Evening star., 1926-05-07
Repairing and Decorating g
How to Show Best Judgment in Selection of Mate
ras Required and Importance of Obtaining
Artistic Effects in Certain Lines

by means Of paste. hen covered with
| shellac 1t may be "a matter of re-
| construction of the furniture on hand
or it may be an entirely new set pur-
chased in the natural and unfinished
wood. lii either case, the process OF
decorating, after the article is paint
ed is the same. There are stores that
supply furniture of unfinished wood,
furniture built on really good lines.
! BY getting these unfinished pieces
and doing the painting yourself, the
cost of refurnishing will he greatly
reduced.
One may take the much worn and
often seemingly hopeless pieces from
| the attic or StorerOOm and create
with paint. paper and paste the very
| last word III home decoration. These
would need the additional work of
careful rubbing into proper condition.
This is done by removing as much
! paint and yarnish from the article as
! is possible, using first rather coarse
| piece of sandpaper and finishing with
a a finer piece, leaving q smooth.
even finish.
! For one bedroom set natural wood
was well rubbed down with sandpaper
and Il first coat of pale blue inside
paint was applied. This paint comes
ready prepared in tins, suitable for
purposes of this kind, and is on sale
at all paint and hardware stores. For
the first coat. thin slightly with tur
pentine so that the paint will flow
freely from the brush, and with firm
even strokes rub we'll into the wood.
The brush should he suitable in size
TO the article being treated. One of
hristle. about two inches wide, and
fiat rather than round. is n fair size
for all but the largest surfaces. When
the first coat is dry. apply a second
coat without thinning, laying it on in
smooth. even strokes. When thor
ougly dry, the article is ready for the
decoration.
When choosing wall paper, it must
be remembered that the motifs for the
cutting out should be distinct, some
what striking in effect, and of a prop
er size to fit the spaces to be deco
rated. The bedroom set mentioned
above was decorated with black me.
dallions just the width of the mirror
frame. They We're found in the
border of a wall paper, and it may be
noted that many desirable motifs, as
to size, are TO be found in borders
rather than in side wall papers. 1t
is often possible to obtain stunning
motifs from the colored covers or
pages of magazines or prints, which
lend themselves. when single deCora
tions are required. such as a medal
lion on the back of a small rocker.
All designs should be cut out care
fully and the spacing measured on
the furniture and marked with
touch of pencil or chalk. Neat work
and regard for accurate spacing is
necessary in order to produce
faultless effect. Small surface paper
motifs adhere we'll with tube library
1o,~ I.f1
paste can be made at home. Since all
wal paper is affected by water, great
care must be taken not TO coat the
paper too thickly with any water
paste, lest it overrun the edges and
smear the colOrS. When paSting the
design, it is helpful to place a piece
OF clean blotting paper over 1t and
press well into place and fiat. As soon
as the article is finished, apply over
the entire surface of paint and decor
alton a coat of white ready prepared
shellaC, using a very large fiat brush
and working quickly and smoothly.
Many designs of running borders
might be used successfully. but they
are not nearly as artistic or unusual
as the same border cut up and sep
arated and then applied.
Other articles besides furniture
may be decorated by tins method. A
black lacquered serving tray may
originate in the 10-cent store. but
when covered with a mass Of pink
cherry blossoms cut out and arrang-
ed in an all-0Vcr design, it would do
credit to any artistic home One
artistic fruit bowl was originally
medium sized chopping bowl obtained
from the housefurnishing department
and made handsome by a coat of
glossy black outside and an inside
lining of turquoise blue, over which
were scattered single daisies and
foliage group in the center. For all
stiff papers and on all curved sur
faces, such as the center OF a, bowl,
it is best to use a good strong glue,
the kind that won't curl paper. and
carefully press the applied paper. and
place while 1t dries and thus adheres
perfectly fiat.
The field for carrying out applied
paper decoration is extensive and by
rearranging the cut-out motifs, ones
own originality and taste may be eX-
ercised to almost the degree of the
artist with brush and paint.