DARK ROOMS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 255, 18 January 1928, Page 7

DARK ROOMS

COLOURS WHICH REFLECT LIGHT whether the darkness of a room is due to a north aspect or to neighbouring buildings, a great deal can be done, by means of properly chosen colours, to lighten it. The curtains, unless in a south room, must be white or cream, and hang at the sides of the window, not ln front. The rod can be extended beyond the window, on each side, and •he curtains hung from the extension, with only two rings inside *he supporting brackets None of the glass Should be coloured, and if the room is overlooked a little experiment will show whether an unfigured white net casement curtain or colourless opaciue glass will least obscure the light. High wal*» near tile window should be whitewashed, and it will help matters if the windpw sill and frame are painted white. A plain cream wallpaper or distemper reflects the most light; next to this come pale pink and pale yellow. Aa yellow suggests sunlight, it is particularly suitable for a south room, but is a colour to be used sparingly. Curtains of it look well in the south room with white walls. Greenish yellow and pale blue are fairly good reflectors of light. The furniture coverings should be light in colour, and if they are dark and cannot be changed an improvement can be made by means of light-coloured cushions. Ked, dark green, and dark blue are the worst colours to use in these rooms. Only a few pictures, and these chosen for their lightness, should be hung. Mirrors tend to darken a room, and a sideboard finished with one should not be placed against the wall opposite the window, but at right angles to it. It is also an advantage if the room is sparsely furnished. WASHING NET CURTAINS AN OLD METHOD Net, now frequently used for both long and casement curtains, gets out of shape when washed, but can easily be pulled back into position. After starching, the curtains must be hung to dry, without creasing, on the clothes lines or on a rail in the kitchen. Only as many curtains as can be dried in this manner should be washed at one time. When a curtain is half-dry it must be pulled by two people, each of whom holds a corner. The first pulling is crossways, the top right-hand corner being pulled out and drawn back by the person at the opposite end pulling out the bottom left-hand corner.

The top left-hand corner and bottom tight-hand corner are then pulled against each other, and these movements repeated a few times. The sides are pulled on tho straight. Each puller next works her end of the curtain into her hands. This is done by bringing the hands together, “nibbling* tile curtain into the closed fists the while. The pulling takes about three or four minutes, and must be done gently. The curtain is then dried. When the curtain is damped, after drying, the edges must be well wetted, the pulling repeated, and the curtain mangled. It will iron easily, or. if to be stretched between two rods, may not need ironing. This method of straightening curtains was practised regularly by oldfashioned housewives, who lived before the days of steam laundries and drying frames. ATTRACTIVE MANTELPIECES OLD AND MODERN STYLES Not so many years ago, the mantelpiece fitted into the small House was of a somewhat elaborate nature, with a profusion of ornament and mouldings, which were unfortunately oftimes lacking in good taste owing to their being carried to excess. Nowadays, however, either owing to the necessity of keeping down costs, or to a better appreciation of the artistic, a greater simplicity of style has been evolved, and, happily, one which is more pleasing to the eye, ond which also harmonises with the Plain nature of the finishings commonly used at the present time in the house. A tile and wood surround is still the commonest form of decorative treatment for the fireplace. In selecting tiles for the surround, their colour will, of course, depend upon the scheme of decoration to be carried out in the room, but with regard to. appearance, hand-made tiles are to recommended in preference to those made by machine which, with their mechanical appearance and dull regularity of surface, compare very unfavourably with the texture and reflecting glare of the hand-made tile. The effect of an attractive mantelpiece can be readily spoilt by the use °* an ill-proportioned or badly designed grate, and, in this connection, 1C behoves one to make a careful selection and to avoid those over-ornamen-patterns which are familiar to us all. PEWTER WARE ITS DECORATIVE VALUE Valued for some time only by collectors, pewter has come very ffiuch into its own again, for we •“•alise to-day how great is the oscorative value and how elusive the beauty of its dull, soft sheen. In the good old days the mistress 7°uld have as soon spring-cleaned the jamily paintings as allowed an amateur ugnd to clean her pewter. She ould not even touch It herself. It m o nly needed great care, but secret jthods were employed, and so the U r ?asures were sent away to be dealt » a master pewterer. out even secrets out. and an o.uthrny on the subject writes of one of _ ese old recipes, which advised the JUPy of freshly-broken egg-shells lt h hot soapsuds. It is claimed to ideal pewter polish. Anyway, naight be worth trying, iuore modern methods advocate the of paraffin, a bath of it in which article may be soaked for pewter has been long neglected. Eor ordinary polishing, je wellers’ rottenmafle into a paste, with preciDichalk and soap, is excellent. It be applied with a piece of *enion p«el. Pronounced scratches will disappear J continuous rubbing with fine emery Per, and dents can be worked out if * Piece of stick is padded with leather or rag and long aI V* tu rubbi ng is applied to the inside m tne pewter article.