Breay Design Associates Blog

When is an Area Rug NOT an Area Rug?

Friday 30 Jul 2010 by Sharon Breay | No Comments
Filed under: Art & Accessories, DOES THE SHOE.....FIT?, Space Design, Textiles & Fabrics Tags: decorating, DOES THE SHOE... FIT?, home decoration, interior design, Rugs, Textiles

Don’t we tend to call all soft floor coverings, other than carpet, an area rug? I generally did! However, the terminology is a little more exacting. The following tips are given us from Rugs Direct (www.rugsdirect.com):

A traditional area rug defines – just that, an area within a room. These can be just a few feet in width & length up to approximately 10’ x 12’. When the rugs measure 12’ x 18’ and larger, they are considered room-sized rugs or certainly covering a wide expanse. Many go almost wall-to-wall, but with many advantages not available from standard carpeting.

Art rugs are artistic woven pieces usually smaller than functional area rugs, and can be used in conjunction with any other type of floor covering. Typical size might be 4’ x 6’ to 7’ x 9’.

Scatter rugs or throw rugs are as smallas 2’x3’; these add accent or color to a small area, or protect a part of the floor that receives really hard wear. Depending upon the material, if it is to be placed outdoors or in a bathroom, it is referred to as a bathmat or a doormat.

Now, we all can be more specific to our needs! Remember, your home needs to fit you like a favorite shoe. When thinking about your interior and exterior spaces, ask yourself, “Does the Shoe……FIT?” And give us a call if you need some help. –Sharon

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Summ-summ-summ-SUMMERTIME!

Thursday 15 Jul 2010 by Sharon Breay | No Comments
Filed under: Art & Accessories, Color, Garden Design, Psychology of Color, Textiles & Fabrics, Window Treatments, exterior design Tags: decorating, DOES THE SHOE... FIT?, exterior design, functional home, garden, garden at night, healing spaces, home decoration, home retreats, interior design, Psychology of Design, ratios of light

WHEW! Summer is surely here, in all its exuberance! Many of you non-mountain dwellers have air conditioning or attic fans or “swamp coolers”—but it still seems hot! Aside from bathing, swimming, and drinking iced beverages all day, what is YOUR best method to create a cooling environment? Please send in your responses, and I’ll share a couple of the best ones with our readers.

What do I do? Well, I use a lot of my mom’s old techniques. I block some of the sunshine from coming into the house. It’s hard for me to live in a dark environment, but even simple sheers at the windows are a help. We have light-blocking top-down / bottom-up shades for the 6’ high bedroom windows, and set them to give us early sunlight only, while still having some daylight in the rooms through the entire day. It’s amazing how only 18” of opening in each window will give plenty of daylight in the summer.

Our mountain home doesn’t need air conditioning, but we do keep the hottest window exposures closed until evening. We’ve always planted or had a few shade trees in the yard, shading some part of the home. We save MUCH energy by these few tricks.

This is the time to get the cooler colored accents through the home, those in sky blues, ice blues, grass greens, mint greens, and purples and blue violets. Be sure to have live plants around, perhaps a water feature or two, and take the extraneous out of the space to give a spacious, airy feeling.

Have cooler-evening or under-shade-trees get togethers. Splash the table with bright, colorful summer prints and foods. Set a garden atmosphere. Again, have a water feature.

Summer is a wonderful time for enjoying our homes as havens of relaxation. Create the environment, and then give yourself a little down-time daily to enjoy them. Remember–YOUR home should fit you like a favorite shoe. Ask yourself, “Does the Shoe….FIT?” And, give me a call if you need some help adapting your spaces to your lifestyle.

I look forward to your comments!–Sharon Breay, Breay Design & “Does the Shoe….FIT?” Workshops

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The Doggie in YOUR garden-landscape

Wednesday 30 Jun 2010 by Sharon Breay | No Comments
Filed under: DOES THE SHOE.....FIT?, Garden Design, exterior design Tags: Dogs & Landscaping

We love ‘em—but they can be a detriment to a landscape, can’t they? As they race through the yard creating strips of dead grass, eat our plants, urinating on our bushes, dig holes under fences, etc. Here are some tips that Elizabeth Bublitz of Paw-Friendly Landscapes taught me.

