IDEAL HOMES

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 108, 9 May 1930, Page 9

IDEAL HOMES

THIS YEAR'S DISPLAY

A WOMAN'S DESIGN

LABOUR SATING DEVICES

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, 27th March. Two acres of extra space are available this year for the Ideal Home Exhibition, for the new Empire Hall has been brought into use. Hence, the one now in progress may be called the greatest of all Ideal Homo Exhibitions. la the main hall the city of shops Vas sprung up under a vast pergola Plough the silver pillars of which visitors may look upon the landscapes nnd seascapes which entirely encompass the hall. .■" The increase of space has made possible the introduction of new sections and the. inclusion of special features in harmony with the outlook of the times. There is, for instaucc, the "Nurseries of the Nations." This series includes replicas of the nurseries of Holland, Turkey, Hungary, Lapland, and Japan, as well as an English nursery of to-day and an ultra-modern nursery of 1960. In this last-meutioued the ceiling is made to roll back to admit the maximum amount of fresh air and sunshine, while the cot is designed to protect the child from excessive sun and glare of light. The furniture consists of a changing table, food trolley with thermometer indicating the needs of the child as regards the correct temperature of foods, the necessary amount of vitamin and calories content, and cot and chairs and tables of the most perfect hygienic and labour-saving description. Then there is a most : interesting series showing1 what is usually done with ian attic, and can be done with it. In four exhibits the same shaped attic, which is modelled on one in actual existence, has been treated in different wa3"s. The first shows how an attic was invariably found in the past, dusty and neglected. Next is offered a suggestion for a "quiet room" in the house. Further, the attic can be transformed into an ideal room for a child to make all the noise he desires. Still another is converted into a bedroom for a young girl, with pleasing colour scheme and modern furniture. Yet another is for the bachelor girl, aud the last is treated as a bachelor flat. PAVILION OF LIGHT. The "Pavilion of Light" has como into being as the result of a £1000 competition in conjunction with the General Electric Company. The competition was open to British architects, decorative artists, and electrical contractors, the aim being to show the important part which lighting plays in the home, and the relationship it bears to architecture, furnishing, and decoraf tion. The suite of six rooms comprises- a lounge, dining-room, bedroom, nursery, kitchen, aud bathroom. Nothing quite like the dining-room has ever been seen before. The walls and ceilings are of black glass with a narrow rose-coloured mirror, glass strip figures as a cornice, and as part of the architraves, with stainless steel skirting. The threshold of the doors is lighted from below and an etched panel lighted from behind forms a dado between the two doors. The central feature of the room is an extremely novel dining-table fashioned entirely of glass, the top being illuminated by light which is also projected downward upon a rectangular tank containing gold fish and aquatic vegetation. In the bedroom is a dressing table which is surely the.last word in luxury, or at least in lighting luxury. The lady who is beautifying herself sits on a stool placed on glass, from beneath which comes a flood of light. Two side tables are illuminated the full lcnjgth by other concealed lights, and overhead is a wide umbrella-like arrangement which sheds another flood of opal light upon the occupant of the scat. Thus, there are no shadows thrown on the occupant and none reflected from tho full-length mirror before her. There'is a "Gallery of Art and Antiques." A courtyard of old Spain gives access to a richly-panelled room created and furnished by oue of the famous decorative firms in the country. Beyond this is a. gallery where art firms aje showing a valuable collection of famous painters. Then there are remarkable collections of antiques. "HOUSE THAT JILL BUILT." In the constructed village, which is always a feature of the exhibition, there is the "House that Jill Built." In order to provide women with an opportunity of substantiating a charge that architects could not design a house to meet fully the requirements of women, the "Daily Mail" organised a competition, and the "House that Jill Built" is based on the winning specification and rough sketch plans of the first prize-winner, Mrs. P. A. Lee, of Croydon, who has collaborated with' tho exhibition architect, Mr. Douglas G. Tanner, F.R.LB.A., in the building of this unusual house. Although extremely original and even daring in conception, it is of a very practical order. The principal idea has been to avoid any waste of money in unnecessary decora- ' tions and to extend the outlay on good materials and a maximum equipment of real labour-saving devices. An original idea is the elimination of fireplaces ana mantelpieces, there being only one fireplace—in the living-ror/i— the rest of the house being fitted throughout with central heating apparatus, operated thermostatically. Instead of a , dining-room there is a dining recess where meals are served by way of a dresser fitment communicating with the Kitchen. In addition to the three good size bedrooms there is a delightful sleeping porch open to the south which may alternatively be used as a playground for children Eubber covering for the kitchen, stairs, Arsery, landing, and the bathroom is an important feature. Every room is used for the purpose for which it is planned, and there is no "best room" reserved for , special occasions. SOME OP THE NOVELTIES* A thorough inspection of the whole exhbition is a matter for more than one whole day. No one could come away without the feeling that domestic labour should now be reduced to the minimum,—providing, of course, one has the means to buy the machinery and pay for the electric power used. With the electrically driven washing machines —the power being applied to overy process—washing clothes becomes an easy matter. On one machine the electrically driven wringer swings round on a pivot over three different tubs, and tho progress from the boiling water , to the coldrwater, thence to the blued water, is easy and rapid. Gas stoves have now been evolfed so that the fire is a perfect imitation of theeoal fire. Of the hundreds of things of interest one sees, these arc1 a few that appear to be novel or especially interesting. A firm which previously made wooden dish mats of strips of wood havo now extended their activities to making large floor coverings of the samo material. A carpet of oak or mahogany would last for a lifetime. It may hero be mentioned that such a carpet is supplied to cover the 16,000 square feet of tho ice rink at Grosvonor Housd when it is desired to convert if into a dancing floor. Tho conversion process takes only five hours. The

