BEAUTY IN THE HOME

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 12870, 25 May 1936, Page 2

BEAUTY IN THE HOME

EXHIBITION OF “EVERYDAY THINGS.” GREAT INTEREST IN LONDON LONDON, April 20. An exhibition of “Everyday Things” which has' just been staged here by the Royal Institute,' of British Architects, has shown Londonersbow to bring greater beauty to their homes at moderate, cost. It is claimetd to have proved, to,, that mass pro■dfuction can bo a blessing to those with modest purses if controlled by mlanufacturers with an eve for beauty.

The origin of the exhibition lies in tha words of King Edward VIII when as Prince of Wales at the R.1.8.A. Centenary Banquet, lie -said “As an institute you are charged with the .great and honourable duty -of educating the peoplo of the your country to* better living.”

‘SENSE OF ORDER”

In explaining the motives of the exhibition in his introductory note to the catalogue, Mr. Percy E. Thomas, president of the R.-1.8.H. says !“A home good as it- may be as; a building, can never be a fully organised 'and satisfying unit- unless the same sense of order which! influenced the design, of tlicJ structure is (evident in all things inside it. “The window latches, door knobs, the cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons, saucepans, cookers and everything- else in the house can he both efficient and beautiful, land, as this exhibition tries to show, cheap . . . There is- now a simple and healthy •rel'ait ionship between beauty and use.” Beauty, or, as Mr. Thomas prefers to describe this natural relationship between appearance ■ <ancl use, “rightness,” was the keynote of the exhibition, the 2000 exhibits of which were divided into 10 sections embracing furniture, silverware and cutlery. plastics, glassware, - coraimics, dressing-table equipment, church furnishings, textiles, kitchen equipment, and building equipment.

FOR. £ISOO HOUSE

All the objects on show were massproduced or manufactured for general sale. None were specially designed for exhibition, but were >,selected from manufacturers’ stocks by a committee of 50 architect-experts. Evciy object shown can he bought in retail shops andi practically all are claimed to ho within the reach of moderate purses. Luxury goods were excluded, the upper, limit being the requireof a house costing £ISOO. The exhibition is' now to tour Britain’s chief provincial towns for a year