A TRANSFORMATION

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16715, 22 April 1922, Page 15

A TRANSFORMATION

T/et me tell you of the transforming of a very shabby and dingy living room into a thing of beauty. It was lots of fun to do it aud it cost very little. The room bad pine woodwork and a floor of the same kind. The paper was smoked and dirty, the furnitures hideous. Tho young woman who changed all this was an optimist and could see many possibilities in the use of old things. After taking everything out of the room sho, herself, cleaned the walls find ceiling with wall-paper cleaner Then she rubbed the woodwork with oil which contained a brown stain. Sho also rubbed this into the floor, lotting it remain for four hours, and then rubbed it off. She waxed it over and kept the even tone of the floor, which could not wear off under its wax covering. She took a morris chair, frightful looking but comfortable to sit in, and painted it black ; she covered the uglv plush cushions with chintz of a colouring of old blue and violet on a black ground. With this change the chair was beautiful. She used the same chintz for draperies at the windows mid made a shaped lambrequin to put around the mantel itself, thus hiding a considerable part of the ugly woodwork. As she belonged to a family of six grown women, there were many old silk skirts, drosses, coats and linings. These she cut into carpet rags and

sewed into balls. Some of the delicate colours she- dyed to match the striking colours of the chintz. The silk rags she had woven double (so that the rugs would stand hard wear) except in some of the places where there was but little walking and there she had rugs of single weave. A large rug placed under the rejuvenated morris chair made a picture of beauty and comfort to delight the eye. Several old yellow chairs and one wicker chair were painted an old bine and small cushions of chintz were made for them. An old imitation oak table she painted black, and when the lamp and some books were placed on it it rivalled the morris chair. A few little bookcases were painted black.