July 1962

Would you like to see your home improvement pictured in Better Homes and Gardens?

These fine prizes will be awarded to winners in Better Homes & Gardens 1962 Home Improvement Contest

The night a sitter stood tall

When Teresa was fourteen, she had already done a fair amount of baby-sitting, but tonight was certainly going to be different. She didn't know the kids, for one thing; their parents were neighbors, but newcomers. One boy was six and the other two. They'd sounded all right, and seemed all right at first, but after an hour, the atmosphere was so tense with their teasing and whining that Teresa saw she'd have to put the little one to bed early. She went to the kitchen to get the older one a soft drink, to sweeten him while she did the job.

What to do when there's NOTHING to do

Vacation thrills soon wear off for school-age youngsters. Before long, days begin to drag. Every mother knows the symptoms-- plaintive cries of "But there's nothing to do!" The time to nip this kids-under-foot disease is before August dog days bring it to a daily crisis. Here is the prescription. You'll find it's medicine your kids will love to take.

Eight easy ideas for teen-age rooms

You don't need a lot of money or expensive equipment to redecorate your room. Here are some quick tricks to get you started.

A fine small addition

INDIVIDUALITY!

Hidebound conformity to the "rules" would soon make all our homes pretty much alike. But you certainly aren't the same person your neighbor is, and your home shouldn't be a carbon copy, either. Here we show you ideas that could never be produced on an assembly line-- each one shows the ingenuity of people who became tired of the same old thing-- and happily went off in another direction.

Small houses often need big additions

Big, bold, bountiful

Bursting with brilliance! Coursing with vibrant colors! Cut the plenty from your garden with a generous hand. Throw restraint to the winds, and combine flower colors with ingenuity and daring! Spot arrangements in unusual places ... hanging in baskets, a glowing silhouette against a forgotten fireplace, a salad bowl brimming with blooms on a work counter.

A whole lot's worth of living

One of the most expensive parts of any house is the land it stands on. And each year, land has increased in cost at a faster rate than any other part of building a house.

WHY won't a problem drinker listen to his wife?

Neil Kuehnl. In recent years, Dr. Jellinek, the editors of Better Homes & Gardens have noted an increasing concern over family problems related to alcohol. We receive many letters raising specific questions, or asking for informative articles on the subject. This one question stands out: "My husband drinks too much, but he won't listen to me when I try to help. All I ever get is an alibi. What can I do?"

The room that comes in a package

Great news! This new package lets you add a room with only eight tools, once foundation and floor are finished. Everything comes in large parts; all you do is put up the framework, fasten in the big one-piece sections. Heating, cooling, electrical service are handled in much the same way as in an ordinary room addition.

FRENCH PROVINCIAL

The flavor of French Provincial never changes. It embodies within a house of today the same warmth, the same abundance of pattern and blending of styles as it did in a rustic French cottage of 200 years ago.

Weekends of work for years of play

Cal and Jane Howell, who do their everyday living in Redwood City, California, often weekended at Squaw Valley. They soon fell in love with the area and began thinking about a place all their own that would be ready and waiting for them every weekend. But for people with ordinary incomes (Cal is an engineer), there was only one way they could get it-- go to work and build it themselves.

Games to make the miles go!

Planning a vacation by family car this summer? Even with the comforts of today's automobile, there are times when long stretches of driving grate on everyone's nerves. Squabbling and roughhousing by children are dangerous-- and can distract your attention from driving. So keep yourself cool and collected-- and the children happy-- with these look-and-talk games. Mom or Dad at the wheel will be amused, but not diverted from the job of safe driving.

It's NEWS to me!

A dream come true!

SHOPPING BY MAIL with Better Homes & Gardens

The man next door

"Courage, friends!" orated neighbor Ken Flowers at our patio party a short time ago. "We old folks have only a few more days to run the world. Then, if I heard the commencement speakers correctly, the Class of 1962 takes over."