To Determine The Color Sense
Color, like music, while subjected to positive rules of harmony, appeals to natures according to the responsiveness of their nerve sense, and the practical decorator in dealing with a customer should discover at the outstart the character of that nerve sense. Some natures respond to the normal colors, barbaric colors. Some respond to the softer tints and are disturbed by the sharper tones. A dulled sense requires sharp contrasts; a quickened sense is satisfied with the soft gray tones.
A demonstration of four examples in color may serve the purpose of determining one’s color sense.
First. Combinations of normal primary and secondary colors, (a) arranged in contrasts, (b) in analogies.
Second. Combinations of tones of the above colors, (a) arranged in contrasts, (b) in analogies.
Third. Combinations of tints of the above colors, (a) arranged in contrasts, (b) in analogies.
Fourth. Combinations of the gray (tertiary) tones of the above colors, (a) arranged in contrasts, (b) in analogies.
95. Do not allow your personal color-sympathies to dominate your work. All colors have their usefulness, for there are occasions when it is proper they should be used, apart from any question of harmony; one must consider always the uses of colors, the lights, and the purpose of the room under treatment.
96. Nature gives to the dark forest depths great brilliancy of floriculture, and dark-skinned people indulge unconsciously the same bright scale of color. But as we come out of the forest and advance in civilization we use barbaric colorings more discriminately.
97. We employ gold, orange or yellow for the north room not for inherent beauty, but for the sense of warmth which they convey to an atmosphere chilled by the absence of sunlight. We employ receding colors in a small room that the room may look larger. We employ cold colors in a sunny room, especially in the summer home, for reasons psychological rather than æsthetic.
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Black&mdashwhite&mdashgray
<p>30. We do not wish to be understood as stating that the work of the colorist is solely mechanical; but we would emphasize that the influences of color are very largely the result of studied proportions. The basis upon which one operates must be s... Color Control
<p>158. Mechanical lighting is so easily undertaken that it predisposes one to extravagance. Properly applied, artificial light adds materially to the charm of a room, but with illumination secured by the mere twist of the wrist one is prone to igno... Color In Large Or Small Rooms
<p>26. For a large room well lighted, yellow, red and orange in delicate shades are not as desirable as orange, violet and russet in light shades. This rule, however, may be reversed for a large room that is dimly lighted.</p> <p>A superabundance ... Color Nomenclature&mdashharmonies
<p>9. Color nomenclature includes primary, secondary and tertiary colors, and innumerable hues, shades and tints. All these colors bear relations to one another, either relations of analogy, or relations of contrast.</p> <p>The Circle Diagram I show... Color Proportions
<p>28. But to arrive at proportions we must reduce the circular table to a geometrical table. We must straighten out the lines so that the exact proportions are apparent. We need not confuse the reader by mathematics, but to establish our theory we ... Color Schemes For Rooms Under Normal Conditions
<p>(TN: left page of two page table)</p> <div> <table summary="" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="right"></td> <td></td> <td align="left"></td> <td></td> <td ... Color Terms
<p>120. In the study of color and its application authorities differ so materially that it is not only impossible to reconcile their theories, but the different terms used to express color thought create inextricable confusion.</p> <p>121. One au... Color Terms
<p> Broken Color. Color changed by the addition of black, white or gray.</p> <p>Chroma. Color.</p> <p>Cold Colors are colors containing very little, if any, red or yellow.</p> <p>Contrast Analogies. Apparent contrasts of secondary and t... Color Vocabulary
<p>126. In music, a tone which is formed by a certain number of vibrations per second is the same the world over, and each and every tone has a name; but in color no such standards exist. People have attempted to formulate a system by denominating the... Colors That Give Size To A Room
<p>76. The wall and fabric designs must be of a size proportionate to the size of the room. The color treatment of a well-lighted room must be subdued to offset the glare of the natural illumination, and the natural illumination be subdued to soften... Contiguous Harmonies
<p>44. For the lower floor he must arrange his colors so that while they moderate the direct glare of a sunny exposure or brighten the cheerlessness of a north light, they will also form a composition that pleases when seen from a point of common obse... Contrast Analogies
<p>17. Diagram III is of the utmost value to the colorist, illustrating not only the composition of color, but showing the origin of each secondary from the two primaries, the origin of each tertiary from two secondaries, and of each quaternary from... Contrasts
<p>10. In music it is an established fact that certain notes used in pleasing combination produce sounds we call harmonies. The moment that more than one note is struck, there is danger of discord, and when ten notes resound to the touch of the play... Decorative Proportions
<p>(SEE CHART)</p> <p>On the preceding pages we present a quick-reference chart of rules that should be followed in furnishing rooms under various conditions of Light and Proportion.</p> <p> 67. A large room with high ceiling and well lighted.<br /> ... Dress And Complexion
