Evening star. [volume], January 06, 1940, Page B-2, Image 18

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Painting Can Bring
Outmoded Room
Into Modern Mode
A Specific Case Is Cited
To Show Just How It
Can Be Done Cheaply
One of the best loved stories of our
times is the Cinderella yam about
the transformation of a drab damsel
Into a glamour girl. Most of us like
the idea and perhaps do a little
thoughtful wishing that we could
wave a magic wand and transform
ourselves into something different.
Homes that have a colorful charm
and an air of being in tune with the
times are the modem counterpart
of “castles in Spain.” Pew of us
who live in homes we feel to be a
little out of date can help wishing
that they could be transformed in a
Cinderella-like manner. There are
few of us who can’t, however—in
some degree or other—work a grati
fying transformation on our dwelling
places with the aid of colorful coat
ings and fabrics.
Let’s take a specific case. A living
room that was in good style a decade
or more ago is still comfortable and
pleasant, but it's definitely out
moded—out of style. Every one knows
how important it is to be in style.
There's no greater tonic for your
spirits than to have things around
you that are up to date. A dress
may be neat and in good condi
tion. It may also fit well—but—if
It is several years old and is out of
style, the woman wearing it will
feel apologetic and uncomfortable
when she puts it on. A new style
dress can lift the weight of the world
off her shoulders and make her
spirits soar.
The effect of up-to-date homes is
Just the same. Homes that are "in
style”—inside and out—not only give
constant pleasure to the whole fam
ily but inspire great pride in their
surroundings as well.
The Room.
But this room we were discussing
—the room furnished in the style of
a decade and a half ago. The walls
are tan and the woodwork brown.
There's a clock on the red brick
mantel and a large-patterned rug
on the floor. - A chandelier juts from
the center of the ceiling and an
overstuffed chair is flanked by a
potted fern on a tabouret and an
Imitation mahogany stand sur
mounted by a lamp with a fringed
shade. Lace panel curtains screen
the windows.
Now let's see it transformed. First
of all the room is paint styled. That
means that color is applied in keep
ing with the trend of the times and
that every feature of the room is
considered carefully in making the
color selection. From national sur
veys made by the Council for Paint
Styling we know that the most popu
lar way to allocate color in a living
room is to have all the walls painted
the same color and the trim coated
to match. The ceiling should be
lighter in tone than the walls, but
different in color.
Painting the trim to match the
walls is especially good in this case
because the windows are a little
large for the size of the room and
the dark coating they had before
emphasized this fact. Painting the
bricks of the fireplace in the wall
color is also good as it aids in mak
ing the room seem larger. Venetian
blinds at the windows also add the
illusion of greater size to the room
With their horizontal lines.
Colors to lTse.
As for color—the walls, wood
work and fireplace are painted a
soft and silvery pale gray—a reced
ing, color that “enlarges” the room.
The Venetian blinds and tapes are
also the same gray. For the ceiling,
a pale grayish green is used and a
carpet of deep grayish green covers
the floor. The hearth is painted
black. Gracefully hung draperies
at the windows are old gold in
color. The ones on the fireplace
wall frame an over-mantel decora
tion that lends a distinctive center
of interest to the room. First of all,
an old gold stripe, approximately
6 inches wide was applied at the
top of the wall above the mantel.
Flat paint was used for this. The
purpose of the stripe was to join the
two gold draperies with a reproduc
tion of their fabric color. The wall
area between the stripe and the
mantel shelf was then coated with
a very pale gold metallic paint. The
metallic note, incidentally, is one
of the very newest trends in decora
tion. Straws in the fashion wind
point out that it's going to be quite
the thing to have glints of lovely
metallic color in our surroundings.
The mural decoration above the
mantel was applied in a very simple
manner. In the center of the mantel
shelf an interesting formation of
real white coral provides a focal
point. By placing a light at a low
point, the shadow of the coral was
thrown on the wall and this was
filled in with a rich metallic gold
paint—the same depth of color as
the draperies.
A pair of conch shells decorate
each end of the mantel shelf and,
on the wall behind them, seaweed,
painted in a bronzy copperish tone,
extends upward toward the ceiling.
