way. A room, for instance, paneled with oak, with an
oriental rug with soft red in it, red hangings, and a touch of red in an
old stained glass panel in the window, and red velvet cushions on the
window seat, would have much more warmth and charm than if the walls
were covered entirely with red. One red cushion is often enough to give
the required note. The effect of color is very strong upon people,
although a great many do not realize it, but nearly everyone will
remember a sudden and apparently unexplained change of mood in going
into some room. One can learn a deal by analyzing one's own sensations.
Figured wall-papers should also be chosen with the greatest care for
this same reason. Papers which have perpetual motion in their design, or
eyes which seem to peer, or an unstable pattern of gold running over it,
must all be ignored. People who choose this kind of paper are blest, or
cursed, whichever way one looks at it, by an utter lack of imagination.

A room is divided into three parts, the floor, the walls, and the
ceiling, and the color of the room naturally follows the law of nature;
the heaviest or darkest at the bottom, or floor; the medium tone in the
center, or walls; and the lightest at the top, or ceiling. It is only
when one has to artificially correct the architectural proportions of a
room that the ceiling should be as dark, or darker, than the walls. A
ceiling can also be seemingly lowered by bringing the ceiling color down
on the side walls. A low room should never have a dark ceiling, as it
makes the room seem lower.

Walls should be treated as a background or as a decoration in
themselves. In the latter case any pictures should be set in specially
arranged panels and should be pictures of importance, or fresco
painting. The walls of the great periods were of this decorative order.
They were treated architecturally and the feeling of absolute support
which they gave was most satisfactory. The pilasters ran from base or
dado to the cornice and the over-doors made the doors a dignified part
of the scheme, rather than mere useful holes in the wall as they too
often are nowadays.

Paneling is one of the most beautiful methods of wall decoration. There
are many styles of paneling, stone, marble, stucco, plaster, and wood,
and each period has its own distinctive way of using them, and should be
the correct type for the style chosen. The paneling of a Tudor room is
quite different from a Louis XVI room.