BACKGROUNDS: Wall and Floor Coverings

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 73, Issue 6, 16 December 1946, Page 591

BACKGROUNDS: Wall and Floor Coverings

By

NORMA K. METSON,

Rural Sociologist, Wellington.

WALLS and floor are the chief background areas in a room, and such large surfaces are naturally important in the decorative scheme. Floor cover-

ings in particular are so expensive that they may have to last literally a lifetime, so' careful choices, which will be adaptable to future as well as to present needs, are essential. That may sound ironical at present when there, is so little choice available and most decisions must be of the “take it or leave it” type, but in such cases it is usually wisest to “leave it,” even for a considerable period, rather than risk spending a large sum of money on something that is hot really wanted. Floor and walls must be considered in relation to each other and to the whole plan of the furnished room.

IN a small room, walls and wood - trimming—skirting boards, window sills, etc.-should all be 'the same colour, as that makes the room appear larger. Undesirable features which for some reason cannot be removed—for example an ornate picture —can also be painted out. in that way. If there are particularly attractive' furnishings or pictures which you wish to display, keep the walls as plain as possible so that they will not divert attention from the things it is desired to emphasise. Walls should be plain if the floor covering or much of the other furnishings is patterned. A nondescript room, on the other hand, may be brought to life by a good patterned wallpaper or walls of some' clear definite colour instead of the usual creams, beiges, and light tints.

Choosing a Wallpaper

Patterned wallpapers are often poor in designnaturalistic ■ birds, flowers, and fruits, for example, and regular repetitions which insist on ' being counted,-or give the effect of diagonal lines. So /if a patterned paper is decided on, finding one which is suitable may prove difficult. The.pattern should be in scale with the room; big, bold patterns are not for small rooms, just as small, fussy designs are out of place in large ones; vertical stripes should never be used in narrow, high-

ceilinged rooms, but are .very useful to give an effect of. height in a low room. Odd-shaped projections in a room, or walls which slope to the ceiling, need treatment which will make these features inconspicuous; a paper with a pattern is best, and the ceiling should be treated in the same way as the walls. The deep friezes of differ-ent-coloured paper which are found at the top of the walls in most old houses are not appropriate for modern lowceilinged rooms. . .

Texture in wall coverings is important and should be in keeping with the rest of the room; . A smooth-surfaced paper has quite a different effect from one with a rough “oatmeal” texture, just as a glossy paint differs from a flat lime wash in appearance of colour and power to reflect light. ' '

Unconventional Treatments

Less conventional ways of treating walls are sometimes appropriate. To make one wall the centre of interest in a room, paint or paper it differently from the other threefor instance, have three plain walls’ and one patterned or of another colour; the' contrast, of course, must not be violent. If that is done with ®ne end wall, a long narrower oom will appear, shorter and the proportions improved. ’" A dado can be used to advantage in some rooms, particularly those with a high ceiling. The height of the dado must’ be chosen carefully to. avoid . a haphazard appearance; it should correspond with some other feature of the room—the level of the window sills or of the main pieces of furniture. Polished wood • panelling makes , a rich

and satisfactory finish for the hall and formal rooms of a large home. Wallboard can also' be used to give interesting panel effects, but the wall spaces should never be broken up too much, or into, badly-proportioned areas.

Murals, which are decorations designed, specially for walls and applied directly to them', are not usually found in private homes, though motifs stencilled or otherwise ' applied to painted walls, are sometimes' used in children's rooms. Beautiful textiles and tapestries are effective when hung as wall decorations, and are likely to become fashionable, as many such fabrics have been brought back from overseas.

Pictures look best hung - at eye level. Important pictures should be hung alone where they attract the attention that >is their due. Small similar pictures look well framed uniformly and hung in a group. If they are scattered about the room, the effect is spotty and

disturbing.

Floor Finishes

Floors in most New Zealand houses are of . wood, which may be finished by oiling and waxing, staining and varnishing, or painting with a special floor paint. - Penetrating floor seals are a new type of product for finishing wood floors. Instead of forming a surface film like paint or varnish they penetrate and seal the pores of the wood. The finish thus obtained resists wear, does not show scratches, and is easy to keep clean. ' / Some-newer houses have composition flooring of various kinds which, if not already suitably coloured, may be painted. The choice of an additional floor covering will depend on

the nature of the ; room, the amount which can be spent, and the goods which are available.-

Carpet Qualities ’

Choice in carpets is likely to be limited for some time, but if there is a choice,- look for carpets which have a firm, closely-packed pile and a strong, backing tightly woven and without sizing, which may be added to give an artificial stiffness. Other long-piled carpet and one with a dense but short pile, the one with the elose, compact pile will give longer service. All-over carpeting is sold as strips 27in. wide, which are cut and sewn to fit the room exactly. It has the advantage that it ’can be run through adjoining rooms, halls, and passages without a break, giving an appearance of unity and spaciousness. Individual rooms look larger if they are carpeted from wall to wall, and furniture is easier to arrange in them. The expense of buying and laying all-over carpets is considerable, so it is most

irqportant to look for good . . quality and a pattern and colours which will n °t quickly become tiresome.

Carpet Squares and Rugs

Design in carpet squares should also be considered carefully. A carpet smaller than the room tends to create a broken effect, and if' the ..pattern has d e f in it divisions and pronounced borders this effect is emphasised. If ii- O ver covering is desired, a border di felt flooring or Hnoleunj njay should be made wi e en ° u § sides so that gaps will not f be left it lite O 1 the carpet by distributing wear more evenly. _ . „ ' ' , . . Small rugs are useful to protect the main floor covering -where wear is severein front of the fireplace, for example— .to give added comfort in a room which is. not carpeted. It small or medium-sized’rugs are used, they should be placed with their sides parallel to the walls of the ■ room, .and not scattered at unrelated angles. One or two rugs of larger size are much

better than several small ones. Unless the pattern can be matched exactly, plain rugs are best on patterned carpet or linoleum. .Hand-made rugs are worth considering for temporary or permanent use, as they can be very attractive in design and colour.

pile tufts

Catton binding and ) , Jute backing filling yarnsv ,s ' yarns,

The construction of a pile carpet.

In choosing linoleum, it is essential to distinguish between inlaid linoleum, which is constructed so that the pattern extends right through the thickness of the material, and printed linoleum, which has merely a surface pattern likely to wear off in time, especially in places which are much walked on. In addition to the' normal 6ft. widths of linoleum, finished “rugs’’ of various sizes may be bought.

Benefits of Underlay

. Floor coverings should have , an underlay. Carpets are-best laid over felt, which protects them during hard wear, and also adds greatly to the comfort of the room. Tests carried out .by the U.S.A. National Bureau of Standards showed that 75 to 146 per cent, increase in wear was gained from using underlays with carpets. The deeper and springier the underlay the greater was the increase in length of life of the carpet.

Linoleum, too, if it is to be laid on a floor which is at all uneven, should have pads of felt or newspaper below to prevent ridging and cracking. In very , cold weather linoleum should be left in a warm room for several hours before it is. unrolled for laying on the floor or it may crack.

Any successful artistic composition—painting, photograph, • or. furnished roommust have an appropriate relationship between the background areas and the points of emphasis. ■ If the walls and floor of a room are made too striking by the use of vivid colours and elaborate patterns, the furniture and accessories will not stand out and the general effect will be of confusion.