BRILLIANCE IN FURNISHING.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 76, 6 May 1914, Page 4

BRILLIANCE IN FURNISHING.

THE VIVID COLOURS THAT GO WITH SOMBRE WALLS AND FLOORS.

LONDON, March 13. All London seems to have become engulfed in a sea of colour; in the streets, in the shops, and in the houses the glory of full, bright tones is lauded above everything else. The new cretonnes for the spring refurnishings show a very riot of lovely tints. The Futurist influence is clearly evinced in them all, but only-as far as the colours are concerned. Weird geometrical designs and . unrecognisable animals or flowers are rigidly excluded from the best of this season's new materials for curtains and covers.

For some time past there has been a growing appreciation for Chinese art, and many of the colours and designs of the new cretonnes are taken direct from priceless Chinese embroidery. Black, yellow, or a pale, indefinite grey are the favoured colours for the ground work, and on to these come the most glorious colour effects that it is possible to imagine.

PUKPLE FLOWERS AND YELLOW BIRDS.

A lovely cretonne copied from an old Chinese panel has a black background worked with gorgeous yellow birds and dull purple flowers. Another original design, with a black gjjpundwork, has huge bunches of full-blown roses in various shades of wine colour and with a plentiful supply of grey green foliage. The grey ground cretonnes have a softer appearance, and for this reason will be preferred to the black by many people. A new design that has already secured a number of admirers has the grey ground almost covered with grace; ful„sprays ß of wistaria and.great fullblown pink and. red roses.' Ove* the whole of this cretonne there seems .\to

be a soft mauve haze, which gives a most exquisite effect. Quite as beaiitiful is another, with clumps of double dahlias in black purple, red, and pink on an indefinite grey ground, and with masses of bluey green leaves to give a touch of relief. But housewives who want to be thoroughly up to date should choose a bright yellow ground for their new covers. Tango yellow is the proper shade, and-a variety of lovely designs are to be had. A gorgeous Tangoyellow linen, with far apart black stripes, is printed with quaint Chi-nese-blue vases, "which are filled with bunches of pink, yellow, and grey roses. Another beautiful' yellow cretonne is the exact colour of a Mandarin's coat, and has a design in which purplds sftid .greys form the predominating colours. THE NEW CRETONNES. The nice, mueh-beloved chintzes have quite gone out of fashion. Practically the only rivals to the bright-hued cretonnes are the mercerised shadow cretonnes. These are, naturally, very much more expensive, and they are so beautiful that they can scarcely be distinguished from silk brocades. Indeed, an original Parisienne was so delighted with the material that she insisted on haying a; piece for an opera eloak. The advantage of these mercerised cretonnes is that though they look like silk they wear infinitely better and the lovely sheen remains to the very end. The uninitiated might easily wonder what cushions could 'be used successfully with all this brilliant colouring. The general rule is now to have some of the cushions of the same material and the rest of black satin, but plain cushions of any one colour in the cretonne may also be used.

Carpets and walls must be kept comparatively sombre. There is so much colour in the cretonne that everything else in the room should be subservient to it, otherwise one is liable to feel overwhelmed with too, much colour. Grey, cream, or white walls give the best effect, and plain grey or some such indefinite shade should be chosen for the carpet.