The San Francisco call. [volume], April 30, 1911, Image 6

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
The San Francisco Sunday Call
Inside
ARTISTIC
SAN
FRANCISCO
HOMES
FIFTY years ago—even within a
less time—household decoration
was a crude matter in San Fran
cisco homes. In "Blix" Frank Nor
ris gave an excellent picture of the av
erage drawing room as it was seen In
the olden days. It was comfortable.
tut no one could have accused It of
being artistic It was too often In
wretched taste.
It Is such no longer. Within the cul
t'lrrd homes of San Francisco may now
b« Men fittings, furnishings and decora
tions that leave ao room for adverse
criticism. Xo longer do we find suoh
mixtures of "periods' as a sixteenth
century chair by the side of & mission
table or an oriental divan. Each room
Is a harmony, fhere are no clashes.
There is nothing to offend either the.
pye or the sense of propriety.
The subject of decorations, of fur
nishings, of interiors in general Is a
ftudy in itself. Po is each "period,"
each style. A house decorator of today
must be a student not only of art and
I taste, but of history. He must
understand what a Louis XI room
means; he must recognize the differ
ence between the Italian and the
French renaissances, between the Eliza
bethan, the Jacobite, the Arabian and
the Pompellan styles. Each large fur
niture house now has In Its corps of
assistants at least one man or woman
who Is an expert in "interiors," ancient,
medieval and modern, to aid In bring
ing the proper results.
For about two years the mission style
was aIJ the raga In San Francisco, and
there are many still who Insist upon
having their homes moueieu «nei uu»
fashion, but in the newer houses other
tastes prevail. For country homes the
Scottish Interior is popular. The Eliza
bethan paneled Interior is preferred for
th« rp<-epWon rooms, music rooms and
Wolfe uses the French
chintzes largely In tier schemes of dec
oration for morning rooms and bed
chambers. The colonial ballroom, with
knu ei wna dadoes, Is very popular,
•while 'Louis V and Louis VI drawing
fp^sis, with thefr dainty pale colorings
and artistic divans, tables and chairs,
are growing in favor in San Fran
cisco's leading homes. The so called
I'a.rt nouveau haa been introduced In
some of the new houses, and the effect
haa been jnost pleasing to the owners.
Sir Walter Scott's library at Abbotaford
has served *& a model for more than
one modern library, and some of Alex
ander Schroeder's models, as exhibited
pj[ Berlin, have found new world Imi
tators.
The Japanese style is peculiarly well
adapted for morning rooms and for bed
chambers in bungalows and country
auuses ana tor Douaoirs In town houses.
Chinese, Moorish and Arabian rooms,
Tudor Interiors, a beautiful lace room,
and others of the early English type
are to be found In some San Francisco
homes. The Hungarian room is yet to
be found here, although It has popu
larity elsewhere. It Is simple, paneled
ami has rather heavy carved furniture.
The Adam music room has been
copied with success in the east and is
likely to be adopted here In course of
time. Some cf Louis Rigaut's clever
Ideas hay« found their way here and
some of Wai-ing's and OlUow's. A re
production In photogravure of the hand
some drawing rooms of Ogden Mills'
home at Staatsb-urg-on-the-Hudson,
New York, Is In the possession of a
local house decorator, but no one has
had the temerity to ask him to copy it
in a local home. It Is rather a bold
act to request an exact copy of the
room of some one else. It may be said
here that there are enough old prints
discoverable from which to adopt mod
els, although originality is much to be
desired.
While tha country homes of wealthy
oan Franciscans have reeceived more
attention since the flre of 1906 than
their town houses in this matter of
Interior decoration, there are still many
who have given as deep thought to the*
artistic arrangement of the latter. Tt
Is quite surprising to find how many
fine houses have sprung up within the
last nvo years which have the look.
Interiorly, of having stood for many
years. This is the art of the true
decorator, the genuine artist, who gives
an effect of finish and age to new fur
niture. Of course much of the furni
ture used in the latter residence was
purchased in Europe, and much of it is
really "antique." The craze for an
tiques and for furniture with a history
will probably never abate. We In this
new land teem to lay more stress upon
antiquity than older countries, where
furniture Is a matter of the ages.
