-ply, or four-ply yarns according to the specifications for a particular weave.

_Woolen yarns_ are made from short staple wool, and depend for their strength upon the minute serrations or scales on the surfaces of the wool fibers, which cause them to adhere, or felt, when held tightly together. The carding machine used in preparing these wools for spinning thoroughly intermixes the fibers instead of drawing them into parallel formations, as for worsteds. The loose roving is then spun into single strands, which are twisted into two-, three-, or four-ply yarns as in the case of worsteds.

_Mohair._--The hair of the Angora goat is closely allied to wool, typically 7 to 8 inches long. It is lustrous, resilient, and enduring, but harder to spin than wool because the hair scales are not fully developed. Mohair fabrics have been used in the Orient since time immemorial, and they were popular in England in the early eighteenth century.

There are wide differences in mohair upholstery fabrics, based upon the quality of wool, number of points per square inch, and height of pile.

_Horsehair._--The hair of the horse's mane and tail is used as a single filament without spinning in the production of upholstery chair cloths, and for floor coverings. In the form of curled hair it is the most resilient and costly upholstery stuffer.

Pig's bristles and cow hair are used for the same purpose. The soft hair of the camel is used in weaving certain oriental rugs, and rabbit hair in certain felts.

Vegetable Fibers.

_Cotton._--This textile is in universal use and requires no comment. The silky appearance of some damasks and other cotton fabrics is caused by mercerizing, a process of treating cotton in either fiber or fabric form with caustic alkali.

_Rayon._--This term, which in French means ray or beam, has lately been applied to artificial silks produced by any of four different industrial processes. Viscose silk, made chiefly from sulfite pulp cellulose, constitutes the great bulk of the rayon production today. It is now often combined with natural fibers, particularly wool and cotton, in drapery and upholstery fabrics which afford the luster of rayon plus the strength of wool or cotton.

_Flax._--This plant has been cultivated since the stone age, and was regarded as the most important plant of commerce until near the end of the eighteenth century, when it was superseded by cotton. Flax fiber yields linen; also from it is obtained the tow used as a stuffer in upholstering.

_Hemp._--The fiber of this plant closely approaches flax in strength but not in luster. It is used to a very limited extent in drapery textiles and cheap carpets. The waste fibers are also known as tow, and sometimes used in place of flax tow.

_Jute._--A plant, grown chiefly in India, the lustrous fiber of which is used to a considerable extent in the manufacture of cretonnes, damasks, and other decorative textiles.

_Ramie._--This plant, also known as rhea and China grass and cultivated chiefly in China, yields a fiber of great strength and a luster about like that of mercerized cotton. It is used in the manufacture of grass cloth, and also of ramie velvets, which are firm but less lustrous than linen velvets.

_Kapok._--A tree cultivated in Java for the production of down; called in commerce kapok or "silk-cotton." Before the commercial development of rayon it made considerable headway as a textile fiber, but now is used chiefly as a stuffer for mattresses and pillows. Kapok has great resiliency and resistance to water.

_Palm fiber._--Shredded leaves of the palmetto, used as a stuffer in upholstering.

_Moss._--The hairlike filament left after the soft outer tissue of southern moss has been removed; used as a stuffer.

_Coir._--Fiber prepared from the husk of the cocoanut; used in making porch rugs and brush mats.

_Paper._--Spun into coarse threads and used in the manufacture of so-called fiber rugs.

DRAPERY AND UPHOLSTERY FABRICS

Tapestries.

Hand-made tapestries are woven on a loom harnessed with thin warps, by passing a shuttle containing a colored yarn over and under the warp thread where the color is required to form the pattern. In every line of weft or filling, the shuttle must be changed every time a change of color is required by the cartoon, or colored drawing of the design from which the weaver works. He sees the face of the tapestry, if at all, only in a mirror placed in front of the loom. Tapestry weaving requires a high degree of artistic and technical skill; hand-made tapestries are costly.

Machine-made tapestries are produced on a Jacquard loom, of wool, cotton, silk, or rayon, or in mixtures of these fibers. They vary enormously in appearance and durability.

