THE HOME.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4528, 7 April 1934, Page 3

THE HOME.

MY HOME AND YOURS. Of course, we could not afford to employ a painter and decorator when we took our new home, so my husband and I did a lot of the decoration ourselves. And we employed a practical man by the hour to do the rest.

When you take a- house which you have to decorate my advice to any woman is not to contract out the decoration, but to employ a man by the hour who works on his own account, taking care, of course, that he is a good workman and that he will carry out your plans. Personally, I’m all for distemper, because when it is varnished it can be washed. That’s a hint worth knowing. Lots of people don’t know that distemper varnished is washable. The walls of my bedroom are treated like that. You can get the most delightful shades in distemper these days. Distemper dries in eight hours, so that the three coats required can be given in a day and a half. Give one first thing in the morning, the second at night, and the last the next morning. Then, when that is dry, it is ready for varnishing.

About trying out colours in distemper. Don’t start on the walls, or the furniture, right away with a shade and then discover that it is not coming out exactly as you wanted. This is what I do: I have a piece of board by me before I start distempering. On this board I try out the colours I want. It is no harm spoiling a piece of board, but it is a nuisance to spoil a bit of wall or furniture. When I’m satisfied wjith the colour —on the bit of wood—then I start painting whatever I intend doing.

If you want to add some furniture to your home when you are redecorating, or going into a new house or flat, it is most economical to get pieces of white wood, which can be charming copies of period pieces if you like, or in the modern spirit if you prefer. Distemper will come to your aid again, for you can distemper the furniture instead of painting it. The distemper sinks into the wood (the soft white wood just drinks it up quickly), and when it is varnished one never imagines that it is merely distemper and not the more aristocratic paint ! I must tell you something about varriish. You know it changes the shade of the distemper sometimes. For instance, pale pink distemper, when varnished, becomes a lovely tone of apricot, which is rather nice for an east or north room, as it has warmth of tone.