<p>160. The nerves of the eye, exhilarated by any pronounced color, unconsciously observe the complement of that color when turned from it. The eye accustomed to the red of a woman’s dress, unconsciously sees a greenish cast in the face that i... Floor Treatments
<p> </p> <div> <img src="/images/img40.png" alt="floor rug" title="" height="297" width="500" /> </div> <p> </p> <p>84. Continuous design in ceiling or carpet weakens the size effect; hence rugs which break the continuity by being laid ac... Harmonies For The Room
<p>48. The floor should usually enter into the color scheme as the low note in the scale. It is the background for the furniture, and should be deeper than the dado or wainscoting. The wood trims—baseboard, doors, plate-rails, and everything ... Illumination
<p>148. For the dining-room and living-room a different plan must be used, because of the different requirements. The table is usually in such rooms the chief feature of the furnishings, and it is customary to focus upon it the main body of light. Whi... Illusion
<p>111. A doorway looks wider that has at the top a drapery which crosses in one complete curved sweep. A side-wall is larger apparently if along the frieze line long, wide loops or festoons are arranged. The same wall is more contracted and higher ... Illusion Effect And Expression In The Use Of Lines
<p>107. We very often notice a room which has been carefully carried out but is utterly lacking in charm. The color seems right, and, considered in detail, the furniture and the furnishings are appropriate, but the room lacks effectiveness.</p> <p>... Light
<p>1. The white light of the sun is compounded of an almost innumerable number of color elements, as shown by the phenomena of the rainbow or by experimenting with the prism. When a ray of sunshine passes through a glass prism it is decomposed or s... Light Color Form Proportion And Dimensions
<p>Whatever is good in interior decoration is the result of consistent relationship between Light, Color, Form, Proportion and Dimensions. The choice of Color should be guided by the conditions of Light. The beauty of Form and the symmetry of Proporti... Light Effect On Color
<p>143. To illuminate a city, with the dull grim environment of streets and houses, a soft yellow glow will give warmth and tone; the greenish yellow of the Welsbach or the blue green of the mercury arc may even be desirable, but the same green or vio... Period Uses Of Color
<p>98. If our furniture is white and gold, it is clearly evident that the colorings of a room should be soft and harmonious. If we adopt the dark teakwood of India or the deep brown of Flanders, our color scheme again changes. The preponderance of w... Power Necessary
<p>157. While the list which we give herewith is based largely upon area, it may be taken as a basis of calculation for lighting equipment.</p> <p>It is estimated that 300 square feet of a hallway requires four sixteen-candlepower, or eight eight-c... Proportions
<p>22. In the use of one color with another of contrasting character the question frequently arises, what proportion of each should be used to obtain the best effect? Illustrative color books show usually samples of color of the same size, leading o... Reflective Power Of Color
<p>The following table will give an idea of the percentage of light reflected from ordinary wall-hangings and papers:</p> <div> <table summary="" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="left"></td> ... Room Combinations
<div> <img src="/images/img21.png" alt="image" title="" height="429" width="650" /> Showing Four-Color Combinations. </div> <p> </p> ... Room Proportions
<p>66. In small rooms harmonies of contrast are unsafe, because contrasts must involve advancing colors, which make a room look smaller. Harmonies of analogy are far better; and as frieze, wainscoting and dado are not recommended in the small room, ... Sequence Of Harmonies
<div> <img src="/images/img22.png" alt="image" title="" height="220" width="650" /> DIAGRAM VI </div> <p>As these twenty-one sections are arranged, one has the layout for a suite of seven rooms; following the top line across in a light scale, the harmo... The Color Of Artificial Lights
<p>152. In planning or matching colors for a room, it is best to consider the purpose for which the room is to be used, and match the colors under the same light conditions that will prevail in the finished room.</p> <p>Deep, full colors are less affe... The Psychology Of Color
<p>94. Whatever may be the charm conveyed by design there is a reason for it. We can analyze it.</p> <p>It has an inherent quality of beauty or historic interest, and there is a definite and distinct reason for our liking it.</p> <p>But the effect ... The Wall The Keynote Color
<p>92. Our theory of color as applied to room furnishings provides always that the side-wall is the keynote and this keynote is usually fixed for practical reasons in sympathy with the furniture; above to the ceiling’s center the note ascends ... To Determine The Color Sense
<p>Color, like music, while subjected to positive rules of harmony, appeals to natures according to the responsiveness of their nerve sense, and the practical decorator in dealing with a customer should discover at the outstart the character of that n... Wall Proportions
<p>62. The wainscoting or dado should be the same as the top border or frieze, but of a darker tone. The intermixture of white or black is always permissible; thus a paper as a side-wall might have as its frieze the complementary coloring with more...