Velvets, Velours.

Although the term velvet and its French equivalent (velours) may be used interchangeably, the general custom is to call drapery fabrics velours, and upholstery fabrics velvets. Both are made in a great variety of plain, stripe, and brocaded effects, and with the pile all cut, all uncut (looped) or else partially cut. Machine-made velvets and velours are made from silk, rayon, cotton, linen, ramie and wool, usually 50 inches wide and in a range of prices and qualities practically unlimited. In some of the cheaper upholstery velours the design is embossed, or depressed by a stamping machine, but in others it is placed in relief by cutting away the pile of the ground.

Plushes.

Plushes are long-pile velvets, formerly of silk or wool but now mostly of mohair. Properly their pile is less close and firm than that of velvets, but some of the finest quality mohair plushes have a very close, erect pile. In ordinary qualities the pile leans sharply, and in the panne type it is so flat as to have somewhat the same effect as lustrous satin.

Frisés, Friezes.

These terms are now loosely used. "Frieze" in French means curled or frizzed, and the word properly refers to a class of plushes in which the pile has been completely or partially frizzled. It is now applied to a variety of texture effects in velvet and plush, among them uncut patterns on a cut-pile ground; cut patterns on an uncut ground; plain velvets with alternating lines of cut and uncut pile; and uncut velvets.

Satins and Sateens.

Satins and sateens are made in the same way; the former of silk and the latter of cotton, plain or mercerized. The weave is technically a twill, but so modified that the diagonal lines are not visible, and the whole surface is smooth and lustrous.

Damasks, Armorers, Brocades, Brocateles.

It is difficult to define these weaves in a few words, and quite impossible to describe the extraordinary variety of textile effects produced by modern manufacturers, both in the basic weaves and in combination of two or more techniques.

Photo by Grignon.

Figure 34.--Authenticity is stressed in this handsome sofa upholstered in a fabric which is an exact reproduction of a print used more than a century ago. The monotone print is in a soft brown tone. Accompanying the sofa is a duck-foot cocktail table with removable glass tray, and lovely gold framed portrait of Jenny Lind. The Axminster rug is a "texture chintz" in a tile green with small red, beige, and brown flowers.]

_Damasks_ are pileless figured fabrics in which the pattern is produced by exposing the warp threads, and the ground by exposing the weft threads; or the reverse. They may be made with both warp and weft in the satin weave, in which case the only contrast between pattern and ground is that caused by the direction of the lines; or with warp satin figures on a weft ground of taffeta or twill weave; or with weft satin figures on a ground of contrasting weave. Warp and weft may be of exactly the same color; or of two tones of one hue; or of two different hues. More than two colors are possible only through the device of striping, where warp threads of additional hues are introduced to form stripes which necessarily run the whole length of the piece. Damasks are made of silk, rayon, wool, cotton, mohair, linen, or jute, or in mixtures of two or more of these fibers.

_Armures_ look like twilled weave damasks, except that they have small raised patterns produced by floating warp threads.

_Brocades_ are embroidery effects produced by floating wefts on the surface of damask, satin, taffeta, and other weaves. Gold or silver metal threads are sometimes introduced in the figures.

_Brocateles_ were originally somewhat coarse fabrics of silk and wool or silk and cotton with designs produced by the brocade weave. The term is now also applied to a type of heavy satin damask in which the satin figure is on a lustrous ground of the same or contrasting color.

_Printed fabrics._--Both hand-and machine-made printed fabrics are produced in an enormous variety; on linen, cotton, silk, rayon, mohair, wool, and jute grounds; and on plain twill, rep, damask, velvet, and other grounds.

1. _Printed linens_ are made on grounds which vary in fineness
and smoothness according to the scale and decorative character of
the design. Hand-blocked linens vary in price with the quality of
materials and craftsmanship, and also with the number of blockings
required to form the design. In recent years both linen and cotton
grounds have to some extent been machine-printed with wooden
rollers instead of copper or brass, and against a padded backing,
which has resulted in improving both line and coloring, and in
giving them much the appearance of hand-blocked fabrics.