Perhaps the best solution for “the dog’s” paths, is to make them into actual paths. The dogs establish patterns, so if you have dog paths, make it a mulched path, put some shrubbery at some of it’s curved edges, and allow both the dog and you to enjoy it. Remember the human mind is always intrigued by what it cannot see around a curve.

Don’t you just hate it when the puppy—or older—dog eats your prize flowers? Actually, you could lose both dog and flower, because many common plants are poisonous. Check with your nurseryman before buying a plant if you have a plant-eating pet. Garden edging is a deterrent to this. Dogs dislike running over large river rock, sharp granite (driveway stone), and prickly bushes (juniper, barberry, cotoneaster, etc.) With a couple feet depth of such edging, most dogs avoid the entire garden bed.

Dogs love to dig. But a dog often digs under the fence because they want to see what’s on the other side, especially with the all-prevalent privacy fencing. So give them a window! Cut a small holes in the privacy fencing in a couple locations at the dog’s eye-level (or level’s if you have different size dogs). Help your doggie to be aware they are there.

Give Fido a place where he can lay in the shade, and he may also stop digging to get down into the cooler soil.

Remember if we have pets, they live on our property also—but do not think like humans (even if it seems so). We can lessen our stress and their corrections, by thinking a little like them!

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Is a Roman Shade best for your window?

Tuesday 15 Jun 2010 by Sharon Breay | No Comments
Filed under: Window Treatments Tags: Blackout window treatments, interior design, Roman Shades, Thermal Protection, Window Coverings, Window Treatment Hardware

Courtesy, DSC Window Fashions

Roman shades are among the best horizontal stacking window treatments today–and are very popular. The soft-fold or flat-roman is considered “constructed” due to the fiberglass rods or stays athat are inserted at horizontal intervals. The constructed version gives these shades dependable function raising and lowering in neat folds.

For light control, roman shades can be lined with a translucent or blackout lining. It is recommended that for the purpose of the blackout, that the Soft-Fold Roman is specified because the folds of the shade will cover the pin-holes of the light that are unavoidable when the needle passes through the black-out lining.

Roman shades are mounted on boards, so there are no hardware decisions to be made. However, some decisions can determine a certain size of the board depth. There are choices in the lifting mechanisms. The “Cord Lift” is pulled up by a series of cords that can either have a cord lock or a cleat to secure the shade at the desired height. This is good for smaller sizes and only needs a 1.5″ board to mount to. The “Clutch” mechanism workds well on larger and heavier shades. The physics of the clutch makes the heavier shade lighter to lift and the lifting chain is continuous, which means the chain never gets any longer or shorter. “Motorized” or automatic roman shades can be hardwired or simply plugged in and operate with a handheld remote or wall switch.

A pocket or valance for a roman shade needs to be quite deep. The roman shade’s fold stack upon each other and require more room into the depth of the pocket than other treatments. A Flat Roman will have a smaller stack than a Soft-Fold Roman because of the amount of fabric used. The stack will also depend on the weight of the fabric and lining.

Fabrics come in two basic widths of either 54″ or 118″. When ordering, be aware of the pattern direction and fabric width. Some have good thermal value as well as visual appeal.

And remember–if your surroundings don’t fit “you” like a favorite shoe, you need a little redesign! –Sharon Breay, Does the Shoe….FIT? design programs & workshops

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Interior arrangements for those disliking predictability—

Sunday 30 May 2010 by Sharon Breay | No Comments
Filed under: Art & Accessories, DOES THE SHOE.....FIT?, Furniture, Furniture Arrangement, Space Design, exterior design Tags: asymmetrical balance, decorating, DOES THE SHOE... FIT?, exterior design, home decoration, home design, interior design, room balance

Asymmetrical balance

Last posting we discussed symmetrical furniture, and/or accessory arrangement as being great for a formal style of space, having a mirror image or 50/50 balance. But what if you don’t care for formal, and it’s somewhat predictability? You still need balance in the arrangement of elements to have a feeling of assurance to the space.

