Q: We've been planning to redecorate our kitchen for years, and I've always had my heart set on a marble countertop and hardwood floors. What bad luck that we waited until this housing crash; we are now afraid to spend money that we may not get back when we sell the house. Should we invest anyway, hoping the housing market will turn around?

A: Sorry to say, you're asking the wrong person. I'm neither an economist nor soothsayer, but I can offer some informed decorating advice to answer your question. Real materials always have more value than most look-alikes — that applies to diamonds and cubic zirconias to designer bags and knockoffs; you get the idea.

However, and this is a big point, there is every reason to consider man-made decorating materials when the authentic type is either too expensive or too scarce. I mean, who'd feel right wearing a tiger-skin coat today, or pigging out on turtle soup? And why even bother when substitutes are attractive, affordable and accessible — no danger of overusing the planet's shrinking resources for your own indulgence.

The logic extends into your kitchen. Marble and hardwood aren't on any endangered species list. In fact, the hardwood industry is quick to reassure that thanks to reforesting, there's actually more hardwood currently available compared to a half-century ago (www.hardwoodinfo.com). Marble or hardwood may not cost more than many of the man-made versions, such as laminated countertops and laminated flooring.

Both are great gifts from modern technology to today's home decorators; the countertop in the kitchen we show here (www.countertop.com) is a high-definition laminate that looks and feels like natural stone, but costs somewhat less and requires little maintenance.

Only you can decide how to invest your dollars in these dicey times, but who knows? Maybe, like yesteryear's Bakelite "ivory," today's substitute materials will become tomorrow's collectibles.

Q: My child just wrote home from college that she's "starving for color" in her "blah" dorm room. She says her roommates have given her permission to "play Martha Stewart," and she's asking for advice. I don't want to pay big bucks then put their room back in neutral next spring.

What can she do that won't stay forever?

A: Assuming you've tried the colorful-comforter-and-wild-wall-art approach to personalizing dorm space, other options include area rugs and stick-on-peel-off wall decorations. Click on a company that makes some fun ones — www.wall-pops.com. If you see something outrageous, tell your daughter to check out the college bookstore before you order online. A number of them carry Wall Pops' products.

Q: What can we do with the fireplace in our bedroom? We never use it — too messy — but I hate that black hole.

A: It grieves me to learn of an unused fireplace anywhere in an American home, much less in a bedroom! What's a little soot in such a potentially romantic scene?

OK. I'll mind my own business, which is to pass along some attractive fireplace-fillers I've noted over the years: White birch logs piled neatly in a grate, a pyramid of stacked large stones on the floor, a glorious bouquet of dried flowers in a basket, or a fish tank filled with tropical beauties. Or try a sunburst of quartz "logs" (thanks for that one to Mansion in May showhouse designer, Frank DelleDonne Interiors of Summit, N.J.).

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.

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