2. _Cretonnes_ are made both by hand-and by roller-printing
processes on unglazed cotton ground of widely varying texture and
decorative effect, and at prices ranging from a few cents per yard
for the cheapest roller-printed fabrics up to $15 or more for the
elaborately hand-blocked effects. Thick and heavy cretonnes are
made for wall panels and furniture coverings, and a few splendid
figure panels are available in Gothic, heraldic, and _mille fleur_
designs which resemble the old painted tapestries of fifteenth
century France.

3. _Chintzes_ are printed on a fine cotton holland. Glazed chintzes
have a varnish-like glow and considerable stiffness; semi-glazed
are less glossy and more soft and pliable; unglazed closely
resemble good cretonne, but the texture is finer.

4. _Warp-prints_ or _shadow prints_ are made by a process similar
to that employed in drum-painting velvet carpets. Designs produced
by this technique necessarily lack definition, and have a soft
and shadowy appearance which cannot be produced by hand or roller
printing. The most effective warp prints are of plain or mercerized
cotton.

_Embroideries._--Embroideries are justly considered important today. The art of the needle worker ranks close to that of the weaver of fine rugs and tapestries. Two only of its many forms are mentioned here.

1. _Crewel work_ is customarily worked with colored worsted yarns
on a plain linen ground, sometimes completely covered, but usually
left open to form a background for the pattern. The stitches are
varied in direction and character in order to give interest and
richness to the texture. Most of the crewel work sold in the stores
today is made with the bonnaz embroidery machine, which closely
simulates the decorative effect of needlework.

2. _Needlepoint_ embroidery is worked on open canvas. The fine or
"petit point" (little point) is formed by stitches taken diagonally
from one opening in the canvas to the next. The coarse or "gros
(big) point" is made by similar stitches twice the length, and with
thicker yarns.

Practically everything written about upholstery fabrics stresses
their decorative value or their appropriateness to other
furnishings in the room. Little is reported about their physical
structure or durability. Those desiring to make a comparison of
fabrics for breaking strength, weight per square yard, fabric
balance, and resistance to abrasion will do well to secure a copy
of Circular No. 483, United States Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D. C. The title is "Proposed Minimum Requirements
of Three Types of Upholstery Fabrics Based on Analysis of 62
Materials." Copy may be secured from Superintendent of Documents,
United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., price
5 cents.

FLOOR COVERINGS

It is well to remember that the foundation of every decorating scheme rightly should be the floor-covering. One's rugs or carpetings may contrast with the wall treatment, or they may complement it, but next to the room itself they are the largest color expanse. A good deal of thought needs to be given to the floor covering's selection. One can well afford to invest slightly more in this decorative accessory and obtain the soft new colors which lend so much charm to furniture groupings.

Floor coverings of proper texture and pattern can lend much sparkle and life to a room or they can ruin one's most carefully selected ensemble if they are drab and listless.

Floor coverings are divided into two groups: The soft-surface fabrics are made from a variety of textile fibers including wool which is the one most widely used; and the hard surface fabrics, including linoleum and the felt-base prints.

Soft-surface floor coverings are made both by hand and by machinery. The first class includes all Oriental rugs; European hand-knotted rugs; floor tapestries; and a few hooked, braided, and woven hand-craft rugs of limited production. The second class includes a wide range, of fabrics, nearly all of which are produced by the chenille, Wilton, Axminster, drum print, roller print, or ingrain processes.

ORIENTAL RUGS[21]

Rugs are woven in quantity in Persia, Turkey, India, and China, with a smaller production in Turkestan, Greece, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, and Baluchistan. With few exceptions, the finer rugs come from Persia. Small rugs, woven primarily for individual or family use, are made throughout the rug-weaving countries. Small rugs made primarily for export, and the larger room-size rugs, usually called carpets, are woven chiefly in a few great production districts of the four countries first named.

In all oriental rugs the pile is knotted by hand, and in most weaves the wool is also scoured, carded, spun, and dyed by hand. Aniline dyes are used in many of the cheaper rugs--particularly in those woven outside of Persia--and either a superior quality of chemical dyes or the old vegetable dyes in the better rugs. All rugs except the poorest and cheapest are fast in color, unless they have been "painted."

