DOI issue:
The British Empire
DOI article:Jones, Sydney R.: Cottage interiors and decoration
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21779#0018
COTTAGE INTERIORS AND DECORATION
Those who live in cottages at the present time are not all peasants of the
soil. The word “cottage” consequently has a wider meaning now than
formerly, and the uses of the type of building which this word implies
have become more extended. While time has brought about this change,
the purpose of these buildings remains unaltered. They should still be,
as far as possible, the embodiment of human ideas ; for the principles
that guided those who made cottage homes in earlier days, and brought
the stamp of man’s personality to material things, have stood the test of
moving centuries and still hold good for all who would now build up a
habitation of their own.
Every scheme of decoration, be it great or small, or-of an internal or
external nature, should present one harmonious whole, with each com-
ponent part right for its place and in its place. This is an old artistic
truth that has come down through the ages, and by its operation the
world has been enriched with countless treasures. Old English houses
and cottages reveal the prin-
ciple set forth, no less than
the Gothic cathedrals of
France or the decorative
triumphs of the Italian
masters. Cottage interiors
of to-day, therefore, must
be erected with care and
thoughtfulness, be honest in
design, and show that just
adaptation of part to part
which invests with dignity
the smallest dwelling.
Modern houses and cot-
tages do not always provide
the means for successful
schemes of internal decora-
tion. Rooms are often built
with no thought of decora-
tive possibility, and struc-
tural fittings are frequently
remarkable only for their in-
appropriateness. Doors of--
bad proportion, ugly fire-
places, clumsy mouldings,
and other unsightly details,
will mar the best of plans.
Such fittings, being more
or less permanent parts of
4
LEDGED DOOR
Those who live in cottages at the present time are not all peasants of the
soil. The word “cottage” consequently has a wider meaning now than
formerly, and the uses of the type of building which this word implies
have become more extended. While time has brought about this change,
the purpose of these buildings remains unaltered. They should still be,
as far as possible, the embodiment of human ideas ; for the principles
that guided those who made cottage homes in earlier days, and brought
the stamp of man’s personality to material things, have stood the test of
moving centuries and still hold good for all who would now build up a
habitation of their own.
Every scheme of decoration, be it great or small, or-of an internal or
external nature, should present one harmonious whole, with each com-
ponent part right for its place and in its place. This is an old artistic
truth that has come down through the ages, and by its operation the
world has been enriched with countless treasures. Old English houses
and cottages reveal the prin-
ciple set forth, no less than
the Gothic cathedrals of
France or the decorative
triumphs of the Italian
masters. Cottage interiors
of to-day, therefore, must
be erected with care and
thoughtfulness, be honest in
design, and show that just
adaptation of part to part
which invests with dignity
the smallest dwelling.
Modern houses and cot-
tages do not always provide
the means for successful
schemes of internal decora-
tion. Rooms are often built
with no thought of decora-
tive possibility, and struc-
tural fittings are frequently
remarkable only for their in-
appropriateness. Doors of--
bad proportion, ugly fire-
places, clumsy mouldings,
and other unsightly details,
will mar the best of plans.
Such fittings, being more
or less permanent parts of
4
LEDGED DOOR