The seaweed, incidentally, is easily
drawn. As an added note of lovely
color, the top surface of the mantel
shelf was painted emerald green.
A tmndAfniiintlovi nrnn nn
eomplished by the removal of the
chandelier. The Job of lighting the
room adequately was delegated to
well-designed lamps. One of these
rested on the small stand that was
made part of the new order of
things with a coat of the silvery
gray paint. Modernization struck
the chairs and sofa in the form of
well-tailored apricot-colored slip
covers. These were made notable
with a 2-tone treatment—a deeper
tone of apricot being used for the
. seat cushions.
The owners of the home with the
NEW DWELLING PURCHASED—This attractive home at 4533 Thirty-eighth street N.W. was
built by Barkley Bros., Inc., and sold to Mr. and Mrs. H. E. McGill through the office of Paul T.
Stone, Inc. —Star Staff Photo.
transformed living room were so de
lighted with their “Cinderella” room
that they continued working their
color magic on other rooms in the
house. The game challenged their
ingenuity and did not prove a great
strain on their pocketbooks because
the work could be paid for monthly
out of income. They found that
the pleasure and satisfaction
derived far exceeded the cost of the
transformation.
Real Estate Boards
To Meet in Philadelphia
Next annual convention of the Na
tional Association of Real Estate
Boards will be held in Philadelphia,
with the Philadelphia Real Estate
Board as host, the executive commit
tee of the association announces.
The convention will occupy the
week of November 11. The Bellevue
Stratford hotel will be convention
headquarters.
Boyd T. Barnard. Philadelphia,
has been named by Charles J.
Mitchell, president of the host board,
as general chairman of its local
committees for the convention. Mr.
Mitchell, as president of the board,
and John F. McClarren. as executive
vice president, will be ex-officio
members of all these committees.
Newton C. Farr, Chicago, presi
dent-elect of the association for the
year 1940, will be ex-officio chairman
of the general national committee on
plans for the convention.
Savings Loans Advance
34.4 Pet. for Month
The increase in November volume
of savings, building and loan as
sociation advances over the same
month of the previous year was 34 4
per cent, the largest improvement
over 1938 business reported for any
of the first 11 months of 1939. A. D.
Theobald, assistant vice president
of the United States Savings and
Loan League, says that this was
the sixth successive month that saw
more lending business than its
counterpart month in every year
since 1930.
A total of $86,076,000 was loaned
for new home construction, repairs
and modernization, purchase of
homes, refinancing and miscellane
ous purposes, practically two thirds
of it being for the buying and build
ing of homes. Volume was 6.6 per
cent less than in October in line
with seasonal expectations, but the
fall-off was considerably less than
betw-een the two months in 1938.
Camera That 'Shoots'
LEXINGTON, Ky. UP).—Dr. A. S.
Hendrick has two hobbies—photog
raphy and the collection of old fire
arms—so he combined the two in
a new telescopic camera he now uses
to take pictures at long range. The
camera was made of a sardine can
and an old flashlight. It is construct
ed so it can be held and aimed like
a pistol.
Permits
(Continued From First Page.)
to make repairs, 950 Twenty-fifth
street N.W.; to cost $1,000.
Fanny I. Leese, et al„ owners;
Dana B. Johannes, jr., designer; to
make repairs. 710 Eleventh street
N.W.; to cost $1,750.
Dave Herson, 303 Rock Creek
Church road N.W., owner; Columbia
Sheet Metal, 1718 Seventh street
N.W., builders; to make repairs,
1706 Seventh street N.W.; to cost
$600.
Herbert Isham, owner; George
Dulaney, 3116 E street S.E., designer
and builder; to erect one 1-story
frame addition, 3220 Ely place S.E.;
to cost $700.
Sanitary Grocery Co., Inc., 1845
Fourth street N.E., owners; Edward
W. Dreyfuss, architect; H. S. Ward,
1402 Spring road N.W., builder; to
make repairs, 3178-3180 Mount
Pleasant street N.W.; to cost $800.
