Evening star., 1939-10-21
Color in Garage
Helps Present
Neat Appearance
Space for Car Can
Be Orderly and
Very Practical

The present custom Of tying up
the garage and house in one unit
allows the garage to merge grace
fluffy into the picture as a whole.
That is, unless the doors are left
open on scene of disarray for all
the world to see. Such disorder
is hardly more excusable than q
cluttered entranceway to your
house, and it is viewed by a great
er number of persons who thereby
establish their first impression of
your neatness or carelessness as the
case may be. Too many garages
have only a scanty coating of white
wash on the walls against which
dust or cobwebs stand out full
force, while big black grease spots
mottle the concrete floor.
One way to keep your garage
looking its best Is to decorate it
with colors that blend or contrast
with the exterior color scheme of
your house. If in accordance with
the rules of color styling, attrac-
tive architectural features of your
house are given emphasis with color,
the garage may take this emphasize
ing color for its walls or it may
benefit by third or harmonizing
tint
May Provide Sun Deck.
The use to which the garage is
put depends on its size and con-
struction. If the house is Spanish
or modern and the garage follows
the same flat-roofed architecture,
q sun deck might be arranged by
running a stairway up the outside
wall This, of course. will depend
somewhat on the material from
which the roof is made. Unless the
additional height overbalances the
general symmetry Of construction,
a pergola partially shading the roof
may be built of cross-slats painted
to match body or trim. Train
wistaria or some climbing vine over
the pergola, or, instead of the per-
COLA, use a colorful beach umbrella.
If your garage has more room
than is needed for car space, cup
boards and work bench at one end
of the garage will prove invaluable.
Hooks on the wall will accommodate
small garden tools. coils of wire and
other gadgets. Paint them some
attractive hue in keeping with the
color scheme of the building. If the
roof is fairly high-pitched. a siz-
able storage loft may be formed by
1o1,;rr - Aoor to which a ladder ood
hatchway gives access.
Your garage may pinch-hit as a
reception room-especially If it is
two-car garage. If detached from
the house, plant a garden around it
and make it an asset to the land
scape. Lattice work with grape
vines or roses may be erected against
the garage or as vertical screen
between it and the house Even the
''boxiest" garage need not be un-
attractive when decorated with
fresh, neat coat of paint and flow
ering vines.
Garage Can Be Lengthened.
Perhaps your garage was built to
house much smaller car than you
own at present. One Californian
met this problem by removing por-
ton of the masonry wall and SCOOP
ing out sufficient earth to receive
the nose OF the car-lining the ex-
cavation with masonry again when
completed. This garage, of course,
was partially below ground at base
ment level.
To keep the floor neat, fasten a
square framework to it, filled with
gravel to catch the drip from the
car. An occasional raking will keep
this from unsightiiness while the
rest OF the floor remains clean. But
II you make a recreation area of your
garage, place a drip pan under the
car. This can be removed when ac-
tivities are in progress. Set it on a
wide board to which small wheels
are attached to facilitate moving it.
The floor may be marked off with
paint for Switchboard. Playing with
a basket ball is a form of good ex-
ercise adaptable to garages. Sus-
pend the basket from a hook above
the door and swing it out Of sight
beneath the roof when not in use.
And If the cement floor is smoothly
painted, the small fry can dance
on It.
Handball and ping pong are other
possibilities and a paved driveway
allows for badminton. Stretch the
net across the driveway and paint
the court markings on the cement
paving with paint. Various other
games such as deck tennis; the less
familiar lawn hill, an adaptation
OF the Basque game, jai-alai, using
long baskets instead of racquets are
all adaptable to a. small space. So
are horseshoes-you can purchase
rubber ones-and pitch them against
q heavy but movable peg. Night
games may be played with the aid
OF floor lights attached to the
garage.