SELECTION OF WALLPAPER The great variety in color and design of wall papers now available renders choice a matter of difficulty; but, where an artistic room is desired, the importance of careful selection cannot be over-estimated; for, however much skill may have been expended in the painting, the decor ative effect will be a failure unless the tint of the paper corresponds.
Papers in patterns, in books, or in small pieces, look very different when hung in mass upon the walls, and great care therefore is neces sary in their selection. It is well to select first of all two or three patterns which seem the most suitable for the particular rooms in which the papers are to be hung; and lien to get pieces or long lengths of each, and have them held up on the wall so that the effect and general tone may be seen in daylight and gaslight; for many pa pers that look well in the daytime are anything but pleasant at night, while some of the darker toned papers absorb so much light, that when hung it may he found that the lighting arrange ment in the room is altogether insufficient.
A well proportioned and otherwise well-de signed room is often absolutely ruined by the bad taste shown in the wall-covering.
When selecting the paper for a room, special attention should be given to three things: (1) The aspect of the room; (2) The outlook ; (3) The purpose for which the room is to be used.
The apparent size of a room can be altered by the wallpaper. A long patterned paper should never be used for small rooms, nor should a deep border be used with low ceilings. A light blue paper makes a room look larger; dark col ors or papers with large patterns have the op posite effect. To make a room appear narrower, it should be made to appear higher; but if it is undesirable to give the appearance of increased height, a paper with a large bold pattern, strong ly colored, will apparently reduce the width of the room.
The length of a room is seemingly increased by making it appear lower and narrower; and its length is seemingly reduced by making it appear wider and higher. The appearance of width is given to a room by covering the walls with a paper on which the pattern is large at the bot tom and decreases towards the top. The height of a room is seemingly increased by lessening the plane surface of the ceiling; the way to do this is to widen that portion of the cornice moulding that rests ou the ceiling, and to use a wallpaper that has a vertical pattern. To lessen the apparent height, the plane surface of the ceiling must be increased, and a wallpaper with a horizontal pattern used; the addition of a dado will add to the effect. Lines running across the floor of a room (parquet flooring, for example) apparently shorten, and to some extent heighten and widen a room. Lines running in the direc tion of the length of the room apparently reduce its height and width and increase its length. A polished floor, by reflecting all vertical lines, seemingly increases the height of an apartment.
Papers having warm colors should be select ed for rooms with northern aspects; and for rooms with a southern aspect the colors should be cold. Rooms looking into gardens, or having other pleasant aspects, may have a paper with ornamental designs of contrasting colors.
The paper for bedrooms should be light and clean-looking, those fairly well covered by a run ning pattern being the best; anything in the way of separate bunches of fruit or flowers, or complex patterns which attract the attention, should be avoided, as they have an extremely irritating effect on the nerves in cases of ill ness or sleeplessness. A room intended for a study or a studio, or for a workroom of any sort, should be covered with a paper somewhat in keeping with the work to be done there.
Whatever special characteristics may be re quired, the general character of the decoration should be restful to the eye. In rooms where the view from the window is blocked by the backs of houses, a dead wall, or other unlovely object, special attention must be bestowed on the dec oration of the walls and ceiling. The paper may be suggestive of greenery and flowers, regard being had, of course, to the purpose for which the room is to be used. In a room with such an aspect, the treatment of the ceiling is a matter of considerable importance.
Public houses, refreshment rooms, music rooms, or any place intended for amusement and recreation, should be covered with paper of a light, ornamental, and brilliant design.
Varnished wallpapers are suitable only for kitchens, staircases, or passages, where the walls are liable to become soiled from various causes.
In all wall decoration, the size of a room is a very important factor in choosing the paper; for instance, large spaces require a bold and free design if the wallpaper is to be the prin cipal decoration.
Green papers, if they contain arsenic, are dangerous; as much as from 6 to 70 grains per square foot has been found in some papers. Green wallpapers should be avoided unless war ranted to be non-arsenical. To test a wallpaper for arsenic, lay a small piece of the suspected paper in a watch-glass, porcelain spoon, or other suitable vessel, and pour over it enough house hold ammonia to cover it; let it stand for a few minutes, and then drop into the solution a piece of nitrate of silver (lunar or stick caustic). If a yellow precipitate forms as the silver dissolves, arsenic is present in the paper, which should be therefore rejected. If the silver dissolves with out any yellow appearing in the precipitate, there is no arsenic present.
Wallpapers other than green should be war ranted free from copper or mercury. Any poison contained in the coloring matter of wallpapers is generally given off in the form of dust, or of poisonous fumes when a room becomes hot.
Care should be taken, in handling and hang ing large-patterned and highly-colored papers, not to smudge them.