Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/298

274 of even plain cottages, ornaments suitable for this purpose, and for various others in the finishings and fittings-up of rooms, have recently been manufactured by Messrs. Bielefelds and Haselden, at a very low price, of a description of papier maché. They are perfectly light and strong; and may be sent to any part of the world. They are fixed on by tacks or brads; and, being painted, will last as long as any other part of a house. Fig. 511, p. 275, is one foot in diameter, and costs 7s.; fig. 512 is two feet across, and costs £1; and fig. 513 is two feet and a half across, and costs £1: 15s. the principal room of a well-finished cottage, it could not be thought extravagant to lay For the ceiling of out 7s. on such an ornament as fig. 511. In all cases of introducing such ornaments, due preparation should be made for them, by raised borders, or mouldings, which should enclose them in a sort of framework.

569. The Paneling of the Walls or the Ceilings of the Rooms of plain Cottages is seldom attempted, otherwise than by lines painted on the wall, or by coloured papers; but there is no other reason than the expense, why it should not be adopted in the humblest cottage, as well as in the highly enriched villa. The occupant of the one may have a mind as susceptible of deriving enjoyment from the contemplation of elegant forms as that of the other, and he is therefore entitled to procure them whenever it is in his power to do so without interfering with any moral duty. Panels of this sort are generally formed by raised mouldings in plaster or stucco; but they may sometimes be more cheaply produced by mouldings of papier maché, some of which, such as figs. 514, 515, 516, and 517, p. 276, may be bought at from 2d. to 3d. per foot.

570. Whitewashing and Colouring the inside Walls and the Ceilings of Cottages should not be attempted till they have dried at least a year. If the plaster be of the commonest kind, without a finishing coat of stucco, it is only adapted for water colours, or colours rendered tenacious by glue, paste, or other mucilaginous matter, instead of oil; because of its porosity, which would wholly absorb the oil. The most common colouring for cottage walls is what is technically called lime whiting, which is nothing more than the finest particles of lime or chalk mixed with water, with the addition of a small quantity of size. The colour of this is varied by the addition of the black of charcoal (commonly called blue black, as distinguished from the soot of lamps, which is called lamp-black), or by yellow ochre, by verdigrise, or any cheap pigment.

571. A superior description of whitening for interior walls is thus formed:—Procure a quantity of the very best lime, and pass it through fine linen; pour it into a large tub, furnished with a spigot at the height equal to that which the lime occupies: fill the tub with clear spring water; beat the mixture with instruments made of wood, and then allow it to settle for twenty-four hours. When this period has elapsed, open the spigot, and allow the water to run off'; then supply the tub with fresh water, and continue this operation for several days, until the lime attains the greatest degree of whiteness. When you allow the water finally to run off, the lime will be found in the consistency of paste; but when used it is necessary to mix a little Prussian blue, or indigo, to relieve the brightness of the white, and a small quantity of turpentine, to give it brilliancy. The size proper for it is made of glove leather, with the addition of some alum; and the whole is applied with a strong brush, in five or six layers, to new plaster. The wall is rubbed strongly over with a brush of hogs' bristles after the painting is dry, which gives it its lustre and value, and makes it appear like marble or stucco. (Partington's Builder's Guide, p. 550.)

572. To whiten the Ceilings of Cottages. Take the best white chalk, and add a little of the black of charcoal, "to prevent the white from growing reddish; infuse them separately in water; mix the whole with half water and half size of glove leather." The size requires to be diluted, otherwise the whiting would come off in rolls when dry. Give two layers of this tint while it is lukewarm. (Ibid.) Instead of black, a small portion of any other colour may be mixed with the white, and Dutch pink is not unfrequently used for that purpose. The cornice, where there is one, forms a member of separation between the wall and the ceiling, and, being always an architectural object, should, for that reason, generally exhibit some colour belonging to stone, such as white, or some shade of yellow, grey, or brownish red.

573. The colouring of the walls of rooms with water colours, or in what is called distemper, only differs from whitewashing them, in the application being coloured. White, that is, lime or chalk, forms the groundwork or body of the composition, and the colouring is added by some concentrated vegetable extract, or metallic oxide. All the different colours are used for the walls of rooms; but the most common, after white, are some shades of yellow, red, green, or grey. As a general rule, the ceiling should be of a lighter colour than the walls; because it is found that, when it is darker, it is apparently brought nearer to the eye, and has consequently the effect of making the room appear low. Rooms which are too low may on the same principle be made to appear somewhat higher than they are, by having the walls a shade darker than is usual, and the