IDEAL HOMES

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18008, 19 November 1926, Page 13

IDEAL HOMES

MODERN HOMES. SOME CANDID CRITICISM. • Some outspoken views on the modern taste in house architecture and interior decoration were expressed by an English critic recently. “The general level of appreciation of art.” he said, “is declining. It cannot be said from an actual survey of this country that during the last 100 years we have gained in grace and distinction. On the contrary, we have now Often to go out of our way to discover the vestiges of a finer, a more harmonious civilisation than we can boast of to-day. Since the introduction of steam power and its consequences, cheap labour, our country has been devastated by the ignoble building contractor. In spite of the many excellent architects we have, the masses of the people are now forced to dwell in houses which their forefathers would have scorned to inhabit. “The English, though a comparatively young people, have nothing to be ashamed of in their artistic past; they need only blush for the betrayal of their admirable traditions which has taken place within the memory of our fathers, and has degraded English industry to the level of a sixpenny bazaar. Still, thank God, there is nothing permanent in our present conditions. Our slums arc not, going to last for ever, any more than the new mushroom villas. Probably the community of the future will grow its houses much as a motor-car industry grows its cars. But for the elaboration of the details of the house of the future will not the artist still be employed? Will there be painters, like Rembrandt and Titian, who will produce easel-pictures to be hung on the walls inside the houses? Probably if such people exlist they will be used only for the most public—or ceremonious—buildings. Possibly some process like lithography, that will enable thousands of replicas of a work of art to be made and sold for a few pence a print, will provide all that is required by way of pictures in the dwelling houses of our successors.'’ CAKE OF LEATHER. A CURE FOR FLAKING. Summer often means disaster .tfor leather goods, and the general result of a prolonged spell of heat is an outbreak ; of cracks and flakes on the part of leather-covered furniture. To discourage this tendency, give such furniture j

a special strengthening treatment by nourishing it with a good cream. Before applying this remove every suggestion of grease by wiping down all furniture to be so treated with a cloth wrung out in a solution of warm water and soda. For a polish to nourish the leather and discourage scratches, warm together very gradually the following ingredients:—One ounce of glue, half a pint of vinegar, and a quarter of a pint of water. Then add half a drachm of isinglass and stir until the mixture reaches boiling point. Allow it to boil twenty minutes, then add a little tumeric in order to match the colour of the leather under treatment. This mixture is quite harmless—it will not harden the leather or leave it feeling j sticky, and it discourages scratches, j Apply this polish to the leather of ! the furniture, rub vigorously with a silk handkerchief or piece of soft flannel. and the upholstery will revive in a most surprising manner. Repeat this treatment fortnightly for a couple of months. Travelling cases, straps, portmanteaux and trunks will be all the | better for an application of this polish ' to ward off scratches and prevent bindings from giving way under the extra heavy strain of. holiday travel. When the surfaces of the. leather- • covered chairs and couches present a , flaked appearance, do not apply the j polish directly. First give such covers 1 a coating of paste made from flour dis- ; solved in boiling water. Apply this in the direction in which the chipped ! flakes ought to lie, flattening these 1 down with a smooth piece of cork, 1 gently stroking and patting them in the way they should go. Then apply the polish and brighten with a silk duster. v MENU HOLDERS. The vogue for menu-holders and name-holders on the dining-room table gives especial interest to the beautiful little semi-porcelain holders being produced in a Chelsea studio. They are particularly effective on polished tables, being modelled in the shape of posies, brightly painted, and fired so that the colour lasts. Many people have these holders made to order as reproductions of their favourite flowers, and arrange the floral decorations for the table accordingly. Imitation , old Chinese trees, made entirely of shells, are also much ii» demand for purposes of table decoration. The Queen recently purchased an imitation delphinium plant., made by an artist ' who gets the shells for his craft, from Spain. He also makes most realistic firs from the same material and even i weeping trees adorned with red berries.

THE GARDEN LADDER. One is rather apt to conclude, should the matter ever be considered, that lad ders are all more or less of one kind and that there is no necessity to buy any particular pattern. But actually there is a special ladder for nearly every trade, and the gardener has not been forgotten. The garden ladder can be used as a pair of ordinary steps, or as a long ladder. In fact it is really a pair of steps which can be converted into two short ladders or one long one. It is made in about nine sizes. The smallest, which when used as steps stands some five feet high, and extends into a ladder over eight feet long, is all that is required for use in a small garden. Few amateur gardeners have the head to climb to the top of a very long ladder for the purpose of trimming ivy or cutting a creeper, so that work is generally given to a man accustomed to the task. But a short ladder is very useful, especially such a one as that made for the garden, because it can also be used about the house if necessary. WICKER WHEELBARROWS. As a rule there are onlv two kinds of wheelbarrows available— those made for the amusement of children, which are of no use for any practical purpose, and the heavy wooden barrows used by gardeners, which are built like a battleship and necessitate strong arms. Now, however, there is a third barrow, which is quite light to handle but as useful as the heavy one be loved by the gardener. It is made of natural osier, bound with cane, and is just the thing that has been wanted in the garden for a long time. This wheelbarrow is not a toy, but a good, strong, workmanlike affair, which may he used for all the purposes of an ordinary wheelbarrow. It has no weight, and for that reason is to be preferred to a wooden one. Man}’ people do not use a wheelbarrow when working in their gardens because of the weight, but a wheelbarrow is a useful thing, and those of wicker certainly supply a want. They are made in two sizes, the smaller of which is quite big enough for any but a large garden. “Words are things, and a small drop of ink Falling like dew upon a thought, produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.”—Byron. H