A HALL THAT WELCOMES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22620, 7 January 1937, Page 3

A HALL THAT WELCOMES

VALUE OF LIGHT AND SPACE The hall, landing and stairs of a house are the links that gather the thread of the different rooms together and put the final seal of completeness to the whole, states an overseas writer. .Because the. hall is the central point of the house it is often not as light as a room, and is probably quite small. Remember this when you start to decorate and choose your colours and furnishings to give the greatest possible effect of light and space.

The best plan is to have light neutral coloured walls and paint and give the colour note with rugs and curtains. Neutral shades nowadays need not be dull, for there are many graduations of cream, buff and grey, from the purelyneutral tone to those flushed with pink or yellow. 1 would choose myself a good washable distemper of glossy paint in a tone between buff and cream with the faintest tinge of pink in it and the paintwork to go with this can be almost any colour —green would be very suitable. The ceiling of the hall and landing should match the walls, and with the btifl tone tinged with pink, a pink coiling would be pretty and original. ll" you have stairs in your house which have to be painted, give them a coat that will match the doors. Green stairs with a fawn carpet go well together. There is always the problem of a plain carpet versus a patterned one for the stairs. My own preference is for plain, with bright coloured rugs. A soft blue or a brown would go well with the pinky buff colour 1 have chosen for the walls. A point, that is worth mention is that it pays to have as cjood an underfelting as you can afford. The thicker it is the more will it save the carpet and deaden the sound of footsteps. The majority of balls have wooden or tiled floors, and they usually look so nice that it is a pity to cover them. A concrete floor can be improved by a coat of paint to match the stair carpet, and the addition of ( rugs just works a miracle. For the furniture for the hall—little and good should be the motto. A hallstand or a wardrobe for coats and umbrella is an essential, and a mirror has more uses than for mere decoration. J was greatly struck by a full-length dress mirror in a hall the other day. It made a small and rather dark hall look twice its size. Beside the mirror there was a low oak stool on which stood a heavy brass bowl filled with shirlev poppies, and the reality and the reflection made a particularly welcoming hall.