July 2002

From the editor

Decorating Center

Better Homes and Gardens

Celebrate the Fourth

By George, the Fourth of July is a day of sparkle and magic. Come join a popping-good celebration of summer's grandest holiday. Fazzle-dazzle decorations and easy-as-pie family activities pull it all together.

Sand pails

Collectible tin sand pails offer a revue of the nation's history, charted by children.

Romance classics

Romance material is violin concertos, carriage rides, red roses-- things that flush your cheeks. Romance also can be as intangible as a design style, according to Romantic Style, a new Better Homes and Gardens book. The elements of romance-- excitement, sophistication, sweetness-- help you fashion a personal and heartfelt home.

Reader shopping

Moss Appeal

Meandering down a woodland path prompts reflection-- just ask Thoreau. A ceiling of branches shields the sun, and a carpet of moss pads your steps. Brought inside, moss evokes the same serenity with its velvety texture and soothing natural colors. Various species of the plush plant are available in a range of hues, depending on whether it's live, dried, or freeze-dried, such as these spheres (above).

Painted Glass

With the advent of paint products designed to stick to slick and translucent surfaces, it's easy to transform everyday glassware into spirited works of art. Whether it's a colorful polish or a frosty etched finish you crave, the ingredients for boosting the appeal of ordinary canisters, milk bottles, champagne flutes, mirrors, florist vases, and even recycled mayonnaise jars are as close as your nearest hobby shop.

Quick collections

Put together a quirky and compelling display using ordinary objects that are inexpensive and easy to find.

Seaside dreams

Make an ocean view-- whether real or imagined-- part of your decorating scheme. Gather shells on the beach or purchase them from crafts stores, then use them on curtains, boxes, frames, and mirrors to bring the image of quiet moments and gentle mists into your home.

Stylish storage

We started with single storage components, multiplied them, and factored in a sense of fun. It all equals positively fresh storage ideas-- minus the fuss.

Beyond baby steps

As children grow, learn, play, and explore, their environment should respond. Cathy Kramer knows how to create just such a space better than most parents. As an interior designer for Better Homes and Gardens magazine, Cathy used her expertise to shape a big-boy bedroom for her son, Danny, with a loving eye toward his future.

Find Me in My Playhouse

Put up a playhouse and you'll always know where to find your children-- plus their neighborhood friends. Here are two kid magnets that are bound to attract fun and foster memories.

Seaworthy Stencils

The cloud, sailboat, and fish designs shown in "Beyond Baby Steps" on pages 84-88 are available to our readers by special arrangement with Designer Stencils. The three-part Cloud Stencil contains four different designs and is 7¼ inches high by 30¼ inches wide.

It's Easy Being Green

Honda's new gas-electric hybrid runs forever between fill-ups and barely budges the pollution meter.

Protecting your baby from SIDS

More babies die of SIDS in one year than all children who die of cancer, abuse, heart disease, pneumonia, AIDS, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy combined.

Raising a Reader

Children can hardly resist a book's talking ducks, spunky kids, and elves.

Here There Be Dragons

Plan ahead, then plan below

Silver in sun, chartreuse in shade

Deep thoughts about clematis

Porch full-of posies

This open-to-the-sky front porch is the bright and breezy setting for pots overflowing with color and fragrance.

Twelve hundred roses later

Power-packed planting

SHE PLANTS AND PLANTS ... AND TRANSPLANTS. MEET THE GUNG-HO GARDENER WHO SAYS, "I LIKE TO PUSH THE LIMITS AS FAR AS I CAN."

Restoring an Old Glory

SMALL TOWNS TEND TO THINK BIG AROUND THE FOURTH OF JULY AS LONG AS THE FLAGS ARE FLYING, WHY NOT CELEBRATE A RENOVATION TOO?

Live love work play

It's all part of an ordinary day in the Pates-Hanna household. Come see how two parents, two boys, and one paranoid goldfish put it all together-- with style.

Sips of summer

Try the Australian solution to summer's heat: On a Saturday, fill a tub with ice and add a few bottles of your favorite white wine. Then spend the afternoon barbecuing steaks and sausages while catching up with friends and family. And yes, uncork the bottles. To help you keep cool in your own outback, we've assembled a selection of wines from America and overseas that fits this relaxed style of entertaining.

Beware the heat

Dog Daze of Summer

Buzzz

Beast among the beauty

Along came a spider

A Nonsurgical Alternative for Women with Fibroids

Weight matters for wanna-be moms

Safety play

When kids are young, the coach of their pee-wee football team or school soccer team often turns out to be the one parent who raised his hand. By the time kids enter middle and high school, the coaches are teachers or more experienced coaches, some of who have been trained, right? Not exactly.

Cheers for the red white blue

Hip, hip, hooray... it's Independence Day! You will have a blast with the patriotic parades, parties, and fireworks. In the midst of all that fun, take time to think about what makes our nation so special. To get you in the spirit, we asked kids from across the country what they love about America.

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