Category: Queensland State Archives’ Photostream About Fortitude Valley

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Bringin Colour Back Into The Kitchen

Time was when the American kitchen looked like the interior of a clinic. Glistening white streamlined effects, everything put away out of sight with no dust-harbouring decorations; that was the idea. But now, everything is being done to dissipate the “clinic-like” appearance of the kitchen, and to add warmth and personality to this family room.

Like the rest of the house, the kitchen must be bright and gay – and colourful. Manufacturers are going all-out with their sinks, stoves, refrigerators and cabinets, making these in all the colours of the rainbow.

Today’s American kitchen may have blue walls, and a red ceiling, or yellow (not mean cream, but vivid yellow) walls and a deep blue ceiling. It may even be knotty pine woodwork all over. And the fixtures – sink, stove, and fridge – may be contrasty in red, blue, yellow or

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Bathroom Curtains

For bathroom curtains here’s a new idea which is economical and effective. Sew individual casings on to the back of inexpensive towels.

Use rickrac or pleats for decorative treatment if you wish – but they are just as attractive left plain. You’ll find them easy to launder and they stand up well to all the moisture in this room.

Description source:
Illawara Daily Mercury, 7 June 1954

View the original image at Queensland State Archives:
Digital Image ID 16296

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1950s: The Australian dining scene

When it came to standard Australian dinners in the 1950s, meat was always the main feature of the meal, whether it be served as a hearty sausage casserole, beef stew or mixed grill featuring lamb chops or steak.

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In the 1950s, no one in the family were late for meals, as there was great importance placed on sitting down at the dinner table all together at a set time every evening.

Sundays were usually the formal meal of the week where extended family members might be involved. The head of the household would usually carve the roast at the table, serving thin slices of meat onto each plate, while the vegetables would be passed around for each person to help themselves.

Description source:
Food To Love

View the original image at Queensland State Archives:
Digital Image ID 16314

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Modern Kitchen Interiors

Home designers conscious of the fact that the average housewife spends most of her time in the kitchen, plan this important room, not only to be attractive and convenient in design, but to incorporate equipment that will ease the kitchen task.

It is not so many years ago that a washing up dish was standard practice in a country home. But all this has changed, and the housewife of today is finding it so much easier to work in a modern kitchen, with time and labor saving equipment, including a modern stainless steel sink.

Stainless steel is preferred because of its attractive polished appearance, because it is so easy to keep, clean, sparkling and hygienic and also because it is so easy on glassware and china.

Washing up is so much simpler when a stainless steel sink is used – the water keeps hot, the dishes

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Bedroom Design Can Be Most “Individual”

The one room of your house you can plan to suit your individuality is your bedroom. Lounge, dining room and hall must be planned to please everyone.

Let your hair down when you design your bedroom. It need please only you – the occupant. Paint it any colour that meets your personal taste and let this came cavalier attitude dictate all of its furnishings.

Linoleum is a particularly adaptable floor covering for bedrooms. Children’s room, particularly, are kept cleaner and brighter with such a covering.

An easy chair with a footstool will help to make any bedroom more “your room”. Not only a place for sleeping and completing one’s toilet, but a retreat from the rest of the house – this is what the bedroom should be.

If you have a box-spring mattress you can cut any headboard you like to fit it. These

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A Room To Live In

A living-room or sitting-room must meet several basic needs in today’s house or flat.

The first essential is liveability. Too many houses have a carefully furnished drawing room or “front parlour” which is seldom used unless there are visitors.

The dining-room in such cases becomes the living-room and the family usually eats in the kitchen. If there is to be a living-room then it should be lived in.

There must be adequate room for comfortable seating, a place to write, a place for books and papers, and packs of cards, heat for winter comfort and lighting for any need.

Liveability is another word for comfort. It means comfortable chairs and couch, lights for relaxed conversation or reading and furniture arranged for natural conversation groups – in twos, threes and fours.

Colour is vital. A bright background of deep, strong colors, colorful lamps, pictures and ornaments, gay

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Metal Furniture Will Be Latest Decorating Trend

Melbourne – Australian interior decorator Frances Burke, of Melbourne, predicts metal furniture will replace wood. She bases her prediction on trends she saw during a six months’ business trip around the world.

Miss Burke who returned last week, said: “In America, particularly on the West Coast, they are making every imaginable type of furniture in metal.

“Ludicrous”
“In some cases the results are ludicrous. Some manufacturers are even making metal Chippendale suites complete with metal claws.

“Most metal furniture, however, is simple, well designed and practical. It is ideal for small flats.

“I am sure metal furniture is not just a fad. Timber is becoming scarce. Craftsmanship is needed to work wood and make furniture from it. Metal is ideal for mass production.”

Subdued Colors
Miss Bourke changes the wall colors of her flat and her furniture coverings every season. She found that interior colors are

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Economy, Colour For Kitchen

The brightest contribution to the decor of the modern kitchen should be the floor covering.

And one of the greatest mistakes is to think that because it is the kitchen floor that is to be covered, “something cheap will do.” For the covering on the kitchen floor is the hardest working commodity in the average house.

For ultimate economy, the linoleum tile type of covering is ideal for the kitchen. The tiles are made of inlaid linoleum and can be laid over timber, concrete, or composition floors.

A layer of felt or paper is generally pasted to the floor and the tiles are then laid on top. While the under-layer is not essential, it has the advantage that it makes for greater resilience and is quieter under foot.

The tiles are easily laid down and glued into place and once down retain their appearance for a

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Formica Table

Formica and other plastic and composite materials really took off in the 1950’s. Tables such as this form the tip of the iceberg when it comes to creative possibilities with newly-found materials. The combination of natural and manmade opens up a whole new world of interior design.

Description source:
Budget Direct

View the original image at Queensland State Archives:
Digital Image ID 16317

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Mid Century Modern

1940s-1950s

Australia took a while to cotton on to the modernist design trend, with local modernist designers reaching international success in the 1970s. When we did catch up, we became truly obsessed.

The mid-century modern design movement began in the 1940s, a straightforward style that seemed appropriate in wartime.

Mid-century modern – often just called modernist – furniture was about being minimal. Furniture served a purpose, and function became the primary focus of all designs.

For this reason, lines were kept clean. Few design elements were featured (and if they were, they were kept subtle). Furniture – especially designer chairs – came to resemble sculptures.

Borrowing from the Art Deco movement, geometric shapes remained important influences. However, in contrast, asymmetry grew popular.

Modernist furniture embraced modern materials – chrome, formica and vinyl. But modernist designers also adopted industrial machinery to churn out mass-produced items.

Mid-century modern furniture still holds sway

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