[Illustration:  The mantel with its great glass reaching to the cornice, the wall panels, paintings over the doors, and beautiful furniture, all show the spirit of the best Louis XV period.  The fur rug is an anachronism and detracts from the effect of the room.]

[Illustration:  The rare console tables and chairs and the Gobelin tapestry, “Games of Children,” show to great advantage in this beautifully proportioned room of soft dull gold.  The side-and centre-lights, reflected in the mirror, light the room correctly.]

The easy generalization of the girl who said the difference between the styles of Louis XV and Louis XVI was like the difference in hair, one was curly and one was straight, has more than a grain of truth in it.  The curved line was used persistently until the last years of Louis XV’s time, but it was a beautiful, gracious curve, elaborate, and in furniture, richly carved, which was used during the best period.  The decline came when good taste was lost in the craze for rococo.

Chairs were carved and gilded, or painted, or lacquered, and also beautiful natural woods were used.  The sofas and chairs had a general square appearance, but the framework was much curved and carved and gilded.  They were upholstered in silks, brocades, velvets, damasks in flowered designs, edged with braid.  Gobelin, Aubusson and Beauvais tapestry, with Watteau designs, were also used.  Nothing more dainty or charming could be found than the tapestry seats and chair backs and screens which were woven especially to fit certain pieces of furniture.  The tapestry weavers now used thousands of colors in place of the nineteen used in the early days, and this enabled them to copy with great exactness the charming pictures of Watteau and Boucher.  The idea of sitting on beautiful ladies and gentlemen airily playing at country life, does not appeal to our modern taste, but it seems to be in accord with those days.

Desks were much used and were conveniently arranged with drawers, pigeon-holes and shelves, and roll-top desks were made at this time.  Commodes were painted, or richly ornamented with lacquer panels, or panels of rosewood or violet wood, and all were embellished with wonderful bronze or ormolu.  Many pieces of furniture were inlaid with lovely Sevres plaques, a manner which is not always pleasing in effect.  There were many different and elaborate kinds of beds, taking their names from their form and draping. “Lit d’anglaise” had a back, head-board and foot-board, and could be used as a sofa. “Lit a Romaine” had a canopy and four festooned curtains, and so on.