The Parlor

Modern Priscilla, December, 1912

Since the increased popularity of the living room, there are fewer formal parlors than was once the rule, but undoubtedly the “parlor” is an institution that fills many needs that nothing else will.  One reason that has perhaps contributed to the failing prevalence of this room in many of the more inexpensive homes of today is the fact that so many of the old-time parlors were hatefully ugly.

The Parlors of Not so Long Ago

We can almost all remember parlors where wax flowers in glass cases, clumsy black walnut furniture, wall paper which resembled a design of gargoyles, bright red carpet, and constantly drawn blinds, left an impression of parlors which was distinctly unpleasant.  This room was reserved for funerals, unknown callers, maiden-aunts-on-visits, and Lida’s best young man.  Therefore, it was seldom altered, being seldom seen, and always with an eye prejudiced by habit.

Later came the parlor which could boast a marble mantel, a “suite” of near-mahogany upholstered in plush, imitation Oriental rugs, and department store “hand-painted pictures.”  Several uncomfortable and elaborate sofa pillows, the piano draped with a gaudy scarf and a tall, flounced and gilt “piano lamp.”  Occasionally a piece of gilt or “Vernis-martin” furniture added an imagines tone to the room.

The Ideal Parlor of Today

The ideal parlor of today should combine a delicate formality with an impression of hospitality and reserve at the same time.  For this room, in a house of moderate expense, there is no more appropriate furniture than the originals or adaptations of colonial American and the English furniture of about the same period, Sheraton, Chippendle, Adam – they are all ideal for thie purpose, and for a summer or country house the enameled pieces in Louis Seize are lovely.  “William and Mary” and “Queen Anne” reproductions are good also.

I noticed recently an odd and pretty set of settee, arm and other chairs, in which the narrow uprights of the back were white enamel andthe rest was mahogany.  The cushions were of deep rose damask and the entire effect was really lovely.  This could be used with tables of mahogany, other chairs of that wood, and white enameled wood or wicker, and in a room with white or mahogany woodwork, and walls with paper in a narrow apple-green stripe, hangings of chintze or damask in a rose-flowered design, the ensemble would be unusual and decidedly pretty, particularly for a summer home, but really adapted for any house.

One of the prettiest parlors I have ever seen is on the northwest side of a town house.  The walls are covered in a plain tan paper and the woodwork is deep cream.  A thick rug of cream and brown is on the polished floor.  Next to the glass are cream net curtains and inside hang heavy draperies of deep brown velvet (this room is used only in winter).

The furniture is delightfully varied, some of it antique and mahogany, others modern copies in the same wood with quaint inlays, and one or two pieces of wicker, upholstered in cream damask and brown velvet.

In one corner is a built-in seat with old gold cushion of velour, iled with soft, not over-trimmed, pillows in shades of brown and blue.  the blue note is repeated in the bits of china and some marine paintings, and the whole room is exquisite in tone and style.

A new house furnished by a recently married girl artist has a parlor which has been picked up, bit by bit.  As the house was her own she had a free rein as to the walls, and she chose grass-cloth in a wonderful silvery gray.  The woodwork is all white enamel, and narrow molding divides the wall spaces into narrow panels.  Windows and door alike are hung with an armur silk in a lovely gray, and the color touches of the room are left to chair-cushions, rugs, and bric-a-brac.

The furniture is all Adam in style and of deep-toned mahogany.  One antique chest of Italian origin and dark with age is given a place of honor.  The upholstery throughout is of flowered brocade in yellow and deep old rose, and the medium-sized Oriental rug is wonderfully silky and rose and cream in color.  On the walls are hung a few rare bits of art – an old, old miniature in a gilt frame, a mirror of the time of Louis Seize, one Japanese painting on silk, and two candle sconces of silver.

The room is almost bare in its amount of furniture and austere in its color-scheme, but nevertheless makes a perfectly beautiful ensemble.

Parlor Furniture

As for the furniture a parlor needs, the amount varies with the size and circumstances of the family, its use and purpose. As a general rule, one or two tables, one being for tea things. A good supply of comfortable chairs, perhaps one settee or couch is needed. It may be desirable to have even more, as these make for sociability when entertaining a quantity of guests. Lastly, a well-placed light or lights complete the necessary furniture of the room.

Some parlors have the piano, where people can gather around and sing, or simply listen to the pianist play the favorite music. A fireplace is always desirable in any room, and may be the prominent feature of the room.

The City Parlor with High Ceilings

One example of a pretty parlor is in an old city mansion, blessed with high ceilings, tall windows, and fine architectural details both inside and out.

These include fireplaces in perfect keeping with the house, which is Georgian, commonly called Colonial, and with some tendency to the French Renaissance.

In the drawing room, the fireplace is exquisitely carved and of white enameled wood.  The woodwork elsewhere is white, too, and the paneled walls are covered with yellow damask.

The furniture is in keeping.  There is a quaint old Buhl cabinet, a gate-legged table, and the rest in the style of Chippendale and of mahogany, some inlaid.  A cherished heirloom in the family, an ancient harpsichord in all the glory of its faded gilt, is at one end and the hangings are of old gold velvet over white net under-curtains.

The rugs prevent a monotony of yellow, glowing with blues and crimsons and antique Oriental in make.  The room is wholly rich in every way, and yet the general effect could be gained in almost any house and with less expensive materials, with equally good effect.  An interesting feature of that same room was the mirror between two windows at one end, as tall as the windows and with the same gilt ornamentation at the top.

The Old Country House with Low Ceilings

Another old house of quite a different type is in the country.  This is one of those strange and yet fascinating old homes, with settles on the “stoop,” small-paned windows, and crescents in the solid wooden blinds, which are associated with the early life o our country.

Here the parlor is low-ceilinged and not large, and in the English style has walls painted pure white on the plaster.  There is a low, broad fireplace with brass andirons, the shelf white painted too, and with the dearest little built-in cupboard at one end.

It was rescued from the hair-cloth-sofa-and-crocheted-tidy style of furnishing, and the city woman who bought the house picked out the really old and good furniture, brushed it up and soon had a parlor with one or two tall old rush-seated chairs, a gate-legged table, a sleepy hollow arm-chair, and a real antique desk.

A lowboy holds books and some pewter, and the furniture that needed upholstering was covered with chintze showing a pattern of reds, blue, and yellows on a black and white background.

At the windows small straignt curtains of the same fabric hang over the others of crisp white muslin.  The dark polished floor had hand-woven rugs laid down.

The owner gathered brass and old china that could be used here and added some old glass candle-sticks with “jiggley” pendants.  She had created a parlor that was a source of pride and delight to herself and her friends.

Suggestions in General

For the color scheme of parlors in general, almost any color will do if properly used.  Pale tones of green, gray, yellow, and tan are perhaps best.  The best material to use is a real fabric, such as damask, armure, silk of some sort, or grasscloth.

The fabric papers come in quite lovely tones and designs, and once in a while burlap can be used, but this is better suited to living and dining rooms, halls, and other more utilitarian rooms.

Papers with judicious stripes or other inconspicuous design are good, but try to avoid the creations involving “cut-out” borders or base designs, landscape effects or the paper gaudy use of gilt paint.

Make your parlor as fine, as rich, and as high in quality as you can without slighting the rest of your house.  Do not, however, put all your efforts into your parlor and furnish the rest of the house with odds and ends and left-overs.  Although that room isn’t to be kept exclusively for entertaining, it is certainly not used by the family as much as the living room.  If you have to choose between them, and have only one, by all means make it not the parlor, but a living room in the fullest sense of the word.