Dear Barrie, How do I prepare my home Southern Baja for the long hot summer?
Preparing a home for a new season is honestly a challenge when there are really only two seasons, such as we have in Southern Baja. As summer time approaches, a brief moment of spring time brings hotter and longer days with the last of the cherished cooler nights.
It’s time for a spring clean Cabo style.
Blankets, throws and shawls that normally live on sofas, chaises or rolled in baskets should be laundered and put away in closets by hanging so that air can circulate around them. Pillows made of heavy fabric with darker colors (reds and oranges) need to be retired to clear plastic storage boxes and head to a garage or back closet. Even darker colored area rugs can be removed, sent to the cleaners and rolled away for summer and replaced by a lighter softer rug.
Dear Barrie
Dear Barrie is a design lifestyle column by internationally renowned British American interior designer, realtor and author Barrie Livingstone, who’s divine home décor shop “House of Barrie” @ The Shoppes of Palmilla is a destination for anything home style. Livingstone has been designing since 1987 and his work is seen from Miami to Dubai and Los Angeles to now Cabo.
Remove all vestiges of cooler winter days and nights from the house. This means outside removing any fire wood around fire pit and cleaning all elements of propane areas as these will not be used again until later in the year when cooler evening temps return.
Blankets, throws and shawls that normally live on sofas, chaises or rolled in baskets should be laundered and put away in closets by hanging so that air can circulate around them. Pillows made of heavy fabric with darker colors (reds and oranges) need to be retired to clear plastic storage boxes and head to a garage or back closet. Even darker colored area rugs can be removed, sent to the cleaners and rolled away for summer and replaced by a lighter softer rug.
It’s time to bring on summer
It is important to acknowledge seasonal changes because living with one season’s style all year round makes any house look and feel stale. Imagine if you wore the same clothes daily all year? By removing warm colors and thicker fabrics and by bringing cool tones into the color palate, this not only heralds the arrival of warmer weather and longer days, it also gives us a chance to feel the newness of all the new summer season. The abundance of intense sunlight and solar energy is something we all feel so lighten up the house fabrics and let your home welcome summer.
What colors are best to use?
At this time of the year as always in a sun drenched land I say whites and creams always rule. Their timeless appeal most importantly reflects light and heat away and always looks cool fresh and stylish. Appropriate summer accessories include: pillows, cotton throws, vases, rugs and fun table top pieces. For summers best colors we look to the bountiful nature of our desert surroundings. I love pale greens, think agaves, aloe and succulents. Try pale pink for a softer and retro look, mango and yellows make us smile naturally and all shades of lighter blues are inherent to our pale aqua skies.
Lastly, embrace the newness of the summer heat and humidity that comes with summer time in Southern Baja by making some small changes around your home that will make everyone feel cooler. Remember this is also hurricane season and they often come with only a few days’ notice, so ensure that you have a plan that you can quickly activate to protect your assets. Your home is your place of retreat and a place of nurturing so ritualizing small seasonal changes will always make you feel your best.
