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PAGE 6,,WEDNESDAY MAYV4, 1983, WHITBY FREE PRESS, HOME IMPROVEMENT SECTION Step-At-A-Ti me Remodeling. Turns ASubdivision'ed House Into A Dream House You've giVen Up try- Ing to buy your dreamn home outrlght and have settled lnstead for- a 1950-style subdivision- ed house that,ý frankly, lsn't everything you'd. like itto be. Stili, you feel fortu- nate to beable to buy any house at ail and it does have possibiities. The question la, how do you get from Point A (Your new bouse as it is now) to Point B (what you know, It can be- corne) without over- shooting the mark and ending up at -Point C (the poorhouse)?7 How do you get there? At your own pace, a step at a time, the.samewy the interior designers at Armstrong carrled out the phased overhaul of Just such an older sub- dlvlsloned bouse. The first steps involv- ed nothing more than cosmetlc changes and a few acquisitions: new paint and wallpaper, some modular seatlng unit, a couple of Waill storage units, etc. The heart of, the re- modeling project was the total re-do of the kit- chen, dining room and living room: three smail, cramped, dated- looking "boxes". Phase I concentrated on 'the kitchen. <For starters, the wail between the kitchen and dining room was knock- ed out Wo make a single large cooking-eating area out of the two- teen- sy rooma., European- style cabinets' were hung next, sleek- and white. The cabinets s'et the tone for the whole decor, which is decidely c on- temporary. As ýredone, the room la ismostly élinical white but with big splashes of vivid, red '(the many countertops, for instance) and lesser accents of bright blue and yeilow, (the china, napkins etc.).. 1'An Armstrong -Solar- ium tile floor, used throughout the open- plan area,- is the'decor's unifying element. These do-it-yourself vinyl tiles look a lot like . real glazed-ceramic imports butthey, cost less and their no-wax surface cuts 'down on' bouse- work. The corners of the room at one end of the kitchen were angled in Wo formn a U,ý probably the most efficient shape for a kitchen. At the bot- tom of the U, a desk was placed, creatlng a mini home office. Dominating the space, ts a large island, work center, complete- wlth cooktop range and yen- tilating hood.. The range, refrigerator and wall oven line ,up inaa step-saving triangle. For quick meals and snacks, stools cam be pulled Up tW the work Island. For more tel- surely dining, a drof- leaf parson's table on casters r Lou from Its niche agalnst the wal between two pantry cup- boards. The later, second phase of the remodellng saw major structural changes, including demlitonof the wal separating, the living room from the cooking- dining area. The kitchen counter functions as a divider and, on the family room side, houses a bar. The picture Window in the living room was re- placed with a green- house window, which floods the whole inter- rior with sunlight. And portions of the upper- storey inside watt were removed tW create. an overhanging balcony. Also during Phase II, a third Thomasville wall storage unit was added. The three units,'filled with TV, stereo, record- ing devices and 50 on, as weil as with books and g ames, take up one en- tire Wall: the home's "electronic entertain- ment center"l. Another big purchase was a red- enameled, free-standing fireplace. As part of the overal upgrading, Armstrong's best no-wax flooring, named Solarian Su- preme, was -put down. Besides its state-of-the- *art- styling and excep'- tional durability, this deluxe flooring Meatures a special backing with simplifies installation and thus of tenreduces labour costs. 0 f course, transform- ing^ a subdlvisioned home into a dream home isn't cheap, but, then, neither às buying one. And this way, the step-at-a-time way, the expenses don't ail corne at once. The homeowner sets the Pace and goes only as -fast - and as far - as he or she wants Wo go. e S.@.seeses**s.s***seS.s Instali Vinyl Siding to End Painting Chome Though one siding ma- tenial may seem more exý- pensive than another, be sure to consider its design life when shopping for, home siding. A" long-lasting material such as solid vinyl siding, which eliminates the cost of repainting, wi1 pay for itself with years of dura- ble, low-maintenance ser- vice'. 3I11rettàn'o Skylights Thlm Need for Artiicial, Light Obne or more properly Iocated skylights can flood a room wîth daylight. This reduces the need for artifi- cial Iight. an obvious ener- gy saving. says APC Cor- poration, a Ieading manu- facturer of skylights. Skylights also break up the monotony of large ceil- ing areas and -open robms to views of the sky. ,Artiotir lJrteriors BREN DA J. COX - interor Designer "Specializing in the Unique" PvofrgsomndMd dadonsg Inca«p oeing thIbm et In custom drisoifumInOs 623-3033 ~I