A Monarch's Bedroom

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April, i £9 5

THE DECORATOR AND FURNISHER.

their color, and are therefore the most dependable. Here is a
list of the usual shade colors: White, cream, linen, buff, ecru,
drab, sage, brown, marigold, green, blue, olive, cardinal, rang-
ing from 28 inches to 72 inches in width.

STAIR RODS, CARPET GRIPS AND BUTTONS.

Fashions in these things? Oh, yes. New and fresh every
spring, though good and approved old styles are reproduced.

The stair rod has always been a bother, but we cannot well
do without it, though we have tried to do so, and do yet, in
many homes, replace it with grips or buttons. One thing we
have done away with: brass rods that need eternal scouring to
look decent. When metal is used, it is nickel or bronze.
Sometimes the nickel is merely nickeline, and the bronze brom-
ine. Be sure to buy
solid metal plated with
nickel and wheel pol-
ished, or solid metal
bronzed heavily. Grips
should be filled with
wood,so as not to injure
the carpet. They should
also be made to fit the
angle in the stair, to
hold the carpet firmly
to place, so that it can-
not move and thus in-
vite holes in the carpet.
The rod should not be
too bulky, to catch the
toe of the boot every
time. Grips alone ob-
viate this feature, and
they hold the carpet se-
curely in place and look
well.

One fine style of grip
has a bronze center and
nickel ends, the design
being quite artistic. The
same design is shown
reversed, the nickel be-
ing in the center, and
bronze on the ends. In
fact, there are several
designs, plain and fancy,
treated this way. The
most handsome grips
shown come in brass,
bronze, nickel and oxi-
dized bronze. Grips are
also made of wood, in
walnut, cherry, oak and
cocobola.

Stair buttons come
round, diamond-shaped,
crescent- shaped (this
used at ends, with round
center button ), etc.
They come in the usual
metals.

Keepers for wooden
stair rods come in wal-
nut, cherry and oak.
Keepers for brass and
nickel stair rods give . An Italian Chest of ********

an artistic finish to the rods which go with them. The best
rod made is of solid steel, highly polished and nickel plated.
It is, of course, costly. Wooden rods come in a variety of
styles and woods. A very nice one has ornamental ends, to su-
persede the usual cheap plain round-end rods.

There is a grip made to hold the carpet in the corner of the
step, against the riser and string. It answers a two-fold pur-
pose, holding the carpet to the step or tread, and against the
riser, and also it prevents dust from getting in the corner and
renders sweeping easier. Housewives will appreciate this little
bit of thoughtfulness solidified in metal. Another grip, half
round in shape, stands perpendicular on the step, against the
riser,and holds the selvage ofthe carpet securely against the riser:

Thus it will be seen that ever such comparatively small mat-

ters as the fastening of the stairs carpet receives thoughtful
attention from the mechanical genius, and the manufacture of
stair rods, grips and buttons forms a large and distinct indus-
try of itself.

In the selection and use of such articles, the exercise of taste
and judgment is just as essential as in the decorating and furn-
ishing of the rooms. As a single small word improperly spoken
betrays imperfect education, so does the slighting of the smallest
detail of house furnishing betoken want of taste and judgment.

A MONARCH'S BEDROOM.

THE greatest marvel (in the fairy palace of the late King of
Bavaria at Herrenchi'emsee) is the royal bed chamber,
which is a lofty room of moderate dimensions, with three
windows above and be-
low, the upper being
1 draped with crimson
j silk, that throws a magic
I light upon the masses of
j gold distributed over
I the regal apartment. It
j is divided into two parts
by means of a golden
balustrade, the back
part being rounded.
j Here the king's bed
j stands on a raised dais,
up to which lead five
broad steps, covered
with ruby velvet, on
which are embroidered
I large golden suns. The
j bed is of gilt bronze, a
work of art as we meet
it once in a lifetime.
It is covered with a
I counterpane of gold
I cloth, embroidered in
colors, the. center rep-
I resenting King Louis
I XVI. without his wig, a
large emerald on his
breast, and a sapphire
in his hair. The bed is
surrounded by a canopy
of gold, with a high
i crown of gold in the
center and four enor-
mous bunches of white
plumes at the four cor-
ners; from the canopy
descend the curtains, to
examine which a lover
of art will devote sev-
eral weeks. The outside
is ruby velvet embroi-
dered in gold, so that
I of the ground color
I scarcely anything is
I seen; the inside is cpv-
! ered from top to bottom
j by pictures from the
j Bible, at first sight the
! product of the minia-
ture painter's brush;

and Mirror. (Late i6th Century.)

but, on close inspection, the triumph of the needle-woman's
skill. The center of the background is occupied by a sun
embroidered in diamonds and pearls, and when I heard that
the king never once used this bedroom, I was led to believe
that he expected a visit from the Roi Soleil himself, and hoped
to astonish even his magnificent majesty. The walls of this
room are entirely hung with red velvet embroidered in gold, the
children holding garlands of flowers, being so solid that a real
baby held to the wall cannot stand out from it more boldly
than do these works of the needle. On one side of the bed,
within the space confined by the golden balustrade, is the wash-
ing stand, a tall mirror in gold arabesques, the table of marble
supported by gilt bronzed figures — the basin, ewer, and ten
vases in gilt bronze of a size that would astonish even a giant,

THE DECORATOR AND FURNISHER.

