Heart of the Home

I remember a Christmas staycation years ago: north wind howling, a stack of Kitchen magazines, endless cups of tea and bright sunlight shining through a south facing window. For someone who loves to cook and design, this felt like a little piece of heaven.

Kitchens come in many shapes, sizes, colors, finishes, first story, second story, inside, outside, open to a great room or compartmentalized. Regardless of any variation, enticing smells or hunger, a promise of sustenence, nourishment, thirst quenching drinks and more, all lure family and friends to gather in small groups and large, filling kitchens and making each one: the Heart of the Home.

On Epiphany Day, January 6, 2017, gracious homeowners for whom we have had the privilege of creating unique beautiful livable kitchens, will open their homes for folks to view. Save the date and a few afternoon hours, 12pm to 3pm. Invite friends and family to walk through four inspired hearts of their own homes. All photos shown here are black in white. The real and living kitchens on this tour are full of color and surprise.

Rosca de Reyes (Epiphany Cake)

CASA WILLS

Earlier this year the homeowners asked us to remodel their kitchen. Previously the space included dyed concrete perimeter counters and an oval shaped table with chairs in the center. The kitchen was functional with space and potential to offer more for family and friends. A pantry was needed. Also, a kitchen space cozy and comfortable for two yet ample and welcoming for more. Photo here shows built in concrete table and bar stools - a great find! - from Artesanos. Arched entry ahead leads to walk in pantry. Concrete sink is finished with broken tile mosaic pieces and sparkles of marble here and there. Tiled surfaces cover newly built perimeter counters. Built in concrete shelves above and below provide storage for colorful dishes and glasses. The stove was locally purchased and sits nicely into the wall left of this photo, framed in an arched tile design above the stove and more fun tile mosaics with marbles below.

Kitchen - Casa Wills built in eating area, stove to the left,
sink to the right, arched entrance to pantry ahead

CASA MUSICA

This one of kind kitchen sits on top of guest bedrooms and east of the newly built Master Suite, inspiring a jaw dropping view of the white sandy beach line, palm trees, colorful houses and Flat top nestled amongst its surrounding purple mountain range. This upstairs kitchen includes amenities such as: BBQ, undercounter fridge, ice maker, sink, two burner stove, built in drawers, free standing draws and table for two to four. The view offers an endless horizon, stars visible around the overhang after dark, cool summer breezes and an intimate connection with the vast outdoors over coffee, cocktails or a sit down dinner.

View of Flat Top  from Casa Musica's outdoor Kitchen,
artisans at finishing stage of project.
Kitchen not shown here is located to the left side of photos edge. 

CASA DEL MAR 

How do you create a kitchen with the feel of colonial Mexico and maintain the functional simplicity and endurance of modern day smooth granite? Combine materials. Granite counter tops provide a durable surface adorned with Mexican tile backsplash, arched and tiled niche above the stove with soft lights and even more tile around the base of the island - a kick plate of color and beauty. Unobstructed views of the Sea of Cortez are framed with concrete arches above veranda beyond and clay tile arched banister below. This kitchen is part of the Great Room, housing an oversized comfy sectional couch for the homeowners, family and friends to gather. Mesquite table and old world hutch fit perfectly between the kitchen and outdoor living area with pool and palapa to the west.

Casa del Mar - a corner piece Kitchen tile used in the design

SONRISA

Gem of a home sits on the hill and inspires a smile everytime its owners arrive. The kitchen itself a jewel box of functional beauty and charm. Custom made built in tiled gas burning stove cooks slowly, medium or quickly. Decorative hood above custom range lights up the meals cooking below - or the buffet of food served over unlit flames. A concrete arch frames the entry and transtion between kitchen and family room adajecent and north. Pass window next to stove connects wind protected outdoors and indoors. Cozy for two or gathering of more. Walk hrough French doors on the east and step into a sunken outdoor kitchen, built in BBQ chimney with counter surrounds and surprising backsplash, casting light on morning surfaces outdoors.

Sonrisa - Kitchen with cutom built in tiled range ahead and concrete Farm Style sink to the left

These four unique beautiful livable kitchens share a connection to Flat Top mountain, whether it be from the room itself or from outside. When venturing on to see these beauties, enjoy a peek of this mountain as you enjoy these spaces or while you are making your way to them and in between.