Aysmmetrical balance is for the more casual style. Instead of a 50/50 mirror image, as symmetrical balance of elements, aysmmetrical is more like 65/35. It balances, but not as a mirror image. It’s a little like many of our lives in this day and age. We may work extra long hours for awhile; then take off time to be with family to balance our life.

An example of an aysmmetrical furniture arrangement would be the sofa having a chair or two perpendicular to it, with a table and lamp in the corner, between the sofa and chair(s). Think of an “L” as an example of symmetrical balance.

Accessories look great arranged aysmmetrically; perhaps one item taller, with one or two small items on one side, and three or four small items on the other side. For interest, we wouldn’t align the objects in a straight row. We’d put some forward, some back, something a bit in front of the larger item.

Aysmmetrical arrangement is particularly pleasing in architecture that is also non-traditional, non symmetrical. It often works well with the architecture of western homes. If in doubt, walk outside and look at the front of your home. Are windows and other features the same on the right as on the left? Is the door centered in the front view? If so, you have symmetrically balanced architecture, as opposed to aysmmetrical.

And remember–if your surroundings don’t fit “you” like a favorite shoe, you need a little redesign! –Sharon Breay, Does the Shoe….FIT? design programs & workshops

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Is Balance in our spaces easier than balance in our lives?

Tuesday 18 May 2010 by Sharon Breay | No Comments
Filed under: Art & Accessories, DOES THE SHOE.....FIT?, Furniture, Furniture Arrangement, Space Design, Wall Groupings Tags: Accessory Arrangement, Furniture arrangement, interior design, Principles of Design, Symmetrical Balance

Let’s hear what you have to say about that–Is achieving balance in our home spaces easier than achieving balance in our lives? Personally, I’d say YES! Although we need both! Balance is one of the 6 basic principles of design. There are three types of balance: Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, and Radial. Let’s discuss symmetrical balance in this post.

Symmetrical balance occurs when things are arranged the same on both the right and the left, somewhat like a mirror image. My Mom used to have her sofa against a wall, with matching end tables on either side of the sofa, and matching lamps on each end table. There was a 50/50 split to the arrangement. This is symmetrical balance. Another example would be to place a loveseat on either side of the fireplace, facing each other. This principle can also be applied to a group of wall hangings, as one large piece in the center, with a smaller piece on either side.

So what does it matter? Just as we feel more relaxed and assured when our lives are in balance, we feel the same when coming into a room with the elements balancing each other. Symmetrical balance presents a somewhat formal and reserved look to a room. This is worth considering. If you wish a formal look to an area, simply arranging the furniture will help you achieve your goal. If the architectural style of your home is formal, this is the type of furniture and accessory arrangement for you.

But what if you are more casual? What if you don’t care for such predictability? Can you still get a balance of elements in a space? Join us May 30th for the next discussion of furniture and accessory balance. And by the way, which do YOU think is easier to attain? Home Interior balance, or Life Balance???

And remember–if your surroundings don’t fit “you” like a favorite shoe, you need a little redesign! –Sharon Breay, Does the Shoe….FIT? design programs & workshops

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9 Landscaping Errors

Saturday 8 May 2010 by Sharon Breay | 2 Comments
Filed under: Exterior Lighting, Garden Design, Space Design, exterior design Tags: Landscape Design, Landscaping Mistakes

1) Planning only the “first impression” : Front yards give curb appeal; back yards give personal enjoyment. Plan for both.

2) No natural shapes: The architectural features of the property will have plenty of hard edges and 90 degree angles. Create a relaxing, naturally shaped landscape with undulating curves.

3) Forgetting basic design principles and elements: Without a cohesive plan, even lovely plants create hodge-podge.

