A SUGGESTION

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 1, 23 March 1927, Page 22

A SUGGESTION

OLD-FASHIONED MIRRORS USE IN MODERN WAYS If one discovers in a second-hand shop one of the huge old-fashioned mirrors that are rarely seen nowadays except in dressmakers’ fitting-rooms, it is worth securing for use in the modern manner. It may, for example, suggest an extra window in the room, if the glass be posed against a wall at dado height from the ground, and if its surface be divided into large squares with lines of paint or “leading” as a window frame is divided by its mouldings. The wooden frame of the mirror should be treated to correspond with the woodwork of the door 3 and skirting.

An old-fashioned mirror may be used also as a facing for a sliding window shutter. There is then no need to draw the curtains at night, for the mirror-shutter is brought into place and gives added interest to the room by duplicating all its contents. If you do not care to give the mirror an architectural setting, a drapery will render it something more than a mere looking-glass. A broad strip of Oriental embroidery, posed across the top, or a single side-hanging contrived out of a Paisley shawl, will give it character and suggest a portiere and a door.

An old mirror is often worth buying if the price is right for the purpose of cutting up. It will make excellent tops for small occasional tables and tea-trays; it will also form delightful strips for windowsills, and for shelves on which china and glass pieces may be displayed. It gives lightness and brightness and acts as a capital foil to whatever is placed upon it.