THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702210059
SECTION: HOME & GARDEN PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Around the House
SOURCE: Mary Flachsenhaar
LENGTH: 68 lines
IT'S A WHISTLE. It's a flashlight. It's a key ring.
And it could be a life saver for joggers, bikers, students, shoppers. Called Blast!, the personal security device has a five-year lithium battery and sells for $17, plus $6.50 for shipping and handling, from Zelco Industries in Mount Vernon, N.Y.
To order, call (800) 431-2486.
Couched in comfort
The average couch lasts much longer than the average marriage, according to the current House & Home magazine from Century 21. And the average good-quality sofa costs about $1,500 these days.
So it makes sense to buy wisely. The magazine tells how, emphasizing that a sofa's interior construction, not its look, most affects its quality, durability and cost. Here are House & Home's tips on what to look for:
Frame. The frame of a good couch will be made of hardwood, such as maple, hickory, oak, birch or ash. The frame, not the padding, should create the basic shape of the couch. The sturdiest frames have wooden joints that are double-doweled and corner-blocked, then glued and screwed.
Support system. The ideal support system for a sofa is the eight-way hand-tied coiled spring construction. Each steel coil spring is hand-tied to all adjacent ones and to the frame with jute or nylon twine in eight directions.
To test the support, remove the cushions and push down on the covered springs. They should give but not creak or collapse under pressure. Press against the sofa back to check for even support. See if the arm height and the height, depth and pitch of the seat suit you.
Padding. Good-quality padding feels dense and heavy. Give a hands-on check of padding along the arms, back, rail and front edge of the seat base. If you can feel the wood or any sharp edges, there's probably not enough.
Upholstery and styling. Some of the most durable fabrics are velvet, cotton-and-linen blends and cotton chintzes. Silk is fragile.
Whatever the fabric, it's the quality of the cut that distinguishes a well-made cover. Look for attention to details - straight seams, cushions and pillows with filled-out corners, skirt pleats that lie flat. Patterns should line up with no more than half an inch of irregularity; seams should be sewn tightly against fraying.
The magazine advises buying a couch after you buy an oriental rug but before you buy wall-to-wall. Take paint chips and photos to the store and bring home fabric swatches to judge them in different lights and times of day.
Children's chores
Having kids do regular household chores yields more benefits than meet the eye. According to new research conducted at the University of Toronto, parents reported that kids with regular responsibilities showed greater sensitivity than others and were more likely to pitch in spontaneously at school and home.
Two studies of 89 families with children ages 9 to 14 indicated that performing duties regularly, not just as an occasional favor, gets kids in the habit of thinking of others, according to study coauthor Joan Grusec. The study is reported in the March issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.
Going gingham
If you are reupholstering a piece of furniture, consider traditional gingham prints in shades of deep red, hot pink and apple green. Design columnist Mary Emmerling, writing in the March issue of Ladies' Home Journal, calls these ``the most talked-about fabrics this season.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo