Where economy is not an item of importance, see that electric lights are placed in all the closets, which are turned on with the action of opening the door.

The elaboration of closets, those with drawers of all sizes and depths, cedar closets for furs, etc., is merely a matter of the architect’s planning to meet the specific needs of the occupants of any house.

CHAPTER XXXIII

TREATMENT OF A NARROW HALL

A long, narrow hall in a house, or apartment, is difficult to arrange, but there are methods of treating them which partially corrects their defects.  One method is shown on Plate XIV.

The best furnishing is a very narrow console (table) with a stiff, high-backed chair on either side of it, and on the wall, over console, a tapestry, an architectural picture or a family portrait.  On the console is placed merely a silver card tray.

Have a closet for wraps if possible, or arrange hooks and a table, out of right, for this purpose.  Keep your walls and woodwork light in colour and in the same tone.

PLATE XXVIII

An idea for treatment of a narrow hall, where the practical and beautiful are combined.  The hall table and candlesticks are an example of the renaissance of iron, elaborately wrought after classic designs.

     The mirror over table is framed in green glass, the ornaments are
     of dull gold (iron gilded).

     The Venetian glass jar is in opalescent green, made to hold dried
     rose leaves, and used here purely as an ornament which catches
     and reflects the light, important, as the hall is dark.

     The iron of table is black touched with gold, and the marble slab
     dark-green veined with white.

[Illustration:  Narrow Entrance Hall of a New York Antique Shop]

An interesting treatment of a long narrow hall is to break its length with lattice work, which has an open arch, wide enough for one or two people to pass through, the arch surmounted by an urn in which ivy is planted.  The lattice work has lines running up and down—­not crossed, as is the usual way.  It is on hinges so that trunks or furniture may be carried through the hall, if necessary.  The whole is kept in the same colour scheme as the hall.

CHAPTER XXXIV

TREATMENT OF A VERY SHADED LIVING-ROOM

By introducing plenty of yellow and orange you can bring sunshine into a dark living-room.  If your house is in a part of the country where the heat is great, a dark living-room in summer is sometimes a distinct advantage, so keep the colourings subdued in tone, and, therefore, cool looking.  If, on the contrary, the living-room is in a cool house on the ocean, or a shaded mountainside, and the sun is cut off by broad porches, you will cheer up your room, and immensely improve it, by using sun-producing colours in chintzes and silks; while cut flowers or growing plants, which reproduce the same colouring, will intensify the illusion of sunshine.