Central Visible Lunch Rooms, 720
Thirteenth street N.W., owners;
Bernard Lyon Frishman, 513 Bu
chanan street N.W., builder; to make
repairs, 720 Thirteenth street N.W.;
to cost $795.
By DOROTHY DUCAS and
ELIZABETH GORDON.
A new boiler for your heating sys
tem means delving into a compli
cated mechanical world, which to
the average householder is as un
charted and incomprehensible as the
land of Oz or Erewhon.
"What do I know about boilers?”
you say. "How can I judge what is
good and what is bad?”
Far be it from us to suggest that
every home owner take a lightning
course in engineering before pur
chasing a boiler. But there are a
few fundamentals which Should be
considered and which majfbe guides
to a better buy.
First—Buy your boiler from a
competent heating contractor, whose
reputation in the neighborhood you
have checked.
Second—Buy a large enough boiler
to take care of the amount of radia
tion you want in your home. You
can never get the maximum efficien
cy from a boiler that puffs and
strains to supply more heat than its
natural capacity insures.
Third—Consider whether it has
provision for the heating of domestic
hot water as part of its winter func
tioning and possibly, with a proper
setting of the controls, for summer
time, too.
a trailer wmcn meets au oi tnese
demands, coming in the correct size
Rr heating small homes and con
taining water tank or instantaneous
hot-water coil, has come to our at-j
tention. It is one of many improved
models on the market today de
signed to make home heating easy,
efficient and inexpensive.
All-steel, welded throughout,
noiseless, this boiler is adaptable to
steam, vapor or hot-water heat; to
oil or stoker firing. It comes in a
glossy red rectangular casing which
would improve the appearance of
y6ur basement if you use it for a
recreation room. It is insulated, of
course, and equipped with most
modern controls, yet it costs no more
than an old-fashioned cast iron
boiler and 25 per cent less than
some boilers of smaller size.
Light in weight (only 375 pounds),
two men can carry it into your base
ment—and cany it in assembled.
Its prefabrication is one reason for
its inexpensiveness. It is shipped as
a single unit, which means savings
in labor for the installation. Be
cause of prefabrication, too, it can
employ the water tube technique
which is used so successfully in
dustrially.
If you want indirect heat, which
means radiators and pipes instead
of registers and ducts, you should
investigate the new boilers.
* * * *
Tiled walls? How about medium
gauge rubber tile, then?
New tile made of rubber in solid
or marbelized colors, and practically
any size you wish, are available to
day. They are new enough to make
your guests comment, convenient
enough to make housekeepers sigh
with relief.
Rubber tile can be installed right
over plaster without dirt and dis
turbance. Also, it is flexible, so it
will not crack with the movement
of the wall due to temperature
changes. And it is waterproof, eas
ily kept clean with a damp cloth.
Thirty-six solid and marbelized
colors are available, furnished in
both rectangular and square shapes.
Feature strips and moldings also
can be used in contracting or har
monizing colors to add variety to
the design.
It costs between 55 cents and 85
cents a square foot, installed, de
pending on how much space you
have to be covered. This includes
cement used to affix the tiles to tlje
plaster. The dealer from whom you
purchase the tile is equipped to in
stall it for you, or you can have It
done by your own tile setter.
* * * *
One room serving the purpose of
two is popular these days. Living
room and dining room In one is
the most popular manifestation, al
though bedroom and dressing room,
two children’s rooms, and bedroom
and study also are found.
Whenever you have two rooms In
one, your problem is how to divide
them into two rooms on the special
occasions when this is necessary. Of
course, draperies or curtains will do
the trick, but not as well as the
new accordion-folding partitions
which were seen at the New York
World Pair and set house planners
scheming.
mese new folding walls, which
operate on a steel track in the ceil
ing, are the perfect answer to how
to divide one room into two easily
and attractively. The walls draw
out from two sides of the room
where, when not in use, they fold
in on themselves as a self-contained
unit adding, instead of detracting,
from the decorative effect of your
room. No floor track is required, so
the partitions do not interfere with
carpets.
