IDEAL HOMES

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 106, 8 May 1933, Page 9

IDEAL HOMES

OLYMPIA DISPLAY

LABOUR-SAVING, .DEVICES

HOUSES AND EI/ATS

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, March 31. ; Mrs. Stanley Baldwin opened the "Daily :Mail" Ideal Homo Exhibition at Olympia. "My message to this exhibition," she said, "is the ~wish that the ideal home may bring forth ideal people to live in it for the future happiness of our people and our Empire. I am amazed at the strides that have been made inthe,direction'of the ideal home. There aro a thousand and one things in exhibition, which must fire every' woman who sees them with a fresh ambition to make 'home' more and more worthy of the name." She was particularly impressed by the fact that the majority of tho new ideas that she saw embodied on the stands were British. The' Tillage of Ideal Homes has been designed to typify what can be done to preserve the rural face of England, and the' Lane-that-wasspared-by-the- :- builder-of-ideals is a suggestion for modem estates builders. The lane is modelled upon an old 1 country road from Shere to Ewhurst, in Surrey. The houses are modelled on nothing that has been seen completed in brick and mortar until now. These are the dwellings of the future, for every feature of design,' construction, and equipment is within the reach of the homebuilder of 1933. The most modest of this group of houses is a'bungalow with living-room, ' two bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom, which may be bought in sections for from £105 to £165. Another form of bungalow priced at about £200. has an exterior design conforming to Tador traditions. The walls are of creamcoloured rough-cast asbestos sheets, panelled out with blackened battens. The living-room is 19ft by 15ft, • tlia first bedroom 15ft by 13ft, the second 14ft by lift,' and the kitchen lift by 9ft: Carriage is paid to any railway station, in England and Wales, and_ tho house can be erected 'by unskilled labour. , ■~ Then there is the house for small families of modest means seeking . a detached house with space for a future garage. This is claimed' to \be the only detached house in the London area sola on low deposit terms at £750 to £775 freehold,, with all road.and legal charges paid. The drawing-room is 12ft 3in by lift 4An, and the diningroom 14ft 3in by 10ft Bin. There arethree bedrooms. On a higher grade are semi-detached houses costing £985 freehold. On the ground floor are a drawing-room 12ft Bin by 12ft, a dining-room of similar size with French casement to tho back garden; and kitchen 10ft 6in by Bft 9in. Two bedrooms are each 12ft by dlft.and a third 10ft 2in by Bft 6in. The more elaborate houses of the vil- " lage cost about £2000, and one costing £2200 .contains three reception rooms, six bedrooms, and three bathrooms. NEW HEALTH HOUSE. i One of the houses is called the New Health House. It is designed generally on Georgian lines but incorporates sucH features as modern metal windows and a" specially designed sun nursery. This is fitted out on lines. recommend-ed-by the New Health Society, the president of which is Sir :I \V. Arbuthjiot'Laac. Vita glass-is used in-all-the windows. The walls of the bathroom are panelled in opaque glass. All the doors aro manufactured from Empire timbers. The staircase architraves, skirtings, and woodwork generally of each room are stained with soligmim and wax polished. Clocks in tho house are of the synchronous electric type. In the bathroom you can sun-hathe as well as bathe. There is also a flat roof. The rooms consist of dining-room, kitcEen, five bedrooms, nursery, entrance ■liall, lounge, and cloakroom, and with all the most modern equipment selected the price would be from £1985. Of practical value is a series of kitchens designed by Mrs. Darcy Braddell, tho Well-known home-planning authority. Protesting that kitchens should not become inhuman to live with and in, Mrsi Braddell demands that some element of homeliness must be permitted to find its way back to the moat-used Toom in the house. In one case the floor is of rubber,, silent and springy: to the tread. Under a window of rustless aluminium fiuish aTe large double sinks and draining ' boards made entirely of rustless Monel metal, one sink for washing up and one for vegetables. In, a pleasant rounded alcove, with walls of rubber, is set a handsome electric cooker which has table tops of Monel metal on each side of it and, behind, a metal splash-back. Chromium steel furniture adds to the smartness of the room. The cooking table has a top of armour-plate glass, unbreakable, nnscratchable, and cleaned in a moment. Cupboards in. smart white cellulose finish Tun from floor to ceiling. Cabinets, an electric refrigerator, and all the remaining wall surf aces are finished in tho same smart way. The curtains are of oiled waterproof silk. Hot water for central heating and domestic supply is obtained from an oil-fired boiler, controlled by a thermostat, which needs only occasional attention. THE FLAT DWELLER. How the kitchen of a small modern flat of the fairly expensive kind common in London can bo made comfortable is shown in another example eon- ' taining an electric cooker, sink, and ' refrigerator .carried out in a pleasing colour scheme. Cupboards giving good storage room and table tops aro assembled to the best advantage without overcrowding, and leavo a cosy rpcess for meals and leisure. Where the kitchen has also to servo as tho maid's sittingroom, Mrs. Braddell shows that a most cosy apartment may be contrived which ■will yet maintain its workmanliko quality. The comfort of tho maid is studied by a neat space-saving arrangement. Placed between the windows is a specially designed folding table which gives the maid always a free table for her meals, and conceals, when closed, a wall cupboard containing her ■ own crockery.. In the skyscraper flat of 1950 everything is designed for simplicity and practical utility. The furniture is built-in. Tho dining table is in a recess at the back of the living room. A settee is built alongside it. Behind is a service trap which would communicate with a restaurant; but thero is a kitchen, fully equipped, that has tho compactness of one on a dining car, for use on occasions. One wall of tho_ sitting-room carries an electdc fire right round its base, with elements individually controlled 80: that the tenant may have warmth in whatever part of tho room ho elects to sit. Lighting is of the concealed variety, from a .shallow glazed dome in thty ceiling, which reflects light nil over the room. The,living-room is 20ft by 17ft; the bedroom 12ft square. The complete .end wall of the living-room opena .on to ,a balcony, so thajf it is possible to make it an open air room in propitious weather. The- bathroom, with mirror walls, is so,,arranged that there is 'a,. dressing space with table and wardrobe. . . DINNEK PAETIES. '< "Ideal-Dinner Parties", is designed to let;women.into the secrets of achieving ; .pdpularitjr as a "gerfecli-hostesses

