By Jean MurphyDaily Herald Correspondent

Christmas is all abouttradition.Weunpack andreveal each year the itemsthat remindus ofwonderfulChristmases past. Butmostof us also try to addone ortwonew things to our decorin order to change thingsup and add something thatcatches our fancy.Wedon’t want our Christ-

mas photos andmemories tobe identical every year, afterall!Buying one or twonew

ornaments or holiday itemseach year is a greatway tomark themarch of timebecause every year thereafteryou can unpack anduse thatspecial item to evokemem-ories of the year inwhich itwas added to your holidaycollection.Trends inholidaydecor

comeandgoover the years,just like fashion trends comeandgo, saysLaurieKane,owner (withherhusband, Joe)ofTreetimeChristmasCre-ations, 22102N.PepperRoadinLakeBarrington.But, ingeneral, thewinter’smajorholiday is about traditions andwonderfulmemories.That iswhymosthomeowners addto theirChristmas collectionsgradually over the years andbuyChristmas itemsduringtheir travels, for instance,making theirChristmastimehomeand tree almost a livingscrapbookof their lives.Holiday decorating can

be an ode to the tastes andtrends of the year. Treetimeis a great place to stop by andsee the yearly holiday colorsand trends, aswell as to pickup that newhave-to-have-ititem that you saw in amaga-zine or online.The shop is amagical, fan-

tasyChristmas showroomthat changes each year in aneffort to keep people comingback to seewhat the staff andowners have done differently,Kane says.“Our instructors are also

happy to teach customerseasy tricks to adddimen-sion and anewexcitementto their traditional tree byusingfloral picks or extralights, alongwith their tradi-tional ornaments,” she says.

“In addition,many customersbring in older pieces, likeflo-ral or greens arrangements, toget help onupdating them.”This year there are four hot

Christmas tree trends, Kanesays.“First, we are seeing the

mixing of a variety ofmetals—gold, silver, platinumandeven copper—on the sametree.Wehave been seeingthis in clothing andhouse-wares for the past year or so,andnow that trendhasmadeitsway toChristmas, too,”she says. “Andmany design-ers aremixing thosemet-alswith the twoChristmascolors from2016— the rosequartz and the serenity blue,but particularlywith the rosequartz. It gives a very tranquillook to a tree.”The secondpopular look

this year, she says, is the natu-ral, organic tree done entirelyin greens, browns andwhites(and absolutely no reds orpinks), but featuring smallanimals, berries, pine conesandfloral items.“Next is thewintry gar-

den-look tree,” Kane says.“This type of tree featureswhites, reds and soft greens inthe formof naturalflorals andcrystals. It is best in homeswith older families and isoften being done as a smallersecond tree or a diminutivetabletop tree.“The last trendy tree this

year is the nostalgia tree onwhich homeowners do theirbest to recreate the past byusing retro traditional orna-ments andbig Christmaslights, oftentimesmixedwith the smaller lights for aunique look.Mixing the twosizes of lights add a cool ele-ment to any tree,” Kane says.“You can even accomplishthis look on a pre-lit tree. Andsomepeople are going theother direction by adding thenew, even-smaller ‘micro’lights, which I think look likefairy lights, to their pre-littrees.They add a cool, starrylook to a tree.”There are additional popu-

lar trends that you canuse tospice up your traditional treethis year, Kane says.“Ribbons in your tree

are hot, sowehave severaldesigners onhand tomakeeach customer one bowandto teach youhow tomakethem, too. Or you canpaya fee and our designerswillmake all of them for you.”The current trends are to

use ribbons for exciting treetoppers, aswell as to distrib-ute small bows throughoutyour tree or to loop lengths ofribbon through the tree.Strings of battery-operated

micro-lights on timers arealso a nice addition through-out your home—with greenson yourmantle or staircaseor even on indoor or outdoorwreaths, Kane suggests. Andthis year they are coming onlonger strings, adding to theirutility.Also popular this year are

holidaywater globes (whichneed to be stored at roomtemperature—not in anattic) andholiday night lightsthat are an easy and quickway to addholiday cheer to achild’s bedroom.Christmas decor is gener-

ally not confined to just theinterior of someone’s home.It usually begins outdoorsand is visible to thosewalkingor driving past.Kane says it is nowpopular

for berries andfloral items tobe added to outdoor greens—both fresh and faux.Thatgoes forwreaths, garlandsand even potted greens.Themicro-lights, berries and fauxfloral items can be storedwith faux greens for futureuse, or they can be removedat the end of the season andbe saved to be placed in nextyear’s fresh greens.For information about hol-

iday decorating trends, you

can reachTreetimeChrist-masCreations at (847) 527-8880 or by visitingwww.treetime.com. Tofind a

schedule of Treetime’s hol-iday decorating classes,visit www.treetime.com/showroom-events-calendar.

