CUSHIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19744, 17 September 1927, Page 6 (Supplement)

CUSHIONS.

Bt 11. J. BWhen one is furnishing a living room, where much time is to be spent, the finishing touch is, generally, cushions. Cushions are the things that turn a room from an apartment into a home. The Delicate Silk. Cushions, first of all, show the individuality of the owner; secondly, the character of the users of the room. When, as a young bride, you fix up your living room, you have cushions of silk, and other fine materials, perhaps, beautifully embroidered bv your own diligent hands you sewed all sorts of happy thoughts into them as you worked. The Durable Kind. The years speed on, the covers wear out, not to be replaced with silk or velvet, but by some durable washing material that will stand being pulled about by grubby little hands. Now you work them for use, not for ornament. They now get doubled up under an aching head, perhaps laid on the floor, in front of the fire; even, perhaps, used in pillow fights, if you are out of the way. The Story They Tell. "What a story some of the old cushions in our homes could tell! You know the verv cushion where you sobbed your heart out when the boy, so brave and young, marched off to that awful war. Ihe tear-stains were there for a long time. Then there is the cushion with which you propped up the back of the invalid when he was getting better. Then, there is "your own particular cushion, without which you do not feel properly comfortable. The more you think of them, the more you realise the important part they play in a home. From an artistic point of view, a fewbright coloured cushions will brighten up quite a dull, sombre room, and make it a different place. I once saw an utterly dull, sunless room, turned into a thing of beauty, when the owner papered the walls with pale primrose colour, hung vellow curtains at the window, and covered several large cushions with primrosetinted material. Whenever you entered, a warm, sunshiny feeling came over you, and the room was no longer the depressing place it had been, even though the sun hid itself round the corner. I suppose we all like cushions, because they mean rest, and that is what wo all want very often. A paternal Railway Department, with a genuine sympathy for the " travelling public," has entered into this feeling. Tho cushions they supply on the Limited Express are worth their weight in gold. When, for the lowly sum of one shilling you can have a pillow for your head, for one more shilling you get one for your back, for yet one more, you get one for your feet, you feel that the journey is robbed of half its terrors, and now that paper bags have been added, ■what more could one desire ? Those Akin to People. Have you ever thought that some people are like cushions ? They seem to be meant to lean on, and they generally get it, too. People always tell them their ■woes and troubles, and lean on them for help and advice. They are, generally, the quief, unassuming people, who don't make mucfi stir in the community. We find, often, that they are taking more than their share of life's burdens. Ah, well, the world would be s, harder place, without our dear, cushiony friends. So, let ns love and cherish them, while we have 1 them. They vanish from our ken, all too Boon. :