Everything, color, balance, proportion, objects of art, has
been uniformly considered.
Continuing, the east wall is broken in the center by the fireplace, with
a mantel of white and gray marble. A large mirror, surmounted with a
bas-relief in black and white, fills the space between mantel shelf and
cornice. This mirror and bas-relief are framed with the narrow carved
molding painted gray. Here again there is the beauty of balance: two
Italian candlesticks of carved and gilded wood flank a marble bust on
the mantel shelf. There is nothing more. On the right of the mirror, in
a narrow panel, there is a wall clock of carved and gilded wood which
also takes its place as a part of the wall, and keeps it.
The north wall is broken by two mirrors and a door leading to the
service-pantry. A large, four-fold screen, made of an uncut tapestry,
shuts off the door. We need all the light the windows give, so there are
no curtains except the orange-colored taffeta valances at the top. I
devised sliding doors of mirrors that are pulled out of the wall at
night to fill the recessed space of the windows. Ventilation is afforded
by the open fireplace, and by mechanical means. You see we do not
occupy this house in summer, so the mirrored windows are quite feasible.
The fourth wall has no openings, and it is broken into three large
paneled spaces.
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