Linen and burlap make excellent backgrounds. The linen is best hand dyed, as it has an effective richness of texture and unevenness of tone. It should be fairly coarse and sturdy and very carefully stretched and hung. If burlap is used, it should be hand dyed, painted, or left in its unbleached state as the harsh colors in which the ready-dyed fabric comes are anything but happy. Tapestry is only for the occasional and formal room. Unless it is a work of art it has no raison d'etre and good old or modern hand woven tapestries are not within the limits of the ordinary purse, or consistent with the usual frank and simple American family spirit.

Paper is no mean or despised wall covering, how-even Almost every effect which is obtained by other means can be obtained by a judicious selection of, or by applications of simple processes to, paper. A plain, heavy, rough-finished paper either in neutral shades, or good clear colors, is amenable to any scheme in decoration, and is always in good taste. A neutral-toned paper stippled with water colors by means of a sponge produces an excellent effect as a background. It does away with the hard and flat effect of ordinary paper, can be made to echo subtly the predominant note in the furnishings, and to produce a delightful shimmering effect. Blue and green on gray paper, brown and orange on yellow, red and orange on cream, or blue and violet on deep ivory are effective and interesting combinations. This process of stippling should, however, not be undertaken by any one but an experienced painter. Grass cloth papers in gold, silvery gray, blue and silver, or green and gold lend themselves well to modern decorations. Many of the mottled self-toned effects and self-toned all-over patterns give the impression of the coarse and uneven qualities of plaster. A sanded paper is also procurable which produces the identical effect.

When color and material are settled, attention must be turned to design. Design is used, like color, to improve the defective proportions of a room, to emphasize its excellent proportions, or to serve some definite decorative purpose. Design for the sake of design is a misguided and mistaken policy. Far, far better to have plain walls than decorated ones chosen merely because they are pretty or modish.

High ceilings can apparently be brought down to their normal position by the use of friezes, borders, and wainscotings. Low ceilings, on the other hand, can be made to appear higher by the use of long slender paneling or striped paper. Beautifully proportioned paneling accents the classic qualities of a well proportioned room.

A very simple border can be created by bringing the ceiling tint down to a foot or two below the ceiling line and finishing it with a narrow molding painted a contrasting color. Another way is to paint two or three bands of color below the ceiling line, or to use strips of an all-over designed fabric, preferably the same as is used in the upholstery or hangings, around the upper extremities of the room. This brings the upper limits of the wall into close relation with the furnishings and produces a cozy and intimate effect. Floral and other highly decorative borders tend to destroy the unity of the background and consequently the good composition of the room. A conventionalized landscape frieze above a high wainscoting is effective in a high room, but impossible in a low one. It makes it appear squatty and top-heavy.

Wainscoting can be improvised by the use of burlap to a height of five or six feet, paneled off with wooden strips painted a contrasting color. Natural burlap with paneled strips of cobalt blue, or orange dyed burlap with black strips are effective. The walls above the wainscoting should be papered, or painted, the same or a lighter shade of the burlap.

Simple paneling is accomplished by the application of narrow strips of molding, or narrow painted lines to papered or painted walls. If the wood molding is used, it can be painted the same tone as the walls or a contrasting one, and is usually spaced regularly around the room.

Painted lines allow for a different kind of paneling. They can be applied with greater freedom to break up the space interestingly above the furniture and between the doors and windows. These lines are usually in contrasting shades and often accompanied with narrow bands of stenciled dots and small conventionalized stencil decorations in the center of the panels. Several colors may be used both in the center decoration and in the dots and lines of the paneling and a wide variety of delightful effects can be obtained through this means. The painted decoration can be used successfully upon both paint and paper.

The stock of well designed wall papers, even in the best shops, is sadly deficient. Their conception seems to have been left far behind the forward march of the other decorative arts. Aside from self-toned or two-toned stripes, a few inconspicuous all-over designs, and some of the prim conventionalized Colonial patterns, there are few decorated papers which provide good or even possible backgrounds for the modern idea. If one's selection of wall coverings is limited to the stock patterns of the shop, it is much wiser to choose plain papers, relying on the upholstery and hangings to supply the design.

The subject of walls cannot be pursued very far without considering woodwork and it is here that the new decoration has made one of its most radical departures.

The woodwork of a room was formerly considered one of the most important decorative features, and the finer the old house, the more elaborate was its wainscoting, grill work, wood trim, and mantels. Gradually all unessential woodwork has been eliminated and modern architects are showing the tendency to subordinate it as much as possible. The heavy dark oak and mahogany woodwork which used to be considered inevitable has gradually been replaced by an enlightened use of white, cream, and ivory, but there is no vital reason why woodwork should be limited either to white or natural wood. The new decoration refuses to regard it as an inevitable convention which imposes insurmountable obstacles to the artistic conception of a room, and uses it as freely to carry out definite effects as it does the other mediums of decoration.