November 1999

Holiday Cookie School

Thanksgiving Survival Guide

Blueprint 2000 House

Internet Shopping: As Easy as 1-2-3

Every Month

Other Top Clicks

Guide to Spring Bulbs

Home Improvement Encyclopedia

What's on BH&G TV

Join us this fall as Better Homes and Gardens Television begins another great season of lively, informative, and just-plain-fun TV. Hosts Heidi and Michael Spound will bring you practical ideas, useful tips, and helpful instruction from the home front.

Between friends

Sparking Up a Fireplace Wall

Working magic on the mantel is a fine start. Now stretch your horizons. Include the whole fireplace wall as part of your room's focal point.

Chair pinafores

Bare chairs are perfectly fine for everyday use. But when you want your dining room to look its Sunday best, consider dressing up your chairs in pretty pinafores you make yourself.

Lavender Memories

BASIC CHINA 3 DAYS/3 WAYS

Mother always said you can't go wrong with basic white china. Starting from this foundation, we'll show you how to create three different looks for a weekend's worth of occasions, just by adding a few extra pieces. And, in case Mom forgot, we'll share some tips for making your table manners as polished as your place settings.

When Your Island Isn't Paradise

Kitchen islands are supposed to solve problems, right? Sometimes, as the following four examples demonstrate, the best solution is to leave islands out.

Streamlined Media Storage

Things were piling up at Anne and Curt Anderson's Tiburon, California, condominium. Books, magazines, tapes, compact discs, vinyl LP records, and audio/video equipment were taking over the living room. The existing, but sagging, particleboard bookcases couldn't handle the load. And Anne and Curt's furniture faced away from what is probably the room's top feature: sliding glass doors framing a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay.

Blueprint 2000

Rain-sensing roof windows, computers that answer the phone, lattice that never needs paint-- get ready for user-friendly living in the 21st century. A far-fetched dream? Not at Blueprint 2000, a real-life idea home that Better Homes and Gardens magazine created recently to showcase the hottest new breakthroughs in home building and remodeling-- plus a host of practical, down-to-earth notions that you told us you want in your tomorrow house.

Artful Mini Shades

Turn up the wattage on miniature lampshades with inexpensive materials and easy-to-do designs. Here are enough bright ideas to fill a chandelier. You can stick with one design or mix them up. With projects this simple, you can switch the look on a whim.

A Small Bath That Sparkles

Owning a home with a single bathroom doesn't have to be a drain. In fact, by eliminating a linen closet, rearranging the layout, and adding a skylight and glass-block window, Diane Curran brought her serviceable but dated bathroom out of the 1950s and into the present.

Ready, Set, Ho! Ho! Ho!

This wonderful project is perfect for sharing with your kids and grandkids this season-- there's absolutely no sewing involved. Just add a little stuffing and a few tiny twigs (for arms) to the contents of our kit and you can whip up a dozen dapperly dressed 4-inch snowpeople in a few hours.

Little Miracles for Homeless Kids

Here's a gift suggestion that will make the holidays brighter for homeless children.

A Season for Giving

Your purchase of holiday gifts will help homeless children and their families. Part of the purchase price goes to support the work of The Better Homes Fund. Started in 1988 by Better Homes and Gardens magazine, the fund has helped thousands of homeless families and their children.

Light Accents

A well-designed lamp is like a classic dress: It's a good investment. It's practical. And it goes anywhere. But add a few simple accessories and the difference is dramatic.

Little Kids with Big Stress

Tips on recognizing and easing the worry in your children

Give Girls a Competitive Edge

Parents need to understand that winning matters for girls.

And the New Quality Champ Is...

Imagine a car decathlon where similar vehicles would compete like athletes to determine the title of "best all-around car." The battle among the entry-level luxury cars (models in caption, above) would be ferocious.

Turkey Day Tune-Up

Let's talk turkey-- and all the trimmings. It's Thanksgiving, America's favorite feast day and the start of a five-week holiday food-fest. But there's no need to end the season overstuffed.

An Evergold Evergreen

Pink Looks So Cool

Euphorbia Euphoria

Scuffle Off: A Better Hoe

Flowers? What Flowers?

2-tone tapestries

With variegation in your fancy foliage, you have color-- multicolor, actually-- even when you are without flowers. So if you landscape with twin-toned plants you will never have a garden lull. And don't be stingy with variegated plants. Use many of them. Use them often.

The BRIGHT touch

GRANTED, SOME SO-CALLED EVERGREENS really are green, but many others bear needles in shades of chartreuse, steely blue, burnished bronze, or dusky plum. If the "green" in their name is deceptive, the "ever" isn't; these shrubs are beautiful for twelve months a year. Out front, colorful evergreens are a bright alternative to the usual shrubbery. And the look is as friendly in January as it is in June.

A family TRADITION

Love and marriage coaxed Arkansas native Juliet Romano north, but nothing could convince her to part with her Southern decorating roots. So Juliet transplanted the cheery colors, nostalgic patterns, and sentimental collections from her childhood to her Seattle home. Her take on traditional style isn't fussy. "It's more youthful and not as serious," she says, "and my furniture isn't necessarily pedigreed." Read on to see how you can breathe fresh life into an old family style.

Style simplified

Familiar furniture + clever touches - clutter = Style. That's the equation for today's freshest decorating. Start with classic furniture pared down to its essential elements. Add expressive accents, such as natural textures, sea-inspired color, and graphic pattern. Subtract busy backgrounds. Want more? Here are four simple formulas for success.

Fresh Fruit Gift

Turkey Carving Guide

Transforming a whole turkey into a neatly, evenly carved platter of scrumptious slices can be done with maximum aplomb if you equip yourself with a well-sharpened carving knife, a sturdy fork, and these time-tested directions.

Thermometers Are Hot Stuff

Peanut brittle and french fries just wouldn't be the same without 'em. Cooking thermometers are necessities in candy-making and in deep-frying too. They're also essential in determining when foods are cooked to safe temperatures. Let this roundup be your guide to some basic, easy-to-use thermometers and their functions.

Joy to the World

Spread the message of peace, harmony, and joy with gift-food ideas adapted from celebrations around the world, such as Sweden's St. Lucia's Day that inspired this decorated gingerbread cookie.

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