Flat Top Mountain

Please save the date, January 6, 2017...there will be Refreshments, Raffle Prizes and Rosca de Reyes (Epiphay cake for Epiphany Day). 12pm to 3pm. Stay tuned for more details: 

• Maps will be distributed: location and time TBA
• Raffle - must be present to win: location and time TBA

See you on this Heart of the Home Kitchen Tour!

Thank you,

Tehroma 

romalask03@gmail.com

All Levels Yoga with Tehroma

Summer of 2014 offered an opportunity to practice teach with close friends and family. The following winter included Yoga Teacher Training on the other side of the peninsula. I began officially teaching yoga on my 40th birthday, with a clear intention: share an embodied practice that has supported me, one that may serve and support others. Notice my students, learn from how they move and breathe, listen intently as we share each session. Offer readings that I feel deeply connected to and have either come across recently or come back to time and time again. Trust that a simple grounding practice offers a strong foundation to build from continuously. One day at a time. 

Half moon supported with a block in our back yard.

A constant to settle in at the beginning of each session has has been a three part deep breathing exercise: focusing on the lower belly, lower rib cage and upper chest. Gut, lungs and heart. Places of instinct. Places we feel when we breathe deeply. Awakening instincts and connection to the vital energy of life and its internal messages. Silence in breathing. A chance to listen within in a world that can be so noisy without.

My offerings to date are based on simplicity, grounding and slowing down. We live in a time of internet rapidness. Miliseconds of waiting for a person to reply sometimes inspires a question repeated. Or a walk away. I have been on both sides of this scenario. Impatient for a reply. Feeling pressured when a reply is not quickly available to offer. People are not machines. Machines even get overwhelmed. They freeze when we push too many of their buttons at once. A time of immediacy. Urgency. For what? Everything we rush to finish ends. How often do we pause between ending and beginning? How often do we sprint from one door closing before the handle closes. Grabbing the next door handle and running through. How often do we pause while walking through a threshold.

Traveling to Ireland required opening and closing many doors. Going through customs. Leaving as Mexicans. Entering the States as visitors and citizens. Two separate lines. One family. Entering England just to transit through. Entering Ireland to land, ground, walk, eat. Feel at ease. Quench the soul and ignite the spirit. The return home was more gentle as we stayed together as visitors at every threshold except for residents landing at home in Mexico.

Kinsale, Ireland - morning view from the B&B

In south east Ireland, toward the end of our stay, I noticed the depth and fluidity of my natural breathing. A moment to notice and remember the numerous times I have heard myself say in a yoga class: notice your breathing. And then with a smile, notice you are breathing. 

Recently I saw a photo of several lovely ladies after a yoga class. A time slot I stepped away from at this time for a summer breather from teaching. A time to reflect. I felt a pang through the heart when I remembered I was not sharing a practice I love to share. I mentioned this to my husband and recounted a few reasons why:

As I wrote above, my intention has been to share a practice to date embodied and lived. Heart, body, mind and soul. My practice and offerings have grown slowly in line with the offerings and shared practice within the studio. Shared learning, solo learning. Asanas and readings have reflected both my own continuous personal journey, as well as, my students. Inspired by their comments, requests as much as through my observations of those who attend. Individually or as a whole. Themes materialize organically. The showing up, giving and receiving has felt fluid and fun. A sense of ease felt within and throughout the studio.

After leading the Tuesday and Friday morning classes, I would tidy up the space for whoever came in after. Load up my landcruiser with books, class notes and music. Next stop only a few minutes drive to our office. Letting myself through the back door. Change hats and start the other work day with my husband who has been my business partner for almost twenty years. 

On more than one occasion during last high season, I noticed sharp and biting words come out of my mouth, directed toward the kind hearted, hard working and ever present man I fell in love with after working side by side for five years. I saw pain in his face. The reason for biting words aside, I remembered how I felt in class offering a practice that has supported me for nearly ten years. I noticed: Who and how I was in the studio was not consistent with who and I was outside. That didn't feel balanced or fair. Even if he said it was okay, I knew it wasn't.

Kinsale, Ireland - walking into town 

As a yoga teacher, I feel open with clear boundaries, grounded and gentle yet strong. How I am as a yoga teacher is how I want to be in the other roles I carry through life. As wife, mother, daughter, friend, architect, boss, acqaintance, member of our community. As traveler! That one feels natural.

