THE HOME BEAUTIFUL

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 807, 30 October 1929, Page 14

THE HOME BEAUTIFUL

.Modernise your present home ! Bring your house up-to-date ! Domestic science has made great strides in recent years—enjoy the advantages—increase the value of your property and make yours the Home Beautiful.

( By

"PENATES”)

POPULAR ETCHINGS INTERESTING PROCESS HOW THEY ARE MADE Etchings are ‘'in the air.” In the I -whole history of the -world there were ! never so many beautiful plates made ias there are today. Although all ! etchings have a common basis, yet • each etcher has something peculiar 1 to himself which helps to make his i work characteristic and personal, yet 1 how many people who buy and—among the shrewd—collect them, know how and by what process they come into existence? An etching is not drawn with a pen and ink, and a pen and ink drawing is not called an etching—an etching must be printed from a metal plate. There are various kinds of metals that an etching may be made upon, namely, copper, zinc, steel or aluminium. Copper is the one genI erally chosen, and it is difficult to | imagine a better metal; it can be prej pared to any degree of hardness or | softness, and lastly, owing to its beautiful colour, is a delight to work ! upon. Zinc is also a good metal, because lines worked upon this print ; With a peculiar richness of quality. 'lt is, however, much softer than copper, and as a rule wears out sooner in the process of printing. Following is a brief explanation of the method employed in the production of an etching;—A polished copper or zinc plate is covered with a wax preparation, which resists acid; a steel point is used in drawing upon the plate, this point cutting through' the wax and leaving the copper lines bare. It must be understood that the subject has to be drawn in reverse upon the metal. This can be done by placing the copy in front of a mirror and working from the reflection. An acid is then applied to the plate, and it attacks or bites only where the steel point has cut through the wax. When the biting is completed, the resisting wax coating is removed without in any way cutting or scratching the copper. A print is then obtained by dabbing a thick, oily ink over the plate, and it is then wiped with a stiff muslin to remove the superfluous ink; the plate is then placed face upward on the bed of the etching press—the whole being passed between the rollers of the press under pressure. By this means the paper is pressed into the etched or bitten I lines and draws out the ink deposited I therein.

This appears to be a comparatively simple process, but it is not, and from taking up the polished copper plate, at the beginning, to the production of the proof at the end, there are a hundred and one technical difficulties, pitfalls and disappointments; on the other hand, the art exercises a tremendous fascination upon the worker.

Furniture of Today MODERN DECORATIVE METHOD Attractive and Labour-Saving WE may put together period rooms or buy period houses, but we cannot by any'possibility lead period lives. A grow- - ing minority begins to feel the need of furniture and fittings inspired by today’s ideals of beauty and designed for today’s needs, for, especially where women are eonceyned, our activities differ radically from those of our grandparents.

Modernity in the home no longer connotes eccentricity or a feverish search for novelty at all costs (says a writer in “Homes and Gardens”). The designer of today has recovered from that violent reaction from accepted models which marks the inception of a new style.

The typical room of today’s furnishing, instead of the mahogany or dark Jacobean oak which was the unquestioned selection of yesterday, has, more often than not, some simple but well-proportioned pieces of weathered oak—individually far smaller than the sideboard “or massive dinner tables of yore, in deference to the reduced size of modern houses and purses. In company with these are oak chairs having lattice bucks, very directly yet subtly treated, and of sound workmanship; or, in a country setting, there may be some of those ladder-back chairs which are neither modern nor antique, but are perfectly adapted to the needs of succeeding generations. Armchairs of this type, but with legs a JJttle shorter, and the same chair on rockers (which finds such favour in the nursery) are accompanied by those convenient book-tables which are a feature of modern sitting-rooms, where there is little space for the numerous pieces of furniture that used to be regarded as essential. These are far lower than the book-cases of -old, having been adjusted to the height of sofas and armchairs. The bathroom and kitchen are completely modernised even in many historic houses, but modern heating and lighting have their influence on the equipment of reception rooms, too. Elaborate fenders and fire-irons have been replaced by a plain curb, and the mantelpiece itself may give way to an opening surrounded by a simple wood moulding. More hygienic floor covering than the close-covered carpets of the last century has long been general, first on account of the suitability of rugs or matting in schemes which include Tudor or Jacobean oak, and more lately for the sake of a campaign against “dust traps” and general simplification of the problem of keep-

ing the home free from dirt with the least expenditure of energy. Rugs or carpet squares fill the practical as well as the luxury demands of the modern room, where floors of polished or painted wood are much esteemed, serving as a ground for floor coverings of modern design; round or oval shapes (sometimes conveniently used before a dressing-table or bureau) being one of the innovations that belong to the modern school. One of the needs of the home of today or tomorrow is for the better utilisation of all those electrical aids which have gradually become possible for moderate incomes. New houses will surely be built in which convenient plug points for vacuum cleaner, wireless, electric heater or fan will be contrived out of sight and yet accessible in each room. With the portable wireless set and enclosed gramophone we are nearing an ideal which will, perhaps, be attained when warmth and music will be given off from walls that bear no outward signs of their makiug, underfaced by unsightly wires; ceilings and cornices from which artificial light illumines the room as daylight floods it from the window. The first steps to such a use of electric lighting is found in those flood lights which characterise the most modern interior; and there are numerous new lamps that give local lighting in a most effective way.

Metal and glass are increasingly replacing wood and silk in electric fittings, forged iron or cast bronze is used for encasing radiators, for the frames of mirrors, and such unconsidered trifles as umbrella stands and brackets. To soften the glare, chandeliers and standard or table lamps have ground or tinted glass instead of the frilled silk of other days, and plane surfaces in this material are used in ingenious ways in combination with aluminium or bronze; while plate glass on dressing-tables and sideboards is another modern development that aims at clean efficiency. Porcelain, enamel on cookers and kitchen tables, and vitreous glazes in the bathroom tell the same story—the provision of surfaces which demand hardly any cleaning.

PEWTER WARE ITS DECORATIVE VALUE METHODS OF CLEANING Valued for some time only by collectors, pewter has come very much into its own again, for it is now realised how great is the decorative value of its dull, soft sheen. In the good old days the mistress would have as soon spring-cleaned the family paintings as allowed an amateur hand to clean her pewter. She would not even touch it herself. ( It not only needed great care, but j secret methods were employed, and ! so the treasures were sent away to | be dealt with by a master pewterer. ; But secrets will out, and an authority on the subject writes of one of j these old recipes, which advised the ■ mixing of freshly-broken egg-shells | with hot soapsuds. It is claimed to ' be the ideal pewter polish. Anyway, j it might be worth trying, j More modern methods advocate the i use of paraffin, a bath of it in which j the artcle may be soaked for pewter 1 that has been long neglected. For | ordinary polishing, jewellers’ rottenj stone made into a paste, with precipi- ! tated chalk and soap, is excellent. It j should be applied with a piece of j lemon peel. Pronounced scratches will disappear by continuous rubbing with fine emery paper, and dents can be worked out if a piece of stick is padded with chamois leather or rag and long and careful rubbing is applied to the inside of the pewter article. DARK ROOMS COLOURS WHICH REFLECT LIGHT Whether the darkness of a room is due to a southerly 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 north room, must, be white or cream, and hang at the sides of the window, not in front. The rod can be extended beyond the window, on each side, and the curtains hung from the extension, with only two rings inside the 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 opaque glass will least obscure the light. High walls near the window should be whitewashed, and it will help matters if the window sill and frame are painted white. A plain cream wallpaper or dis- ; temper reflects the most light; next to this come pale pink and pale yellow. As 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. Red, 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.