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Show WOMAN'S WORLD Many Homes Contain Valuable Space By Ertta Haley MODERNIZING the home does not always mean that you have to get an architect in to lift the face of the house. Much of the work can begin inside with such easily managed things as turning a door Into a built-in bookcase, cutting down the legs of a dining room table to make a handy coffee cof-fee table, removing an old-fashioned archway to make place for t .'glass blocks or modernizing walls with plywood or plastic. Don't be too startled with pictures pic-tures you've seen of houses of the future. Remember, these are products prod-ucts of evolution and take time. For most people, their various features are incorporated into homes little by little. Many older homes do not have as much light or storage space as is necessary. These are two important impor-tant features which it's important ( to try to achieve, even though you do only a small amount at a time. Lots of homes are full of clutter such as heavy old banisters and handrails on the stairs, semi-partitions with columns between rooms or in the hall, ugly cabinets over mantles, not enough space ior books, heavy pieces of furniture It's Easy to Renovate Ceilings and Walls Have you a cracked plaster ceiling ceil-ing or one where the plaster is constantly falling? This is not only an unattractive sight, but also an unsafe one. Patching mere cracks may be done by yourself with many available preparations. In cases where there is a large piece out of the ceiling already, you may have to consult a professional profes-sional plasterer who will have to cut out a section of the ceiling and then patch it. It may be necessary to give the whole ceiling a finishing finish-ing coat of plaster. When side walls need renovating, you have a wide choice of wall-board, wall-board, in finished and unfinished varieties. A lumber dealer or building supply dealer can show you various types for specific problems, and also give you help in choosing. If walls are sound but shabby looking, why not try painting or papering them to give the room an elegant new look. If you do not consider yourself an experienced painter, you might try doing the job with, a spray which is simple enough for a child to use. As for wallpaper, there are many kinds of ready-pasted papers available avail-able which need only to be dampened damp-ened and hung, each step of which is quite simple. Take the case of an old dining room table which is round and was found too small as the family grew in size. The first thing to be done is to saw the legs down to coffee table height. Next the old, dark finish is removed with varnish remover re-mover and sanding. The table may be finished with lacquer or painted with a high glossy paint, whatever is needed to match the room. Other furniture renovating tricks may consist of taking off "gingerbread" "ginger-bread" the name frequently applied ap-plied to ornate and excessive trim Turn dining table into coffee table . . . that take more space than they .give use and too few narrow windows win-dows which should be combined t into one to let sunlight and air into the home. Modernizing the place by yourself your-self can be lots of fun because you watch ugliness transformed into loveliness with your own hands, step by step with your own eyes. The sum total of the effort is well worth the sense of achievement as well as a more livable and lovable place to live and truly call home. Start with the small things first, and as your energy and zeal grows, ' as it certainly will, go on to the jigger tasks. First, however, plan, mull over and then replan what you want to do. Though you may start with smaller tasks, you should have an over-all, unified plan in mind so the house, or that part of it you're redoing will give, finally, a harmonious appearance. "Wipe Tired Look From Furniture One of the easiest ways to give -a more pleasing appearance to rooms is to do a face-lifting job on some furniture. This is often economical because you yourself 1 -can do most of the work. Often old and discarded pieces can be reclaimed re-claimed from the attic by this method at very little expense. A a W If Inn w And door into bookcase. on legs, arms and backs of chairs, sofas, tables and cabinets. The furniture will then have to be re-finished, re-finished, to show the good and simple basic lines of the pieces. |