One must dominate. The only sensible thing is to place the rugs in harmony with the structure of the floor; then let the tables, divans, chairs, cabinets and other articles of furniture be placed in the same horizontal and vertical structural relationship.

This does not mean that every article of furniture has to rest against the wall of the room, flat and straight. It means that many times the furniture had better so repose. For example, instead of placing the upright piano or the dresser across the corner of the room, find a place on the wall where it belongs and place it there, structurally, as if it were a part of the establishment. It then becomes a decorative feature.

Often a long table is best, as will appear in a later chapter, when its end touches the wall and its length projects into the room. On one side a divan may be placed, its back against the table. This conforms to the structural lines of the room, horizontal and vertical, and at the same time is perfectly practical.

Chairs - particularly straight-line chairs - when not against the wall may be placed parallel with tables, and grouped in such a way that their general structure lines are parallel with the original horizontal and vertical lines of the room. It is this matter of grouping wisely that makes a room effective so far as the form relations in the furniture are concerned.

This does not, by any means, imply that every article of furniture must be at right angles with the lines of the room and with each other. It means that the domi-^nating furnishings of a room must be so related, or the principle of the room as a structural unit is violated. When this happens the foundation is laid for unrest, pandemonium and an ultimate destruction of everything pleasant in the way of a decorative thought.

Chairs are often placed near other chairs or a divan, for purposes of conversation, or these are grouped near a light in order to make work possible as well as reading or writing. These deviations from structural unity are, however, made for a reason. It is because of some need that they exist and not because the arrangement is more "homey and cozy."

If everything is properly distributed on the floor it helps greatly in the treatment of the wall. The vertical lines of the wall when seen with the horizontal lines of the floor form a new problem of arrangement. The walls, too, are more nearly opposite the eye level when sitting or standing and, therefore, require even a stricter adherence to the principle of structural unity than does the floor.

Even if each article of furniture is properly placed, one must be careful to see that its contour or bounding lines do not create forms more erratic and likely to compel attention than do the objects themselves as a whole. If this is the case their bounding lines must be simplified somehow. Grills may be taken off, unpleasant carving removed. Expressionless curved bracketing, such as appears on piazzas, and much modern furniture should also be banished. In a room the objects themselves must be reduced to a consistent structural appearance before they can become in any sense a part of the wall.

A departure from this structural form if desired is easily made by using ornament, books, pottery, and other lesser forms of art expression upon articles of furniture or adjacent to them. The question of how many of these to use at a time and how many pictures, and what ones are appropriate will be considered in later chapters. Suffice it to say, now, that whatever is used should either be structurally in harmony with all the other objects, or there should be few enough articles non-struc-turally related to make it possible for one to grasp the feeling of the room and to remain content without a constant mental effort to fathom the mysteries of the maze into which he is thrust as he enters.

Perhaps the most flagrant abuse of the structural idea is the custom, so long prevalent, of hanging pictures by one wire, each end of which is attached to the frame, while both sides converge, at a point where the picture hook is attached to the moulding. Any line which is out of harmony with the structural idea of the unit should be so for purposes of emphasis. When any unusual line, unusual shape, or unusual direction is introduced it is for the purpose of calling attention to that line, shape or direction because of its beauty or its use. There can certainly be no other reason for calling attention to any particular thing in a room. Since the room will probably have no lines in harmony with the triangular one thus created, and since the picture hook is presumably less decorative than the picture itself (though this is not always true), there can be no reason why such a line should be introduced at the expense of the entire wall, to say nothing of the constructive value of the picture itself.

A single picture wire should be passed through two hooks about one inch from the top of the picture to be hung. This wire, passing through the two screw eyes, will leave the two ends free and the wire adjustable.

Use two picture hooks, tying one to each end of the wire and hang the wires vertically. They will then be parallel with the edge of the frame, with the casings of the windows, doors and other structural features of the room. In this way even ugly picture wires almost escape notice. If they do not they should be toned to the general wall colour.

Window curtains very much draped create many lines out of harmony with the windows. This is the reason why under present conditions the best decorators are modifying considerably the period methods of hang-ing curtains, and using them straighter, with straighter valance and less erratic line combinations in the making.

This principle of structural unity must be applied to the selection and arrangement of every article, and violations of the idea may - after the meaning of the principle is thoroughly understood - be considered for reasons of emphasis; but study how, and why and where before introducing any unrelated forms in matters of decorative structural arrangement.