4) Putting King Henry in front of the log cabin: Plan your landscape to compliment the style of your home, and your style of living.

5) Not discussing what is important in the landscape to each family member: The family does live there; create an enjoyable yard for everyone.

6) Not admitting the time you have to care for it: There are low maintenance landscapes, or elements that can be very attractive if you don’t have time for heavy upkeep.

7) Not reading the mature size, water needs, and soil needs of a plant: No one needs a King Kong monster towering over the garden in a few years; plan for proportion of the mature sizes with other yard elements. Also, compare the plant ’s water and soil needs with those of your yard. You want healthy plants once you’ve invested in them.

Omitting exterior lighting: Install entry lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting for a well-balanced, pleasing look in the evening.

9) Planting skimpy, small plants to save money: Plant cost effectively by staging the project over a few years if necessary. Purchase the trees & shrubs in the early stages, using a big enough sized plant to enjoy in a year or two.

And remember–if your surroundings don’t fit “you” like a favorite shoe, you need a little redesign! –Sharon Breay, Does the Shoe….FIT? design programs & workshops

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“HOW” big is that shrub???

Thursday 15 Apr 2010 by Sharon Breay | No Comments
Filed under: DOES THE SHOE.....FIT?, Garden Design, exterior design Tags: Gardening, Gardens, Landscape Design, Landscaping, Shrubs

Every year there are clients wishing to update their old, overgrown landscape; yards that were lovely fifteen plus years ago, but now have a ragged look. By this time the elegance of the early garden is often gone. Even if care has been given the landscape, within 15 or more years, shrubs often need to be replaced with fresh ones.

Removing old, overgrown shurbs is NOT a small task. However, you will be happy to have done it. Here’s what Horticulture magazine recommends, with a few of my own Colorado ideas thrown in for you locals:

1) Cut off as many branches as possible to get to the trunk and base. Do not saw off the trunk; leave a good-sized stump and some of the lowest branches to use as handles when you get to the lifting-out stage.

2) Digging about 2 feet from the trunk, working around it, dig down one foot all around, cutting off the thick roots in your path. Keep digging in a circle, coming closer to the trunk until you expose the bulk of the root mass. Clear the dirt from the roots.

3) Now try to rock the shrub a bit to loosen it. It may not budge! Keep digging and working to cut off the largest roots near the stump, until it starts to loosen. When you can rock the stump partially up from the hoe, have a partner hold it tipped so you can cut any roots from underneath. When all roots have been severed you should be able to wedge the shovel under it, and lever it out while a partner pulls on the stump. Then remove any remaining roots from the hole and fill it in with the soil set aside.

4) If the shrub was very large, or there were several, you will probably need some topsoil to fill in the depression. If the shrub was large, you may need to tie it to the trailer hitch of a truck to haul it out.

THE key shrub I’ve seen in Colorado causing major shrub overgrowth is the common juniper, followed by arborvitae (the globe variety). These fairly inexpensive shrubs thrive in Colorado have low water needs, and the juniper has no problem with our full sun and winter winds. However, while you are (often) pruning the branches, realize the roots are continuing to grow and spread! If left unpruned, many of these will obtain a 10′ height– they looked so good at 2′-4′ high in their early years! With such a large root mass underground, growing most other plants beside them is not feasible.

On April 30th, we’ll discuss other landscaping mistakes to avoid. And remember–if your surroundings don’t fit “you” like a favorite shoe, you need a little redesign! –Sharon Breay, Does the Shoe….FIT? design programs & workshops

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Me fall?? NEVER!

Tuesday 30 Mar 2010 by Sharon Breay | No Comments
Filed under: Barrier Free Design, DOES THE SHOE.....FIT?, Space Design Tags: Accessible Design, Barrier Free Design, cabinetry, Design for all Ages, interior design, Kitchen Design, Physically challenged, Universal Design

Recently I had a bad fall and was in a wheelchair for awhile. Isn’t it strange how we think “It will never happen to me”? Actually with our active lifestyles, our sports, our Colorado skiing and rock climbing, our children’s activities, few households go more than a couple years without some type of injury.

