SOME NEW NOTIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 60, 8 September 1938, Page 19

SOME NEW NOTIONS

The main problem that faces the modern business girl of today who lives "on her own" in a one-room flatlet, is how to banish that "bedroom" look so that she may entertain her friends in attractive surroundings that avoid any suggestion that her small home is merely a dull bed-sitting-room but which give the impression of a charming and comfortable little lounge.

THE DIVAN BED. A divan bed presents a brave face

during the daytime, especially if placed strategically in. the room and fitted with an immaculate cover that gives semblance; to a couch or sofa. Push the divan into a corner and place, a hanging (it may just be a length of some attractive printed linen, or a panel of embroidery) along the wall one end, half-way down one side, and the effect is at once more cosy yet formal. The actual cover of the divan itself has to be carefully considered. Crushed velveteen is most attractive for the purpose and no matter how much it is sat on never looks rubbed or depressed. As this is rather a costly material, a false back of cheaper fabric might be used for the long side and the end of the divan placed up against the warn. A cover, like a boxy "made-to-meas-ure" case,, is not only the most modern type, but also the most practical and economical. Laurel green or dark brown are good colours. but 'when these are used, bright, clear tones'introduced in curtains or cushions must be employed to counteract any tendency towards a too-sombre atmosphere. An old-fashioned favourite that takes on a very slick, new personality when utilised as a divan cover, is crash. In durable colours and with gay pipings of vivid contrast this is at once serviceable and inexpensive. If a small occasional table be placed at the free end to hold ash-trays, a box of cigarettes, and a vase of flowers, the divan appears even more like a modern conception of a sofa. However, the springs may incline to sag on the outside edge of the divan and it is a good idea to change it round now and again, so that the strain is equally dispersed on each side and then- after a few months when ■ you leap into, your cot, tired out after a busy day at the office, there is not the awful sensation that at any minute you will roll out on to the floor. DRESSING-TABLE VERSUS WRITING-DESK. The dressing-table is rather an ob-

HINTS FOI? A SMALL FLATLET

stacle, but this can be surmounted with a little ingenuity. A mirror hanging on the wall of your apartment will certainly magnify its modest dimensions, lighten it, and also provide a reflection for your toilet. To contrive a particularly elegant mirror that does credit to your cleverly-planned room, an elaborate gilt picture frame mounting an odd piece of mirror can be procured with comparatively; little outlay to the ready-made bevelled kind that are not so handsomely decorative any way. Then, a gaily enamelled table with at least one drawer which

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looks for all the world like a writing desk, will serve as a very good dress-ing-table. In this drawer all the bottles and jars, the brushes and combs, the trinket box can be arranged as if on the dressing table top. Hey presto! and they are ready for use, and then the next minute they are discreetly out of sight. ; It is a good plan, where there is a gas xing and other cooking utensils, to conceal all in a converted cabinet of some sort. Painted to match the other woodwork the modest little cupboard will never hint at the domestic useful-1 ness it hides yet on the occasion they can be whipped out at a moment's notice to take their part in the concoction of some tasty little morsel that bachelor girls love. A CONVERTIBLE TROLLEY. Since you may sometimes want to entertain some friends to a meal, one :of those snacks- that can be bought ready-cooked at a delicatessen'shop, a meal table will be a necessary factor in ' your furnishing scheme. For this an old wash-stand table could be utilised. This is just the right size for a trolley and with castors on each leg, a towel rail as a handle at one end, and with two drop table wings added along each side, it -will take up little space when not required, though, with the side panels up it presents itself as a very ample meal table. For finishing touches that are decorative as well as homely, try the colourful personalities of book bindings ranged in neat rows on painted shelves; experiment with the arrangement of smartly-framed pictures and photographs; put knick-knacks of value in places where they will be seen to best advantage, on shelves, by the window, or in the glowing light "of the j reading lamp; heap cushions, many ias you can muster, on the divan against the wall; and, lastly, do not forget what miracles artistically-arranged fresh flowers can do not only for the decor of the room but also as a reflection of the personality of its owner. M.R.