Evening star., 1941-03-15
One Purpose Room
For Dining Becomes
ServiceabIe 5 WAYS
Carpenter and Paint
Transform Large and
Unin:erestine Space

SAOIl llC"pu pOoC lOUiIl w
five-purpose room-for the benefit
of four hobby enthusiasts-is the
interesting story of a large and
uninteresting old dining room. Some
carpenter work and a wise use OF
the new art of paint styling accom-
plished the transformation.
The room was long and narrow
with bay window in one of the
narrow ends. AS the view of the
street 1t afforded was not beautiful
and the room itself was unattractive
the family seldom fingered at the
t,ble after a meal was finished
ardent avocationists, the four OF
them enthusiastically rode their re-
Epective hobbies of photography
sewing, painting and collecting
phonograph records, but constantly
expressed the wish for better stabling
for their hobby horses.
In the wake of brainstorm about
the room a carpenter was called in
and four separate closets were built
across the narrow end of the room
opposite the window. Two were
placed at each side of the door lead
Ing to the kitchen. Each of these
closets was to be devoted to the
housing of the trsppings of one of
the hobby horses. Dads closet had
shelves at the right places to hold
his movie camera, tripod. projection
machine, film splicer, flood lights
and film.
Mother Provided For.
Mothers housed her portable sew
ing machine, susie" her dress
maker dummy, spools, yarn, pat
terms, etc. Inside the door of her
closet was full-length mirror to aid
her in fitting.
The sons closet had racks and
shelves for his portable phonograph
and innumerable records. There
was also place for sheet music and
the banjo he strummed on occasion.
Artistic ambitions stirred the
daughter Of the household, as we'll
as a love Of flowers and gardening
Consequently 1t was she who sug-
gested the decorative theme for the
room. After she had planned the
placement of shelves and drawers
for her sketches, reference ma
terial, paints and books, she cast
interested eyes at the panels OF all
the doors. Paintings of flowers were
her particular speciality and these
panels made tempting areas for the
exercise Of her talent. Furthermore
the bay window suggested to her an
experiment in indoor gardening.
Before either idea could be fol-
lowed through, however, it was nee
essary to decide upon new color
scheme for the room. The family
was interested in applying the
principles of paint styling and be-
gan by analyzing the room care
fully. 1t was much too long for
its width. That was obvious. Con-
sequently their first decision was
to paint the narrow end walls in a
color darker than the side walls
Darker colors, you knew, seem to
advance toward you, while the light
colors seem to recede
A Sunny Air.
A soft chartreuse green was selec-
ted for the narrow walls, while the
other two we're painted q pale
yellow to make them seem farther
apart. The pale yellow side walls
also gave a sunny air to the room.
The trim, because 1t was painted
to match the wall against which
1t was placed, did not intrude on
the decorative scheme.
To reduce the area required for
dining, a small glass-topped table
with a wrought iron base was pur-
chased with four harmonizing
chairs. These were placed in the
front of the room, next to the bay
window. To divide the dining area
from the rest Of the room. two low
tiers of shelves were placed at right
angles to the Wall-one at each side
Of the room. These shelves, open
back and front, serve as an effective
setting for treasured glassware.
The rest Of the room was furn-
tshed as living room with sofa,
easy chairs, radio and bookshelves.
The floor was covered with a dark
blue Gnoleum. Waxed, the floor
served for dancing. 1t was also
exceptionally practical for a sewing
room. A valance, carried across
the entire window wall, concealed
moving picture screen when 1t was
rolled up out Of sight.
A Window Garden.
The whole treatment of the bay
window was outstanding, as a mat
ter OF fact. Venetian blinds, which
admitted light but cut off the un-
attractive view Of the street, made
an interesting background for a
unique window garden. When the
carpenter work was In progress, a
shelf was built below the window
sills which filled the bay window
area. This made an excellent place
for lush-growing house plants. A
vertical partition extending from
the floor to point six inches above
the shelf concealed the plant con-
tainers. Floor-length draperies OF
a wine toned fabric were hung next
to the corners of the room nearest
the window and flower prints
adorned the wall
The entire family was delighted
with the Transformation of the room
into q hobby haven. 1t became their
tavor1te room in the house. Dad
was much pleased for another rea-
son also-it had been possible to
have the revamping and repainting
OF the room done or the budget
plan 80 that 1t could be paid for
In easy monthly installments. He
Inquired 1t was not only paint styling,
but "pocketbook styling" too.