Ceilings

By ROSE BENNETT GILBERT Creators Syndicate Q: We are both teachers - and, boy, do we have the books to prove it! My wife is resisting my suggestion that we make our grown son's old room into a library. She says it's too small, and we still need a place for him when he visits - and for other guests, too. I think we can have it all. What do you think? A: My thoughts turn to a scholar named Edgar Munhall, Ph.D., who was curator of the famed Frick Collection when I first visited his attractive one-bedroom apartment in New York.

By BRUCE HAMILTON / Staff Writer Photo by JOE CROCETTA / Staff Photographer Clear Spring Elementary School's $4.8 million renovation is upsetting some staff members who say there is a mistake in the design. Because ceilings had to be lowered to accommodate a sprinkler system and other structural improvements, drywall blocks the upper interior of several exterior windows. "As far as I'm concerned, there has been a mistake," said Rebecca Cline, a fourth-grade teacher who worked on a committee that drafted the building's specifications.

HAGERSTOWN -- Some Hagerstown landlords could find themselves paying thousands of dollars if they're ordered to raise the ceiling height of their rental properties to satisfy a city code, the president of a local group representing landlords said Wednesday. Allan Johnson, president of the Landlords and Property Owners Association of Washington County Maryland Inc., said that the city's recent decision to enforce a code that requires ceilings to be at least 7 feet high would leave some landlords with a tough decision: Either pay thousands of dollars for renovations, or "not utilize" their buildings.

Staff Writer, Charles Town MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A group of Maryland businessmen who bought the former Teleflex plant along Quarry Road north of Martinsburg hope to lure another manufacturer into the building. Teleflex, which employed more than 100 people to manufacture speedometer cables, brake cables and other car equipment, sold the building to Antietam LLC in December. Antietam LLC is a company owned by three Washington County businessmen including Duane Grove, Vern Litzinger and Dan Spreng, president of Expedited Services in Hagerstown.

Q: We collect midcentury pottery, a lot of which is white. We built in a wall of shelves and grouped them all together to make a "statement," as you advised in one of your columns, but it's not very effective. We've thought of painting the shelves, but we don't know what will work in our contemporary color scheme (mostly neutrals). A: A dark background will provide the "pop" you're seeking for your collection. We scouted around to find an example and came up with the pictured smart home office (borrowed from "Staged to Sell (or Keep)"

Brightwood Acres East is a neighborhood that feels like it has come together. Traditional to contemporary homes are well-spaced on lots where the landscaping provides attractive screening and shapes the space in each yard. On Eastwood Drive, Advantage Realty has listed this week's feature property, an all-brick traditional style home that enhances its neutral color scheme with distinctive touches and plenty of charm. From the street, a dramatic entrance greets visitors, with a curved staircase and second-level decorative balcony.

Q: We bought an old house with low ceilings (under 9 feet), which doesn't have a lot of natural light in the living room. The architecture is mostly traditional - ceiling mouldings and a simple fireplace - but our furniture is pretty slick modern since we're moving from the city. Any suggestions will be appreciated. After painting everything white, we are kind of at a loss. A: To your rescue comes designer Matthew Smyth, who faced similar issues when he rescued an 18th-century farmhouse in Connecticut.

Among new home selections in Washington County, prospective buyers should include a visit to Maxxam Homes at Black Rock Estates to experience the "gourmet menu" of space, floor plans and finishing touches typified by the newly opened Visitor's Center at 19025 Sasha Blvd., off Mount Aetna Rd. Starting with the surroundings, the amenities include the Black Rock Golf Course almost at the front door. Within walking distance is the Washington County Regional Park. Commuters will appreciate convenient access to I-70.

charlestown@herald-mail.com SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.VA. - With five days remaining before the beginning of classes at Shepherd University, school officials say two dormitories that were closed after a discovery of asbestos are safe and ready for students. Workers spent more than a month during the summer removing a sprayed-on finish from ceilings in Shaw and Thatcher halls, said Ed Magee, vice president for administration and finance. The finish on the ceilings contained asbestos and was peeling from the ceiling in Shaw Hall, Magee said.

Q: Our huge living room has 14-foot ceilings that dwarf all the furniture we moved in from our previous house. I added a big chandelier and bought the largest painting I could find for over the sofa, but still we don't feel comfortable sitting in there. I'm guessing the answer might be a giant armoire or tall bookcases, but we are more strapped than we expected after the move. What else can we do to cozy-up this space? Paint stripes on the walls or what? A: Nix stripes, unless you paint them sideways, going around the room horizontally.