Most oriental rugs are carefully made of good wool, and their durability under reasonable conditions of service is guaranteed by responsible dealers. The widespread notion that any oriental rug, however cheap and however abused in service, will wear indefinitely is of course absurd. Rugs are made of wool, not of concrete. Even in the Orient they wear out in time, notwithstanding the fact that they are not touched by heavy shoes. In the matter of durability oriental rugs have no inherent advantage over domestics. Everything depends upon the choice of wools and skill in handling.

The term "antique" is applied by collectors to pieces 100 years or more in age. Few such rugs are now in the hands of dealers.

Prices are based on the age or rarity of the individual specimen rather than on intrinsic excellence, as is the case with antique furniture or rare books. Only the expert is competent to recognize an antique rug or to judge of its quality or value.

Many rug merchants, department stores, and furniture stores advertise and sell as antiques any unwashed rugs which have been more or less aged and softened by use in the Orient, and which conform measurably in technique and character of design to antique standards. It is also a common practice to sell as antiques purely modern unwashed pieces reproduced in the old designs, particularly if such pieces have been aged artificially by some such method as exposure to bazaar traffic for a few weeks or months. Both practices are discountenanced by dealers of the highest standing, who apply to rugs of these kinds the term "semi-antique."

_"Washing" and "Painting" of orientals._--Oriental rugs are usually woven in relatively bright, strong colors. In order to soften these colors to a point where they can be used effectively in the decoration of modern American homes, most rugs upon arrival in this country are given a treatment known to the trade as "washing" before they are offered for sale. (This is the same treatment given to "sheen type" domestics.) The mild reagents employed soften all the colors of good rugs without bleaching them or impairing their fastness to light. Poor wool is sometimes injured, and poor dyes bleached by the washing process; but the statement frequently encountered in books and magazines that any washed rug is undesirable is utter nonsense. The fact is, that, genuine antique rugs aside, most of the fine oriental rugs in this country are washed rugs, and innumerable fine homes use them. The high luster imparted to the wool as a part of the washing process is not permanent, and tends to disappear under the hard service requirements of small American homes.

Many rugs are retouched with dyestuffs, or "painted," after they have been washed; that is, parts of the design are treated with dyes applied with the brush by hand in order to alter certain colors, usually by deepening their tone. The dyes cannot be boiled into the wool or "fixed," and will fade under strong light.

_Most oriental rug names do not show quality._--The name borne by an oriental rug ordinarily indicates the city or district of its origin, and throws little or no light on the excellence of the individual specimen. There is a widespread but totally erroneous idea that all rugs having the same name are alike in quality. The fact is that except for a few Turkish, Indian, and Chinese weaves, oriental rugs are not standardized, and that two Kerman rugs, for example, may differ as widely in quality as two Detroit automobiles. In buying oriental rugs, as in most other commodities, the consumer gets only that which he pays for.

Other things being equal, the cost of a rug per square foot increases directly with fineness of knotting. Other variable factors include the character of the wool and dyes; artistic and technical skill of designer and weaver; local conditions in the production district; and the interplay of supply and demand in the American wholesale market.

EUROPEAN HAND-KNOTTED PILE CARPETS

Carpet weaving was introduced to Europe by the Moors after their conquest of Granada, and established in Holland in the sixteenth century, and at Wilton and Axminster in England, and Paris in France, in the seventeenth century. Machine-spun yarns are now used in making these fabrics, but aside from this the processes are essentially the same as those employed in the Orient. Pile carpets are made in commercial quantities in Great Britain, Holland, Germany, France, and Spain and can be produced in any desired size, shape, pattern, coloring, or height of pile. Qualities vary widely in wool, knotting, and weavers' skill, and sell in the United States for anywhere from $20 to $200 or more per square yard. The time required for delivery varies from 3 to 12 months or more, depending upon size, character of design, and fineness of knotting.

Spanish rugs, like many of those made in China, are often embossed or chiseled, in order to add interest to the texture and to soften the relationship of strong juxtaposed colors.