Italian firm has been making dish mats for thirty years, but it is only, recently they have established themaelves'iu London and produced these remarkablo floor coverings. Great developments seem to have taken place in the decoration of bathrooms. Here is ono, for instance, with a black porcelain bath. Tho walls are of plate glass, tho inner side being painted in faint rainbow shades. Here is a bathroom with' walls apparently ot marble. It is really slate made to look like marble, and this is said to be just as durable as marble.

MUSIC AT WAKING. A certain weU-llnown firm of clock makers has produced a clock for about 30s which is meant to wake- a sleeper in the morning. Instead of making an unholy din, these little clocks play a selected tune. One or two gramophone companies havo instruments which wi 1 play for as much as 90 minutes without attention. The records are placed in position automatically and the power is produced from the electric plug. A whole opera may be played through Here is a 6ft rule made ot steel. It will stand straight as a wooden rod, but, if desired, it may be bent round corners or even tied in knots. A clothesline arranged on a stalk and racLating rods seems to be most uscful.-AVhen the rain comes on the stalk is pulled out of the ground, tho radiating rods are let down, and tho whole thing-clothes and all—carried into the house. One may walk on board a -Noah s Ark and meet'the tame leopard, monkeys, birds of paradise, toucans, and a variety of other pets. &?*■» ° i 1 most successful among tho 'broadcasting" birds are the nightingale canaries. The idea was conceived a lew years ago that if canaries were kept in close proximity to nightingales; thcj would be able to imitate the nightingale's song. Their "performance at the Ideal Home Exhibition proves that this was not a vain notion. In the out-of-doors exhibits theie is a ear cruiser-caravan, built on aircraft lines, which was arousing much interest, and its streamlined shape isde- ! signed to reduce wind resistance. It is : described as an ideal home «» wheels. A model to sleep fa™' costs A-' „ less expensive caravan (£47 os) is on the lines of a tented cart, and it can form the centre compartment of a threeroomed canvas house. When dismantled it serves as a luggage : carrier, or it may be used to carry milk pails to market. . , The maker of black cat teapots has extended the principle to white Pekinese dogs. The tail acts as a handle and the tea pours through the paws. The Gardens of tho Artists are a development of the gardens of other years, and are charming with their flowing streams and waterfalls and old stonework. ' , Furniture, decoration, heating ana lighting, refrigeration, cookery, radio, re-creation, all form important sections of the exhibition,' and contain the latest inventions and designs to make domestic life more pleasant.