Evening star., 1942-12-04

mahogany, but do not 60 in for
Select a wood and style that &C
that is informal in character, and
use any one of the antique" or
rubbed" or natural" finishes
which will stand wear and scratches
and still look we'll. Lamps with
pottery or metal bases stand hard
wear also. In fabrics, avoid silks
and satins and plain colorS. Go
in heavily for washable fabrics,
the Colonial calicoes, cotton with
small, all-over patterns and lots Of
color, or the heavy basket-weave
cottons. Floor covering of linoleum
in the childrens rooms would be
ideal. For other rooms, the tex
tured cotton rugs or the Old
fashioned braided oval rugs on wax
finished floors would be serviceable,
Avoid pastel paint and too many
rufies. Stair rails and woodwork OF
natural finished wood, wherever
possible, would be best. Next to
that. an enamel finish that washes
easily would be efficient. Use plenty
of bright, gay color to set OF the
natural wood tones.
near Miss Novel;: We have a
wedding check to invest in furniture.
We had decided to get break-front
secretary and wanted something
that was nice enough to last many
wears, We were surprised to be
shown a neat little one for about
$50 and a very nice one Tor SZoo'
Though we can see conSlderaoie
difference in the two pieces OF turnl-
t,lre IT. seemed strange that there
WAS nothing in between these Two
nrices. We would hate to pay S1oo
If the furniture is only worth Sloo'
vet the $50 piece did not seem 10
have the quality we were LOOKING
for. We would appreciate some IN
formation from you on why tnere
should be this variance in price ana
what causes II. L. A. IVA
Ansver-This will get us into a
long discussion on furniture max
ing, but, briefly, you get What you
nav for" Your $50 piece IS prop,
ahlv a sman-scale design with all
the good proportions which manu-
facturers are turning out right now.
II looks well and will give adequate
service. On each detail OF the S2oo
piece you will find the reason 1or
the higher price. All JOINTS are
nerfectlv made, woods are matcheo
evactly, details of carving done by
hand and all working parts smooVii
and polished. Munttns on the glass
doors and hardware on drawers are
carefully made and applied. An
important piece OF furniture IKE
this, with extra attention gwen 10
all the intricate details, is the rea-
son for extra cost at every point.
These points are the ones which Will
make your furniture as pleasing to
vour grandchildren as 1t is to you,
provided it is of good design. Pos
sibIy the war effort will explain
the fact that there are no available
pieces in the middle-prlce bracket
right now. There is a good supply
of inexpensive. streamlined, we'll
designed furniture on the market
which is adequate to furnish the
modest home for the duration.
There are also many luxury pieces,
ordered before restrictions we're put
into effect. still available. But the
greatest curtailment has been IN
the middle price field. where good
furniture at reasonable cost Will pe
missing until after the war.
Dear Miss Novel;: I am planning
co use three fireplaCes in my house
this winter, but I find the screens
and hearth tools which have been
stored are very rusty. What Is the
best way to clean these and may
they be repainted to freshen them
up? If so. would regular black
screen enamel be the proper paint?
S. C. B.
Answer-Wipe the screens and
tools with kerosene or turpentine to
remove the light rust. If 1t is
deeply rusted you may need some
steel wool Suggest that you use
black stove enamel rather than
screen enamel. 1t is treated to re-
Sist heat and VIII last mucn longer
on your fire screen.
Dear Miss Novel;: Recently we
removed the finish from a walnut
table with paint remover, and re-
painted it with two coats of enamel.
Now lint, paper and everything else
sticks to the surface. We have
waxed it, but it does no good. Can
you suggest any way that the finish
may be hardened? I. w.
Answer-It is my guess that you
iailed to remove the paint remover
with alcohol before repainting and
the residue OF remover is softening
the present enamel. The only course
Is to remove the paint again, Coun-
teract the remover with alcohol and
start all over