August 1996

Between friends

Screen Stars

I screen, you screen, we all screen with floor screens. These go-anywhere dividers aren't only useful-- they lend interesting height and dimension to a room.

Fresh-air family room

Just when this family thought they had reached their living-space limits, the great outdoors beckoned with open-air room to grow. Here's how they hit the deck.

Dressed to Learn

Smart Strategies For Safe Kids

You've probably told your kids what they should do if a stranger approaches them in a van or if they become separated from you in the mall. But how would your child respond if a trusted babysitter began touching her under her clothes?

Fad-Free Dieting

In the effort to be svelte, we'll try just about anything. But the failure rate of self-supervised diets is, by some estimates, above 95 percent. Nobody is happy with yo-yo dieting, yet people often will seek professional advice only as a last resort, if ever.

Vitamins: Out of the Bottle?

Wake up, slam some coffee, pop a handful of vitamins, then dive into the day. Sound familiar?

The family garden

Only the hardest working of yards allow every member of the family to play hard within their borders. Inveterate gardener Jim Keefe has designed just such a multifaceted landscape with room-- and garden rooms-- enough to provide diversions and entertainment for three nongardening family members as well.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

TEST garden TIP

Weekend decorating

There's no need to leave home to find that easy summer retreat you've been longing for. Just pick a room that is ready for a perk-up, and adapt one of these no-big-deal decorating projects to suit your style. If you get a head start on Friday, by Sunday afternoon you could be enjoying the gentle breezes of your own private getaway.

Behind screened doors

It's the peak of summer, a time to seek out shaded breezes and fend off big bugs-- two great reasons to escape to a screened porch. But if breezes and bugs aren't enough to inspire you to create your own indoor-outdoor haven, tour the simple structures on the following pages. With their summery comforts and fresh ideas, these porches are sure to lure you out to your own porch to see what can be done.

Home of the year

Mapping the road to our 1996 Home of the Year is easy. Take Imagination Street to Family Needs Place (that's the fork in the road), then follow signs leading to Comfort Court. Just past the Budget Cutoff, you'll see our home. It's right there on American Dream Lane. Architect T. Randolph Grange has perfectly captured the way we live in the 1990s. Out front, the home has well-defined gables, a slight eyebrow lift, a shady porch with paired columns, and other elements that appeal to our love of classically American architecture. By contrast, the rear facade features a contemporary wall of windows, and the interior has hints of traditional design woven into the kind of open living spaces we desire today.

On the Road

Her first frolic in the ocean. His look of amazement at a snowcapped mountain. The tummy-tickling thrill of a roller-coaster ride. A happy toddler zonked in the backseat, clutching cotton candy. These are the images your family will remember and cherish forever. The ideas on the next few pages can make for happier car rides and can keep vacation memories alive all year long.

READER SHOPPING

His Car, Her Car

The sexual revolution has narrowed many differences between men and women, but there's one place where a gender gap remains: Behind the garage door.

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

To the Rev. George Hall's reminder last Sunday that "it's love that makes the world go round," Dot Dresch adds, "Maybe that's why it wobbles so."