Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1958)

DOROTHY’S DECORATING HINTS Continued from page 62 with Dorothy is always a pleasure, this one was especially exciting. What better person could we find to give us the latest decorating tips? She led us through the spacious entrance hall, a favorite spot of hers from its brown and white inlaid floor to its impressive crystal chandelier. “I came across the chandelier in an antique shop,” she announced gaily. “My brother Bob and I disassembled it entirely, washed each piece of crystal and put it back together again. It’s Bavarian and was one of a group used in the Huntington library in Pasadena.” We entered the large, gracious living room, where Dorothy settled herself comfortably, one foot tucked beneath her. The room is most impressive and shows thoughtful planning as well as imagination and taste. The beamed ceiling is pecky cypress, painted in a brownish gray, and while the main decorating theme is 18th Century French, Dorothy did not confine herself to this style in any part of the tenroom house. The draperies at the French windows — which open onto the cool green lawn — are pleated white boucle, touched with gold. The walls are chocolate brown (an idea Dorothy got from a hat box!) and the thick shag rug was dyed to match. She broke all the rules by using dark carpeting with dark walls. “It could have been disastrous,” she admits, “but fortunately it worked out well. “I love autumn colors and rich warm tones, so I decided to use greens, golds, browns and white in the living room, with decorator pillows in brown, white and orange. I managed to get touches of yellow, too, in those lamp shades and the prints of those two chairs.” She sprang up energetically and bounded over to the fireplace, waving a slender arm in its direction. “I built the front myself,” she announced proudly. “I decided to leave the mortar spilling from between the bricks and paint the whole thing white. Gives it a rather interesting textural effect, don’t you think?” Her fingers caressed an antique wooden tray, which she had converted into an end table by mounting it on matching wooden legs. “This is one of my proudest possessions. It belonged to Charlotte Bronte, and it’s the only registered antique I have. I keep two Bronte books and this English silver tray on it.” A long low couch in antique gold fabric, facing the fireplace, is fronted by a long white marble coffee table and flanked by two low, wide wing chairs. Cherry wood cabinets on each side of the fireplace camouflage hi-fi and television sets, while two green velvet slipper chairs offer a stunning contrast to the cream -colored piano. “Now that the place is finished,” Dorothy laughed, “I wonder how I ever did it! I’m sure if I were asked to decorate a two-story house for someone else I’d feel overwhelmed. But somehow when it’s your own you just say ‘quack’ and jump in! When I got the house it was Spanish inside. Now it’s Provincial. I used a lot of dark and white combinations. Each group of rooms has its own color scheme.” Actually, the major part of Dorothy’s formidable task was done in four months. She began around Thanksgiving, but was slowed down considerably by the fact that she was making two pictures at the time and was free only on evenings, weekends and holidays. “Fortunately, decorating and remodeling are my hobby,” she said, running her fingers through her long silky hair. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in. My mother has a real flair for this sort of thing, and I’ve learned mostly through observation. It would have been fun if we could have done the house together. “But this time I was strictly on my own. Mother and Dad came to visit when the job was almost finished, and when they told me how much they liked it, I felt rewarded for all my efforts.” She frowned thoughtfully. “But, of course, everyone isn’t so lucky as to have a mother like mine. I suppose the biggest question in every would-be decorator’s mind is ‘How do I start?’ “The big pitfall to be avoided here, I think, is plunging in, instead of planning.” She smiled. “I know for an enthusiast with a home or apartment to decorate, that’s hard. But it’s really a must. “Decorating is like any other task. The better you’re prepared, the better the results will be. Especially if you’ve had no previous experience with it, I think the first step is reading good books on the subject. Then, the current magazines. Even an old hand will find many new tips in them, because they keep up with the latest ideas.” She laughed. “The next step is just plain leg-work! Browse around the shops. Find out what fabrics and furniture are to be had, at what prices. Then you’ll have a good working knowledge to help you fit your decorating plans in with your budget. “At this point,” Dorothy went on, “you have to stop and consider just what overall effect you want to achieve. It may sound strange, but here some self-analysis is in order. What kind of person are you, really? What do you like and dislike? The reason for this is simply that if a home doesn’t reflect you, you won’t be completely happy or comfortable in