And then there’s Mom & Dad–aging, but still active. According to the Denver Community Relations Agency for Human Rights, 58% of people over 65 years have 1 or more “disability.” According to the American Assoc. of Retired Persons, 90% of retired persons want to age in their own home.

There are multitudes of methods that we have to help them all do so. The easiest time to create a home that will accommodate physical challenges, as well as help the rest of us, is when a remodel is done. Researching how your home could be made more accessible to everyone will be well worth your time. There is much more to consider than a ramp or grab bars.

One small example: those in wheelchairs cannot reach up to our kitchen wall cabinets, generally where the plates, glasses, saucers, etc. are kept. As a matter of fact, neither can children. (Isn’t it almost easier to just set the table yourself than get everything out for them to do so?) Typically, we don’t put smaller items like dishes and glasses into the lower 24″ deep cabinets; reaching to the back of the cabinet is difficult, and clumsy. And yet, it is demoralizing to need to ask for help reaching them.

How easy it would be if two 24″ or 30″ wide x 30″ high x 12″ deep wall cabinets were adhered back to back, put on roller casters, and slid under the typical 36″ high kitchen countertop? (Countertop would be braced to the back wall.) There would be twice the space of one wall cabinet, as the cabinets are back to back, easy to rotate. Put a top on this unit, and everyone has a mobile work island with storage, that can easily be rolled under the counter when not in use. Move it out, and you have a bar, or chair space for a child to work at the 36″ counter. No more demoralizing; everyone can reach commonly used objects.

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Outdoor Sacred Spaces/Healing Spaces

Monday 15 Mar 2010 by admin | No Comments
Filed under: DOES THE SHOE.....FIT?, Space Design Tags: home refuge, outdoor healing spaces, outdoor sacred spaces

Ever come home ready to pull your hair out? Or perhaps the stress IS at home! You need a place of refuge to spend a few minutes in!

Nature has a wonderful way of soothing our psychics! Who can resist the pause to smell a spring lilac? Are there times you go for a walk to think things through? As we discussed in February 28^th’s blog, sacred spaces/healing spaces are places of refuge, places to think, places to pray or play. A place in your yard is often the best for this if done with some planning.

To be effective, the sacred/healing space needs to fit the user’s needs. Ask yourself, what will this space be used for? Who will be using it? What time of day will it generally be used? If you’re a person who sunburns easily, you may want to plan this space in some shady spot; but if you love to sit quietly and look at the sky at night, best not to have shade trees overhead!

These yard areas need some privacy. Plan ahead how that will be accomplished. (Remember good design can be had on any budget. Some string and a packet of castor bean or morning-glory seeds can be had for under five dollars.) The path to this space should have soft curves and of natural materials. (One very cost effective material is a thick layer of pine needles.) Once you walk there, you’ll want a place to sit. It could be a comfortable chair, a hammock or swing, or a large tree stump or rock to keep the natural feel.

Delightful places of refuge like this can easily be made within an 8 x 8 space. You will probably spend more than five or ten minutes here. You may want to think of some type of water feature, flowering plants, aromatic plants or shrubs, a weatherproof container to hold writing or drawing materials, perhaps a soft wind chime.

Have some fun planning, and please do share your ideas with our readers and myself. Your idea may be someone else’s springboard to their own idea.

Let’s get together again on March 30^th, and see where everyone is at. Until then—

Blessings and Love to You–Sharon

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When is an Area Rug NOT an Area Rug?

Summ-summ-summ-SUMMERTIME!

The Doggie in YOUR garden-landscape

Is a Roman Shade best for your window?

Interior arrangements for those disliking predictability—

Is Balance in our spaces easier than balance in our lives?

9 Landscaping Errors

“HOW” big is that shrub???

Me fall?? NEVER!

Outdoor Sacred Spaces/Healing Spaces