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PLAINDEALER - PAGE I* •FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1179 • i READY AND WAITING for the buay holiday baking wawn, this modern kitchen features a two-tiered ceiling. The main level constats of Armstrong lay-in panels held aloft by a special grid that blends into the wood-and-plaster design. Hung below this, over the food preparation area, is a wooden frame in which fluorescent light fixtures have been set. The frame is festooned with enlinary implements for decoration and convenience. What with the gas crunch and the high cost of living (including die high cost of living it up), it's a safe bet that this holiday sea­ son will see more home enter­ taining and less wining and dining out. This means kitchens will be even busier than usual. No mat­ ter how hard a host and hostess try to confine a house party to a particular room, it inevitably spills over into the kitchen. Guests just seem to gravitate to the galley--whether to kibitz the cook, mix their own drinks' or volunteer for clean-up duty. The question is, when the kitchen is called to active duty, will it be able to pass the physi­ cal? Especially the ceiling. Cooks rightly complain about the rigors of standing in front of a hot stove all day. Imagine the wear and tear of standing above a hot stove all day, every day. That's the spot your kitchen ceiling's in. Steam from the tea kettle, grease from the griddle, heat * MEN'S DAY Sunday, December 16 1 pm-Spm Snacks & Refreshments Let our Courteous Staff help you in selecting that perfect gift for her! GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE Christmas Hours Mon-Fri 9-8:30 Saturday 9-5pm Open Sundays at 10am 1216 N.Green St. McHenry 385*2713 ished panels resting in a grid that hangs below the old ceiling. Be­ sides eliminating the messiness of wet applications like punt and plaster, a suspended ceiling offers these pluses: • Since the panels aren't di­ rectly supported by die old ceil­ ing, there's no need to waste time repairing or removing the old ceiling before installing the new one. • Energy-efficient fluores­ cent light fixtures can be incor­ porated with no problem. You simply leave out a ceiling panel where you want the light and re­ place it with a same-size fixture made especially for suspended ceilings. • An acoustical suspended ceiling muffles kitchen clatter. It absorbs up to 75 percent of the sound striking its surface. In ad­ dition, it modulates the trans­ mission of noise to the room above.. But what about die metal grid that hblds up the suspended ceil­ ing panels? Won't it stick out like a sore thumb, give an other­ wise classy kitchen the topside topography of a local diner? That used to be the case. Not anymore. A new type of sus­ pended ceiling called Headliner has changed the picture. It's put up with a special grid that melds right into the pattern on the panels. These patterns include uncanny reproductions of wood parquet tiles, textured plaster and ornate Victorian scroll­ work. The mineral-fiber composi­ tion of these panels ideally suits them for kitchens. They can re­ sist the warning that plagues or­ dinary ceifing panels in high- humidity kitchens. They can be washed with a sponge soaked in a solution of warm water and mild detergent --no mean benefit considering the food-flinging proclivities of tiny tots. . Mineral-fiber ceilings are also fire retardant, which means they won't feed the flames should a fire start in the kitchen. Do-it-yourselfers can install a grid-camouflaging, mineral-fi­ ber suspended ceiling in a 10' x 12' kitchen for under $125. MOCHA 1 cup steaming coffee to fill 1 healthy teaspoon chocolate syrup Cream to taste Combine the above ingredi- i ents in a teacup. Makes 1 serving. Recipes from Make Your Own Convenience Foods, by Dion and Joan German (Macmillajn). from the toaster--in this kind ol pressure-cooker atmosphere a kitchen ceiling can go to pieces. Why do you think plaster ceil­ ings "crack up," old-fashioned tiles "come apart at the seams" and painted ceilings become "flaky?" Seriously, what can you do to restore your kitchen ceiling's physical, not to mention mental, well-being? What kind of re­ placement material would work best? The process of elimination might help you decide. Replas- tenng a cracked plaster ceiling takes more skill than many do- it-yourselfers possess--and more money should the job be turned over to professionals. Putting up new ceiling tiles requires yanking out the old ones first (like pulling teeth). Scraping blistered paint and ap­ plying a new coat means drap­ ing everything with tarpaulins (like they do at the ballpark when things get wet). A better solution is a new sus­ pended ceiling--large prefin- 4 Nativity Ornament v in fe /MCr Join McHenry Savings 1980 Christmas Club And Receive A free sculptured "Nativity" Orna­ ment. It will be a beautiful ad­ dition to your tree this Christmas, Your club savings will be earning SVt% interest, giving you a nest egg to help you with next year's Christmas shopping. With all this going for you, why go anywhere else? Join our Christmas Club now I •o A Very Limited Number of Complete Sets Will be Available for Purchase to Christmas Club Savers on a First Come Basis. McHenry Savings S A V I N G S V A N O I O A N A S S O C I A T I O N ^ # * llll tMiCttlKi J 1209 North Green Street. 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