BEAUTY OF WOOD

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 17, 21 January 1936, Page 15

BEAUTY OF WOOD

INTERESTING BYWAYS

VOGUE FOR ALL-CREAM

ROOMS

That the beauty of wood needs no such adornments as varnish, paint, carving, or inlay, has been proved by an Australian woman decorator, Mrs. Margo Lewers, whose flair for interior decoration leads her into interesting byways, well off the beaten track (states a writer in an exchange).

It began through the vogue for allcream rooms. Mrs. Lewers felt that in Australia this would be something bigger than a passing fashion in furnishing. Cream walls, floors, and ceilings are especially suited to the climate, suggesting brightness in winter, and coolness in summer, and so they have probably come to stay. For many months now, Mrs. Lewers has been painting linen for hangings and cushions, and moulding pottery bowls and vases to fit into such backgrounds; but, feeling that there was still something lacking, she began to experiment with wood in its natural colour.

She designed bookshelves, occasional tables, and single chairs in wood that was quite naked! These suited the cream decorations perfectly, and Mrs. Lewers has so fallen in love with the odd pieces, that now she is designing the complete furnishings of her new home along these lines.

Her dressing-room will have lowboys and dressing tables of natural wood, with brown handles. Her beds, which are made like boxes, so that their covers tuck into the sides that reach down to the floor, will be so placed that, by day, they will form a right-angular settee in the corner of her lounge-room. The other wood in this room, and in the dining-room, will also be undecorated. Apart from the beauty of such a scheme, Mrs. Lewers prefers wood that reveals itself to the world, because blemishes or cracks cannot hope thus to conceal themselves. In addition, any cushions or hangings cannot quarrel with the shade of the woodwork, and the changes are easily wrought when one decides to live with a different coloured curtain.

Mrs. Lewers has also made nut bowls, fruit bowls, and coffee trays in plain unvarnished pine, and the nut bowls have sensible wooden crackers to keep them and the nuts company. These are waxed, too, and, therefore, are ideal for the purposes for which they are intended. In fact, I the use1 of this medium for small pieces, as well as heavy furniture, has so much to recommend it that Mrs. Lewers, in her new venture, is sure to find many disciples. It need hardly be added that such an experiment would prove equally successful in New Zealand, where climatic conditions are similar, and it is to be hoped that some enterprising decorator will accept the challenge.