In the quest for space, hardware designers have come up with some ingenious solutions to such puzzles as how to quickly create an extra work surface or an extra bed.
Finding a source for the Space Age hardware is often the biggest problem, but much of it has been brought together by the Woodworkers` Store, a Minnesota firm that sells by mail as well as from a chain of retail stores, most of them in the Midwest and West.
Here are some typical items from the recently issued 1988-89 Woodworkers` Store catalogues:
– Disappearing ironing board. The ironing board`s folding work surface and slide-out hardware can be built into a kitchen-style base cabinet or other storage cabinet. Price, about $115.
– Fold-down bed mechanism. A single or double bed can be built into a closet or storage cabinet and fold out of sight and out of the way when not in use. The single-bed mechanism costs about $170, the double-bed about $180.
– Table-in-a-drawer. Pull out what appears to be a cabinet drawer and it converts into a folding table with a roomy work surface. About $120.
These and other hardware mechanisms for storage devices are in the store`s mini-catalogue, available for $1 from Woodworkers` Store, 21801 Industrial Blvd., Rogers, Minn. 55374. The store also publishes a $2 catalogue with the hardware items plus tools, hardwoods and veneers, wood-finishing materials, patterns and books. –