They are made of a sturdy pre
cision-built metal frame, covered
with fabric to harmonize with the
furnishing of your room. The metal
frame makes a firm foundation, the
fabric brings color and texture to
the room. Say you had one be
tween a dining ell and the living
room proper. While the table was
being set for a company dinner you
would draw the accordion-pleated
walls together, and your guests
could not see preparations going on
—nor hear them, either. When it
was time to sit down, the walls
would be opened and pushed back to
make two or three feet of what
looks like drapery fabric at either
side of the entrance to the dining ell.
The frame and tacks and clip-on
jambs are made in stock sizes; each
covering must be specified by the
prospective owner. They cost from
$1.50 to $230 a square foot, depend
ing on size and kind of covering.
Because of all that steel and an
insulative layer between the fabric,
they are sound-resistant, too.
Editor’s note: For further in
formation about products de
scribed here, write the Misses
Ducas and Gordon, 23d West
Forty-first street, New Fork City,
and inclose stamped, self-ad
dressed envelope.
Home Construction
Expected to Advance
And Rents to Go Up
Savings and Loan League
Head Sees Most Lending
For Houses Since '29
Americans will build and buy more
houses in 1940 than they did in 1939
and those who continue to rent will
pay more for their shelter. These
views of the 1940 likelihood of real
estate’s continued uptrend are given
by George W. West, Atlanta, presi
dent of the United States Savings
and Loan League. Sustained abun
dance of home mortgage money with
little change in the cost of such
capital is foreseen by the savings
and loan leader as one of the aiders
and abettors of the real estate
Mr. West bases his predictions on
two existing circumstances. One is
the noteworthy business expansion
which has held its own for some
months and has, according to him,
built up a momentum for rolling
along throughout 1940. People will
thus have more money to buy homes
and more job confidence to push
them into the undertaking.
The other circumstance is the ap
proaching end of the long underside
of the real estate and building cycle
which end is the natural conse
quence of the 10 years spent in ab
sorbing the oversupplies and in
transferring properties which people
overbought to the eventual hands
of those who could afford them.
Even without stepped-up business
activity the underside of the real
estate cycle was spent, but with in
dustrial expansion the upside has
gotten a head start, he says.
Biggest Advances Since *29.
“Savings, building and loan asso
ciations will finance more home
owners with probably a larger dol
lar volume of advances this coming
year than they have since 1939,” said
Mr. West. “They will make a larger
portion of their loans for new con
struction in 1940 than in any of the
past 10 years, probably averaging
between 35 and 40 per cent of their
disbursements for brand-new homes.
A much larger percentage of asso
ciations are making construction
jvoams biMu Bb uuic Biiiic uie ^us.
Since there seems to be ground for
belief in a 5 to 10 per cent increase
in the volume of one and two fam
ily home building over 1939, sav
ings and loan associations are pre
paring to divert a larger stream of
their funds in this direction.
“Home buying will probably con
tinue to use more than a third of
the savings and loan financing in
the coming year. We expect greater
turnover in lota and homes than
any of the 1930s saw. It will be
more nearly a seller s market than
the present generation of men in
their 20s will be able to remember*
Further substantial progress, in the
footsteps of 1939, will be made in
the transfer of older properties from
lending institutions’ hands to
private Individuals. The bright out
look of the market for existing
properties, however, is conftaed to
those which are in good condition.
Unless inflation becomes ah im
mediate threat there will beMtla
Investment in real estate which Is
tfot readily usable or salable.’ ’
Rents Doe to Rise.
“Rents which began a feeble climb
again this fall after a year and a
half of standstill seem to be set for
some upward movement, largely be
cause we close this year with fewer
vacancies in places to live than we
had last year. In communities
where this is true landlords will be
able to collect more rent and the in
fluence of those communities on the
r" 1
NEW HOME SOLD—This home at 3400 Legation street N.W.
has been purchased by Mary A. Abemethy through the Wag
, gaman-prawner Realty Corp. —Star Staff Photo.
national rental Index will make It
aelf felt. There seems to be little
or no reason to expect any sudden
leap up In rental coets.
