March 1996

Between friends

Upstairs, downstairs

Step up to stylish stairs. Give your risers and treads a lighter, livelier personality using wallpaper and paint leftovers, plus a few basics borrowed from the wood shop.

Flower Arranging Made Easy

From Georgia O'Keeffe's dramatic single blooms to Monet's famous water lilies, the beauty of blooms has inspired the brushstrokes of generations of painters. But if your flower arranging skills depend more on strokes of luck than strokes of genius, we've got good news for you. On the following pages we'll reveal some secrets on creating artful arrangements like the rosy gathering, above. We even have a surefire pattern for success that will help you get started.

Frantic Family Syndrome

THE IDEA SEEMS TO BE THE MORE PLATES (ACTIVITIES AND COMMITMENTS) YOU HAVE IN THE AIR, THE BETTER YOU ARE AS A PARENT.

The Good News About Our Schools

"SCHOOL-BASHING IS A POPULAR PASTLME, BUT AMERICANS ARE BEING MISLED. IT'S TIME TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT."

Special-Order Kitchen

Inspired by their favorite upscale diner, this kitchen's owners capture '30s nostalgia without sacrificing the hardworking amenities of a '90s kitchen.

Echoes from the Past

What's New for Your Hearth

Fire up! Today's fireplaces aren't always made of brick, don't burn only wood, and should do more than just add visual warmth to a room. Manufacturers are turning up the heat with new designs and fuels that make fireplaces more flexible as both visual elements and heat providers.

Mantelscapes

More than a one-dimensional path for a repetitive parade of objects, the mantel invites exploring both the highs and lows of display space with inspired balance.

SMART GARDENING

Sometimes the solution is to work, not harder, but smarter. And that's what Smart Gardening is all about. This new occasional feature is where the BH&G garden editors will offer tips and tricks on how to save money, how to get more flowers, how to do less work, and even how to get free plants. Look for future Smart Gardening tips in Gardener's Almanac.

Antique Annual Seed Collection

Antique annuals

The charming and reliable flowers grown by our ancestors live on today in Marilyn Barlow's gardens, offering a generous show of bloom from spring through fall, and casting their seeds around them to guarantee new plants every spring. In Marilyn's garden, past is present.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

TEST garden TIP

Looking Good

BLUE-RIBBON baths

"It's our favorite room in the whole house." That's the kind of rave review your bathroom will draw if it boasts prize-worthy features like those we're showcasing here. Is space for full-service bathrooms at a premium in your house? No problem. Blue-ribbon baths don't need lots of room; just a good dose of inspiration and ingenuity.

Making room for work friends and family

As our needs change so do our homes. Walls come down and walls go up as houses are reshaped to make room for our ever-evolving social and work circumstances. Maybe it's time to launch a home-based business.

All my children

Not content to defer decorating gratification until the kids-- or funds for a down payment-- were raised, Tirzah and Dirk Wanlass have come up with some stylish strategies for turning a tiny, rented place into a cozy, hands-on home for Lacey Ellen, Shane, and newborn Luke. Help yourself to their easy ideas.

New Turns With Old Knobs

Sofa Make-over

Don't rush to replace a sofa that's worse for wear. With a little strategic styling, you can obtain a brand-new look and years of use for less than the cost of reupholstering or slipcovering.

Nutrition information

With each recipe, we give important nutrition facts. You'll find the calorie count of each serving and the amount, in grams, of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fiber, and protein. You can also check the levels of vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron in each recipe serving.

Gooey Stuff

Face it, life's messy. Why not make the most of it? The ideas in this month's BH&G Kids™ are guaranteed to smudge smear, glob, and goo. No wonder they're so much fun.

CLEANING THE AIR

Dust, pollen, mold and other indoor air pollutants are becoming endangered species, of a sort, with all the air-cleaning devices and filters now available. Here are a few new entries:

HEALTHY BABIES

DO YOU KNOW?

Auto update

coat of many colors As paint technology evolves, so will our color choices. We already have vehicle colors that change or "flop" with different light levels. A car that is rose in daylight turns to a deep iris at night. A pearlescent white may even glow softly at night, absorbing and reflecting the moonlight or other available light. Paint suppliers already blend mica and aluminum particles to obtain a metallic look. On one Mustang model, Ford offers a color that includes a prismatic powder

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 says listening to gossip can be like eating cotton candy. It may go down easily, but sometimes it causes a stomachache.