FOR CARE-FREE LIVING

Evening Star, Issue 21992, 30 March 1935, Page 23

FOR CARE-FREE LIVING

THE COMFORTABLE HOME A PLAGE OF RELAXATION. A home, above all things, must be a place of relaxation. To live in a beautifully furnished house which is not comfortable is like living in a museum. One must walk about and sit down with care, must not drop cigarette ash, 'must not move the furniture to a more convenient position ■ —must, in short, make oneself completely uncomfortable in order that the beauty of the furniture may bo preserved, writes a contributor to the ‘ Woman’s Journal.’ But a house where the whole family can move about with comfort, can sink down into chairs without fear of breaking the springs, is a real home, and worth striving to achieve. Naturally, the choice of furniture is the most important factor. Fortunately, these days, the trend of design is towards simplicity. Scarcity of domestic labour and the interest taken by most women in problems outside their homo -have made it very necessary that furniture should be easy to clean and be kept in good condition with the minimum of labour. Walls and Floods. Delicate wallpapers which showed every mark are no longer popular. Washable wallpapers, distempers, and oil paints have superseded them. Finger marks can be washed off, ami there is no longer any need to raise the old cry, “ Don’t mark the wallpaper.” Plain carpets, it must be admitted, do show marks more easily than those with a small all-over design. But as they make for rcstfnlness, and when fitted to the skirting, for cosiness, too, it is

worth shutting one eye to this drawback. A good pile carpet, however, will wear for a long time without needing to be cleaned if it is taken care of properly. Sweeping grit into the carpet instead of out of it, by brushing the pile in the wrong way, soon wears out the thickest and sturdiest weaves, but vacuum cleaners are an invaluable help, and to possess ono it is worth economising in other directions. And now for the main help towards making a home really homelike—the furniture. Choose the simplest lines and sturdy woods, and you will not go far wrong. Oak, if it is good oak, not stained deal, is one of tho hardest of woods, and if it is light, will need no polishing. Australian walnut is another hard-wearing wood, arid is good with the fabrics of to-day. Fruit trees, apple, cherry, and pear also give sound-timber, as do some of tho woods from Canada and Australia, Columbian pine, and Queensland maple. Mahogany is a hard-wearing wood, bub it does not look at its best when it is made up in tho style of to-day, and accompanied by modern fabrics. Tt needs elaborate design and expensive brocades to set it off to advantage. Built-in furniture is a splendid ally when one is trying to achieve a. carefree atmosphere, if you plan the accommodation you want very carefully, you can get the local carpenter to do the actual work.' This furniture saves a lot of work, and. is extremely useful. Unit furniture, made on the straightest of straight lines, is also good. Fabrics for Upholstery. The rush and bustle of modern life have banished delicate silk from our homes. We have no time to treat it with care, and wc want something sturdy that we can live with easily. All the now tweed-like fabrics used for upholstery fulfil this need. Linen, or linen tweed, makes excellent and very hard-wearing curtains. So docs cotton. It is a better investment to buy a fadeless cotton fabric than launders

easily and quickly than it is to get a more delicate imitation silk. With this type of background, few ornaments are necessary, but they must be well chosen. Bowls and jugs of good shape in glass or pottery, and plenty of flowers will make your rooms far more attractive than a lot of fussy accessories. , The simpler the colour schemes you choose for your home these days the better will you reveal the design of fabric and wood. Light backgrounds, pale primrose, French grey, a soft sil-, very green, a pale turquoise, all are good if the aspect of the room is considered before the scheme is chosen. Simply designed fabrics, or those that rely on their weaves for decoration, are best for hangings. Avoid over-large, fantastic designs. They are bad modernism, and extravagance in its worst form, as you will so quickly tire of them, and need more. The best modern fabrics are restrained in colouring and design, never flamboyant or self-conscious; and this applies to rugs as well. So let your home he a simple one where everyday life can be enjoyed in ease and comfort.