All Levels Yoga with Tehroma will start again November 1st. Bi-lingual offering will be from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. One hour, once a week. I understand that how we are in different roles may be as different as those roles are in themselves. But the core of how I operate in each one needs to aline. I am not intending on perfection as I've done that before and this intention feels different. Simply the same level of human kindness offered at each door I open, be it our home, office, a client or friend or family member's home, or any other old or new door I walk through over time.

How can I continuously offer students the reminder to slow down, unless I slow down to the degree that I know is needed for my own wellbeing. Kindness towards self equals kindness towards others. Deep natural breathing keeps gut instinct in check, expands the lungs and fills the heart. Soothes the soul. 

Fill the individual heart. Nurture the family heart. Allow the circle to organically grow, slowly and sustainably from home....

In Celtic Spirituality, first you bless yourself and fill your own inner well. From that well, you then have a place to draw from when offering blessing or any offering to another. Much like the concept of placing an oxygen mask on yourself before assisting another. 

One World

May you leave this place with the wisdom you hold clear.

May you remember your expression and sharing of love in this world,
May you have the courage to stay true to the work that inspires that kind of creation,
trusting the undulating nature of the work places you have chosen.

May you save grace for your own darker moments as well as lighter moments 
and all of those that breathe in between.

May you remember your gift, shelted near and dear within your own heart, 
yet sharing graciously because it feeds your soul and purpose to offer and share.

May you remember always the man who shows up for you everyday, 
who would do anything for you, travel to the other side of the world with you.
May you honor, remember and hold space with grace, love and gratitude 
for a love that kind to have blessed your life.

May you remember the jewel of land that you love and call home,
and how you are now as much a part of the land as the land is a part of you.

May you remember the ease that is always near and dear, 
nestled safely within the boundless contours of your own heart.

Live in Baja, Love the Outdoors

Live in Baja, Love the Outdoors

(article printed in the Eastcapers Magazine Dec/Jan 2015)

by Tehroma Lask

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.

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.

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! Last summer was our first offering yoga classes at Healing Winds Holistic Center and 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 now transition into cooler months, I notice more energy is available and onward we go.

UBL Designs, originally known as VOS en Construction, has been designing and building custom homes since 1991. We have witnessed and been part of the boom, worked through and downsized during the recession. Over the last five years, we have collaborated with clients who over the years have become our friends, mainly focusing on additions, remodels and the creation of Outdoor Living. To share with our community some unique, beautiful and livable outdoor areas we have created, on January 6, 2016, we plan to host a Winter Garden and Outdoor Living Area Tour. Eight patios will be open to the public to walk through, meander, pause, inspire, sit down, and breathe in the fresh Baja air. Enjoy the warm, sunlit and wind protected areas. Walk 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 range 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 include bricks, rocks, pebbles, plaster and a variety of textures and colors, bright shiny tiles, glass bottles, mosaics, wood, concrete and more. Gardens range from desert plants, dirt and space between to lush, green, blooming and organic. Seven out of eight gardens 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.

Join us! We look forward to seeing you at our Winter Garden and Outdoor Living Area Tour, January 6, 2016. Since the tour falls on Three Kings Day, enjoy a traditional Rosca and refreshments, with fun surprises and prizes for a lucky few. Mark your calendars, save the date, bring your partner, spouse, a friend, family member, the more the merrier! Details will be posted on the BPE, our website and blog www.ubldesigns.com 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! 

Seasons

Casa Musica, view from new patio addition.

Summer – Building during the quiet season

Over the years, our building busy season has slowly transitioned from fall and winter to late spring, summer and early fall. In the past, our clients and friends would arrive in October or November, settle into their Baja homes and often come to us with inspirations, ideas, and projects to complete during their warm stay and stray from colder climates. Projects would come together quickly, with completion dates nearing the Christmas or New Year’s Holiday. Or projects were often required to complete before they buttoned up their homes for summer.

How did our building busy season move to the slower and quieter time in our town? 

It probably started with one summer Outdoor Living Area project, a desire to have the workers present, dust and noise happen, creating and booming, all during their absence.

How do we keep our clients involved in the collaborative creative process while they are away?

Frequent emails, Picture Fridays (weekly visual progress reports – a picture is worth a thousand words). All details are clearly communicated through emails, drawings, itemized bids and photos in an organized fashion.

