Live in Baja, Love the Outdoors

Outdoor Living in Baja is available year round in the East Cape. Before making Los Barriles, Baja California Sur my permanent home in 1994, I lived in Eastern Oregon. Winters included short days, long dark nights, sometimes snow or ice and temperatures nearing zero. Sunlight was limited as was time outdoors. After spending hours, days and months indoors, by February I felt like I was clawing the walls, desperate for time outside, warmth, fresh air, vitamin D, less clothing, open doors and windows, freedom to move in and out, without the layering required to keep a body warm. On the bright side, I did have my share of snow ball fights, ice pranks down the back of my shirt shock in junior high, some of the usual cold weather outdoor activities and once, I got to ski – seventeen and fearless, I flew down the slopes, fell on my front, sides and behind many times and was lucky to walk away uninjured. On that day, I had the most fun ever until my early thirties when I started kiteboarding, taking advantage of the abundant north wind, as well as, friendly, patient, knowledgeable and professional lessons at Exotikite Kiteboarding.

Summer outdoor BBQ-ing. Relaxed dinner with family and close friends.

One of the main reasons I chose to put down roots and make LB my home was to live in a place where I could live indoor-outdoor twelve months out of the year.  With smart design, considering wind, sun, shade, seasons, natural climate and weather patterns, it is not only possible to enjoy indoor-outdoor living year round, but pleasant. In over twenty years of living here, I have to say the only time it is impossible to enjoy outdoor living is during a hurricane. Even on the coldest day of winter, an outdoor area that is protected from the wind and exposed to the warm rays of sunshine can be cozy and inviting. Without sunshine, it can still be nice, as long as there is wind protection! Add an outdoor chimenea and voila! Even better. On the warmest day of summer, feel the occasional early morning breeze and gentle south wind during its visit, add some ceiling or floor fans and it can be enjoyable to be outside. Frequent swims, cool showers and iced drinks to stay hydrated, slow movement  – not  being in too much of a hurry and the quiet of summer – sans hurricanes – feel like a blessed reprieve. For those who love to hike the ever changing local hillside trails, summer hiking is possible, again – slow movement, much hydration, less distance, early ascent and watch for rattle snakes when you walk. Stop and smell the cactus flower, be home and under shade before the sun blazes down.

Stone steps thoughtfully designed to follow the natural terrain and
carefully built by artisans who have worked with our company for many years

Our bedrooms and office are air-conditioned, making sleeping comfortable, as well as, concentrating on work possible. We did air-condition our entire home for several years, but soon realized – aside from the high power bills – that air-conditioning our home, closing doors and windows, I felt as confined and limited to staying indoors as I had in Eastern Oregon during winter up there. We decided to donate the great room’s A/C to the local high school where our son is now a senior, open our windows and doors, adapt to the daily temperature, cook  outdoors, move slower – during summer in LB, doing less is not only possible, but necessary! Three years ago I enjoyed my first summer offering yoga classes at Healing Winds Holistic Center. After several piped in with the opinion we would need A/C to stay cool and keep classes going all summer, I decided to experiment with adapting the practice to the season – again, slow gentle movement, less is more, cooling, restorative poses and we did it! We stayed relatively cool, the classes lasted all summer and as we transitioned into cooler months, I noticed more energy available and onward we went. I continue to adapt my personal practice and Yoga classes to daily and seasonal climate.

Outdoor areas may serve many purposes.
Spaces designed for different purposes offer the best use of space.

UBL Designs, originally known as VOS en Construction, has been designing and building custom homes since 1991. We have witnessed and been part of more than one boom, as well as, worked through and downsized during the recession. Between 2010 and 2015, for five years, working with clients who over the years have become our friends, we concentrated on additions, remodels and the creation of Outdoor Living. To share with our community some of the unique, beautiful and livable outdoor areas we created, on January 6, 2016, we hosted a Winter Garden and Outdoor Living Area Tour. Eight patios were open to the public to walk through, meander, pause, inspire, sit down, and breathe in the fresh Baja air. People enjoyed the warm, sunlit and wind protected areas. Walked through the shaded, cool and well ventilated areas comfortable for warmer months. Each outdoor area, a style of its own, and reflection of the homeowners themselves - styles ranged from Old Baja with contemporary flair, Santa Fe, Whimsical, Mainland Mexico Colonial and Hacienda, Desert style, with creative and eclectic combinations in each place. Materials included bricks, rocks, pebbles, plaster and a variety of textures and colors, bright shiny tiles, glass bottles, mosaics, wood, concrete and more. Gardens ranged from desert plants, dirt and space between to lush, green, blooming and organic. Seven out of eight gardens still benefit from immediate re-use of gray water, reutilizing water from showers, bathroom sinks and washing machines to irrigate plantings throughout. In the desert, water is scarce and shade is king.

Glass bottle backsplash over outdoor kitchen counter top.
Emits natural light, provides color and sparkle while re-using materials that otherwise might end up in a landfill.

No matter the size of your house, adding a Garden and Outdoor Living Area will increase the unique, beautiful, livable and lovable nature of your Baja Home. The 2016 Winter Garden tour was a blast! Turnout was great and we enjoyed the experience so much that the following year we hosted Heart of the Home Kitchen Tour. Again, what a wonderful experience to share our work and connect with community. Last winter, our town experienced another boom. We found ourselves gratefully inundated with plans, as well as, the construction of a Beach Home we are currently wrapping up. Although we were asked: will you have a tour this year? from wonderfully enthiastic people we would have loved to share more of our work with, we decided to hold off for a year and focus on the work at hand.

We continue to design and build outdoor living areas for our clients: built-in benches, new barbeque areas, landscaping details, and other fun treasures for each unique beautiful livable outdoor area. And  now, here we are, building the outdoor living and garden areas for the beach home that has kept us busy for almost a year. We are planning to open its doors for a tour next winter or spring. Please stay tuned for date and time. We look forward to sharing our work with our community once again.

Thank you for reading,
Tehroma and Team

(This blog post has been adapted from the original article I wrote and was printed in the Eastcapers Magazine Dec/Jan 2015)