it. Naturally, if other people share the home, their personalities have to be considered, too, so that everyone reaches a happy compromise. “Though I’m not married, I suspect it would be a good idea to share all the planning with your husband, right from the beginning, so that the home is everything you both want. And,” she added with a twinkle, “a man can be very helpful. Look at the way my brother came to the rescue with the work on my chandelier!” Dorothy is fairly certain that her home reflects her own personality. “At least, that’s what I’ve been told. I think I’ve given the house a feminine touch, but not just a dainty one. It has many moods, which is typical of me.” Though too many bright tones would be overpowering, Dorothy feels that having one room especially cheery is a great aid in chasing the blues. “Mine is the pink guest room,” she says. “I did it entirely in harmonizing shades of pink — that’s my favorite color — and somehow it never fails to cheer me. I find it very relaxing.” But what of the problems? Did she have any? “There are always some special problems that come up in any decorating project,” says Dorothy. “When I bought this place it had an electric elevator, which I promptly eliminated. Stairs are good for the hips! I had the hole filled in with Styrofoam and added artificial plants. I think it’s effective. Don’t you?” For interested young home-makers in search of decorating tips, who have nary an elevator or even an escalator to their names, Dorothy has lots more practical suggestions. She believes the living room sets the keynote for the entire house and therefore should be furnished first. “But one word of warning: In decorating, if you ever expect to get the job done, you have to be able to make split-second decisions. It’s terribly important to choose color schemes carefully, though, so there will be a gradual blend from one room to another. It’s also very important to give more than a passing thought to your floors. Wall-to-wall carpeting is no longer a must. If floors are beautiful, and you don’t want carpets tacked down, try having carpeting cut and laid to the size of each room. It’s not only less expensive but enables you to allow a little of the wood to show.” Did Dorothy make any mistakes? “Yes, but fortunately no major ones. When I went wrong it was usually on small details — like the wallpaper for my bedroom. I chose a gray pattern with pink flowers, but once it was up I realized the pink flowers would have to go. The paper was too expensive to discard so I solved that problem by handpainting each flower white.” The bedroom now is the very essence of what every young movie fan must imagine a star’s bedroom to be. The color scheme is gray and white, startling in its simplicity, from the white shag rug to the plain gray spread. The high valance board over the head of the bed is scalloped and covered with white fabric which hangs in drapes from the side to the floor, forming a modified canopy. A gold crucifix is the only decoration on the white headboard, but there is a white bolster with scattered decorator pillows to add a softer touch. A powder room with mirrored walls opens directly off the bedroom. “I’ve always loved mirror-topped dressing tables,” Dorothy confessed, “and this was the perfect spot for one. I like modern things as well as antiques. As you may have noticed, all my chairs and divans are over-sized. Because the rooms are so large, it was practically a must. I bought a good deal of the furniture at auctions and then had most of it refinished in antique white. “Speaking of auctions, for months I spent more evenings at them than I did on dates! One night a very amusing thing happened. I had just purchased a pair of lamps and was making out my check when I noticed a friend and her aunt waving at me and pointing to a French Provincial coffee table of cherrywood. It was a bit smaller than what I’d had in mind but I needed one, so I put in a bid and continued making out my check. The bidding went on and my friends continued to wave so I put in another bid for the doggone thing and got it. Later, when I asked my friends what was so special about the coffee table they said, ‘What coffee table?’ They had merely been motioning to tell me they would meet me out at the car! “Fortunately, I’ve developed a special fondness for that table, so the story has, as they say, a happy ending. You know, it’s strange but often after people have seen the house they’ll ask in that comeon-now-tell-the-truth tone if I didn’t employ the services of an interior decorator. Actually, it never even occurred to me! I’m happier doing things my way, and I prefer living with my own ideas.” Just off the living room, Dorothy has a bar that she calls her “ice-cream parlor.” Wrought-iron ice-cream chairs, painted white, and glass-topped tables sit comfortably on a white shag carpet, set off by flamingo-pink walls. But her own favorite retreat is the small den, where she likes to sip her morning coffee. It is lined with built-in bookcases; an oval braided rug covers the rich wood floor; and beyond the collection of rag dolls and stuffed animals, in a niche that