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Uu (faBNORA PAREDES GIEDT(famott“Look Homeward, America,” an inspirational home furnishings exhibition has just opened at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Five decorators from five different areas of our country created the interiors of the cross section of five houses shown in the exhibition which covers about 6,500 square feet — that's roughly the combined area of five or six average houses.I think that most of us recognize that a llved*in house very seldom, If ever, will approach in looks the decorators’ dreams that appear in magazines, in the movies, or in exhibits. However, shows like “Look Homeward, America” have a definite interest to us because they show us many ideals from which we can choose ideas and adapt them to our own ways of living.Anyway, to get on with “Look Homeward, America,” the management of the Mart organized the exhibition to illustrate its belief that good taste in home decoration is expressed differently In different regions of the country.All the houses in the exhibit hove exterior walls built of materials native to their localities. The use of regional materials also extended to the interiors in walls and floors. The landscaping in each case utilises plants asthftv At* in February in each of the five localities.For the most part the houses represent the informality that has become characteristic of American life at home. Only two of the five houses can be considered formal—and they are almost opulent in their grandeur and formality. These two are the New England House and the Southern House.For those coffee cup commentators who admire and yearn for such grandeur and opulence we will describe briefly the two houses. The New England house shows the drawing room of the Boston Beacon Hill type. The walls are covered in a Venetian Fortuny fabric in a soft bronze gold on cream, the woodwork is painted an old gold with accents of a darker tone. In an enlarged bay window—through which visitors gaze at the drawing room—is a profusion of hot house plants.There are many other objects of beauty in this display* but 1 don't remember them alL As it is, 1 have refreshed my memory rather heavily from the press release on the exhibition.Since gracious southern hospitality always comes to mind when you think of that area of the country, the Southern House cross-section is a dining room designed by Mary Miller and John Bond. Viewers approach the dining room on a curved brick balcony complete with iron railing. Standing on this balcony they see a high-ceilinged room which is almost all white. Deep blue fringed silk draperies hang over the tops of embroidered white mull curtains at the two windows on either side of an Empire fireplace. Above a mahogany dining table is crystaland gold Regency chandelier.•This is the only house In which the people cue going to cook wisecracked someone at the press preview of the exhibition in the living room of the Midwest House.Almost as if to support the old belief of the Middle West’s practical, meat-and-potatoes attitude, this house, designed by Pipsan Saarinen Swanson of Michigan, is the only “down-to-earth” exhibit in the show. But it doesn’t really show anything new as do the other houses. There’s a lot of glass and a great deal of stainless steel in a kitchen that is essentially a part of the livlng-dlning room.* ... the West Coast House—which stands like an enchanted Oriental pavilion, bathed in pale moonlight I've borrowed rather more freely this time from the press release on the exhibition. That's because I couldn't describe the West Coast house without that observation. Anyone who has ever visited In San Francisco—not inDaily Stove Care FaysIn Efficiency, Lower FOnly a clean stove will keep fuel costs at a minimum, and do a really efficient cooking job. Whether it's a gas or an electric range, keep it free of grease and dirt by daily care and a thorough weekly cleaning.Follow this routine after each meal:Wipe off stove top when It’s cool with a sudsy cloth. Empty the drip pan and wash with warm soapsuds. Burn food spills off burner units with high heat, and wipe splashes out of burner bowls with a soapy cloth. Wash the broiler, to prevent its smoking next time the stove is turned on. If a deep-well cooker is used, wash it promptly — you might forget it next day.Before the more thorough weekly cleaning, set a saucer of ammonia and soapsuds in the oven overnight. Grease will wash away more quickly next morning. Remove gas burner tops and scrape out dirt with a pipe cleaner or piece of wire. Put all removable parts — such as burner bowls, racks, and drip pans — into a sinkful of hot soapsuds. Scrub the housing of the pilot light with a soft, wire brush, then a sudsy cloth Swab out storage drawers and oven warmer. Dry each piece thoroughly before replacing it.FOR EFFICIENCY, KEEP BUR] spills on your gat or electric rat lift electric coils, and swab bow bowls right into hot soapsuds.Tells How toPrepare MeatHere Are Tips onRemoving StainsFor FreezingBreakfast In bed? Here’s how to get food stains out of bed* sheets.Coffee: pour boiling water over stain from 2 to 3-foot height.Egg: soak in cold water, then suds thoroughly.Fruits: pour boiling water through stains: or moisten with lemon juice and expose to the sun: or bleach with hydrogen peroxide.Drive courteously. Your life may depend on itThe quality and convenience of frozen meat depends greatly on the care jou give to preparing it for freezing, says meat expert, Reba Staggs.For convenience, cut roasts and pot-roasts into sizes for family use. Whenever possible, remove the bones. It is better not to season ground meat and sausage before freezing. The flavor of the seasonings tends 1 o become stronger duringfreezer storage. These mepfs can be seasoned after they are thawed. Shape ground meat into patties or in loaves for meat loaves and other dishes. Shape the meat so that the packages will stack well in the freezer and take a minimum amountamilitary sense—cans visualize the West Coast house in any of a dozen different locations In that hilly city, Everett Brown, the decorator, interpreted the interest In the Orient which is ever-present In the bay city. Three sides of the house were surrounded with sliding shoji screens, and narrow strips of pine were used for the walls, ceiling and lloor. A long couch consists simply of a storage unit with Japanese tatamis or sleeping mats and a profusion of beautiful pillows and bolsters.(111Margaret Sedwick of Dallas used glass sliding doors, rough timbers and Texas Cordove stone for the casual room of the Southwest House. A fireplace wall of the Texas Cordova stone encompasses as well a television screen and a record-playing unit. At the window Is a long medlum-heighx butterfly shaped table which looks like what might be the desk of a Texas zil-lionaire. Generous sized leather-covered chairs are placed around the table. Above the table at one point Is a chandelier of tin and crystal.
Newspaper Details
Homewood Flossmoor Star
Chicago, Illinois, US
Tue, Jan 11, 1955
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Alison K.
USA 17 Aug 2021
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