DECORATING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 39, 15 February 1930, Page 4 (Supplement)

DECORATING.

A CHEAP HOUSE.

BE GAY AT HOME.

(By LADY ALLAN HORNEL well-known authority on Home Furnishing).

To paint the town red! Well, not exactly that—but one's house! Armed with a small income and a paint brush I set to work. "All or nothing" was my motto. As I could not afford genuine antiques, or even good imitations, I was determined to achieve originality,, comfort, utility, combined with the utmost economy and a general pleasing, if not artistic effect.

The great rule to observe when furnishing to know one's limitations, especially the limitations of one's purse. .1 had everything to buy, and therefore, nothing must be bought that was not strictly necessary. My wedding presents had not included furniture,, which, in this instance, was not a handicap but an asset. This enabled me to carry out one scheme throughout the house. Various journeys on buses had conveyed me to several unfashionable quarters of London, Kilburn, for instance. Here I poked about in small shops, purchasing here a chest of drawers, sometimes for the sum of £3, there a table or chair. I remember buying one in the Edgeware Road for six shillings. These articles were second-hand. The chest of drawers in question was an old one (not an antique), and, unlike the modern cheap replica, the drawers were well carpentered and opened and shut smoothly and easily. • Further Bargains. The remainder of my purchases were supplied by the Tottenham Court Road. Here, I bought a divan bed with a comfortable French box spring mattress (the legs were added by a carpenter, together with a back made after my own design), some chairs and a table—an ordinary kitchen table —all of which were of plain unpainted, wood. Having procured some Ripolin paint, I first laid a foundation of pale pink. This was left to dry—a somewhat lengthy process —before two consecutive coats of red could be applied. The effect was even better than I imagined for now I had an entire lacquer set. I repeated this experiment in other colours; in blue, black and green, but red was the most successful as it fitted in with most colour schemes. With little dabs of gold paint I outlined the mouldings while I etched a few Chinese figures here and there. But the plain paint looks just as effvitive and pretty, for those whose drawing— like mine—is not their strong point. The Complete Effect. ' Now let me describe my house as it looked when finished. The walls were papered with dull gold with a pale fawn ceiling and a black frieze which I had painted myself. A set of twelve chairs and a table painted red—with a glass top which had cost 19e more than the table itself—curtains of black chintz with a Chinese design in white. Thus, a colour scheme of gold, red, black and white. The sombre colours and neutral tones set off the brilliance of the coloured furnishings. Drawing room: Blue walls and blue ceiling with black lacquer furniture, a black piano, a Chesterfield sofa., two divans," draped in a cheap but effective material, with several silk cushions of wine red, shot blue and green. General colour scheme black and blue, with brilliant dashes of colour expressed in the cushions. My bedroom: —Green walls with a pale yellow ceiling, red doors, red dressing table and red lacquered threefold mirror and chest of drawers. Curtains of yellow chintz with a Chinese design which included the various colours of the room. For my bed, I had made (very cheaply), a fanciful back painted red resembling a Chinese temple. In reality, simply a square frame with two crescents superimposed which created the desired effect, hung with yellow Chinese silk. The legs of the bed had been painted red to match, and the counterpane was of the same yellow silk as that which covered the frame. General . colour scheme of red, green and yellow. Too vivid and unliveable you may say? Well, no, it was quite the reverse! It always made me feel cheerful. It was not too bright in summer, and exceedingly cheering on the usual dull London day—not to mention fog. My spare room: Yellow walls, a green door, green furniture, and yellow chintz. In this instance only two colours composed the-colour scheme —yellow and green—a combination which i& - most happy for the country, and which can be varied by having yellow walls and blue furniture. , I had chosen this style of furnishing because it was cheap, and the Chinese effect because one cannot go wrong by copying Chinese colours, for these people are the masters of blending pigments. It is effective and within the margin of modest purses, although one always associates Oriental art "with all that is most expensive. For those who do not care for Chinese, whether "de luxe" or cheaply expressed, painted furniture may 'till appeal. There is plenty of scope. Imagine a room with white walls, a black carpet, white and black curtains, and black furniture— a sort of Tanagra room with only black and white to the exclusion of all other colours. There are many other schemes such as this for those who want attractive homes and have not the means to buy really good places.— (The "Auckland | Star" and A.A.N.S.)