Today we continue five weeksof room makeover madnesswith the Daily Herald’s annualRoom for Living makeovercontest.We are publishing stories thatsuggest design ideas, alongwith reader letters detailingproblems we all face andsuggestions from our expertson how to overcome thesechallenges.Who knows, this year couldbe the year you finally get theroom of your dreams, whetherthat’s a living room, greatroom, bathroom or bonusroom.Look for stories in this sectionthrough Sunday, Nov. 12,as well as stories on oursponsors in HomeSaturday’sIndustry Insider feature.Finalists’ letters will befeatured on Page 3 eachweek in Home & Garden. Thewinners of prize packages,donated by our sponsors andvalued between $2,000 and$5,000, will be chosen fromamong these finalists.

dh da i l y h e r a l d . c om

Jan Riggenbach 2Home and garden calendar 5New York Times crossword puzzle 9

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2017

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Homes&GardenSunday

A

Holiday water globes are a quick and easy way to add holidaycheer to a child’s bedroom.

This is the “Loved by Nature”tree at Treetime.

P H O T O S B Y J O E L E W N A R D / jlewnard@dailyherald.com

Many people get new ornaments to commemorate the year’smilestones, such as a wedding or new baby. Other people justlike to refresh their decorations each year.

Christmas collectionsHoliday decorations area scrapbook of our lives

J O E L E W N A R D / jlewnard@dailyherald.com

Laurie Kane views the “Winter Garden” tree at her business, Treetime Christmas Creationsin Lake Barrington.

Q. My wife and I boughta duplex in January. It mayhave been built as storage

for a green-house/florist,which wouldexplain whyit is builtwith a shedroof (singleslope roofI’ve heardreferred to asa “flounderhouse”). Theunit is two

stories, about 500 square feetand with a full basement. Ourupstairs tenant moved out inFebruary and we had to havea contractor screw down thefloor boards, as there weretwo layers of 3-inch plankson top of one another and setdownparallel to one another.Now the downstairs tenant

has moved out and we needto replace the carpet, as theysaid it wasn’t new when theymoved in 17 years ago!When Itook up a piece of carpet to seewhat was underneath, I foundan old foam pad (Omalon sys-tem 350), and underneaththat, something that looks likecement. Our contractor spec-ulated that it could be cementmixed with gypsum. To me,it looks like maybe someonetried to smooth it out withplaster!The reason I say that is it’s

white and when I knock onit, in places it has that hollowsound that plaster can have(which I don’t think is a goodsign!). Looking at the back ofthis floor from the basement,it looks like wood, so it seemsthat whatever this is waspoured and added overwood.Hopefully that gives you

enough background informa-tion. Now my questions. First,the Omalon foam pad seemsto have been glued down forabout a foot around the edgesof the room and at the seams.It wasn’t until after I took upthe pad with a plastic scraperthat I thought about asbes-tos in the glue/mastic used tohold the foam down. I knowyou can’t guarantee one wayor another, but I just won-dered if you might have anidea of what might have beenused as an adhesive. Or per-haps you’d recommend I findsomeone like an environ-mental engineer to come andcheck it out?My other questions are

about the subfloor. As youcan see from the attached pic-tures, it looks like cement and“plaster.” I believe the trowelmarks are from the glue forthe carpet pad. The cement ispitted in places, and in thereis some crumbling.The plan isto put down a pad and carpet,but I’m not sure how import-ant it is for the surface to besmooth. If so, should I scrapethe loose stuff and fill withsomething? The floor isn’tvery level and I’m sure thepad will mitigate small divots.

Installingnew carpetbecomesa mystery

Henri de MarneHome repair

See DE MARNE on PAGE 8

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