When our friends return to Baja, a new creation awaits them, a new area to move into, relax, entertain, expand, breathe and settle in.

All photos shown here represent late spring, summer and very early fall creations from 2015. All projects were completed during our clients absence and finished prior to their welcome home.

Casa Musica outdoor kitchen. Under counter fridge, ice maker, sink, dishwasher, stainless steel drawers and two burner stove top. Room for BBQ right side of stove and counter. Table in the center will over look an amazing view.

Fall Arrivals

Fall is the arrival time. Arrive, settle, everything slowly falls into place and a new busy season begins to unfold. Friends and families gather, social events fill the calendars, marking the extreme between many spacious and vacant squares on the summer calendar vs bustling opportunities to be with others, including: Live Music at La Fogata or Punta Pescadero, Exotikite’s Annual Season Opening Party, Movie Night Under the Stars, Open Houses, Open Studios, Classes galore and more!

Master bathroom addition was part of Casa Musica's latest project, a master suite on top of the original casita. View from tub shown here takes in white sandy beach line, the Sea of Cortez and Flat Top. Bedroom and outdoor kitchen living area enjoy vista and sea breezes round the clock. An outdoor shower takes in the stars after dark. Project: Casa Musica

Periwinkle tiled sink and counter top. While our client was away for the summer, we tiled over a concrete counter top and covered the walls with fresh coats of paint. Project: Casita Madrugada

Beach pebbled flower. Pathway detail. Project: Hacienda el Encanto

Granite shelf installed for Guadalupe. Project: Casa OM

All settled in...the washing machine works, internet is reliable (hopefully!) and some kind of routine has developed...

By now, as we approach the onset of winter, there is a good chance you are settled in for the time you will be here. When you look around your indoors and walk outside taking in the outdoors, feel your feet touch the ground. Look around. Notice if there is an area unused that you feel drawn to develop. Or maybe the indoors could use a connection to some space outside, under the sky, shade or stars. If the wind is an issue or the sun is blazing hot and it seems like creating a space outside and working with the elements is a challenge, call us! If you notice an inkling to do a minor or major home improvement project - no matter the size, big or small or any place in between - give us a call, send us an email, let's set up a time for an onsite consult - no obligation to work with our team on the next step. Just a fun consultation to get the ball rolling, ideas moving and see what we come up with in a short amount of collaborative and dynamic time together.

Pathway from garden arbor and garage to main entry gate. Working with our friends was inspiring and fun when we built the main house and garage ten years ago. We have added several details to their home since. Project: Hacienda el Encanto

For further information about us and our work, please feel free to take a virtual stroll through our website www.ubldesigns.com, or follow us on FB: UBL Designs or Instagram ubl designs.

Thanks for reading and see you soon!

Kindly, Tehroma
romalask03@gmail.com  
Office #141-0069. 
Cell# 044-624-145-2750 

Transitions

Hill top bright reds, golds and greens among the rocks.

Wednesday morning after my yoga practice, I changed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt, got in my white landcruiser and drove to the last summer project job site. As I walked up the driveway, I heard someone call my name. When I turned around and saw my friend through the screen door of her parents casita, I couldn’t help but literally jump for joy.  Over coffee with her and her husband, we talked about transitions between seasons, climates, altitudes, surroundings and lifestyles. Later, he mentioned the theme I used for our Friday morning yoga class: Transitions. Noticing how we pause, move and breathe through the transitions between the poses, giving that time as much attention as the pose itself.

This time of year is acutely transitional. End of slow season, beginning of high season. Friends coming, town filling, restaurant owners happy to see their tables filled, smiles, abundance and high spirits surround. Driving across the arroyo to my Monday evening yoga class, I saw a familiar face behind the wheel of a large white pickup, loaded to the top with bikes, kayaks and more. A common site this time of year.

Blooming blues along the overgrown trail and up a sunlit hill.

