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PAGE 34 About the house . . . Successful stage for outdoor living -- perfect patio needs careful planning PAVING A PATIO with ceramic tile makes a lot of i*nse. Here, a patio of brick-shaped, earthen-hued quarry tile by Monarch proves a wonderful stage for wicker, wrought iron furniture, and greenery vacationing outside for ihe summer- Carpet SALE SAVE 26% Andrea III... our most popular sculptured carpet Was $10.79 7 77 sq. yd. % Here's beautiful sculptured carpeting with a lustrous look similar to shag plush. Nylon pile is treated to resist soil and static elec­ tricity. Great color selection. Jute back. Other carpets also on sale 25% to 33% off Sears lias a credit plan to suit most every need • Prices are Catalog prices • Shipping, installation extra • Now on sale Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back 22 CRYSTAL LAKE PLAZA CRYSTAL LAKE, ILL. Convenient! Shop Sears Catalog by Phone 459-4550 Sears SEARS. ROEBUCK AND CO. HOURS: M-T-W-Th. 9:30 to 5:30 Fri. 9:30 to 8 Sat. 9:30 to 5 By LIS KING Adding a patio this year? Fine idea. A1 fresco living is fun, and there's no ques­ tion that a lovely patio will add to the value of your home. The perfect patio doesn't happen automatically, however. It takes pre­ planning. (Doesn't every­ thing worthwhile?* And here, courtesy of the Tile Council of America, is your checklist for a successful stage for you** outdoor life: 1) Place the patio, so it becomes a natural exten­ sion of the part of the house where you and your guests spend most of your time. (An off-the-bedroom, vine-covered patio may seem like a romantic idea. But do you really want barbecue guests trekking through your bedroom?) 2) It should have easy access to the kitchen. 3) A patio that can't be reached without hiking clear around the house puts a damper on the out­ door life. So DO break through a wall and install doors to make that patio easily accessible. 4) Do your "public" rooms face the street, or is that the side where you get the sun or shade you want? Then "hang" con­ vention and put your pat­ io there. Fences or shrub­ bery will give you privacy. 5) Choose easy-care, sturdy materials for your patio. Ceramic tile, a ma­ terial literally harvested from the earth, is a fine choice. It's as natural as the great outdoors itself, even driving rain won't hurt it, seasonal repairs and deck- painting jobs become a thing of the past, and all you have to do is damp mop to have it as spanking clean as the living room floors. 6) Choose a ceramic tile that'll suit the style of your house. Quarry tile in earth colors will suit colonial, provincial and informal contemporary homes. Glazed tile in bright pri­ mary colors, perhaps laid in bold, geometric pat­ terns, will look wonderful on the patio of a dra­ matically contemporary house. For formal vintage homes, consider the paver type of ceramic tile, pref­ erably in a brick shape. The result will be as im­ pressive as a Sussex manor house of the Georgian era. 7) Is a tree growing in the area you've designated for your new patio? Leave it there. It'll provide shade. Build the patio around it. March II, 1977 and consider circling the tree trunk with a blench. 8) Greenery belongs on the patio. Build some cer­ amic tile planters to match the patio floor. 9) Ceramic tile is also the perfect material for outdoor table tops, barbe­ cue pits, and a decorative pool, for lilies or a pair of fat goldfish. 10) Make sure you get a ceramic tile type that'll suit your climate. Ask the advice of a distributor or contractor. You'll find them in the Yellow Pages Look under "Tile." 11) In the West and South West, tile fountains are popular patio features. And no wonder. The sound of trickling water is charming. Patio people in other parts of the country ought to adopt this custom. For more ideas on the use of ceramic tile, the NATURAL indoor-outdoor material, send 50 cents to the Tile Council of Amer­ ica, P.O. Box 2222, Prince­ ton, N.J. 08540. YouH re­ ceive a vividly-illustrated, 12-page booklet. Shop to find best finance deal Home improvement loans have become a shop­ per's market. Nearly every bank and finance com­ pany will welcome an ap­ plication for a loan to finance a home improve­ ment. Many contractors make it easy by arranging it for .the homeowner. He mere­ ly sign& the papers that are pulled out of a brief­ case. But like nearly every kind of merchandise sold, the price you pay for the financing and the terms offered can vary greatly from lender to lender, ac­ cording to the Lenders' Council of NHIC. The homeowner is ad­ vised to shop around to save money and get the very best deal available. A credit union loan is another possibility, as is a bank passbook loan, one of the cheapest of loans, which is borrowing against money in a savings ac­ count at a net cost of no more than two percent or so total interest. Next cheapest loan is borrowing the cash value built up in your life insur­ ance. Next step is a regular bank loan. When talking to banks and savings and loan associations, the homeowner should ask about obtaining an FHA Home Improvement loan. BEN MVtDSONil SONS HEALTH CENTER CWTOM i mil MMU FOR HOME - CLUB *UL APPROVED Imptd. FINNISH Hasten *nDo H Yourself' Bldg. Plans •MFRS. QUALITY EXERCISE ft GYM EQUIP. SPECIAL - 4'I4KW High Profession*!, Prt- NM, Pro-Fab Sauna Room with Finnish 110 Volt Plng4n Heater (UL) and Rocks, operates on regular house current Attractive mahogany walls, Redwood ceiling, floors, benches, trim. Visibility window. Assmbly time, less than 60 minutes. BAJA SPA WHIRLPOOL! • Colorfast abrasion resistant surface • Simplified low cost installation • Completely pre fabricated • For use indoor or outdoors • One piece con struction no seams r O R H E A L T H , R E L A X A T I O N & P L E A S U R E FULLY SET UP & DISPLAYED IN OUR SHOWROOM Hen Aiuidbon & £o*U, One. Rt 31 between Crystal Lake and McHeniy Phone 815-459-0660 For AppL T^tr