It It on Pacific heights. Presidio
heights and in the new residences on
Russian and Nob hills, and in the Ash
bury heights division, that one finds
the most artistic interiors. Among the
private residences that survived the
great flre of 1906 is that of Mrs. Mar
<g> The Whole World Has Been Drawn &»
Upon for Treasures of Furniture and
Fittings tor Some of the Residence
That Overlook Jhe..Bays?
cus Koshland, in Washington street,
Pacific heights, which was slightly in
jured by th.c temblor, but quickly
put to rights with the aid of the archi
tect and the interior decorator. Though
all the rooms in the Koshland home
are charming, the classic Idea pre
vailing, it Is the hall that is absolutely
unique. It Is a miniature Pompellan
garden, with tall white marble pillars,
and a fountain playing In the middle
of the court, which suggests the patio
in the Spanish house with which Ban
Franciscans who have traveled in
Mexico and South America have be
come familiar. Tall palms and rare
plants surround the fountains. One
of the furnishings of the upper hall
Is the organ, which shows the musical
taste of the owner, who is one of the
moft accomplished amateur musicians
lit the city." The classic Idea is car
ried out in everything in this beautiful
home.
The Illustration of Mrs. Robert Ox
aard's dining room gives faint Idea of
the real beauty of the interior. The
room Is In dull tones of golden brown:
the furniture, sideboard, table and
:halrs of handcarved walnut. There
are beamed ceilings and the mantel is
brass mounted. A few family por
traits hang on the walls. Mrs, Oxnard
has what is probably the largest
and most valuable collection of
silverware in this paxt of the world.
The Oxnard '-i borne Is ;> In '- Broadway.
. A delightful air of home prevail* In
the Marshal Hale house , on Presidio
terrace. Mrs. Hale evidently believe*
that a home is what the name Implies,
and every room In the house has that
"lived in"' atmosphere ' that la lacking
In so many - residences. The . living;
room has a - substantial Interior, fin
. ished In mahogany. Old violet, «oft in
shade. Is the one color apparent. The
walls axe tapestried.
-. The old fashioned fireplace in th»
library at : once ; takes the ' eye of the
visitor, In ■ the . beautiful home of ■ Mr.
and Mrs. William L. Gentle, in Wash
ington street Dark red is the warm
hue of the walls. In which are set
bookcases holding , many rare and
■ handsome volumes. This room has a,
Flemish interior, carried , out in every
, detail ~ according to strict . standard.
There ,• are ' other highly ";_ attractive
,rooms In the Gerstle residence, but the
library is. the favorite of the owner.
The old ' home . of the Goads, - which
is now the property of P. Tillmaan Jr..
is .In Washington street, In the Western
; addition. It is on» of the old fashioned
houses, but the new owners have made
many changes iin its Interior and 'have
modernized most of the rooms. The
; drawing room has an inlaid floor of
golden oak and the furniture Is in ex
.: quisite harmony, of sold leaf and • old
rose tapestry. A few > fine paintings
are on the walls, but there ia only
enough adornment In the room to draw
attention to the perfect art of Its fur*
nishlng. An immense crystal chan
delier hangs from the center of th«
coiling.
One of the most artistic reception
rooms In San Francisco Is that of th«
George Popes in Pacific avenue. Every
thing in its furnishing came from
abroad. Very dull Italian green, which
most of us call sage green but is really
a modification of that color, prevails 1»
the color scheme. Carved walnut I?
the basis of the furniture. The chair*
are all odd pieces, picked up by tha
owners during their various tripe to
Europe. Here and there amonjr the
pale green shades Is seen a bit cf old
rose, but everything 'is In harmony.
There probably is not another reception
room in this country quite like that i»
the Nbme of the Popes, in which «v«r/
room is a picture in Itself.
One would like to reproduce some of
the bedchambers and boudoirs in these
San Francisco homes, but as a rule the
owners do not like to hold up to pub»
lie view theee intimate interiors, on
which their indivldualltes are most
thoroughly dsplayed.
However, sufficient has been shown
to give an idea of what can be seen
in some of the really artistic residences
of San Francisco, and what the deco
rators are doing in the matter qf cor
rectly reproducing th» various
"periods" with fidelity.