Dining Room

By ROSE BENNETT GILBERT Creators Syndicate Q: I am at a loss about furniture arranging. Our living room has a fireplace in the center of one wall - windows opposite - and open doorways on both ends leading from the hallway to the sun porch. We are about to buy a new sofa, but there's no wall. Where should I put it? I love the warmth and formality of traditional-style decorating. Can you help? A: Don't buy just "a sofa," buy two! Ditto for other furnishings you're adding to your new home.

For THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Smartly designed to make use of all available space, Plan AX-97359 by Home Plans LLC covers 1,380 square feet of living space. Double doors open directly into the great room, where a fireplace creates ambience for the entire space. Additional highlights include built-in bookshelves and a wall overlooking the rear porch and deck. A decorative column introduces the all-purpose dining room, which includes a bright bay window, a French door to the rear porch and sliding glass doors to the rear deck.

HAGERSTOWN -- The Hagerstown architect who designed the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" house being built this week said he considered the Quincy Township, Pa., family's needs and surrounding community when planning for the two-story home. Frank J. Lolli Jr. described the final product as a "modern, but rustic" house, with exposed beams and a rock wall inside to match the exterior. The ABC show gave Lolli less than three weeks to design the house and Dan Ryan Builders just 106 hours to build it for the Drumm family.

Weather holds So we meet again. Do you have your coffee in hand and ready to catch up? September is coming along quite nicely. A tad warm in the beginning, but I would never even contemplate a smidge of a complaint. The longer this weather holds, the longer we go with windows wide open and no heat. There is always a bright side and I prefer to live on that side of the street. AARP meeting The Washington County Chapter of the AARP is resuming its monthly meetings today at Next Dimensions Restaurant on Alternate U.S. 40. The meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. Frank Woodring from Cracker Barrel magazine will be the guest speaker.

The City of Hagerstown is considering whether to purchase two homes to fix up and resell for a profit. On Tuesday, the Hagerstown City Council voted to introduce an ordinance that would give city officials permission to purchase properties at 25 E. Lee St. and 415 Clarendon Ave. for $1 each. Both homes are two-story duplexes. If the council approves the ordinance next Tuesday, it would take effect May 22. Hagerstown Community Development Manager Larry Bayer said the houses are foreclosures that haven't been resold for more than six months.

BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, Pa. - The Lodge at Blue Ridge Summit is a wonderful place. With classy interior design, top-quality food, and daytime views of valley along the Pennsylvania Blue Ridge, the Lodge is among the top of its class in the Tri-state area. But I walked into the Lodge in a bit of a mood. The most direct route from Hagerstown to the Lodge is through Smithsburg or Waynesboro, Pa., but we took a path provided when one of us called the restaurant for directions, which took us north on Interstate 81 to Greencastle, Pa. So we were late for our reservation.

WILLIAMSPORT - Members and guests will be able to dance the night away Saturday, April 21, at the Williamsport American Legion. There will be a DJ "T & T Rockin' Entertainment" event from 8 p.m. to midnight. The dance will be in the dining room/lounge area.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Ryan Homes has planned a community in West Virginia that will include amenities such as a pool and tennis courts, providing opportunities for fun and fitness near the new homes. "We will have plenty of open space in Archer's Rock," said sales representative Chad McGlaughlin. "This community will have ball fields, walking trails and a pool," he added. When the community is finished and sold out, Archer's Rock will have a total of 515 town home and single-family residential units.

By PHILIP McGULLET BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Tari's Premier Cafe, Inn & Gallery playfully operates under the "Wild Women" motif, and sure enough, the first thing that grabs your attention upon entering the trendy restaurant is a giant Jonathan Heath painting of four grinning, elderly female skydivers holding hands in freefall. Just your typical effort from the Berkeley Springs artist, whose works include jockeys riding a calliope, cats holding hands on a sofa watching not a TV but an aquarium and hippos at a salad bar. If those leave you too breathless, Jan Heath's elegant linocuts on the other side of the dining room can restore your dignity.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - This week's feature home is a model home in Warm Spring Ridge, a new community west of Chambersburg developed by Hanover, Pa.-based builder JA Myers. Nineteen single-family home plans are offered here, ranging from 1,688 to 2,770 square feet, and priced from the mid to high $200,000s. Floor plans include traditional two-story homes, two-story with a first-floor master bedroom and ranchers. All have poured concrete foundations, public sewer, and well water. JA Myers has been building homes for 35 years and prides itself on the degree of customization it offers.