The Ideal Home

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 190, 8 May 1937, Page 4 (Supplement)

The Ideal Home

Exhibition at Olympia Shows Modern Trends and New Ideas rpHE Ideal Home Exhibition, which is J organised each year by the “Daily Mail,” was opened at Olympia on Tuesday, March 30, by their Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. It celebrates its coming-of-age in this, the year of Coronation, a happy coincidence which has stimulated organisers and exhibitors alike to embark on even more ambitious ventures than on previous occasions. The “tone,” inspired by the Coronation, is expressed in effects ranging from pianos with red, white and blue keyboards, to the magnificent Golden Hall of Homage, in which there is a tall gilt statue of King George VI, together with gigantic friezes, depicting the Empire peoples bearing gifts from their native lands. The aim of the exhibition is to present aspects of British achievement pertaining both to the past and to the present. It includes many features which have no direct bearing on its central idea of the ideal home. To variations on the theme of home-build-ing, dear to the hearts of the British people, have been added features representing modern engineering achievements, such as a model, in scale, of the Cunard liner, the Queen Mary, and a full-size replica of its bridge: and a model of the post office underground railway for the conveyance of mails between the various London railway stations, the trains of which are operated without drivers or conductors. Another popular feature in this category is a representation of the living quarters of the crew of a British submarine; while growing public interest in television is acknowledged by the large-scale arrangements made for the demonstration of television apparatus, consisting of a model of a typical 8.8. C. television studio, a viewing theatre presenting actual programmes, and a film entitled “Television Gomes to London.” English homes are noted for their beautiful gardens, and those at Olympia combine perfect blooms with suggestive horticultural designs in settings built round famous romantic couples, such as Dante and Beatrice and Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Closely linked up with . the central theme is the feature “Kitchens of the Nations,” in which cooks from various European countries demonstrate their national culinary skill. Of more direct bearing on the theme of the ideal home is the series of exhibits illustrating, from the angles of conception, construction and equipment, the story of the English home from early times up to the present day. This idea is further extended in the “Ideal Village,” a setting of eleven dwellings, illustrating modern tendencies in house-construc-tion and interior decoration. A striking development is the “all-in home,” or “elastic” house, with interior walls which can be moved either to change the shape of the rooms or to form such pieces of furniture as are normally placed against walls, such as bookcases, for example. These walls are made of interlocking fitments, and are capable of arrangement in 64 different combinations. Another idea is the sixwalled house, with continuous windows around four of the walls. Of laboursaving appliances, there is, as usual, a bewildering abundance. The exhibition this year is the most ambitious venture of this series which has yet been launched, and the variety and high standard of the attractions and the heightened interest which during this coronation year will be felt by English people in home and Empire history and achievements, should make it a record show. —Joseph Martin.