Getting out of the decorating doldrums
There are some parts of your home that are unavoidably drab - at the bottom of the stairs, in corners, behind doors and on stump walls. Sometimes there are major problem areas - bathrooms, kitchens and bedrooms. A lot of people put all their creative effort into their living room. Use flowers to deal with spots you can’t handle. Order from your florist or create to suit your taste.
When redecorating for Christmas, there are some things you should remember.
FOR SMALL ROOMS It’s amazing what a little bit of white paint can do. You also need a lot of storage space - book shelves, three or four tiered plant stands, entertainment centres for television, taperecorders, books, and stereo systems.
For bedrooms the old time chest could double for a vanity. Store shoes on a shoe rack or a shoe bag that could hang behind a wardrobe.
SAFETY Do not buy your toddlers gifts with tiny parts they could take off and swallow. Do not buy your toddlers gifts with sharp points that they could damage their eyes on.
Christmas is also the season for fires. Don’t melt polish on the stove. Do not melt linoleum for polish on stoves. Watch kerosene stoves working over time with pepperpot. Keep your kids away from squibs and home made bombs. They are not only very dangerous but illegal.
DOING IT WITH FLOWERS Chief Citizen Compton Young had some ready ideas. A visit to his shop showed his creativity kissed with holiday madness. He got pine cones from the hinterland for special Christmas wreaths and made candle arrangements to decorate the table. Besides the usual Christmas reds and whites he used as centre pieces — black. And the black flowers look good. He also made use of a lot of things we ignore or kick aside every day. Abroad, twigs are big. Choose twigs that you feel will make interesting arrangements, paint them black and decorate with little artificial flowers (periwinkles and rose buds are fine they are currently being sold on the pavement, three for $100). Cram these into a large vase and —presto you have an interesting arrangement.
Surprise yourself with grasses, dry their blossoms, as many as you want, they’re free. If you look closely in your yard you’ll notice many different varieties. A manicole broom turned upside down in a clay pot, dried and painted coconut ‘crowns’ from your friendly water-coconut vendor, dried nenwa, the leaves of the seaside grape all make first rate alterative for your vases. Vases are plentiful and cheap. Buying one is a good investment for they last ‘forever’. Even cracked ones are considered art these days. Mayor Young got his beauties from Black Jewel.