ORNAMENTAL FLOORING

The hall, if large, will permit of rather more elaborate treatment than
the rooms which are to be constantly occupied. No part of the house
that is in use for hours at a time should be at all over-elaborated,
particularly in its unchangeable features. Care must be taken even in
the hall to avoid any freakish combination that will either stand out
conspicuously or demand a like treatment of the walls.

[Illustration: An attractive and inexpensive hall.]

Some folk like tiling in the hall, and if we have little more than a
vestibule, tiling is quite satisfactory. It is durable and can be
easily cleaned. But if the hall be of the medium or generous size,
parquetry will be found more approvable if the expense can be afforded.
The designs are richer without being so glaring as many of the tile
effects, and the wood seems to have less harshness. Rubber tiling,
however, has been found useful in places where there is frequent
passing in and outdoors, and has been developed in some pleasing
designs.

The additional cost for parquetry is not formidable in a moderate-sized
hall. Prices range from 20 to 40 cents per square foot, according to
design. We shall be wisely guided in choosing a simple square
arrangement that will not protest against any passable decoration of
the walls. Unless the hall is spacious borders would better be
omitted. They need to have the effect of running into hearths and
stairways, and in a narrow passage the center will be too crowded.

Dining room and living room suggest the quarter-sawed flooring, the
former admitting perhaps the stronger border, unless the two rooms are
in such direct connection that they require continuous treatment.
Upstairs, plain-sawed will do nicely for the hall and chambers, and
also for the bathroom if it is not tiled. Borders, of course, may be
dispensed with here, as there should be no suggestion of
over-ornamentation in the permanent features of a sleeping room.

For the kitchen hard maple is found to serve well. One may not find it
amiss to inquire into the merits and costs of composition and rubber
tiling, but they are not essential to comfort and cleanliness. Here we
are concerned with essentials; it is fully understood that we have our
own permission to go farther afield in pursuit of more costly things if
we choose.

WAXED, VARNISHED, AND OILED FLOORS

Unless there are small children, expert opinion and the demands of
be