CHARM OF ORIENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1031, 23 July 1930, Page 6

CHARM OF ORIENT

ORNAMENTS FROM EAST ARE POPULAR PERIOD ROOMS GO OUT Perhaps many women have grown a little tired of the strictly period room. . . . Certainly they are not as fashionable as they were a short time ago. Bric-a-brac is appearing in our homes once more, and that may be the secret of the period room’s waning popularity. Treasures from the Orient have never been more sought after than they are today, and it has become quite the vogue in London, to give an Eastern “piece” for a wedding glftA modern and delightful idea is to have an Oriental corner, somewhere in the home. Not everyone has the inherent sense of the fitness of things to blend happily such a corner. ... It is very easy to make mistakes. Usually Chinese or Japanese pieces seem to be happy in almost any room. If one bas a dark corner in one’s sitting room, antique brassware, with a background of Chinese or Japanese embroidery, a little table on which stands a Chinese dragon gong—or perhaps an ancient Eastern lamp—would be delightful. Such a scheme would give the glowing colour, and fantasy, that are typically Oriental, and incidentally give just the right setting to modern femininity. Indian work is usually most effective in plainly designed surroundings. A restful corner can be made with an Indian rug, a table inlaid with shimmering mother-of-pearl, a Buddha lamp, a sandal-wood box, and a settee piled with cushions in softly toned shades to match the rug. Egyptian ornaments and freizes make a strong appeal, but they have a severity of line which does not lend itself to intimate decoration.

Complaints that imported Oregon timber was being used in the scaffolding for the Manchester Street Clock Tower, Christchurch, whereas rimu would have done as well, were made at the meeting of /he Canterbury Builders’ Association recently.