Dates for Tenders

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 273, 8 February 1928, Page 7

Dates for Tenders

' February 9. at 12 noon.—Erection of new outbuildings and drainage at the Taupiri District School. Auckland Education Board. February 10, at 5 p.m.—Drainage works in connection with the Mangahoe Stream, about 11 miles. Mangahoe Drainage Board. February 10, at 12 noon.—Formation and drainage of approximately 17 chains of new road through the Dilworth Trust Board’s property. Rerauera. Harrison and Grierson, engineers, Victoria Arcade.

February 10, at 4 p.m.—Erection of a storey and a-half wooden residence, at Mangere. Mullions and % Smith, architects, Lister Buildings. February 10, at 12 noon.—Erection of Anglican Church, in brick, at Te Mata. Thomas S. Gray, architect, Smith’s Buildings, Hamilton. February 11, at 12 noon.—Widening and deepening 120 chains* of the main outlet drain below Karl’s Bridge, and cleaning the balance. The work is offered in four contracts.. Thomson and Farrer, engineers to the Ngaroto Drainage Board, Hamilton. February 13, at 12 noon.—Erection of chapel in brick, at Wesley College, Paerata. Mr. L. Knight, New Zealand Insurance Buildings.

February 13, at 12 noon.—Formation of a carriage drive for Mr. W. Marks, Landscape Road. Epsom. John Dawson. engineer, Dilworth Buildings. February 14, at 4 p.m.—Supply and delivery of 1,353 cubic yards of limestone road metal for the Parahi Road,. Otamatea County. District Engineer. Wliangarei. February 14, at 4 p.m.—Supply of hardwood timber. Public Works Department Stores, Auckland and Wellington. February 14, at 4 p.m.—Sewerage of portion of the Orakei Garden Suburb. L. B. Campbell, district Public Works engineer. February 16, at 12 noon.—Removal and re-erection of the Manawhe and Manawhe South School buildings. Auckland Education Board. February 18, at 12 noon.—Erection of an additional storey to business block, Great North Road. Albert E. Williams, architect, New Zealand Insurance Buildings. February 29, at 12 noon.—Collection of boulders and the crushing and delivery of about 4,000 cubic yards of stone to roads at Whitehall, near Cambridge. Matamata County Council.

THE NEW DRESSING TABLE

A MODERN IDEA LOW FRAMES PROMINENT In spite of the critics' complaint that the furniture-designers of the twentieth century are producing nothing that is new, every piece, is, as a matter of fact, undergoing a radical change. This development is to be seen very plainly in the dressing-table, which is essentially a feminine piece of furniture. Th© dressing-table, indeed, is itself a comparatively modern piece, for the article we know to-day was quite unknown at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The piece of furniture then acting as a dressing-table was th© “low-boy,” prevalent in the early Queen Anne period and brought over from Holland with the invasion of Dutch cabinetmakers in William and Mary's time. Thomas Chippendale and Thomas Sheraton made dressingtables. but these were still of the enclosed type, with separate mirrors. The piece as we know it to-day was a product of the nineteenth century. The most noticeable development in dressing-tables just now is the way in which they are becoming lower; that is to say, the legs are very much shorter and at times are dispensed with altogether, the body of the lressingtable resting on the floor. The frame of the dressing-table itself is also becoming much lower. The main carcase is not so deep and has a tendency to become wider in most suites. The width depends chiefly on the size of the bedroom to be furnished and the price which it is desired to pay. The low dressing-table, >which is illustrated in the picture on this page, has several advantages over the type with tall legs to which we have become accustomed for many years. Its greatest asset is that a woman is enabled to see her reflection in the fixed mirror with greater ease and to see more of her figure. Another advantage is that, it improves the appearance of the whole room.

