IN ENGLAND NOW

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 248, 15 July 1932, Page 5

IN ENGLAND NOW

Budget of Novel Ideas For the Home FURNISHING SCHEMES Dominion Special Service. London, May 27. “Strong personalities require subdued backgrounds: only colourless women want colour-riots," is the idea of a Scotswoman who has just furnished a model house in Berkeley Street in the new style of restrained modernism. Plain brown carpets throughout, walls covered with plain parchment paper, hand-painted and waxed, furniture of beautifully grained woods such as laburnum, and subtle touches of colour supplied by a jade bowl or a richly patterned hanging are one’s main impressions of this "strong personality” house. Independent cf “Period,” The newest furnishing schemes are independent of “period," whether ancient or modern, and the treatment of the new wing at Claridge’s shows what a refreshing development this is. Both the ballroom and the private suites are revolutionary in their rejection of period styles. No more rose du Barry carpets and upholstery; no more Louis XV cabriole legs and mantelpieces. Every bit of furniture is designed specially by the architect, and the result is austere, yet comfortable and restful. Not everyone has the space to store away fireside accessories when summer comes, so such items as a coalbox built in the form of a square cubby table, and decorative chromlum-plated tongs that hang on a hook screwed into the wall, could be usefully adapted for the home from the newly decorated rooms at this hotel. Zip-fastened cases of quilted silk to match the bedspreads conceal the pillows during the day with charming effect. Rubber Bathroom Curtains. Pastel pink and Blue rubber, bought by the yard and cut to size, makes pretty and practical bathroom curtains. . Another source of good ideas for the home is an architects’ exhibition now running in London. Leathercloth, im new stippled and linen effects, is used for curtains and wallpaper. It makes splendid washable hangings, because, contrary to expectation, it pleats and hangs well. Grained to imitate leather, in vivid red, blue, or green, it is used not only as desk tops and chair seats, but as complete coverings for bureaux, tables, and armchairs. Gaily, coloured bath taps are made of a synthetic plastic material. They are unbreakable and easy to clean, and do not get hot, Blinds that flap are a great nuisance on summer days when, windows are open, and a good plan demonstrated here is to have lightning fasteners fitted at the sides. INDOORS AND OUT German architects have been encouraged by a competition just opened to design a “growing house”—that is, a house which starts as a hut or tiny bungalow, and can be added to until it grows into a full-fledged house. Millions of Germans own a little patch of garden with a tiny hut located on the outskirts of the cities. But many of the huts are far too small to allow their owners to live in them. A method is now sought by which these huts can be converted into houses.

Homes Without Joints. Jointless houses are planned by European architects, who have called on chemists to produce a plastic wall putty. The reasons for their efforts to eliminate joints are that every joint in the floor is an accumulator of dirt, every joint in a wall, wallboard, or wainscoting is a danger point for the strength and durability of the construction. On the other hand, as joints are safety valves for stresses of expansion and contraction due to changing temperatures, the new materials and putty must be elastic.

Clean Aluminium Cups. Many people use aluminium drinking cups for jiicnlcs, and it is essential that these should be kept spotlessly clean. It is not always easy to wash the pups at once, and consequently obstinate stains make their appearance. The best way to keep the cups free from stains and perfectly fresh is to treat them with weak vinegar and water, which has been brought slowly to the boil. Any stains which do not yield to this treatment will come away with an application of salt or crushed eggshell. Soap and soda have an extremely detrimental effect on aluminium. * * « Neat Hungarian Homes. For sheer beauty the Hungarian homes cannot be beaten. The Magyar, as the true Hungarian calls himself, has a passion for colourful design and decorative features in his house. The outside walls are daz.zliugly white and clean, but the gables are handsomely carved and painted in gay colourings. Within the house I lie furniture is decorated with ornamental designs, the chairs are painted, and skilfully carved chests add their harmonious note. The walls of the rooms ami the beams across the ceilings are prettily tinted. ,The Magyar housewife boasts a most attractive kitchen, with shelves full of dishes and pitchers of attractive hue, and a gleaming pot which hangs from a crane over an open fireplace or a tiled cooking stove.