18 - Friday, December 2, 1988 - North Shore News

EXPANDING CHILDRENS’ ROOMS

Miake the most of
the space available

LACK OF space is often a pro-
blem all around the house, but
somehow it seems to present its
biggest challenge in children’s
rooms.

If your kids need more room to
grow, and you can’t knock down a
wall or move co a bigger house,
there are several decorating ideas
that will help you make the most
of the space you have.

An important first step is wall-
to-wall carpet. As an unbroken
expanse of color, it adds warmth
and flow to a room.

In children’s rooms, it also
opens up the floor space as a safe
and comfortable play surface, and
its acoustical benefits help to keep
the noise children love to make in-
side their rooms.

Carpet can also help you create
an optical illusion of extra space.
Pale colored carpet in a small
room diffuses light, making a
room look larger than it really is.
Dark colors, on the other hand,
tend to create an appearance of
less space and a cozier feeling.

When choosing a carpet for your
child’s room, make sure you select
one that’s made of a _ tough,
durable fibre that will stand up to
active play. Nylon is the most
popular carpet fibre and one of the
strongest available.

Carpet also helps to expand ap-
parent room size when it is used as
a construction material for built-in
furniture. Simple wooden _ struc-
tures covered in carpet become at-
tractive and useful furnishings,

The Ultimate in Custom ‘Design

often doing double duty.

A covered rectangle can
transform a mattress into a hand-
some platform bed while providing
a storage bin for toys or shoes; a
covered square can be both a stool
and a toy chest.

These economical furnishings
will not only be fun for your
children but, when used in a room
covered in the same carpet, they
focus the field of vision up from
the floor, visually expanding the
space.

Remember, construction pro-
jects demand a dense carpet with a

low pile height or a tight loop or
cut and loop construction. These
carpets will wear well despite
children’s high activity levels, and
not fall into wide gaps when used
as upholstery.

Another hendy space-saving tip
for children’s rooms is to make
sure as much of the furniture as
possible is multipurpose —
bookcases that double as head-
boards, storage benches, etc.

Also, furniture on casters that is
easily moved helps redistribute
space, giving your kids more room
to grow.

FOR YOU!

*Reface or
replace your
existing
cabinets

Redo the
counters

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bathroom
remodelling
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“h

Picture someone

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We bring pictures to life
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West Vancouver

922-4814

A SHOW & SALE OF
~CANADIAN CRAFTS

* VANCOUVER TRADE AND.
_ CONVENTION GENTRE

UNDER THE SAILS AT
CANADA PLACE... —

“DEC. 7 TO DEC, 11_
- Wed. thru Fri, 11 am- 10 pm

“Sat. 10:am-10 pm ,
Sun. 10 am- 6 pm

“Admission | 7

-Adults. $4.00 /

’ Srs.°& Students: $2.5

_. Children FREE .. ~

5 DAY SHOW

-PASS 85.00

(Noni- transferable)