AROUND HOME : Swings

PARENTS ALL OVER the country still drill rope-holes in 2x10s to fashion swings for their children. More substantial favorites for all ages are plenty. There are hardwood slat-backed bench swings for two, three or four, suspended from trees, porch beams and A-frames. There are four-seat, face-to-face wooden platform lawn swings on cross-braced stands. Gliders for two to five passengers are made of slatted wood and of enameled aluminum or decorative wrought iron with plump cushions and big, fringed canopies. Some canopies are bowed and hinged like the tops of covered wagons.

Oval rattan chair swings, popular since the 1950s, now come with cane seats. Natural and colored string hammock chairs suspended from crossbars come with or without pillows.

Northwestern artisans hew rustic two-seat cedar log swings with fan backs, slatted contour seats and lodgepole A-frames. Local artisans handcraft them of bent willow. Rattan Rarities imports a dainty wicker swinging Victorian love seat.

Wooden, aluminum and wrought-iron gliders are sold by Universal Patio Furniture in Studio City, Zander’s in Thousand Oaks and Victory Furniture in Los Angeles. Rattan chair swings are sold by Mastercraft Rattan in Torrance, El Toro, Gardena and Redondo Beach. Look for hammock chairs at Pier One stores. Malibu Feed Bin in Malibu sells cedar log swings. Wood Bender in Costa Mesa offers willow swings. The Victorian swing is sold by Rattan Rarities in Sherman Oaks. Slatted pine and redwood swings, lawn swings and gliders are sold through the Sears catalogue.