BRIDAL BUNGALOWS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 71, 15 June 1927, Page 12

BRIDAL BUNGALOWS

* “Model Homes for New Zealanders” BUILDING ACHIEVEMENT THE model home for the New Zealander” is an ideal which may be reached only after long- study of national and individual taste, climatic conditions and the trend of modern design. Gone are the days when the home-builder was satisfied with four walls, a weather-proof roof and a few partitions.

BY their outward appearance one can see the architectural evolution of Auckland homes. First there was the cottage of the pioneers—Sir John Logan Campbell’s may still be seen—then the square house with the elaborate iron trillings, which afterwards developed a bow window or two. The last, and evidently lasting period, has been that of the bungalow. The original design of the low flat house surrounded by verandahs has been lost in the absorption' of features of almost every known form of housearchitecture, Latin, Old English, and colonial. WOMAN’S EM ANC IP ATI Or. The interior of, the New Zealand house has changed even more. Woman has demanded emancipation from the drudgery of needless housework, often due to inconvenient arrangement of rooms. Great old stoves, taking up half the kitchen wall have been replaced by electric and gas cookers which stand in neat white kitchenettes. The ideal has evidently been to make the • duties” of a housekeeper as few and as pleasant as possible. Art and simplicity have invaded the lrawing room which was formerly the Wittered up, blinds drawn, “don’t ouch” museum of the house. The iving room is made livable and the -edrooms light and airy, are decorated 1 tones of restfulness. No one has tried harder to build a ypically New Zealand home than Mr. J. De Marr, of the Bridal Bungalow Builders, and his efforts in Auckland have been remarkably successful. Lacli house the firm has built has been an improvement in some detail on its predecessor, and the latest result of his designing is shown in the reproductions m this page. Unfortunately the interior with its common sense arrangement of rooms, its built-in furni:ure, its many labour-saving devices, ind its artistic finish, is not reproduced here. A SUN man who went through a Bridal Bungalow” yesterday was unble to offer any suggestion on how ihe place might be improved, so completely had the designer covered the ■ants of the modern family. SIMPLE AND ARTISTIC The style of the house shown has a ndency toward Old English. The rill” door shown in the front view iides back, giving entrance to the porch. The front door proper opens nto a panelled hall, on the sides of which are the living room, 18ft. Bin. by ! 3ft. 2in.. and the bedroom. 13ft. lOin. by 13ft. 2in. Dove grey is one of the bedrooms, relief being added in the brighter panels of wallpaper. Two mirrored wardrobes, with shoe trees and hat shelves are built in, and underneath are drawers. -Other features ire the built-in chest and dressing table combined, and the window seats complete with drawers. All the woodwork is grey. On entering the living-room one is struck with its elegance. On the sides of the bluestone fireplace are two leadlight bookshelves, in black matsine, as is also the handsome buffet. The walls are in panelled paper, and the ceiling is of white plaster with cross-beams of black. AN EXCELLENT IDEA An exceptionally good idea is the alcove which may be made part.of the living room simply by sliding back a plate glass door. Seats with panelled backs are built in opposite each other, and there is a table between them. This room, which may be cut off from the kitchen or the living room, or from both if necessary, may be a dining room, a servery, an afternoon-tea room, a study, a card room, a radio room, or a sunny breakfast room, just as the owner pleases.

The spare bedroom, which also opens from the hall, has mauve as the predominating tone in the colour scheme. There are built-in wardrobes and a soiled-linen cupboard has one of its openings in the laundry. Nothing seems to have been forgotten in the place; cupboards, bins, shelves, and a place for spare trunks and boxes are all neatly concealed. Practically the only furnishings one has to get in a “Bridal Bungalow,” are the pots and pans, a Chesterfield, and a few easy chairs, and two beds; everything else is built in. One of the most amazing things about this graceful and artistic house is the price. Mr. De Marr quotes the building cost at £1,075, and the price of the section at £3OO, making a total of £1,375. “We learn by experience,” he said, “and we accept any suggestion which seems to point the way to better homes. Each house we believe is a little better than the one before it. This new style represents everything we have learnt so far.” Built in Georgian style, the new Bishopscourt in Christchurch has a chaste exterior. It is of brick, with cement, facing. Except for the blue and grey slates of the roof, and the green-painted shutters, no colours have been used in embellishing Bishopscourt. There are 22 rooms in the house, which has two main storeys and several rooms in the roof. The interior decorating is very elaborate.

From the kitchen, which contains enough cupboards and concealed devices to make a house-wife weep for joy. opens the “sun” room, which may alternatively be used as a spare bedroom, or as a breakfast room. It is panelled in Oregon. By a well-thought-out arrangement, the bathroom is placed so that .access to it may be had from the hall, the kitchen, and the back verandah, or the laundry. In this last department is the hot water circulator, gives the supply to sinks, wash-tubs and bath, and which also makes an airing cupboard. The bathroom has a combined medicine chest and shaving cabinet, with swing mirrors.