BUILDING AND HOMES

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 82, 31 December 1929, Page 14

BUILDING AND HOMES

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STRAY NOTES UP-TO-DATE CUSHIONS In the United States, cushions are regarded as an important item in furnishing, and receive thoughtful attention from experts in decoration. Plenty of down cushions add greatly to the comfort of a room, one authoritiy observes, but among the minor details of a home fe,v need more careful and wise selection than the covers of these same cushions. Each should have as distinct a relation to its surroundings as the ornament on a hat, and is just as important in producing the right or the wrong effect. Many cushions in heterogeneous types a id colours spoil any room, however well t aought out it may be in other respects :nd however well furnished. They can make it look thoroughly old-fashioned, while on the other hand a simple and ordinary room may be given distinctiou by something new and individual in the way of cushion covers. So, if we wish to keep our rooms up-to-date, it behoves us to watch- thc style changes in this item. The shape is one of the important things nowadays, and the pillow shape is decidedly first favourite. Round pillow cushions are also still very popular, and to a certain extent the bolster, Tut a shape very much. longer and narrower than a pillow is newer than this lastnamed. The idea of introducing brilliant touches of colour by means of bright covers has to a large extent gone out. The necessary note of contrast in a room which needs relief is supplied in much less studied and obvious ways—for instance, in a lampshade or a porcelain figure. Roman satin in delicate colours sueh as primrose is used with appliques of embroidery, either to tone or to harmonise. Beige is still one of the best furnishing colours, and a charming room recently seen had nearly all the' cushions done in beige, gray, and browns, with touches of pink and rose. A very unobtrusive way of bringing in this warmer tone was seen in a brown corded silk pillow-shaped cushion, edged with a velvet flounce and lined with rose silk. Double crossway flounces on round and pillow cushions are put on with very little fullness. Sometimes, when finishing thc ends of the pillow-shaped cushion, they are just crossway strips of the material, eased on. A delightful example in the latter category was a pale brown velvet cushion bordered with a band in a deeper tint, with three flat flounces at the ends in graduated tones of the same colour. The majority of cushions are, however, finished plainly—are what an expert called very “well tailored.” They look smart, edged with a little IA-inch wide ruche, frayed at the edges of the silk or satin with which-they are covered. Narrow flat fringes are also much used. A most attractive cushion was in the long-, narrow, oblong shape in fawn silk moire velvet, with three little flat frills at each end edged with leaf-green silk fringe. Oriental embroideries in bands and various shaped motifs appear on some of thc. most successful cushions. This particular embroidery has a decorative value that makes it specially good in furnishing schemes. FINISHING OAK To finish oak to a rich, dull old oak shade, obtain 2 oz. drop black ground in turpentine from a local painter. Dissolve 2 oz. bruised asphaltum in halfpint of turpentine. Mix the above together in such proportions that they give ,the desired shade when tested on a piece of scrap oak. Now add 1 oz. of best gold size and then apply thc stain with a bristle brush. Allow thc stain to strife into the wood for about ten minutes and then lightly wipe away the surplus stain and tears with a sponge cloth or similar open rag. Allow the work to dry for 24 hours, and then give it a coat of brush polish to fix the stain. AVhen dry, ease down any roughness with No. 1 or No. 0 glasspaper and apply wax polish at intervals. If you desire lighter patches to imitate the old and worn oak, glasspaper such desired patches- until you have removed some of the stain, remembering that they would naturally occur in places that' would be. constantly rubbed during cvegyday wear.—“ English Mechanics.”

“JACK PLANE."!

COLOUR IN FLOORS Floors have been the last to yield to the prevalent use of colour in thc modern home, but they are now being painted and decorated in almost all thc ordinary tints. Blue, green, coral, and yellow are popular for bedroom floors. In the sunparlour we usually find grey, tan, yellow or green. For the other floors almost any colour is used. Even in the living room the floor has some gay painted finish which harmonises with the surrounding stylo of decoration. Not only are the floors painted in plain colours’, they are also embellished with stencil borders and stencil corner designs. No doubt the present style had its origin in the customary painting of old-fashioned wide board softwood floors, which simply had to be given a coating of some kind to render them washable and decent in appearance. Later all softwood floors were painted, and finally the usage has extended to the finer floors having a natural finish. It has been discovered that even the most expensive hardwood floor can often be made more beautiful with a little decorating of the right kind. Some woods do not possess a strongly figured grain unless a stain is used to bring it out. therefore special finishes have lately been perfected" to enhance the wood beauty and to supply the demand for colour. ... There is nothing complicated about the process of treatment. It.is accomplished in the following manner: First the floor is thoroughly cleaned, and if there are prominent dark spots these are scraped or bleached. Then the stain is applied, the brush being operated in the direction of the grain, or parallel to the boards. The surface is gone over a second time without using additional stain on the brush. The floor is then allowed to dry, which usually requires from seven to twelve hours, and after that it is sandpapered hnd dusted. To soften, the tone of . the stain colour a specially prepared clear lacquer is now applied. It is not put on by brushing back and forth, but is flowed on. It dries quickly and may be gone over with sandpaper after two or three hours. Finally, two coats of a special varnish are applied, and the job is completed. After a floor has been treated in this manner, it possesses an unusual richness of tone, which is pleasing for any room. The stains come in a variety of shades, so that a home owner will have no difficulty in selecting tints to harmonise with every style of decoration. Some of the colours which have created a popular appeal are royal blue, orchid, silver gray, pastel greeq,_ pale yellow and autumn brown.—“ Christian Science Monitor,”