Colour Comes With Cushions

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 753, 28 August 1929, Page 14

Colour Comes With Cushions

STRIPED AND PLAINSIZE IS MOST IMPORTANT . A room—ordinary in furniture and design—may be lifted well out of the rut of mediocrity by the artistic arI rangement of a few colourful cushions, chosen to contrast or harmonise : with each other. Large deep-seated armchairs and settees carry cushions well, but to reap the advantage of bright colours, furniture should be upholstered in neutral shades, which intensify all j brilliant colouring, and yet success- | fuily modify any touch of garishness, j A divan thus treated, drawn up to a ; wall and piled with gay cushions, in- | troduces a delightful splash of colour. I In many cases it is desirable to conj eentrate on a particular colour. A I room facing north, with neutral hang- [ ings, for instance, may be wonderfully i improved by the Introduction of a few bright-coloured cushions. Here orange j should preponderate in the cushions | tised, but it would be advisable to j choose varying shades of orange, and ’ different and original material for , each cushion. An effective conJ tlasting cushion in jade green, or a I blended green and orange stripe, etc., will give not only a colourful but ail I original touch to the room. The blending of colours in many of the modern liand-wovon materials are ! a continual delight, but when choos- ) ing striped or patterned cushion cov--1 ers, which is a particularly effective . and rather subtle way of introducing a pleasing contrast of colour, it should not be forgotten, that, just as a cushion of plain material looks its best in a striped or patterned chair, so a figured or striped cushion should bo given a plain background. The size of cushions is also a point which needs consideration. A large chair or settee demands large eushj ions and smaller furniture requires ] cushions of corresponding size, or all ; sense of balance is destroyed which i naturally detracts from the success of i the scheme of colour. Black as a colour for cushions needs careful handling, and is more effective when suggested either in a striped or shot material than if it is Introduced as an all-black cushion, and so often gives an air of opulency to a collection of vivid colours. To achieve a real aud lasting success, however, in all schemes for indoor decoration, it is essential to j cultivate that gift of the gods—a sense I of colour.