FLOOR TAPESTRIES

See discussion of tapestries, under "Drapery and Upholstery Fabrics," page 155.

CHENILLE CARPETS AND RUGS[22]

As applied to floor coverings the term chenille (from the French _chenille_, a fuzzy worm, or caterpillar) designates a power-loom fabric capable of producing rugs in any desired size, shape, design, or coloring. This makes it the most practical weave for special order work. This technique, which is completely different from that used in the production of Wilton or Axminster carpetings, was developed in Great Britain during the first half of the nineteenth century, and until a comparatively recent date the great bulk of the chenille rugs used in this country was imported. Under pressure of war conditions a large number of looms were set up here in 1915 and 1916, and we are now the leading manufacturers of practically all grades of chenille carpetings.

Chenilles without seams can be made here in any width up to 30 feet, and in any length or shape. There are many qualities, varying in character and quantity of wool, fineness of tufting, and height of pile, which may be anywhere from ¼ to 1 inch or more. In hand-tufted carpets the character of the design makes little difference in production costs, and the only limitations on the pattern are those imposed by fineness of knotting. In chenille, on the contrary, production cost increases rapidly with increasing intricacy of design, so that the square yard price for any given quality might be half again as much, or even two or three times as much, for a rug of elaborate design as for a plain rug of the same size. Special order rugs require from 1 to 5 months for delivery, according to size and character of design.

WILTON CARPETINGS AND RUGS[23]

Wiltons are woven of either worsted or woolen yarns on a jacquard Wilton loom. The essential facts concerning this weave from the consumer's viewpoint are: _(a)_ the jacquard device makes possible the production of patterns revealing very intricate and perfectly clean detail, equal to that found in fine Persian carpets. _(b)_ The pile is erect, with maximum wear at the point of maximum resistance, thus ensuring great durability. _(c)_ Beneath the pile there is an elastic cushion of firm yarns, which adds greatly to the durability of the fabric. This cushion results from the unique Wilton technique, which carries from three to six differently colored yarns between each pair of warp threads throughout the entire length of the carpet, bringing one only to the surface for each tuft, while the others remain in the back.

All carpets of this weave are by no means equal in quality, durability, and value. In fact, Wiltons vary widely in all respects save that of the type of loom on which they are woven. They differ in the cost, fineness, manner of blending, and spinning, and in quantity of wool, which is the physical basis of excellence; in the use of worsted and woolen yarns; in height of pile; and in the number of points or tufts, per square inch (ranging from about 60 to 128 points per square inch); in quality and cost of dyestuffs; in perfection of finish; and in rigidity of inspection standards.

Customers cannot be stirred to enthusiasm by such statements as that a given rug is a 2-sheet, 131-2 pick, 256 pitch, 6-frame Wilton. Many women can, however, be interested in a picture of a harnessed loom at work, with a brief explanation, or caught by casual mention of the fact that in the standard 5-frame Wiltons there are 1,280 separate worsted yarns in the 27-inch width, and 5,120 in a 9-foot seamless rug. Most women are interested in the sources and treatment of wools, care in dyeing, weaving, and inspection.

BODY BRUSSELS CARPETS AND RUGS

The body Brussels was an immensely popular weave from the invention of the power loom to the beginning of the present century. Its sale is now only slight although we may see a come-back of the Brussels in streamlined texture effects. It is woven of worsted yarns only, on the same kind of loom as the Wilton, and with substantially the same structure. They differ in that the pile loops of the Brussels carpet are not cut. They are woven with three, four, or five frames of worsted yarns, their cost and value depending upon the number of frames, number of loops or points per square inch, quality of wool, and certain other technical variants. They are not produced on broad looms.

AXMINSTER CARPETS AND RUGS

Axminster rugs are in great demand in this country because of the unlimited possibilities of pattern and coloring. An additional feature is their moderate price which is a result of mass production techniques. This quality offers the consumer a seamless rug up to 18 feet wide.

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Selling Home Furnishings: A Training ProgramChapter VII: Part III: , pp. 75-98. United States Government Printing Office (3)

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