Letting in the Sun

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 44, 22 February 1938, Page 11

Letting in the Sun

SWEDISH INNOVATION. One of the enchanting things the visitor to Stockholm first notices, writes N.O.W. in the London Daily Mail, is the typical Swedish balcony, gaily flowered and furnished for living. Blocks of modern flats for workers in the heart of l;he city and small houses in the surrounding garden villages all have sun-facing balconies planned for comfort and privacy. Their flowing planes, painted pure white, have a look of seagulls' wings. Bright sun-blinds and flower boxes shine against the white. Most of the sun-blinds are hood-shaped, with scalloped borders, and different bright colours are used :for neighbouring blocks of flats. The contrast of tangerine, cherry, peacock and apple green gives a lighthearted sparkle to the buildings. The flower boxes are charming, too. You see a harlequinade of petugcraniums, laced with white petunias, and pots of those curiously decorative Victorian flowers—gloxinias and plump coral-red begonias. Cacti gardens are cherished in tho sun-trap extensions to the living rooms, which are a feature of the small houses. Sun-rooms and built-out balconies

alike are most sensibly furnished fox living, so that the owners can havt their fill of sunshine and fresh air oa fine days. And how many days there are in the year when one can sit out i® comfort in a well-planned sun-trap. W« don't make full use of ours in this country. Meals Taken in the Sun. Meals are taken in the Swedish home in these sun-trap rooms, or on the balcony in summer. A very light round table of birch, and chairs to match, are the favourite furnishings. The lady of the house has her sewing machine, lowslung modern chair, and elbow-high table. The lounging chairs may be modern rockers or occasional, those wheelbarrow couches which have recently travelled to England, and look so amusing when their mattress cushions are plaid-cbecked or hugely spotted in white or scarlet. Actually the cushions on Swedish chairs and sofas are often hand-woven by the housewife herself, and the rugs may be most attractive "rag" ones, usually made from saredup stockings.