April, 1895

and of a beauty that it is impossible to describe. The other
side of the bed is taken up by a prayer stool in ruby gold-
embroidered velvet, the background filled by a St. Michael in
colors of such splendid workmanship that the original by the
miniature painter, upon which the stitches were worked, must
be less beautiful. Above the prayer stool there is a tiny altar
with a copy of Raphael's Annunziata, which, with the prayer
book it adorned, was sold by the Perugian family, that had
owned it since Raphael's time, to the Empress of Russia, who
in turn lent it to King Louis, one of her great favorites, in the
years that preceded her illness. On the right and on the left
side there are arm chairs of gilt, carved wood, the arms sup-
ported by erect children, seat and back covered with gold cloth,
on which a frame of gold embroidery surrounds a group of

Indian Screen in Carved Blackwood.

children embroidered in colors, works of art that should be
kept in a museum. The room contains besides six stools of
similar workmanship, two white marble chimneys, with Sevres
vases of red porcelain, and quaint old clocks, two mirrors fill-
ing the space between the three windows, where tables of dark
red marble support Sevres candlesticks formed of a hundred
flowers and fruits, placed at either side of alabaster groups of
graceful girls. The velvet hangings on the walls are parted in
several places to admit paintings fiamed by rich arabesques,
which form a frieze surrounding the painting on the ceiling, a
splendid mass of beautiful colors — Helios driving the sun, and
the hours dancing round him. The king's attendant told me
that Helios some time ago was a splendid likeness of the young

king himself, but that one day he gave orders to have his feat-
ures erased, and now Helios is none else than the perpetual
Louis XIV. himself.

My description is so very imperfect that I must add some
remarks for the use of those who, like myself, have seen the
Chateau de Versailles, the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg,
Peterhof and Zarskoje Selo — and who will attempt to compare
these Herrenchi'emsee? It should be remembered that in all
these palaces the mirrors, the gildings, the hangings and the
pictures are old ; that in Herrenchi'emsee all has been completed
but yesterday, so that the bright splendor is quite incompar-
able. In many instances the intentions of Louis XIV. were
incompletely carried out or left out altogether, because the cost
was too high and the means of transport were imperfect.
Bavarian Louis had studied all the plans, had read all the avail-
able literature on the subject, had traveled to Versailles and
back a hundred times, and carried out the magnificent king's
very dreams of splendor. Thus the fountains in front of the
castle do not exist at Versailles, because, having been made of
plaster, a storm destroyed them soon after their completion,
and they' were never restored according to the old designs.
When the king viewed what his mind had created, and his eyes
glanced over the hundred rooms that exist merely in brick and
mortar, across the empty space where the second wing was to
stand, what wonder if his mind went astray as he perceived the
total impossibility of ever completing what would in history
have given him a place with the most magnificent princes of
times of old? His valet told me that he paced the mirrored
hall and all other apartments in the light of 6,000 candles, his
steps resounding in the solitude, his ever-r.ilent lips for once
apostrophizing the images of the dead around him until night
changed to morning. Then he" would step out upon the bal-
cony, and while the sun rose over the hills, by one slight move-
ment of his hand, set the waters working in the fantastical
forms his mind had created for them, and in the glow of early
morning, amid the rushing waters, with beauty around, his eyes
would be raised heavenward and he perhaps deemed himself
one of the gods.

DECORATIVE NOTES.

THE United States produces exceedingly handsome silver
ware, but labor, owing to its high rates, cannot be freely
applied to this manufacture. . The Indian silverware has
as perfect a polish and finish as any made in the United States,
and is much more artistic by reason of the infinite labor,
dominated by ages of native skill and culture, that is bestowed
on the various pieces.

IN Europe tapestry painting in oils is not recognized, but this
method has attained considerable vogue in this country,
and the decorations of walls and ceilings with such work
is one of the finest methods that can be adopted, yielding
magnificent effects. Didactic or religious designs are out of
place on tapestry. Tapestry, as distinguished from embroid-
ery, has the designs woven into it as a part of its texture. In
embroidery they are worked upon the material. Tapestry has
its distinct uses and requires a distinct artistic skill.

IN a college room the pictures may be many or few,
but good taste suggests that in subjects they should
harmonize with the uses of the room. Portraits and
pictures of historical scenes are especially appropriate. So,
too, are copies from the great masters. A crowd of small
articles of bric-a-brac is out of place. Better a few pieces of
distinct merit, a Waukeen jar or a Dutton jug, some Flemish
or German stoneware, or some Bohemian crystal plaster casts
from the antique are always satisfactory. Wrought iron candle-
sticks and sconces are delightful in a room where there is
much red or green.

One may spend any amount of money in a college room, but
charming rooms are sometimes achieved at slight expense. A
packing box lounge with Turkey red cushions, a Japanese cot-
ton rug, fine furniture painted black, walls covered with
sketchy woodcuts, framed in passepartouts, and windows full
of blossoming plants, may witness better work, and afford more
real satisfaction than elaborate upholstery and expensive bric-
a-brac. At eighteen one is easily pleased. It is only as we
grow older that we measure art by the yards, and taste by
dollars.