DOMESTIC MAGIC.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 205, 3 October 1914, Page 6

DOMESTIC MAGIC.

JOY OF FREAK FURNITURE. WE do not as a rule to-day use drain-pipes for our umbrella stands, nor do we habitually put sashes round the waists of our flower pots. There still exists among most of us, however —of course, in a more cultured form—the passion for turning something into something else. It is a passion which really dates from very early years. The old witch of our childhood, for instance, was never satisfied unless she was turning us or our friends into toads or spiders and other creatures for which the ordinary witch has a weakness. The good fairy, too, did the same thing (only the other way round), and in a trice there were chocolates and "fondants" and jewels where before were onty sands or leaves or stones. Such feats as these were, of course, on an unusually ambitious scale, and if mere mortals want chocolates they still have to buy them. But on a lower plane altogether we are imbued ■with the idea of domestic magic, and if we can turn a top hat into a work bag, or a chasuble into a liearthiug x there are few things that give us greater inward satisfaction. Sometimes the transformations effected by the ingenious mind have a really utilitarian value. Eighteenth century knife boxes, for instance, have been bought up, and, with but a few waves of the ■wand, have been turned into very ornamental eases for writing paper. The family notepaper looks well peeping out from the sloping top of its historic shelter, and, moreover, it is possible to keep it clean by a careful attention to closing hours. Its utilitarian value is, however, not in the least comparable with the satisfaction afforded by the happy idea. It is pleasant to'have thought of anything so ingenious. It makes us feel very nearly original. It is unfortunate that someone else thought of it before, but after all there is nothing new under the sun, and everything of value has been discovered many times over. /Changes for the Better—and Worse. - Perhaps even better than a knife-box-letter-case is the acquisition and adaptation of an old plate carrier, also eighteenth century. To remove all traces of the dirty plates it used to bear away from the dining-room and to load it up with books is the more gratifying since everyone has not unearthed a .plate carrier. Placed just in front of the lounge before the fire it is of real use and comfort to the luxurious. On castors, it moves to a touch and, low in height, it is just suited to the average Chesterfield. Books, do not slip from it as is the case of the ordinary table, nor is it necessary to disturbs pile of volumes to select the poet, philosopher, litterateur, or biographer whose turn has come to be devoured. These are sonre of the more useful forms of domestie magic.j they are pleasant littl/fe conceits which make us happy without beiiig.-very ridiculous as well. ~ . Sometimes, however, magic becomes a bore. There •was a time when young ladies spent hours in fitting bags on to fans which they hung upon walls and felt they had achieved both the useful and the ornamental. The era of, the fan-bags is fortunately past. Unfortunately, the modern tendency is for the useful to become ornamental, and the ornamental to become useful, not because of any great advantage accruing from the change of roles, but because it is queer or amusing or •ultured, or something which perchance may distinguish us from our neighbours. This form of magic is not very inspiring. It is represented by the hall, or passage on the walls of which warming pans have suddenly become high art. Now the warming pan was a very useful thing, and it is doubtful whether it has been successfully superseded. It is also a very pretty thing when, brightly burnished, it shines in the light of the kitchen fire. But in plain distempered or Morris-patterned' halls it is not in the best place, and is rather ludicrous. .-j M» An Ecclesiastical Hearth-rug. The converse of warming-pan culture lies in the use, say, of a chasuble as hearth-rug. Quite apart from the fact that this form of domestic magic might seriously offend a number of people, it' is neither a convenient nor a beautifnl idea. While some people may think of it as both daring and .original, it is tiresome »ot to like- to stand on one's own liearth-rug, and there is a sense of discomfort in using an object which ie so clearly destined for some other purpose. Less offensive is the übiquitous Breton cradle which to-day serves numerous English households as a comprehensive flower pot. Undoubtedly a Breton cradle i* an antique shop is a temptation—though if all Breton eradles were originally occupied by Breton babies it is surprising to note that the French population is continually on the decrease. Having succumbed to the «radle, and having found that, in spite of its artistic attractions, it is not really suitable for the youngest member of the family, the buyer is constrained to justify himself or herself by finding for it an immediate use. Hence Breton cradles full of flower pots in the hall; hence also Breton cradles with ferns, either in the fireplace or the lobby. There are instances enough of the domestic magic which has degenerated into sheer unsuitability—to use no stronger word. There is the Flemish milkean which might become a water jug, did it not leak. There is the ■tilitarian foreign earthenware which here becomes ornament —a shamefaced ornament at that. It is unfortunate that someone does not arise to preach the ■whole art of suitability.