November 1998

Between friends

Decorating with Quilts

Try our patchwork of ideas for showcasing quilts at the window, wall, and bed-- creating cozy backdrops in every room.

Window Jewelry

Just as the night accessories enhance an outfit, drapery hardware puts the finishing touches on window dressing. Here a peek at what fashionable windows will be wearing this season-- including rods and rings, finals, and tiebacks.

Decorating by the Book

Looking for down-to-earth, achievable, and affordable decorating advice?

Pretty Places to Dine

Gather round the table for good food and lively conversation. And while you're at it, leave plenty of room for sunlight, scenery, and style.

A '60s Kitchen Revived

Homeowner Barbara Otto and kitchen designer Sandra Bird had to gut and rebuild to give this 1960s kitchen the workable layout it needed. While reworking the space, they added tasteful touches with copper, brass, and custom tile.

Cabinet Dress-Up

A new cabinet finish is an affordable update, and it may be all your kitchen or bath needs to look young again.

Finding the Right Contractor

Remodeling your home is an exciting endeavor, but as you anxiously await the new and improved, excitement can give way to stress. After all, you're exposing your house to clouds of dust and crowds of workers.

Gift ideas under $40

Last-minute shopping trips are over when you choose these gifts selected especially for the readers of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Order now and forget about those annoying parking problems at the malls in December.

Home of the Year Plans

If this adaptable home design (pages 209 to 220) is right for you, we offer complete blueprints to build your own. If you do not need complete plans at this time, but would like further information, we suggest you order our Study Plan.

Ornaments by the Baker's Dozen

Giving from the Heart

Each holiday gift you buy from the selections on this page will help homeless children and their families nationwide. Part of the purchase price helps homeless families through The Better Homes Fund, a nonprofit national charity founded in 1988 by Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

An office can be...

One joy of working from home is that you can tailor your office to suit your needs and tastes. If home is where your business is, ponder these planning points.

You Ought To Be In Pixels

The family photo collection has not changed much in the last 100 years. Some of us keep treasured snapshots tucked neatly in albums. Others just toss their pictures into shoe boxes.

A Little Minivan Magic

The redesigned Odyssey, the biggest Honda ever, offers a disappearing seat and a prediction of five-star safety without side air bags.

POWERFUL ADVICE

Furnace Filter Reminder

Burning Issues

Less TV, More Life

Last spring, Jeremy Conrad came home from school with disturbing news. Not about a test, but about a seemingly simple assignment from his seventh-grade English teacher at Susan B. Anthony Middle School in Minneapolis. The assignment: Turn off your television for a week and write about the experience.

When midterms don't meet your terms

Any unsatisfactory midterm progress report is your cue to step in and steer your child toward improved performance.

Your Elderly Parents' Safety

Your parents are getting older, but they don't need assisted living arrangements. So, help them improve the safety of the house they already live in. While you're surveying the common trouble spots in their home, you may find simple ways to improve your own house.

We've Remodeled Our Web Site

Better Homes and Gardens Online (www.bhglive.com) is sporting a colorful new look.

The ABCs OF HEPATITIS

Hepatitis. The name alone sounds scary enough, but the real fear is that many people don't know enough about the liver ailment to protect themselves from it.

Crafts for All Seasons

A Second Chance at Life

Cardiac defibrillators are saving people's lives, but not everyone has quick access to them.

Choosing a Garden Window

Windows warm us by inviting sunshine inside, cool us by opening to fresh breezes, and delight us with views beyond our walls. Garden windows push the envelope even further. By replacing a standard window with a garden window, you gain a whole new view and a sense of added space. Window choices vary considerably, so weigh these points before you buy.

The Well-Shaped Garden

Give your yard a shape, and you'll give it a style. The line that separates lawn from planting beds does more than define space: It draws a shape that determines the mood and character of your landscape.

A trooper of a tulip

Your basic vine pole

The bright stuff

No-troubles bubbles

A bloom in every room

Flowers are supposed to be a given. You aren't supposed to have to coax, and wheedle, and beg them out of your houseplants. No such incantations are necessary if you start with the right plants-- potted beauties that pump out posies with ease. Here, then, are the household landscape's magnificent seven. No muss, no fuss, more flowers.

Personality palettes

Committing to color takes courage. It's like walking into a party in a red dress when everyone else is wearing black. To pull color off with flair, you need to know not only what looks good but what feels good. The same is true with decorating: Picking a palette is part fashion, part psychology. To find your true colors, check out the personality profiles on the following pages, then take our easy color quiz.

Decorating with Remnants of the Past

Listen closely when you step into Chris and Lloyd Geggatt's San Diego home and you can almost hear Benny Goodman in the background. The 1940s fabrics, draperies, linens, and doilies that Chris collects, displays, and sells surely hold big-band tunes in their folds, and the cottage swings with the style of a long-ago era.

Home of the Year

In the past, homes evolved to accommodate our changing lives. A bedroom served as a nursery, then a playroom for the toddlers. Later, it became a teen's solitary confinement, and, when the brood moved out, the space became a hobby room or home office. But today, the best floor plans don't just change decade to decade to match our life stages.

A Virtual Feast

Turn to Better Homes and Gardens Online for help creating your holiday dinners this year. Our "Thanksgiving Survival Guide" offers recipes, helpful tips, and interactive features that create an action plan customized to your needs.

Nutrition Information

With each recipe, we give important nutrition information. The calorie count of each serving and the amount, in grams, of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, and protein will help you keep tabs on what you eat.

BH & G kids

Soon the stockings will be hung and the cranberries strung. To help you get ready for the holidays, we have a sleigh full of ideas-- windows to decorate, chewy treats to build and eat, and a dozen ornaments to make.

BH & G The Shopper's Mart

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

The man next door