Once upon a time, the ideal for a child’s room was a cozy haven filled with sturdy push-pull toys, handmade dolls and a few baskets of dress-up clothes.

Fall is a busy time for decorating, second only to Christmas, and the period when vegetables are valued more for their beauty than their flavor.

NEW YORK  — Are you a T-shirt-and-jeans person with a chintz living room, or someone who loves the structure of a suit but wakes up in a shabby chic bedroom?

Autumn crocus is worth planting if only to startle your neighbors. When they ask why your crocuses are blooming this time of year, just smile and say that perhaps spring has come early in your garden.

For 23 years, Julie Gore has heated her Ada, Ohio, home with a wood-burning stove. When the old one wore out, she didn’t hesitate to buy another for her family room.

Flower fanciers have generally forsaken native plants over the years for the fashionable and the flashy, but the robust perennials are quickly becoming garden chic and the center of an ongoing conservation campaign.

Goth and glitter. Bones and ornaments dusted with lime, ebony, orange or purple sparkle. Startling images on dishware and textiles.

WASHINGTON  — Rates for 30-year home loans have inched up, but remained below 5 percent for the third-straight week as government efforts to aid the housing market continued to keep rates low.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — James and Maria Ivory’s dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida’s Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got worse when they asked their insurer for help — and not only was their claim denied, but they’ve been told their entire policy won’t be renewed.

Oregon State University Master Gardener program has awarded Janne White with the title of Coos County Master Gardener of the Year.