January 29, 1930

Detroit News Quilt History Project; Michigan State University Museum; Susan Salser

Detroit, Michigan, United States

A Beauty in the Home column discussing painting a kitchen.

Beauty in the Home
This department seek to give assistance to all who are interested in beautifying their home and will be glad to answer questions pertaining to interior decoration. In order to serve all who, seek advice promptly, no more than three problems will be discussed in any one reply. Readers are invited to write in this department as often as they wish, but to limit each letter to three questions. State your questions clearly, write only on one side of each paper, enclosing a self-address, stamped envelope and will be published for the benefit of all homemakers, but names and addresses will not be made public.
Not infrequently in the furnishing of a room we find that there is some particular place-usually a corner, in which a group of low furniture pieces seem the stands apart and not come into a general scheme of decoration. Just how to bring this group into the room, decoratively speaking, often proves a difficult problem.

Sometimes a high screen of irregular outline and deep coloring will accomplish the desired end. Another idea which often works out is the hanging on the wall of some rather heavy feature which has interesting form and sharp definition.
In this sketch of a room corner, a hanging bookshelf has been used for this purpose. The shelves are of varying depths to conform with the outline of pieces and two small drawers in the bottom increase the effect of weight. A few of the books have been selected for their bindings, which repeat colors used elsewhere in the room, the remainder are neutral tones. The piece itself has been finished in the same manner as the corner plasters and other wood trim. A few potter figures have been introduced between books.

Yellow Walls
Would you kindly help me with my kitchen? The woodwork is now gray and that I do not wish to change, the walls are pale blue with lower part dark grey, the linoleum has small blue checks with background of grey. It is small and not very light. What color for the walls, upper and lower? The range is black, kitchen table and chairs and stool are oak. What color shall I have on these?
Mrs. B

The upper and lower walls and ceiling of your kitchen may be finished in a light shade of yellow. This will make the room look larger and much brighter than to have blue or gray. There is no reason for having the lower part of the walls darker than the upper.

The chairs and stool may be finished in blue trimmed with black, and the cupboard shelves may be trimmed with blue oil cloth scalloped across the bottom and bound with black or trimmed with black rick rack binding.

For the curtains, use yellow chambray, trimming these with blue binding. Another style for these curtains would be to finish them with hens and put them up with a valance of blue oil cloth scalloped and trimmed with blue rick rack braid. There should also be tie backs of oil cloth. In making a valance of this type, a heavy grade of buckram should be used for the foundation.

Courtesy of The Detroit News Archives.