WITH PELMET

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 771, 18 September 1929, Page 14

WITH PELMET

Best Way for Curtains NO GREAT DIFFICULTIES Curtains can be very expensive, or quite the reverse, according to one’s desires and nieans. When expense is no object, then one may cast aside care and call in an interior decorator to arrange the curtains aud drapiugs, and that is the end of the matter. But for the woman of moderate income, or one whose “moves” are fairly frequent, curtaining presents something of a problem. , The most popular form of window treatment at present—in spite of all that may be said against it—is that of a pelmet with hanging drapes and a casement curtain of net. This pelmet can be made at home with some little help from the handy man, who will measure the window exactly and cut a hoard of that width by four

and a-half inches deep, to be supported by brackets at the top of the window. Next cut out the design in strong paper and make this your pattern. If design is not your strong point make a scalloped pattern by laying a dinner plate along one edge of the pattern and cutting round it. After the pattern is cut lay it on the curtain material and cut it out. Repeat this process with buckram (used lengthways only), and then the lining. Sew the material to the face of the buckram, and the lining to the back and then finish the top of the pelmet with a flat braid; the other edges may be finished with galon or fringe. Then attach the pelmet to the pelmet board -mentioned above. Special tacks can be obtained for this purpose. The long side curtains are merely straight lengths of material, which are finished with a heading to allow them to be threaded on a rod which is fastened to the top of the window under the pelmet board. When a move into another house results in the pelmet being too large or too small, it is not difficult to remedy this trouble. In the case of the overj large pelmet, the required amount has | merely to be taken from each end and | the edges refinished. When it is not ] large enough, however, panels of the j same or of matching material cau be ; added, as shown in the accompanying i drawing.

THE GARAGE NEED NOT BE UGLY SOME PRACTICAL DECORATIVE SCHEMES It is a subject for congratulation that the modern architect now constructs the garage in such a way that it maintains its proper place as an integral part of the house itself. In this case, it takes on the general character of the rest and is decorated accordingly. But when, as so often happens, the garage is a separate building, it is difficult to make it look at peace with the house as regards decoration. The doors must of necessity be wide, but if you have them made from oak in its natural tint, the grain of the wood will go a long way toward distracting attention from the rather squat proportions that are almost unavoidable. A corrective in regard to proportions may also be found in the long horizontal lines of wrought iron hinges that are shaped to punctuate each door pleasantly' at top and bottom. Another mediaeval effect is to be gained by hanging a heavy lantern in wrought iron immediately above the door, and adding an important-looking key escutcheon, of which the open metal work will form a distinct ornament. Even gutters and pipes may he converted into decorative features if a little imagination is brought to bear. I know a garage with pipes painted bright green, and the contrast between these and the red-tiled roof is most, satisfactory. The stone of the yard Immediately in front of the garage has been treated with red ochre, so that there is a cheerful air about the place which entirely redeems it from banality. Red bricks might be chosen as a paving for such a yard, and laid down in the decorative herringbone pattern. H.M.