oo red a stain and
too high a varnish glitter. Good examples can be found in these grades,
but one must spend time looking for them, and perhaps it may be
necessary to have them rubbed down with powdered pumice and linseed oil.
If one uses Chippendale furniture, or that of any of the other Georgian
makers, the walls should not be covered with a modern design of wall
paper. Plain walls or molding may be used, or one of the fine old
designs of figured paper, and this must be used with great discretion
and is better if there is a wainscot. Chippendale was very fond of using
morocco, but damask and velvet and chintz may also be used. The chintzes
were charming in design, and many good copies are made.

[Illustration: This is in reality a moderate-sized room, yet the open
arrangement and the clear center give the impression of great space. The
curve of the fireplace and the oak panelling are simple Tudor. The
furniture is a mixture of many kinds.]

[Illustration: The wallpaper border, the bedspread, the table cover, and
the curtains are all wrong in this room. The Empire bed is good but
should not have castors.]

The Adam Brothers, of whom Robert was the more important, showed strong
classical influence in their work, and much of it resembles that of
Louis XVI, which was influenced from the same source. Chairs had square
or round or oval backs, and they also used a lyre-shaped splat which was
copied later by Sheraton. Often the top rail was decorated by small and
charming painted panels. These little panels were also used in the
center of cobweb caning in chair backs and settees. Legs of chairs and
tables were tapering and round or square and often reeded or fluted.
Adam used much mahogany and kept its beautiful golden brown tone (not
the dead brown called "Adam" too often in the shops), and also
satin-wood and painted wood. The best artists of the day did the
painting. Wedgwood medallions were introduced into the more important
pieces of furniture. Painted placques, lovely festoons, and charming
groups of figures, vases of flowers, and Wedgwood designs, and designs
radiating from a center, as on semicircular console table tops, are all
characteristic of his work. He also used much inlay. As Adam usually
planned all the furniture and the interior of the house, even to the
door-knobs, he kept the feeling of unity in both background and
furnishings.

[Illustration: The Hancock desk was a design greatly favored in America