An electrical malfunction in a ceiling fan in a first floor bathroom caused smoke to build-up in a house at 13502 Halifax Drive Thursday night, according to a spokesman for the Longmeadow Volunteer Fire Co. Firefighters removed the fan from the house in Hagerstown's North End and damage was minimal, said Sgt. Jeremy Smiley. Smiley said people in the house off Longmeadow Road decided to stay in a hotel for the night. Firefighters received the call at 9:12 p.m.

It's the place where kids want to be and the place where their parents can feel good about it. And, according to club leaders, the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle offers services to nearly 1,000 members ages 6 to 18 from the three-county area. The Martinsburg unit has 600 members, Jefferson County has 350 and Morgan County has 250, said Stefani Pierson, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle. On Wednesday, the club's corporate board of directors hosted a one-hour open house to showcase recent improvements made at the Martinsburg club, which meets in a city-owned former armory building at 105 W. John St. The event included a tour of a new ceiling in the gymnasium, new commercial kitchen and other improvements completed in recent years, Pierson said.

Christopher B. Shank said his strongest feeling about the debt-ceiling battle in Washington, D.C., is as an American citizen, not as a Maryland state senator. “I am deeply frustrated at both sides at their inability to get the job done,” Shank, R-Washington, said Monday. He said elected officials - Republicans and Democrats - go to Annapolis to work on state issues. One party might challenge the other party during the legislative process, but in the end, the General Assembly fulfills its responsibilities, he said.

Q: We collect midcentury pottery, a lot of which is white. We built in a wall of shelves and grouped them all together to make a "statement," as you advised in one of your columns, but it's not very effective. We've thought of painting the shelves, but we don't know what will work in our contemporary color scheme (mostly neutrals). A: A dark background will provide the "pop" you're seeking for your collection. We scouted around to find an example and came up with the pictured smart home office (borrowed from "Staged to Sell (or Keep)"

Q: We have a quirky room, a sun porch with six, large arched windows and a cove ceiling - lots of different angles. I would like to wallpaper the ceiling, too, but I don't know how to handle the curves. Any helpful hints? A: Wallpapering ceilings can be as tricky as the end result can be charming. But it's worth the effort, especially in a fun room as most sun rooms are supposed to be. One helpful hint to begin: Choose wallpaper with a nondirectional pattern, meaning an overall design like scattered flowers, trelliswork, paisleys or stripes.

By ROSE BENNETT GILBERT Creators Syndicate Q: We are both teachers - and, boy, do we have the books to prove it! My wife is resisting my suggestion that we make our grown son's old room into a library. She says it's too small, and we still need a place for him when he visits - and for other guests, too. I think we can have it all. What do you think? A: My thoughts turn to a scholar named Edgar Munhall, Ph.D., who was curator of the famed Frick Collection when I first visited his attractive one-bedroom apartment in New York.

Q: We bought an old house with low ceilings (under 9 feet), which doesn't have a lot of natural light in the living room. The architecture is mostly traditional - ceiling mouldings and a simple fireplace - but our furniture is pretty slick modern since we're moving from the city. Any suggestions will be appreciated. After painting everything white, we are kind of at a loss. A: To your rescue comes designer Matthew Smyth, who faced similar issues when he rescued an 18th-century farmhouse in Connecticut.

Q: What happens if I put a darkish plaid wallpaper on the ceiling of my husband's study? It's his idea - he says he wants a "cozy" environment - but I've always heard that ceilings should only be white, unless you live in the Sistine Chapel. What do you advise? A: First don't even think of moving to the Sistine Chapel. Terrible traffic and zero chance of repainting the ceiling white. Hubby's study is another matter entirely. As he has already surmised, a dark-colored or patterned ceiling will make any room feel warmer and cozier, which is another way of saying "smaller" because a ceiling that seems omnipresent always looks lower.

Q: The ceiling in our bedroom is 12 feet high. It makes the room feel cold and unfriendly. We painted the walls a medium blue and added deep crown moulding, but that didn't help enough. Two questions: Should we paint the ceiling a color other than white? What else can we do to make the room feel cozier? A: A dark color on the ceiling will indeed bring it down to a cozier height. Try a deeper version of the blue you've used on your walls. Consider painting the mouldings as well, so you have an unbroken expanse of warm, dark color overhead.

By MARY CAROL GARRITY Scripps Howard News Service Years ago, when Dan and I were house shopping, one of the things that drew me to our historic fixer-upper was its unique mixture of grand common spaces and small, cozy private rooms. I loved how all the spaces, big and small, seemed to wrap you in a warm embrace. But I had no idea what a challenge it would be to decorate the smaller rooms, like the guest bathroom and the spare bedroom, so they appeared spacious and serene, not cramped and cluttered.