April 1995

Between friends

Painted finishes

OK, so you're not Picasso. Thanks to our easy, decorative painting techniques, you can warm and charm your rooms with fresh color and designs anyway. The trick? Start with a bold wallpaper border for ready-made pattern and for color inspiration. Then, use ordinary paint, rollers, sponges, and masking tape to turn dull walls, unfinished furniture, and accessories into dazzling, room-making accents. On the next three pages, we'll show you exactly how to do it.

Committing to Commitments

IS IT OK TO LET YOUR CHILD QUIT?

The New Summer Camp

SUMMER VACATION OFFERS FUN OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN.

Thinking "Green"

Hey kids! Hey parents! Use these products to show concern for our fragile environment. For more information and more ideas, turn to "BH&G Kids" on pages 198 to 204.

Door Dressings

Glass-paned doors welcome streams of sunshine. But when privacy is sacrificed for the sheer effect, it's time to dress up the doors.

America's Best New Homes

Today's new homes are a far cry from cookie-cutter versions of the '50s and '60s. The custom look is in, whether you're after a sprawling ranch or an urbane town home, a sleek contemporary or a romantic traditional.

Historical Haven

Authentic Colonial details combine with a modern floor plan to provide the best of both worlds. The simply detailed front porch, handsome lap siding, traditional shutters, and brick chimneys separate this house from the pack. Inside, you'll enjoy a sunny kitchen with an island that opens to a cozy eating nook, and a family room that features a stately brick fireplace. For more formal occasions, this modest-size house manages to accommodate a large living room that's separated from the dining room by two pillars. Upstairs, a master suite plus two bedrooms and one bath offer abundant room for your family.

Common Paint Problems

Before you invest your time and money in a fresh coat of exterior paint, be sure to give your current finish the eagle eye. Correct any existing problems up front to ensure that they won't pop through your new paint job.

Towering blooms

TEST GARDEN TIP

Easy perennial color

Earth Day landscape

Springtime colors

New Gardening Book

Foolproof Flower Borders

These annual plant collections duplicate the exact borders shown in the plans on pages 116 and 117. They are being grown especially for the readers of Better Homes and Gardens magazine by W. Atlee Burpee & Company and are not available in retail outlets.

Front door flowers

A front walk framed by flowers turns an ordinary entry into a traffic-stopping yard. All it takes is swapping a little grass seed for some annual or perennial flower seed.

Hillside garden

Even a yard that's all hills and rocks isn't a lost garden cause. The secret is choosing the right plants. Catherine Taylor turned her rocky Portland hillside into a showplace by adding tough, colorful alpine plants and perennials. No matter what your yard is like, her ideas could work for you.

A collector's cottage

Warm, calm, and collected sums up Sandy and Robert Moers' early 1900s farmhouse. Warmth radiates from the vintage pieces Sandy doggedly pursues. Her artful displays create the calm. And the collected? Just look around. Inside the front door, soft majolica and old blankets gather in a personal greeting that promises more delights to come.

Choosing Home Design Software

Home design computer software can help even a home improvement novice design a new house, remodel a kitchen, or rearrange the living room furniture.

My how your kitchen has grown!

A kitchen should be as comfortable as an old pair of slacks. If your kitchen is too tight, it's time to let out the seams and tailor it to today's lifestyle. These three kitchens went from cramped to commodious thanks to clever rearranging, artful adding-on, and careful commandeering.

Nutrition information

Earth-loving ideas BH & G kids

SPRING IS THE PERFECT TIME TO CELEBRATE THE EARTH. THE GRASS TURNS GREEN AGAIN, THE SKY IS BLUE, AND WATER GURGLES THROUGH THE STREAMS, REMINDING US THAT IT IS OUR JOB TO TAKE CARE OF OUR BEAUTIFUL PLANET. THE PROJECTS ON THESE PAGES WILL HELP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY KEEP OUR PLANET HEALTHY FOR CENTURIES TO COME.

All-New Chrysler Minivans

Car shopping goes digital

What's up for the next ten years?

The Shopper's Mart

Discover the ease and pleasure of shopping by mail. Order from the convenience of your own home with complete confidence.

The man next door

Aunt Opal called last week. She says her local grocery store is so filled with cosmetics, greeting cards, dry cleaning, and lottery tickets that soon she's going to have to ask directions on where to find the food.