"Home building will have to fight
its way through one barrier that is
arising, viz., higher costs. The in
terest of the people in home owner
ship today, however, is sufficient to
combat considerable reactionary in
fluences In the price line. Rises In the
average family’s Income because of
business expansion will be enough,
in most cases, to offset the antic
ipated higher costs, so that ability
to buy will be about the same in
1940 as It was in 1939, taking it as a
whole. There will be an increased
demand, however, because of the
emphasis upon a larger number of
small, unpretentious homes which
will appeal to a wider market.”
Has Its Points
BED ALIA, Mo. UP)—A Sedalia busi
nessman is wearing, house slippers
in his office. He purchased a pair
of overshoes,but when he got them
220 RooMvett Si.
A Lovely Home on
Comer Lot
Only *7,250 °°
6 rooms, tiled both, modern
kitchen, slate roof, insulated,
furred walls, porch, attached
gcroge, automatic heat, full
basement -
Open Daily and Sunday
TO REACH: Out Wisconsin Ace. to
Bethesia. left on Old Oeoraetoicn
Road to Rooeecelt St. and left to
home.
Wm. M. Throckmorton
Realtor
Inreotaent II4|. DI. 6093
on he discovered he couldn’t remove
them without taking off the shoes
at the same time. He just doffs both
and settles down to solid comfort
at his desk.
Hard Come, Easy Go
BUENOS AIRES (JP).—Poor old
Sarmiento Thompson, all his life a
plunger, still doesn’t know what it
feels like to have 1,510 pesos ($380)
to spend he won that sum in the
races at Palmero race track here
and five minutes later some one
stole his wallet.
Varnish Job Requires
Patience and Care
Care should be used in preparing
and applying varnish. Never store
varnish in a room where the temper
ature is usually low. When you pour
it from the can, pour it carefully
so that no air bubbles will form.
Be sure that there is no dust pres
ent on the surface to be varnished
and that a minimum of dust is in
the room. Use a first quality flat
brush and dip it gently into the var
nish so no air bubbles or froth may
form. When the brush is not in use,
preserve it by soaking in raw oil.
Before using, however, work all oil
possible from it and then clean it
in turpentine and shake dry. When
applying the varnish lay it on with
out brushing it out too much. If
two coats are necessary, use a quick
drying, harder type for the first coat
than you use for the latter. Two
coats of the same type are frequently
used, however, with good results.
Bethesda, Md. i
BRAND NEW |
7102 Stratford Rd.
Detached Brick jj
6 Rms. 2 Baths I
Trades (or small old homes or I
Investment properties will be I:
considered (or this attractive I
detached home, charmingly ap- I
pointed. Some have 4 bed- I
rooms, have oil heat, garage. I
Lots 60x104. |!
Price, $9,950 up |
Drive out Wisconsin Ave. to Bank I
of Bethesda. left on old Georgetown I
Mood to Wilson Lane, then left to I;
Stratford Road and houses. j;
Open Sunday f!
L. T. Cravat te
| 7» 15th Realtor NA. 0753 [||
Old Georgetown Rd.
and Johnson Ave.
*7,490
A well built home of many un
usual constructional details; all
brick, slate roof, copper gutters
and downspouts, six rooms,
bath, h.-w.h., large shaded lot.
F. H. A., 4Vi% financing.
5509 Johnson Ave.
Open Daily and Sunday
Beer left at Betheeda Bank on
Old Georgetown Rd. 1 8-10 tnilet.
STEUART BROS., INC.
Georcie 9013
Outstanding New 6-Room Homes
LOW ^Crt VIRY
DOWN PAYMENT ^O/AjU EASY TIRMS
Specialut* in E
STOKER
and I
BLOWER
COAL
For AU Mahoo of Anthro- I
cite and Bituminous Stok- |
art and Blowort. |
See US for 1
The Electric Furnace Man 1
and the §
Whiting Staken §
Phone, Write or CaD I
714 13th St. Nad. 3068 I
Exhibit Home, 1548 FORT DAVIS ST. S.E.
The Capital’, Merest. finest low-oast hemes—planned for livability and
equipped far laber-savtna odMeney. « spaelaas roams and tiled bath.
Automatic cas beat, air conditioned. Convenient to everythin!. |
OPEN DAILY AND SUNDAY
TO REACH: Drive ttraitht out
Pennsylvania Art. S.E. to ft. Davit 1||3B»R3BB
St. and Hornet.
