INTERIORS

Evening Star, Issue 23689, 24 September 1940, Page 3

INTERIORS

RELATION TO THE WHOLE ELIMINATION OF OSTENTATION NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ARCHITECTURE In a Centennial review of New Zealand nousing Mr Paul Pascoe has some interesting comments on the improvements of interiors. "In judging the qualitv of the design of a dwelling the interior is much more important than the exterior," he remarks.. " Since each room has a different function, it should, for example, have, its windows designed with this function in mind. Kitchen windows usually need a higher glass line than living rooms. These have been influenced by the modern appreciation of the open air, encouraged by the motor car, and are being, designed with larger and ' lower ■windows that bring house and garden into a closer relationship. "The transition from the Victorian to the Edwardian interior was marked by a greater diversity of room shapes. There were more nooks and crannies. Ceilings were higher. A greater ostentation, expressed perhaps in elaborately carved stair heads and bannisters, perhaps in more elaborate door panels or metal light brackets, was the order of the dav. Though the smaller houses in town and country could not reach this pitch of display, they followed after the same fashion of.ostentation. The fireplace was a unit that could; be overdesignetf -even in small houses. The mantelpiece a fearsome structure of shelves, fretwork, and mirrors, while the hearth was surrounded by coloured and often floral tiles. Or again the fireplace became an ' inglenook ' with its own built-in seats alongside an ' open' hearth, finished perhaps in rough-edged bricks. "Some architects, however, had always produced restrained interiors, and in the 1920's the Georgian traditional interior was ably developed by some skilful designers. But though ceilings are now lower and windows generally larger, the interior of the average bungalow is still restless and unsatisfying. Ledges, coloured glazing, and other ornamental distractions bewilder the eye. Its small windows may have one welcome relief. There is often one window which has a large sheet of glass, and it may look out on a pleasant garden or a good view. " Most modern interiors show a change of plan. The new materials and new heating methods give the designer greater freedom. The rooms are no longer so symmetrical, and there is a general tendency to introduce built-in furniture as part of the architect's plan, and at the same time to reduce th» number of ledges that can harbour dust. But in most houses the modernisation begins with the bathroom and kitchen. The fittings in these rooms have been brought up to date in many home 9 otherwise old in design. Thus an example has been set that will gradually influence the other rooms."