FINISHING TOUCHES TO THE HOME

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 74, Issue 2, 15 February 1947, Page 206

FINISHING TOUCHES TO THE HOME

By

NORMA K. METSON,

Rural Sociologist, Wellington.

HAVE you ever seen a woman walking down the street wearing a smart black tailored suit and white blouse, with a hat mainly pink feathers and net, a furry deerskin purse, green knitted gloves, grey lisle stockings, and tennis shoes? I hope not, and it is very unlikely, because women realise that matching accessories are essential to a smart appearance and make all the difference to a more or less standard costume or frock.

BUT have you ever walked into a room where there were a yellow beaded lampshade, an aspidistra, china ornaments ranging from a Dresden shepherdess to a large pink pottery rabbit, brass, china and crystal vases, a copper wood box, a tapestry firescreen, chromium and plastic ashtrays, a clock held aloft by a marble statuette, an . Olde Englishe reading lamp, and assorted pictures and photographs? Again, I hope not, but it must be admitted that the chance of doing so is considerably greater than that of seeing the lady described above. And yet the same principles apply. Matching accessories are just as important in rooms as in clothes.

Usefulness or Ornament

Some accessories are included in a room because they are useful and necessaryashtrays and clocks for example; vases and mirrors may be mainly for use or for ornament; pictures, sculpture, and “ornaments” are not useful, but they are none the less important in the decorative scheme. Whatever place they are to occupy, these “extras” should be chosen in accordance with the basic art principles. They should be well designed, and in harmony with each other and the general scheme of the room.

A difficulty is that in many homes accessories are not chosen but just arriveas wedding, birthday, or Christmas presents, as the products of handcrafts and hobbies, as prizes won in competitions. That is bad if it means continuous accumulation until the mantelpiece appears in imminent danger of collapse from overloading, books cannot be reached without the removal of an ornamental barricade, and it is impossible to play the piano

without a tinkling accompaniment of vibrating vases. But it can be a good thing if it means that these small objects are sorted and grouped, so that every , now and then, when rooms are beginning. to look dull and uninteresting, one set can be packed away and a new selection brought out. A distinction must be made, too, between masses of miscellaneous objects and collections which are really important to their owner. Some people are fortunate enough to have beautiful china or other heirlooms and curios, or they may have made a hobby of gathering carved boxes or miniature animals. Such precious things may be the centre of interest in a room and deserve special shelves or a glass-fronted cabinet for their display, as much of the effect is lost if they are scattered about the room.

Choice of Accessories Books are important for their contents rather than their appearance, but different sizes and bindings may make interesting patterns. Do not have shelves too deep, or the books cannot be seen. If book-ends are used, they must be solid enough to keep the books in place; have them of wood or metal rather than a breakable material, as they are sure to be dropped or knocked over sooner or later. Clocks: A dial and hands that make the time perfectly plain, simple lines, and an absence of ornate decoration are all that are required of a clock. Those essentials may be found in many well-designed types, ranging from the conventional wooden mantelpiece models, to the latest in metal and plastic. A clock should be placed where it is easily visible from all

parts of the room, but that does not necessarily mean the centre of the mantelpiece. Ashtrays: The rule for most households is to have plenty of ashtrays, to place them within reach of all chairs, and to choose types which are easily kept clean. Moulded plastic with no inaccessible corners is particularly suitable. Novelty and ornamental ashtrays are usually of poor design and seldom worth the price asked for them. Vases, if too highly decorated, will divert attention from the flowers they contain. As considerable variety in shapes, sizes, and colours is needed for different flower arrangements, the best plan is usually to keep most of the vases in a cupboard and to leave out, as well as those in use, only one or two which because of their shape or colouring are particularly attractive even when empty.

Screens are not usual, but they can be very usefulto keep a corner cosy and draughtless, to give privacy, to hide the back of a piano. They are not for small rooms, and even in large ones must be kept clear of traffic lanes. Design and colour should harmonise with the rest of the room, but may be vivid or subdued, depending on whether the screen is meant to be decorative or inconspicuous. Ornaments may range from cheap and amusing trifles to rare and precious pieces of china, metal work, and sculpture. As they are ornaments, chosen for their decorative qualities as the finishing touches in the furnishing plan, there is plenty of scope for originality in selection and arrangement. Use a few at a time, and change them often; they will then be appreciated much more by those who look at them as well as by those who dust them. Group things together instead of scattering them individually.

Mirrors can be used to lighten a dark corner, to reflect part of the room or the view, to give an illusion of greater window space, or as alternatives to pictures. Frameless mirrors are fashionable now and look well in modern rooms, but if the furnishings are of an older type, a mirror with a simple wooden or metal frame is more appropriate.

Treatment of Pictures

Good pictures deserve to be looked with - care and attention, so they , , , , j , ne< ;d unobtrusive frames and clear wall space around. Many different types of pictures are available which will fit in with personal tastes and a variety of decorative schemes. Some people like to use a special picture

as a main point of interest in the room, either by hanging it in a place of honour above the fireplace or in the centre of the main wall, or by basing the colours used in the room on those in the picture. Pictures look best if they are in scale with the size of the room and if they have an atmosphere and character similar to their surroundings. Battle scenes and storms, for instance, do not fit in with the idea of peaceful sleep. ' 1 Correct framing and hanging are important in creating a pleasing effect. Pictures should be hung flat against the wall, with the fixings concealed entirely, or, if a picture rail is used, with two hangers so that the wire forms a rectangle and not a triangle. If cords or wire and hooks are used, they must be .as inconspicuous as possiblethe same colour as the wall background.

Level with the eyes of an average person standing up is about the right height, but if the ceiling is high, the room may look better with the pictures a little further up. In a modern room with low furniture and ceiling they may be lowered to the eye level of a seated person. Small pictures which are similar in size and subject may be framed in the same way and hung, together in a line or block.

Simple frames should always be used,, especially with modern furniture. A plain wooden beading in a matchingcolour is suitable for photographs and unpretentious pictures; wider wooden frames, gold and silver, are used with larger, heavier, or more sophisticated pictures. Mounts of cream, white, or a neutral tone may be used as well as a frame with all kinds of pictures except oil paintings; they are necessary if the picture is hung against a patterned wallpaper.

It is obvious that the number of small things which can be included in a room is considerable, and the list given is by no means exhaustive, for where are the fire irons, the cigarette boxes, the waste paper basket, and the family photographs? A room without accessories is barren, lacking in individuality and home-like qualities: A room with too many is fussy and oppressive.

Photograph in heading by Sparrow Industrial Pictures Ltd.

Renovation and Desecration

T RENOVATED a room recently and *• quite enjoyed seeing the fruits of my thrifty labours. It is wonderful what a few lengths of material and some tacks and a bit of paint will do, isn’t is? But really, I often wonder if it is worth it just now, as children don’t seem to get any respect for furniture and carpets and things until well after the age of six or so, do they? And some of my best things are smeared and scratched and, worst of all, have names scribbled on them in odd corners (why do they like to burst into print at such an early age?), yet I do try to train my infants in the way they should go. Still, just when I feel wrathful at some really frightful bit of desecration, one or other of the older children suddenly does something for me and I am thrilled (in the true sense of the word) and forget the other part. I hope life doesn’t rush by too quickly for me during this busy period of bringing up the bairnies so that I find later on what I heard one Nana say: “I am enjoying my gradchildren far better than my own children was always too busy for all their little ways and sayings.” Auckland.