—J_1818 X fit. pat. MW
2 Outstanding Buys in Bethesda
117 Del Ray Ave. 4523 Rosedole Aye.
*9250 *6990
beSrS2?"»? BATH8 os si* rooms RAIH
FIRST FLOOR Large living room, dining room.
Situated on a large, high lot kitchen; 3 bedrooms and bath
65'xl50'. on 2n<* floor
All large rooms, full basement, . .... . . . . ,,
automatic oil heat, built-in fuU
garage, comfortable living porch. basement. Built-in garage.
Turn left at traffic light in Be- _ .
thesda on Old Georgetown M. to nni^Lll A?e
Delray Act. Left on Delray Ave. to l*Bht in Bethesaa to Roeedale Aie.
Jl/ffjag Rip fit on ROSCtLOlB tO /lOfflfl.
J. WESLEY BUCHANAN
Realtor
1732 K St. X.W. _ME. 1143
IWoodmoor ...ond_
alone . . . offers you an opportunity like this. For
here only con you have your choice of numerous lovely
wooded homesites, a variety of architectural styles and
the home of your desire built to order. It will be on
a minimum 70-foot front lot, contains two bedrooms
ond bath, be either one or two stories, completely oir
conditioned with gas or oil heat. And the price is Still
$5,990 complete.
INSPECT:
from tralle light on Geor
gia Attnue in Silver
Spring, hear right on
ColttttUe Road, fust be
yond Indian Spring Clab
to Woodmoor and TRRMt
exhibit hornet.
MOSS REALTY
COMPANY
805 Live Oak Drive
GRUVER BUILT
Distinct in character *
... Modem in every
way. 3 bedrooms, 2
baths and first-floor ||
lavatory.
1415 UNDERWOOD
STREET N.W.
Just East 16th
*12,950-00
New brick, side entrance Co
lonial—three large bedrooms—
two baths — finished attic —
paneled recreation room with
fireplace—garage—rear screened
living porch—AIR CONDI
TIONED.
Open—Heated—Lighted
W*L.OREMJr,pms.
5520 Conn. Ave. N.W.
Woodley 2300
_ _ e
# HEN you want new
STORES rugs and carpets, we
HOTELS are organized to
OFFICES supply them at record
CHURCHES 'OW PnCeS- Bef°re >°U
NIGHT CLUBS okay anY contract, get our
APARTMENTS prices. Phone or write.
1715 Rhode Island Are. N.E. • Phone HObart 8200-1
HARRY S. COPPERTHITE, Contract Manager.
■ ~l
4044 FESSENDEN ST., CHEVY CHASE, D. C.
*7,950
This (attractive house contains 6 rooms, including 3 bedrooms, auto
matic heat, fireplace, finished attic with rock wool insulation; is within
easy walking distance of graded schools, Alice Deal Junior ond Wood
row Wilson High, and convenient to transportation. The owner is
making a considerable sacrifice in fixing the price at $7,950.
Open Suniat from 10:30 A M. to 5:30 P.M.
BOSS & PHELPS
1417 K St. N.W. Realtors NaH. WOO
I WOODSIDE FOREST |
I The Ideal Medium Priced |
I High Grade Home Community |
A charming home
in a
Perfect
woodland setting
6 spacious rooms, 2 baths,
3 bod rooms (don and
lavatory on 1st floor).
816 Liv# Oak Drtvt
IRVIN BUILT
E TWO MORE BEAUTIFUL HOMES NEAR- g
ING COMPLETION. TRADES CONSIDERED 1
I Open Sunday and Daily Til 8 P.M. §|
TO RKACH: Drive out Oe. Ave. to Silver Spring, turn right Eg
at Colecvllle Pike to Dale Drive (Mri. K 'a ToUhouee Tavern). 18
left to Oruvcr eigne. Or atralght on through Surer Spring to gf
Columbia Blvd., turn right to Oniver eigne and to houeee. ™
Wm. M. THROCKMORTON
Rmmltmr
Investment Building I
arjmm«mimimijiiiiimiim.MI