March 1982

EDITOR at large

What we face is not the end of the American Dream but the reshaping, and in many ways the improving, of it.

Energy-Smart Window Coverings You Can Make Them Yourself!

Even if you've stuffed your walls with insulation, plugged every crack with caulk, and sealed your windows and doors with weather stripping, a substantial amount of costly heat still could be going right out the window.

Problem-Solving Room Plans

A GREAT 3-BEDROOM HOUSE ONLY THE PRICE SAYS IT'S A MOBILE

Imagine that you're driving through the suburbs and come across this house. What's the first thing about it that catches your eye? Do you notice the warm homey look, the attractive landscaping, or the charming arbor integrating the house and garage? Chances are you'd never notice the most significant point-- the fact that this house is a mobile home! That's right-- this 1,152-square-foot home once had wheels that brought it to this lot in Syracuse, Indiana. Even more startling is the reasonable amount you'd pay to have a house just like it-- less than $35,000 (which doesn't include the garage and arbor) in just about every part of the country.

How to Finish Unfinished Furniture

Unfinished furniture not only offers you quality at a moderate price, but it also lets you choose your own custom finish. On pages 80-87, we show some of the many options: You can paint a piece one color or a combination of colors, stain it a wood tone or a brilliant hue, oil it to bring out the wood's natural beauty, or simply apply a protective coat of varnish or polyurethane. ...

Romantic Rose Crafts

Everyone responds to the beauty of roses, with their glorious colors and graceful shapes. Now you can capture some of that beauty by crafting these imaginative projects from our exclusive rose designs. They range from the refined classic elegance of Victorian motifs to the clean simplicity of contemporary designs. All adapt beautifully to a variety of crafting techniques such as jiffy quickpoint and intricate petit point, appliqué and crochet, and even easy-paint stencils.

COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID WHAT'S LEFT FOR MIDDLE-INCOME FAMILIES?

For parents worried about high college costs, the last year has been a discouraging one. Average annual costs shot up by 14 percent to nearly $7,000 at private colleges and almost $4,000 at public schools. At the same time, Congress slashed three billion dollars from federal assistance programs.

SPOT LANDSCAPING WITH Flowering Shrubs

Now's the time to turn a humdrum landscape into a showplace of color with flowering shrubs. These hardy, low-maintenance bloomers are available in myriad shapes, sizes, and flower colors so you can find a shrub variety to suit almost any landscape situation. Use deciduous flowering shrubs as a colorful and less demanding alternative to annual and perennial flowers, or try shrubs along a lot line, in a foundation planting, or as an economical privacy screen. Many shrubs even produce bright red or yellow berries in the fall that will add a welcome spot of color to the bleak winter landscape.

WHAT'S NEW IN FINISH-IT-YOURSELF FURNITURE

If you still think "unfinished furniture" means stapled-together construction and so-so styling, we've got some surprises for you. The make-do quality and ho-hum looks of the past have been replaced by fine workmanship, handsome woods, and beautiful designs-- from traditional to contemporary.

Picture-Perfect Table Settings

Gardener's log

If you already have a cold frame, a small investment in heating cable and a thermostat will give you a hot bed and put you weeks ahead of other gardeners. Remove all the soil from the frame and stretch out the cable (you'll need about 20 feet) along the bottom in lines approximately six inches apart

A bright new book to create a bright new home

How to plant a prettier and more productive garden

Backpacking & Bike Touring Vacations

There's no better way to explore our country than hiking its backwoods and cycling its back roads. You can pause whenever you like and also experience subtle thrills you'd miss in a car-- fragrances of meadows and forests, twitterings of songbirds, startled looks of woodland creatures as you approach.

How to Order Material From The Magazine

Better Homes Shopping editor's choice

Discover the ease and pleasure of shopping by mail. Order from the convenience of your own home with complete confidence. If not delighted, each company will happily refund your money.

The Man Next Door

Chris says she's delighted to see so many of our town's old houses being restored, but she'd be even happier if the old prices could be restored, too.