It has been found that dressing-table stools are usually too high for use with these new models, and the beautifully covered pouffe or low stool is in many instances taking the place of the higher chair or seat. This gives the room a slightly more luxurious appearance, while adding also to its comfort. These considerations certainly influenced the production of the new low dressing-tables, but another reason for their introduction was the increased and increasing use cf walnut for bedroom furnishing. When oak was used for the bedroom the low dressingtable would have been an anachronism. It may be pointed out, in fact, that the dressing-table in a correct Jacobean or Carolean room was in itself wrong. Walnut lends itself far more to the designing of dressing-cables with low frames.

The example illustrated is in walnut with carving decorated with gold leaf. The triple mirror is a prominent feature of most of the latest designs, and it will be seen that its height confirms the statement that a woman may see a much greater reflection than was previously the case. A new idea is to have the top of the dressing-table covered with a sheet of plate glass cut to the exact shape of the wood. This not only preserves the dressing-table’s surface against accidents with scents and powders, but also improves the appearance of the wood underneath it.

An ingenious idea is a combined service wagon and. table. In wagon*form it consists of three tiers, one immediately above the other. The upper and lower ones swing round on the middle one as a pivot and thus the wagon is converted into a table. It is known as an Adap-Table, and may be used in dining-room or drawing-room, or for tea on the lawn on summer afternoons. With a little practice, the table can be laid correctly in wagon form in the kitchen, then wheeled to its proper destination and speedily converted.

THAT SINK BASKET The sink-basket that overflows its brim and broadcasts tea-leaves every time the wash-ing-up bowl is emptied is one of the minor household irritations. The familiar nuisance is. however. overcome by a zinc stand, costing a few pence, which lifts the basket above the level

of the flood. Fitting any ordinary basket, it is so made that it does not scratch the sink.

PAINTED ALCOVES SOME NEW METHODS Houses are being built just now in which the alcove is a prominent feature. Often it takes the form of the alcove found in the *l ßth century houses which was designed for a statue or a large vase. The difference between it and the earlier kind is that it is very often a space in the wall which is left between various cupboards, in the wall of the room adjoining. Sometimes shelves are put up in it in the ordinary way, and these are used for books or china. A newer method is to decorate the alcove. This may be done in conjunction with shelves or ornaments, or in the alcove may really be a picture. Sometimes a seat is put in it, and above this the wall is painted or frescoed. g Generally some intimate design is chosen. If there is a garden to the house; a part of the garden may be painted in the alcove. Sometimes a family incident is chosen, and then treated amusingly after a Chinese or other exotic convention. In town houses, birds or flowers look well in the alcove. One effective form of decoration was to paint the alcove like a window with a plant in front of it. The convention was such as to preclude any suggestion of imitation, which would bring the subject to the level of sham books. The painting of the alcove is, of course, strictly in accordance with the decoration of the rest of the room. While it might easily be too like scenery, a clever painter with a sense of form or even a sense of humour can make* an entirely new nature of it.

CANDLE OR LAMPSHADE

A PRETTY DESIGN The sketch shows a particularly pretty and dainty little candle shade that is not difficult to make. The foundation

is to be made of cardboard and wire. You will require for the cardboard foundation a strip of thin cardboard cut wider at one end. The narrow end will be for the top of the shade. Now

bend it into shape and fasten it together at the edges with small paper fastenings. This shape is loosely covered with dull, green soft silk, and trimmed at the top and bottom with a ruche made of narrow gold ribbon. The material can be lightly tacked on the wire with silk of a colour to match the ribbon. The shade is ornamented all round with amber beads hung in little loops, and between each loop tiny rosette loops, and between each of these a tiny rosette of very narrow gold ribbon is sewn on. The wire frame can be purchased at any draper’s or wiremaker’s.

AN EFFECTIVE ALLIANCE This comfortable round-backed chair does not owe its novelty to its shape, but to the effective alliance of polished walnut and carved ashwood which forms the frame. The upholstery is of fancy beige satin and the cushions are of russet-brown velvet. The lampstand, made of ashwood, is that very popular design which women living in small houses now find so useful. Having a dual table fitment on the stem it can act as tea table, or as an occasional table in a “cosy corner,” or it will be appreciated in a boudoir to hold the owner’s favourite volumes which she may like at Hand. The parchment shade has the effective stippled decoration.