Under this title six of tie';, most prominent women in society show how the perfect dinner party is arranged and perfect hospitality dispensed. ' The six leaders of society who, selecting the decorations, table appointments, the menu and guests, have each reproduced a."still life" 'dinner party, in exact detail as sho would'give it in her own home in Mayfair, are the Marchioness of Londonderry, Baroness D'Erlanger, Lady Portarlington, Lady Phyllis Allen, the Lady Mount.Temple, and Lady Pamela Smith. . Baroness D'Erlanger is the hostess at the first dinner party, in the setting for which are seen very .beautiful pieces of Spanish and Italian furniture, with Spanish glass, decanters and candlesticks copied, in finely cut glass, from some in her own possession. Irish linen,a choice "five>piece" strip set, runs down either side of a striking Spanish table to its full length, and admirably displays the beauty of the silver, glass, and plate. To this table Baroness D'Erlanger would invite leaders of industry, and she would serve the simplest of fare; , Lady Pamela, Smith is the : second hostess. She r chooses a green-panelled room, of early German period, with 16th century furniture. To a big oak table sho invites speed kings on land, sea, and in the air., heroes of the stage, and rising young men o.f letters; —Sir Malcolm Campbell, Flight-Lieut. Stainforth, Captain Woolf Barnato, Mr. John Gielgud, Mr. Randolph Churchill, Mr. Beverley Nieholls, and her brother) the Earl of Birkcnhead. It may be mentioned that most of the furnishings and decorative pieces shown in the rooms are not treasured originals, but most cleverly and artistically created reproductions. ■ HEATING AND LIGHTING. Heating and lighting by all the,, most modern devices' of electricity', gas, coal, and oil offer many alternative suggestions in yet another complete exhibition. This is a sphere whero rivalry has urged amazing progress, ■ until the efficiency and cleanliness of every method of warming and illuminating the home leave a bewildering choice. Tho world's finest display of carpets and rugs is another attraction in the Grand Hall.- .■■-■■■• ■•• Then the gallery of the Grand Hall houses all the latest in domestic lab-our-saving devices. Here the displays of a well-known firm form perhaps the largest individually-owned exhibit ever shown in a trade or public exhibition at Olympian and comprises the full range of the most modern domestic utility articles on the market. The drudgery of housework has certainly been cut down to a-minimum. AVith less effort and less expense every job about the home may now be performed more quickly and effectively than, ever before. The thousands of.ingenious gadgets that make housework easier range from a! special long4asting floor polish which dries into a shining non-slippery surface to a flue brush which guards the user from falling soot. A great joy to householders in the future wall be a dry-cleaner' for the home. Silk frocks may be dry-cleaned in three minutes, and the process costs only sixpence. ■ :■.■.-