Oak flooring comes in narrow, thin strips of plain- or quarter-sawed.  At this writing the plain-sawed costs, laid, usually 16 cents per square foot.  It will never be cheaper.  Where quarter-sawed is desired, a cent per foot must be added.  Borders, which are by no means essential, cost from 20 to 45 cents per lineal foot (laid).  In a country house, where local artisans do the laying, the expense may be somewhat less for labor.  But it must be remembered that fine floor laying is a trade of itself, and that the time to make sure of the work being properly done is when the wood is put in.  If the building is properly constructed, a bulging or cracked floor is unnecessary.  At all events, if we are in doubt as to the village carpenter’s skill, we would do well to pay the few dollars extra for the expert from the city.  Careful measurements are also important, especially with borders and parquetry.

ORNAMENTAL FLOORING

The hall, if large, will permit of rather more elaborate treatment than the rooms which are to be constantly occupied.  No part of the house that is in use for hours at a time should be at all over-elaborated, particularly in its unchangeable features.  Care must be taken even in the hall to avoid any freakish combination that will either stand out conspicuously or demand a like treatment of the walls.

[Illustration:  An attractive and inexpensive hall.]

Some folk like tiling in the hall, and if we have little more than a vestibule, tiling is quite satisfactory.  It is durable and can be easily cleaned.  But if the hall be of the medium or generous size, parquetry will be found more approvable if the expense can be afforded.  The designs are richer without being so glaring as many of the tile effects, and the wood seems to have less harshness.  Rubber tiling, however, has been found useful in places where there is frequent passing in and outdoors, and has been developed in some pleasing designs.

The additional cost for parquetry is not formidable in a moderate-sized hall.  Prices range from 20 to 40 cents per square foot, according to design.  We shall be wisely guided in choosing a simple square arrangement that will not protest against any passable decoration of the walls.  Unless the hall is spacious borders would better be omitted.  They need to have the effect of running into hearths and stairways, and in a narrow passage the center will be too crowded.

Dining room and living room suggest the quarter-sawed flooring, the former admitting perhaps the stronger border, unless the two rooms are in such direct connection that they require continuous treatment.  Upstairs, plain-sawed will do nicely for the hall and chambers, and also for the bathroom if it is not tiled.  Borders, of course, may be dispensed with here, as there should be no suggestion of over-ornamentation in the permanent features of a sleeping room.