They're real, but they'll keep

There's nothing quite like real flowers to decorate and soften our homes, but many people feel that maintaining a special arrangement for mantel or table can be expensive and time consuming.

Gail Kueker of Finishing Touches Studio in downtown Barrington says she has a solution: arrangements of dried and preserved flowers, grasses and other plant materials.

While some of the materials are dried, the hydrangeas and roses are preserved with a secret process that probably involves glycerin, said Kueker, who buys from a farm in North Carolina.

One idea is for preserved white roses to glow at a wedding, then decorate the newlyweds' home.

Kueker charges from $35 to $225, with the roses the most expensive.

"I feel that silks have been around for awhile, and people are looking for something different," she said.

Ways to make your house more green

Being green can be a challenge.

Creative Homeowner has published two books in its series, The Green House, that can help.

"Green Remodeling" by John D. Wagner, (Creative Homeowner, $19.95) is designed to show you the green way when you face big projects. And "Green up your Clean" by Jill Potvin Schoff (Creative Homeowner, $16.95) helps with more day-to-day issues.

The remodeling book tells how to do basic jobs, such as replacing windows, as well as explaining the green way. And it tries to demystify details.

For example, when buying new windows the U-factor is the most important number, and it should be around 0.32. That is the rate at which a window loses heat from a house in the winter.

Here's Schoff's recipe for an all-surface spray for everyday grime and spills on counters and walls.

Put 2 teaspoons of borax into a 16-ounce spray bottle. Fill with hot water, shake until the borax dissolves and add ¼ teaspoon liquid Castile soap. Spray, let it sit for a minute and wipe off with a sponge or microfiber cloth.

This is a woman who preaches strongly against chlorine bleach and ammonia.