It may be fall officially, but it was a green weekend in Chicago, where vendors gathered at the 2007 Historic Chicago Bungalow & Green Home Expo.

Kari McLennan, a sales representative staffing a booth for  two-year-old Greenmaker Building Supply in Chicago, says interest in "green" home renovating is growing steadily.

The company, which provides green products to the Chicago home building industry, grossed over $1 million in sales in its first year and has quadrupled its space at 2500 N. Pulaski Road, McLennan said.

But McLennan says the industry still has to overcome the perception that going green is a big investment.

"The biggest myth is that green is more expensive," she said.  Her booth was filled with products that she says compete with brand-name products everyday, like  environmentally-friendly paint. 

Greenmaker Supply also exhibited its "Lifecycle" products, a rating given to products made from natural  or recycled materials that decompose without any harmful  effects.

The company's "marmoleum" tiles are made from natural materials such as linseed oil, wood flour, pine rosin, jute and limestone.

But the event's main theme was the preservation of Chicago's historic bungalows, with booths where homeowners could add their homes to the city's historic bungalow registry, discuss renovation plan with architects or consult with lending representatives.

The Historic Chicago Bungalow Initiative was launched by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in 2000 with the goal of fostering appreciation for and preserving 80,000 bungalow homes throughout the city.

Chicago Bungalows, organizers said, were built in a crescent-shaped belt around the city between 1910 and 1940. The homes can be found throughout the city's northwest, west and southeast neighborhoods. 

The Historic Chicago Bungalow Initiative hosted its first Expo in 2002.  Four years later, organizers adopted the "green" theme to promote better building practices. The event has grown from 50 vendors and attendance of 4,000 to 140 vendors and 10,000 visitors, organizers said. 

More information about registering or renovating a historic bungalow is available at the Historic Chicago Bungalow Initiative website.

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