BUILDING and HOMES

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 153, 25 March 1925, Page 14

BUILDING and HOMES

(BY

JACK PLANE)

LIGHTING THE LIVING ROOM

MODERN DEVICES | SIDE AND CENTRAL . FIXTURES I ' One of the interesting problems iu home making as it pertains to the living room is that of providing satisfactory lighting. This involves two important factors; first, the logical location of lights, and, second, the selection of attractive lighting fixtures. In every case it is important to give careful consideration to the location and tvpe of lighting fixtures as indicated by the character of the interior finish and furnishing of the room. In some types of living rooms, particularly where the wall is finished in panels and the room is fairly large, there is a logical demand for sidewall lighting and. for special candle _ fixtures on the mantel above the fireplace. Where the room is smaller and has diversified furnishing an overhead fixture with various decorative forms of “torchiers” and table lamps may be required. Comfort in living room lighting is accomplished more easily when there are provided a diversity of lights of varying colours and intensities. Living room needs call for illumination at times which floods the entire room | with soft but brilliant light, which will not create glare or allow direct rays I to shine into the eyes of those under 1 it. This is accomplished best by a central lighting unit of which there are in the market many desirable types. When the family gathers . together to read, talk, listen to music or entertain friends, this light is more suitable than would be a more concentrated but less diffused illumination, obtained from table luminaire or floor lamp. At other times, however, as . when one or two members of the family are reading or working in the living room, more pleasing effects are obtained by the use of these separate lamps with tlie overhead light switched off, as the brilliant area of light surrounding individuals renders shadowy spaces not so illuminated pleasing to the eyes lifted momentarily from their occupations. The living room can .be most efficiently fitted with lamps for varied uses. There is a piano lamp, of sensible design to light the music being read, not the player’s face. There is a small shielded lamp beside the phonoI graph to be turned on when changing records or needle.

An unusual lighting fixture is the Rltificial daylight lamp. This supplies light of a "pure whiteness nearly approaching that of real daylight, and. is valuable for fine work for reading in instances when artificial light tires the eyes. The changed effects obtained by cretonne hangings for winter time is ermphasised in a cretonne shade over the ceiling light. As the illumination is partly indirect, being reflected from the ceiling over the room, and as none of it flows through the portion of the fixture so covered, this does not impair the quality of light as it might in lamps or units of other types. In’ some American homes the lamp globes in the liv-ing-room are changed for summer and winter use: lamps of warmer tones being used in the winter, while clear white lamns are substituted to give the cool, white light ( preferred in hot weather.—New York “Tribune.”

STRAY NOTES

HOW TO POLISH EBONY

An oversea authority is responsible foi the following hints on restoring and polishing ebony and imitation ebony :— In order to bring a brilliant polish to ebony, rub well with a soft rag which has previously been sprinkled with a little salad oil.

It the ebony is very dull use the following preparation to restore the polish. Take three ounces of vinegar and six ounces of linseed oil, and shake well together in a bottle. Then add three ounces of methylated spirits and half an ounce of butter of antimony. Shake again Before using this preparation the bottle must be shaken well and the polish applied sparingly and rubbed well into the ebony.

Imitation ebony can be stained with Indian ink, afterwards being smoothed with fine sandpaper. Apply a second coat of ink and leave untouched for the whole of one day, when it must be rubbed with linseed oil and polished with beeswax.

BUILDING TOOLS IN ROMAN TIMES 1 Even builders do not always realise liow many of out modern tools come down to us almost unchanged from Roman times. . . . The Roman carpenter used a metal-faced plane, 13f inches long bv 2} inches broad. He was amply provided with gauges, axes, chisels, adzes, and hammers, and his hammer-head was very much like our own. Nails were used, and were, of course, made by the smith. lhe Italian carpenter to-day uses a saw that is almost exactly the same as that of his Roman predecessor. An adze with a curved cutting edge that has been found is such as aie used by coopers to hollow the staves of barrels. Fadlocks and keys were used, in Roman houses, and some of them ate easily more effective than the cheaper varieties we turn out by the mass to-day. We know from Vitruvius that the use of the pulley was well known in Roman times, and,, several representations of the crane then used are in existence. Heavy stones . were lifted to their positions by machines worked on the treadmill principle. That the British native craftsman was a well-educated man during the Roman occupation would seem to be proved by the fact that he could write, and that he on occasion* signed the brick or tile lie made. But enough has been said to prove that the most essential tools of the builders can boast of a very respectable ancestry.—“Buildiug News."

A NEW BUILDING METHOD Still another system of house construction has been patented by an English firm of architects. Under their scheme a steel ft ante is to be erected and roofed over with slates or tiles, so nat the remaining building work, can be carried on irrespective of the weather. The house will be constructed of interlocking concrete blocks, 1 foot 'J inches by 1 foot, with a thickness of 44 Inches. The blocks, which will be supplied ready for fixing with cement or mortar, consist of an outer concrete slab about 2 inches thick, with an inner slab.of specially-prepared material faced with plaster, and between the two slabs there is waterproof material. It is claimed by the inventors that houses built by their method are as substantial and as durable as those of brick, and are impervious to the weather The houses, it is stated, will be warm in winter and cool in summer, and can be produced on mass production lines at much lower cost than by under existing methods Plasterers’ work is obviated by tlie inner face of the blocks being finished with plaster.

