AIRY NURSERY NEEDED

NZ Truth, Issue 1302, 27 November 1930, Page 17

AIRY NURSERY NEEDED

Bedrooms Should Be Filled . With Pure, Sweet Air SO MUCH TIME SPENT IN BED Children spend, on an average, about four hours longer m their bedrooms than adults do, and this makes it all the more necessary that the place m which they sleep should be filled with pure, sweet air from bedtime to getting-up time.

BEARING this m mind, we must be careful not to admit any unnecessary furniture, or any draperies that cannot be easily washed. We must remember that every object m a room takes up space that would otherwise bcoccupied by air; a rather startling thought when you come to analyse it. A cot or bed (or both) for the children, a strong chest of drawers or combined wardrobe and drawers, a small table or a trolley on wheels, and one or two chairs, with a nursing chair m addition if there is still a young baby to be .

attended to, are all the essential pieces of furniture we shall need. Our business, then, is to

make -these as practical and as comfort-giving as possible. I have not mentioned a wash-hand-stand, because there may be a fitted basin with hot and cold water, or the children may be washed m an adjoining bathroom; but if a wash-hand-stand is used it should be a low make, specially adapted for children, so that, as early as possible, they may learn to do little things for themselves. ' t Happy is the mother whose night nursery has a balcony, a safe, roomy balcony which allows for out-of-door sleeping m the summer time. I have recently seen what I can only describe as a pram-cradle; it is a wicker cradle, beautifully shaped and daintily trimmed, mounted on rubber-tyred wheels and finished with a handle which enables it to be pushed along just like a perambulator. This, I think, is the kind of cradle I should choose for my ideal night nursery, because it is just as useful m the garden as m the house, and is so much airier and lighter than the average perambulator. There are also pram-cots to be obtained nowadays. The one I saw recently was made m birchwood m a

COT NETS

warm, fumed-oak color, and folded flat when taken to pieces. The rub-ber-tyred wheels were made to swivel so that the cot could be easily pushed m any direction. It was fitted with detachable seat and table, so that baby could sit comfortably if he wanted to „ play with his toys. For the rather older child there are little beds with "half" sides to guard against his falling out. These pieces are hinged so that they can be swung back to make bed-turning easier and tucking-in-at-bedtlme a more satisfactory job. There are also some charming models m white enamelled wood with gay pictures at the head and foot. Before leaving the subject of cots and beds, let me remind- anxious mothers that cot nets for preventing the child from climbing out are now made m two varieties; one comes flush with the top of the cot, and fastens underneath it so that it cannot possibly be undone by little fingers, while the other is mounted on a frame which raises the top of the net a good foot above the top of the cot, so that the child can stand up easily.

WINDOWS

All kinds of fascinating and useful bedroom chests for the night nursery j are now -to be bought, most of them being decorated with pictures. For instance, a procession of ark j animals will straggle across the entire front of one chest of drawers, j while another will show the story of Robinson Crusoe. If a built-in cupboard is to be used as a children's wardrobe, fit it with shallow shelves down to about three feet from the ground and screw hooks to the bottom shelf. The little frocks and coats can , . * hang here, and the

children will be able to reach them easily. A screen, either m pretty fadeless

cretonne, showing flowered or nursery designs, or m sturdy but light plywood, enamelled white and decorated with amusing pictures, is very necessary should there be fear of a draught. If possible, the night nursery should, have windows on two sides, so that, whatever the weather, it is safe to have at least one window open all night. Most of the enamelled nursery furniture of to-day can be carried out In soft blues, greens, and fawns, as well as the more common white enamel, and still 1 ! be decorated with the pictures children love. This is a real advantage where night nurseries are concerned, for very often a pastel color has a much more soothing and restful effect than dead white. For the walls of a night nursery I would choose a soft, greyish blue or willow green. The blue room would have short curtains of a deeper blue, j so that there would be no need j for blinds to keep out the glare on summer evenings and early mornings. The green room would | have green curtains. j Washing materials m plain dark' colors tend to look rather stodgy, so j I would suggest decorating these with animals and fairies, cut from odd pieces of cretonne and buttonholed on to the curtains. This gives a much more interesting effect than an allround border. I saw recently some delightful washing coverlets for cots m cream crash, with all sorts of jolly farmyard animals sewn upon the material. A less expensive crash coverlet had animals from the zoo embroidered all over it, while a bedspread of Teddybear cloth m the loveliest shade of rose had a white rabbit, with the fluffiest of coats, worked m high relief m the middle.