THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602090062
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: AROUND THE HOUSE
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO HOME & GARDEN
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
IMPATIENT FOR SPRING colors to bloom? Then welcome the season a bit early, with the spring-colored accent paints just introduced by Fleck Stone, the company that initiated its line of faux-granite spray paints eight years ago.
In this new collection called ``Nature's Palette,'' each of six colors, with names like wild strawberry and mineral spring, is available in a kit with an aerosol base coat and a clear top coat, with a suggested retail of $13.99 per kit. One kit is adequate for a 6- to 10-square-foot project, and each has the power to turn a garage-sale piece into a masterpiece.
Some enthusiastic do-it-yourselfers have even used the spray paints to achieve a textured-finish look on one or all the walls of a room, according to the manufacturer.
Locally, Fleck Stone accent paint kits are available at Wal-Mart, Michael's Arts & Crafts, Ben Franklin and some independent hardware stores. For more information, call the manufacturer, Plasti-kote Co. Inc. in Medina, Ohio, at (800) 431-5928. SMOKE SIGNALS
Paint may change your mood, but it won't change the season - it will still be winter for a while. Here are some tips on how to use your fireplace wisely, from the February issue of Skinflint News, P.O. Box 818, Palm Harbor, Fla. 34682.
Build small, steady fires instead of large, roaring ones. Smaller fires are more efficient at warming the house.
Invest in a glass door for the front of your fireplace to save energy.
Close the damper immediately when the fire is completely out. An open damper will let the warmed air in the house escape through the chimney.
Check the damper to see if there is a gap when it's closed. Close the gap with insulation or a flue plug when the fireplace is not in use so air won't escape through the chimney.
Believe it or not, you'll save energy by cracking a window near the fireplace by about a half inch. The fire can draw needed air from outside instead of from the expensive heated air in the house. As soon as the fire goes out, close the window, of course. WINTERIZE YOUR WARDROBE
And now, tips on how to winterize your wardrobe, also from the current Skinflint News:
Wear close-woven fabrics, and your body will get half a degree warmer.
Slacks are warmer than skirts or dresses by at least a degree.
A light, long-sleeved sweater adds almost two degrees of warmth; a heavy, long-sleeved sweater, four degrees.
Two lightweight sweaters add about five degrees in warmth because the air between them serves as insulation to keep in more body heat. A FLAG FOR ALL SEASONS
One decorative outdoor flag in my neighborhood may look schizophrenic to some; to me it looks so sensible. The flag is covered with Valentine hearts and green shamrocks, taking care of two months' worth of decorating needs for the wise folks who live there.
These pre-Valentine days the house where I live suffers, as usual, from unintentional holiday overlap. Of course, there are red hearts in the windows and Valentines in-progress littering the dining room table.
But it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to uncover the symbols of holidays long past - the Santa Claus candle still smiling from the mantel, the turkey place mats that never made it back to their dining-room drawer, the fabric Halloween pumpkin sitting proudly on a shelf despite its coating of dust.
Any minute now the Easter candy already on sale in the stores will find its way into the cupboard, if the Bunny hasn't left some there already.
I'm sure there are many houses where holiday seasons have clearly defined start and finish dates. A Valentine cupid and Christmas candle would never share a shelf in such a house.
But for folks like me, who cannot tame the junk mail, the school papers from three backpacks and the pizza coupons that are attached to the front door daily, the holidays become a hopeless household blur by February.
Folks like me await the invention of a single holiday flag that sports not only shamrocks and hearts but also Santas and turkeys and pumpkins and bunnies. Since we're aiming for one-flag-fits-all motif, why not add a few stars and stripes for the Fourth too? This busy flag could come inside and rest for the month of August . . . if I remembered to take it down. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Fleck Stone
by CNB