SILHOUETTE PICTURES

Old-fashioned silhouettes, in frames of passe-partout, are now made in hundreds. Those who are fortunate enough to possess genuine old silhouettes will no doubt regret the many copies that are seen. But nothing can vulgarise this style of picture; it is far too simple to be anything but elegant, even if manufactured for the million. Silhouette pictures are seen in various sizes, mostly about five or six inches bv three or four. The frames arc both square and oval, but the latter is the more effective, being more in keeping with the character of the picture. Most of the pictures seen are of figures in old-fashioned costume, copies, of course, of the genuine drawings. They are quite ease to make if something special is desired, but the choice is so wide and the price so low that making is hardlv worth while. Silhouette pictures look their best on a plain paper, pale yellow for preference. They fill up aii odd space in a room, and are usually worth more than a passing glance.

USES FOR WOOD ASH If wood-ash be saved it will be found splendid for cleaning purposes. A handful tied in a piece of rag softens water for household cleaning purposes without injuring colours and gloss on linoleum as soda does. It is excellent for cleaning and removing stains from sinks, and at the same time helps to purify them. (Crush the ash fine and dip damp (not wet) rag into the powder.) For cleaning aluminium utensils and brass, save all your lemons (left from puddings, etc.) ,’dip them in the woodash, rub, and polish with soft, dry cloth. . . Hands stained by peeling onions, potatoes, etc., will readily become clean if first rubbed with the used half of a lemon, and then with a little woodash. Rain water smells much fresher, and is still softer if a bag of well-burnt wood-ash be placed in the rain water butt. Tie with a long piece of string, so that the ends hang outside, bv which means the stale ash can easily be removed, the bag emptied and washed and refilled with fresh ash. For cleaning red bricks, damp a section at a time and sprinkle with woofl-ash and scrub with warm fv-.ater in which soft toap has been dissolved--about a third of a teacupful to a small pail of water. This removes grease and stains, and keeps the bricks a good colour.

One of the problems confronting the woman who dwells in a small flat, or bed sitting rooms, is the storing of her hats. These are of a shape and size often that no adequate ’accommodation is usually available. A corner hanging cupboard with shelves, and placed at a height so as not to encroach on floor space will help matters, and sometimes snnpie boxes of wood covered outside with chintz and inside with linen, the top stuffed as an ottoman, and of a handv size to lift about, form useful receptacles. One device was a deep shelf boxed in underneath the dressing table and covered by a chintz valanc.e; and quite extensive accommodation is provided by a window scat with the doors at front falling outward and downward and the interior fitted with shelves. An >dd recess enclosed with shelves and doors is often available and offers the best solution of any. Most people spend about a third of their life in bed, and the planning of bedrooms thus has a very important bearing on health. Where possible, bedrooms should have windows on two sides, giving cross ventilation and ample light. Starch paste is excellent for mounting pictures, because, if a little of the paste gets on the front of the sketch or print, it can generally be rubbed off when quite dry. Starch paste _ seldom damages a picture. The paste is made by mixing the starch with a little cold water, then pouring on boiling water and stirring well. This mixture should be used at once as it does not keep well.

SUMMARY OF TENDERS

CLOSING DURING PERIOD MARCH 28-APIUL S.

Wanganui Harbour Board.—-Tenders ■supply and installation of two capstans and fairleads. Close noon, March 26. Watson, Gooder and Lee, Wellington.— Tenders erection residence in Grafton Road, JJoseneath. Close noon, March 30. Public Works Department.—Tenders supply rails and fishplates. Close 4 p.m.. March 31. Public Works Department. —Tenders roof coverings. Mangahao. Close 4 n.rn., March 31. D. Murray Kean, Wellington.—Tenders erection residence, Severn Street. Island Bay. Close noon, March 31. Gisborne Borough Council. —Tenders for crossarms (contract No. 3). Close noon, April 1. City of Auckland (Tramways Department).—Tenders supply of 10 tramcar bodies. Close 4 p.m. April 2. Swan. T.awrenee, and Swan, Wellington. —Tenders erection of extensive additions, etc., Sydney Street Schoolroom. Close noon, April 2. Opiinnko Harbour Board. —Tenders contracts 7, S. 9, 10, and 11. Close 10 a.m., April 3. Public Works Department.—Tenders suprdv insulators. Close 4 p.m. April 7. Public Works Department.—Tenders supply four 71 ton chain blocks and crawls. Close 4, p.m., April 7.

GLASS IN MANY USES As this is an age in which use is made of every device likely to lighten the housewife’s burden, glass is becoming more appreciated daily as an important detail in furnishing. Years ago someone made a practical use of the obvious fact that glass was simplicity itself to keep clean and adapted this useful material to shelves in the bathroom and medicine chests, where it settled down particularly happily with clean blue and white tiled floors and walls. America has taken glass shelves to her heart and uses them in every possible manner, and is particularly pleased with them in her kitchens and sculleries. The obvious advantages of glass quickly procured its admission to the bedroom as a covering for dressing and toilet tables; next to the diningroom as a protection from scratches and moisture for the table and buffet. To-day it is demanding an entrance into the living-room, where accurately cut plate glass in attractive sheets saves the polished tops of cherished tables from sticky little fingers, and covers window sills so that one’s eyes need no longer be outraged by the sight of ugly round marks left by the rain or by a damp plant-pot on the varnish.

Members of the New Zealand Federation of Master Painters came to a very sensible decision when they decided recently to agitate for the placing of bungholes of oil drums against the edge of the drum to prevent waste. With the present form of drum, a certain amount of oil always collects on the lid. The simple change suggested so obviously would make for economy and clean handling that it is surprising that it was not adopted long ago. A good deal of plant is now supplied in drums, similar to those used as oil containers, but it is not of much use trying to get out the paint by way of tlie bunghole. The most effective procedure is to cut out tlie head of the drum with hammer and cold chisel. This can be done without splashing or waste of paint if the tools are handled carefully. With the drum open, the paint can be thoroughly stirred. A cover should be provided for tlie drum while it is in use as a container.