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192
The House in Good Taste
·
Elsie De Wolfe
52
VII
OF
DOORS,
AND
WINDOWS,
AND
CHINTZ
What
a
sense
of
intimacy,
of
security,
encompasses
one
when
ushered
into
a
living
room
in
which
the
door
opens
and
closes!
Who
that
has
read
Henry
James's
remarkable
article
on
the
vistas
dear
to
the
American
hostess,
our
portiere-hung
spaces,
guiltless
of
doors
and
open
to
every
draft,
can
fail
to
feel
how
much
better
our
conversation
might
be
were
we
not
forever
conscious
that
between
our
guests
and
the
greedy
ears
of
our
servants
there
is
nothing
but
a
curtain!
All
that
curtains
ever
were
used
for
in
the
Eighteenth
Century
was
as
a
means
of
shutting
out
drafts
in
large
rooms
inadequately
heated
by
wood
fires.
How
often
do
we
see
masses
of
draperies
looped
back
and
arranged
with
elaborate
dust-catching
tassels
and
fringes
that
mean
nothing.
These
curtains
do
not
even
draw!
I
am
sure
that
a
good,
well-designed
door
with
a
simple
box-lock
and
hinges
would
be
much
less
costly
than
velvet
hangings.
A
door
is
not
an
ugly
object,
to
be
concealed
for
very
shame,
but
a
fine
architectural
detail
of
great
value.
Consider
the
French
and
Italian
doors
with
their
architraves.
How
fine
they
are,
how
imposing,
how
honest,
and
how
well
they
compose!
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