Gleam Equals Glam by Rose Bennett Gilbert on Creators.com

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Gleam Equals Glam

Q: We saw a really unusual floor in a designer show house we visited this spring. In the living/dining room, the wood was painted dark and it was totally slick, almost like a mirror. The docent didn't know how it was done. What would you guess?

A: Sounds like epoxy paint to me. At least, that's how architect Charles "Chip" Bohl achieved the slicker-than-slick floors in his own Baltimore apartment, shown here. As reflective as mirrors underfoot, the floors fulfill the definition of pure glamour, as quoted in the pages of a luminous new book by the senior editors of Metropolitan Home magazine, entitled — no surprise — "Glamour."

Written by Michael Lassell (and published by Filipacchi), the book features a wealth of slick, scintillating surfaces — think mirrored furniture, crystal chandeliers, silks, satins, and shiny, shiny floors, like those that flow all through Bohl's apartment. In the words of designer Jamie Drake, "Surfaces that reflect light and sparkle at the same time define glamour. Midas had the right touch."

So does the professional painter who painstakingly stroked the finish on Bohl's floors. Epoxy is a two-step chemical-reaction process. And although new water-based epoxies are available today, conventional wisdom says don't try this at home on your own.

Q: Speaking of glamour, which of our country's presidents had it in spades?

A: Would you believe, the very first, old George Washington himself!

Forget all that about his wooden teeth; you would get a smile out of the tour guide at Mount Vernon, Va., describing the Washingtons' homestead as "the latest in decorating chic."

She was explaining the brilliant colors George himself picked for the dining room and a couple of other rooms on the mansion's first floor — deep teal, verdigris, Persian blue with green trim, vibrant pink! Color was expensive in the 18th century, so most homeowners simply whitewashed their walls.

Not George. First in peace, war and color palettes, he dazzled the restoration team in 1980 when they first discovered his zingy colors hidden under two centuries of over-painting.

Go see for yourself. Carefully maintained by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, the sprawling estate lies at the end of a lovely riverside drive down the Potomac from Washington's namesake city. For a preview, click on www.mountvernon.org.

Q: What's round and green and all but guarantees an old-fashioned good-night's sleep?

A: Great news for the sensory-deprived generation who grew up without bed sheets dried out in the fresh air and sunshine: a new circular drying rack that fits into your patio umbrella stand, holds four loads of wet laundry, then folds obediently away into the garage or closet.

Decorative it's not, but, hey! Home also means good smells and good living, which includes saving the planet (not to mention money: Buy the rack — under $55 — and Tom Russo of the manufacturer, SecureLine products company, says you can save a couple hundred bucks a year when Mother Nature does the drying: www.lehighgroup.com/lehigh.asp).

Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Hampton Style" and associate editor of Country Decorating Ideas. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.