June 2001

Arrange a Room

One-Dish Dinners

Save Time in The Garden

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Roses for Our Members

BH&G TV

What is it about June that makes it seem so special? Perhaps it's because everything seems so full of life. The long-awaited first day of summer officially arrives on June 21. Trees and shrubs are often at their freshest, and there are more flowers in bloom than at any other time of the year. Even the early Romans extolled the virtues of June as the best time for marriages. Let Better Homes and Gardens Television help make June special for you.

Between Friends

Summer Draperies

It's summertime, and the living is breezy. Turn to timeless warm-weather fashion fabrics and trims to give a lighter look to your windows this season.

Off the Wall

Falling Stars Bring celestial sparkle down to earth with a star-studded area rug painted to match your room's color scheme.

Reader Shopping

Time-crunched do-it-yourselfers can duplicate the projects shown in this story with these handpicked collections of Wallies Wallpaper Cutouts. These prepasted, vinyl-coated, strippable wallpaper motifs give walls, furniture, accessories, and craft objects a hand-painted look-- without the mess.

That's the Breaks

Don't get all broken up over a shattered plate. Turn that damaged dish into a mosaic serving tray. Add a few buttons and some beads, and it all comes together in a purchased picture frame.

Rhythm & Blues

Like crisp sails bobbing on an azure sea, white and blue compositions captivate the eye. Buoyant and breezy, the colors combine for a vibrant contrast that is timeless and easy to work with when molding an artful arrangement, such as this one (above).

Buggy Bedroom

In this Charleston, South Carolina, bedroom, the typical pastels-and-floral-prints garden decorating theme gets some buzz with bright colors and adorable insects. Colorful flourishes were added to unadorned furniture classics, which can be face-lifted to reflect changing interests. In fact, since most of the spunk in this space comes from paint and fabric, the room scheme can grow up along with its occupant.

Chips Off the Color Block

Somewhere between picking a paint color and buying a bucket of paint, you can collect quite a stack of hue-happy paint chips. Here are some ideas for putting them to decorative use.

Green Bouquets

Who says only colorful flowers look good in a vase? These bouquets focus on a variety of greenery-- some plants growing as close as your back door. From herbs to ferns, there's a wealth of textures and tones for the picking.

Plant Wraps

Breakfast Blend

Jan and Paul Wicklund of Wayzata, Minnesota, were ready for a change that would transform their dreary kitchen into a cheery entry center and social hub. "We wanted to update our kitchen by enlarging the dining and food preparation areas-- making it a brighter, more livable space," says Jan. Square footage was added with a four-season addition, which replaced an existing greenhouse that had attached to the kitchen through sliding glass doors.

Through-the-Wall Built-Ins

Older homes may overflow with charm, but the generosity often dries up when it comes to storage space adequate for today's needs. That's what Shelly Weatherby and husband John Baker faced with their 1930s Tudor-style home in Des Moines, Iowa.

Custom Concrete

Concrete walks, drives, and patios can cut ugly swaths through a yard. But you don't have to settle for that. Transform plain surfaces into design elements, or lay down new concrete that better complements your landscaping. Staining and patterning concrete, or pouring it into brick- and stone-shaped grids, are relatively inexpensive ways to create custom looks. Here are the options.

Places To Play

Come out, come out, wherever you are. Why hide in the house when there's a whole world of outside living to seek right in your own backyard? Whether it's a romantic gazebo overlooking a lush garden or a charming summerhouse that doubles up as a hardworking shed, the following pages are filled with ideas you can build (many plans are available) during nature's most pleasurable time to play.

Backyard Projects You Can Build

You can duplicate many of the stylish outdoor projects shown in this issue with our Better Homes and Gardens Project Plans. These professionally drawn woodworker's blueprints are available only from the magazine and are not sold in retail stores. Each plan contains a photo of the project, a complete list of materials needed to get you started, detailed construction drawings, full-size patterns (where appropriate), and clearly written instructions to take you step-by-step through the project.

Fences & Gates

Garden Sheds

Dianne and J.D. Muyskens store their garden gear with style in this cottage-cozy potting shed. Cedar-shingle siding and roofing, forest green trim, and arched windows and doors give the 102 square-foot structure a warm look that blends into the couple's backyard (above). The inside of the shed is finished as a bona fide room (left), complete with a secondhand table and an Oriental rug that J.D. bought at a yard sale for $5. "Since we were going to make the whole thing whimsical, we went all the way," Dianne says.

Gardener's Essentials

Every gardener needs a place to store pots, soil, and other green-thumb essentials. And, to easily provide your soil with a fertilizing natural boost, create a compost pile that is housed in our attractive corral. Build both of these gardener-friendly projects from our one easy-to-use project plan.

A Front Porch Out Back

Warm Walkways

Red rock, matching pavers, and brick define garden spaces, adding a warm feeling to this Colorado backyard.

Bank Vault Safety

The passenger cabin was unscathed after crash testers slammed the Mercedes C-Class into a barrier at 40 mph. The windshield didn't even crack.

Summer Learning

Enrich your child's reading, writing, science, and math skills through books, travel, museum visits, experiments, crafts, and games this summer. The vacation months are an ideal time because learning can be hands-on, outdoors, self-directed, discovery-oriented, creative, and messy. Those are all things you can't often do in school.

Green Landscaping Solutions

If landscaping is on your remodeling menu, try an approach that will satisfy your pocketbook as well as your appetite to protect our environment. Here are some simple things you and your family can do in the backyard to help conserve energy and natural resources.

A JEWEL OF A STONE

Did You Know?

Just Say the Word

Looking Good

Perfect Pairs

TO ORDER PLANTS

Test Garden Tip

Under the Arches

Come Sit a Spell

For most gardeners, their favorite chair is not the recliner in front of the TV. It's that garden bench out back. After a hard day at the office ("Honey, I'm hoome") or a long morning pulling out creeping Charlie ("More weeds?!"), that bench is the favored spot to relax, read a book, sample some wine, or (hoo-wee!) tickle the kids.

Come Outside and Play

When warm weather beckons, it's time to do some serious relaxing outdoors. So grab a glass of lemonade and let us show you how to turn your fresh-air space into a carefree oasis with all the comforts of home.

Escape Hatch

Sometimes, best-laid plans go awry-- for the best. In rural South Carolina, Pat and Henry McCauley's backyard outbuilding never made it as a toolshed.

THERMOMETER/TIMER

FROZEN POP GEAR

"NO-ICE" ICE CREAM MAKER

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.

Food play

"Don't just sit there-- play with your food." How often have you been told that? Now is your chance to create edible works of art.

The Shopper's Mart

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

The family next door