HOUSE DECORATION.* Warrrurn it be the influence of the carpenters'
and engineering shops of the public schools, or the way in which the possession of motor-cars familiarises some of their owners with the use of tools, or merely irritation at the incom- petence and lack of conscience exhibited by not a few builders' and upholsterers' men, it seems to be the case that many people whose livelihood does not depend upon manual work are taking to the use of the plane, the chisel, and the saw by way of a hobby, or are finding an interest in the practical details of building construction and house decoration. It is also noticeable that, in various parts of the country, men of education and artistic taste may be met with who are supple- menting a private income, or are endeavouring to earn a living, by making, for sale, furniture of greater individuality and charm than is commonly to be seen in the shops. Whether, in time, public appreciation of fine design and execution will grow to such a degree that the status of workers in wood will bo appreciably raised by young men of a higher social position entering the craft than are now to be found in it, we cannot
* (I) House Decoration and Repairs. By C. Orlando Law. London : John Murray. Coed—(2) House Beautiful and Useful : being Practical Suggestions on Furnishing and Decoration, By J. H. Elder-Duncan. London : Cassell and Ca De. net]
tell ; but in the lifetime of the present generation something of this sort has surely taken place in the case of workers in metal. When Mr. Murray finds it worth while to issue a book of House Decoration and Repairs for the amateur, it would appear that our speculations as to the number of householders disposed to put off to the last moment by their own exertions the descent of the builder's men upon their homes are well founded. Mr. C. Orlando Law's book, which costs six shillings, is a thoroughly practical work. It gives particulars of prices, and all kinds of valuable little hints and explanations as to the sort of paint, the sort of brushes, the sort of nails, and the sort of sandpaper, of which the professional writer is wont to assume, quite erroneously of course, that the amateur has no need. Reopening the book at random, we come on the problem of what to do when, after laying the carpet, it is found to be so thick that the door of the room will not move over it. The amateur and the average carpenter think there is nothing for it but to take the door off its hinges and saw a bit off the bottom. By no means, says Mr. Law. Certainly unscrew the hinges, but "take them to the iron- monger, asking him to (provide you with rising butts of the same size, these being hinges made with slightly slanting joints, which slowly lift the door as it opens, so that when it stands wide open it will be found to be half an inch above the floor level, while it fits quite tightly against the floor when closed." Our own ideas of household decoration are not always the same as the ingenious Mr. Law's, we confess—some of his make- believes will certainly not do—but ordinarily his words are those of truth and soberness. The book is the only one we know which, as the author claims, " while describing various colour and decoration schemes, gives practical instructions as to the actual execution of such work, together with the cost of and means of obtaining the different materials required." Many of Mr. Law's readers will no doubt be inclined to follow his advice to take a house which is sound from a structural and sanitary point of view and is desirable by reason of accommodation and situation, and then carry out themselves the repairs and decorations. Many landlords, particularly in rural districts, are only too ready to let a house at a low rent, or for no rent at all the first year, if they are not called upon to undertake what strikes them as " a great deal of doing up." —With Mr. Law's volume we may mention Mr. J. H. Elder- Duncan's House Beautiful and Useful. There are some ideas in it, but it is not such a practical book as House Decoration and Repairs.
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