The changing western home - practical and innovative design ideas

Sunset, Dec, 1991

Daylighting

PRIVACY, SEATING, AND VENTILATION IN PLACE OF A CONVENTIONAL WINDOW

SOMETIMES A window lets in more than light and air. One at designer Daryl Rush's Piedmont. California, house also brought in views of the scruffy side of a neighboring house. Rush decided to replace the window with the floating wall you see below.

The wall, doubling as the back of a canti-levered window seat, pushes 18 1/2 inches beyond the house wall and 9 inches past each side of the 67-by 73-inch interior opening. It also extends 24 inches above the top of the opening. While the solid back wall blocks views, a glass shed roof above and slender operable windows on both ends bring ventilation into the room and create an indirect neon-like glow on three sides.

A wide band of plaster frames the sides and top of the opening; stepped fir molding extends along the bottom edge of the window seat, which is topped with birch plywood.

Holiday Trick

TREE WATERING MADE EASY, AT THE AUTO PARTS STORE

LIVING OR CUT, Christmas trees need water, but getting it past ornaments and branches isn't always easy. A $2 to $3 outlay solves the problem. Pick up an extra-long automatic transmission fluid funnel at any auto parts store.

Workspace

PULL-OUT IS A HEAT-RESISTANT LANDING STRIP

ROLLING OUT ON heavy-duty glides, this drawer increases counter space. Its main use is as a trivet for hot pots, saving the laminate counters. Design: Chula Camp for Catherine Covey.

Children

A STREETSCAPE PREVENTS TUMBLES INTO THE TREE

RAMBUNCTIOUS dogs and toddlers have been the down-fall--literally--of many a Christmas tree. But this one, in Laura Urseny and Steven Schoonover's Chico, California, living room, is safe behind the walls of a false-front painted plywood village. Originally built when Nathanial--now five--was just six months old, the village is still an effective barrier for him and Vonnya, a wild and crazy Samoyed.

Details

MORE THAN A CANDLE BURNING IN THE WINDOW

A ROARING FIRE greets arriving holiday guests here, but the flames are a story up and encased in glass. The fireplace, in an upstairs study, has a glass back, creating a rather dramatic entry light when logs are burning in it. Los Angeles architect Nir Buras built the beacon window into his parents' Tucson house.

Home Wiring

SAFETY FOR IN-USE OUTDOOR PLUGS

ELECTRICITY AND water are a potentially lethal combination, requiring extra care in how and where you plug in strings of outdoor lights. Exterior receptacles should be connected to a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) located at the receptacle or in the circuit braker. Don't run lights back into the house; indoor receptacles usually don't have GFCIs.

Electrical code requires that any outdoor receptacle be housed in a weatherproof enclosure. Most are metal flip-top covers. These are fine for briefly used, fair-weather appliances such as leaf blowers. But for Christmas lights or timers that will be plugged in for longer periods, you might wish to change the covers to the style shown at left.

Two manufacturers have lines of safety enclosures with deep lids and openings in the bottom for the cord. You insert the plug and close the lid. The UL-approved products are available in single-and two-gang styles (for two and four plugs). Look for them at electrical supply stores. For more information, call TayMac Corporation at (800) 526-5416, or Intermatic/Malibu at (815) 675-2321.