Over decades of working in design-build, the transition time is built into our field. Some projects overlap, sometimes one ends and another begins. Earlier this year, we turned over one set of blue prints to a happy couple and the next day received the down payment to start a set for another. A rare event for one project to end and the next day start anew.  Often there multiple projects happening in different directions and styles, varying to reflect those who will live in these spaces. The biggest contrast I remember working in at the same time - remembering contrast for us is the norm - were two large sets of plans. One was for a multifamily complex, all 90 degree angles, concrete, modern, square, hard and as often as I suggested the inclusion of organic materials, whether it be rock or brick or wood, all in contemporary fashion, anything to soften and add warmth to the overall design, that was how often it was either accepted short term or rejected. At the same time I was working on a set of plans for a cob house, hacienda style old world, round, soft warm and enveloping. The learning curve between the two did much to stretch my brain and increase our range in one big swoop.

Back to transitions – the transition between projects, the in between time when we are not sure where our next build will be. There are several designs on my table with indefinite starting dates to begin their build. One crew will finish up their portion of  work on our project this week, the other early next. After they high five our clients as they roll into the driveway, our artisans will roll out and down the hill to our home where we have a few small projects for them to complete here. A rock riverbed to direct gray water between trees and bamboo. Remove a few bricks at the entrance to our outdoor kitchen living area to allow for a larger opening, easier transition between garden and outdoor living and bring the green view under the palapa while we hang out under the palm eaves.

The cob ranch house we started at Rancho el Aventadero, my husband’s sustainable ranch project, is nearing the earth build cob phase. The structure to support its foam roof is concrete post and beam, walls and filler will be cob. Our first chance to build with the material I drew into plans several years ago. I look around our property at home: the palapa and outdoor kitchen and living area, an outdoor bathroom, walkways. Then I look at our office building and remember the years it took to build that one, too. Healing Winds Holistic Center happened between 2008 and 2013. All our own buildings have experienced progress and growth during times of transition, the in between times when we have crews to maintain while we meet with new cients, draw plans, punch numbers, reach agreements and wait for  shovels  to hit the next ground. Much growth and expansion that lives within us and around us, all part of transitions, times we didn’t know where we would work next, times when I often quietly inquired or maybe even dared to voice it outloud to Javier: Are we done? Are there more areas to draw, spaces to create, places to build? If everything eventually runs its course, how do we know when this course has done its run? 

Green from summer rains transition into fall.

We don’t know. Just like the shop owner on the Los Barriles main drag, 20 de Noviembre. Every day, he opens his shop and sets up his display of colorful dresses and touristy things without knowing who, how many or if anyone will show up or what he will sell on that day. Every day, he takes down every single thing to put them away for the night and close up shop. The morning after, repeat. Our business is not so much a walk in business, buy something and either wear it on your head or carry it on the plane to take home after a Baja vacation. It is more of a go home to, open the door, go inside and make yourself at home in a longer Baja vacation sort of deal. One that requires deep thought, consideration, lifestyle changes, dreams manifested, big steps, big transitions in life. So, while we continue to put our names out there, draw new plans and plug away on our transitional projects while the next life transition for another becomes our home base project for its time, we do our best to breathe, trust and know that we do not know who has plans to contact us or who our next client will be, and yes, we also worry, we look at our funds and know that transitional projects of our own have a short shelf life and the sooner funds are coming in, rather than going out, all the better. We breathe, notice where we are holding, sometimes head hurting, tension behind the eyes and between the brows, and we breathe some more. We get up, make maravilla coffee, enjoy it together under the stars before the kids get up and we move into the new day. One of us drives our daughter and twin boys down the road to school, son to work for his gram as his school day starts after work. A hike, a yoga session or a yoga class and then the office. And we continue to work, remembering a quote by Picasso, “Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.” Inspiration, for us, sometimes appears in the shape of inspired clients, excited and ready to make the next transition in their lives. Their transition transitions ours. Until the next time. And so the cycle continues. Sun rises, sun sets. Inhale, notice the pause, feel the space, exhale and release. Repeat. One breath, one step, one day at a time.

To another fun filled week of adventure!
Kindly,
Tehroma

Friday afternoon, closing up the office for the weekend.
There is something rewarding about knowing that we did it.
We showed up, we worked, we thrived and another week is behind us.
A weekend to enjoy. A new week before us.
Change the clocks, fall back, pause, and continue to move forward.

Weekend transitions.

Summer's End

Summer’s End

Southern Baja is lush, green and buggy. High season is upon us. The quiet of summer now coming to an end. I can hear the front loader spreading dirt on the road that leads up to our home and neighborhood hill. Numerous earth soaking, green leaving, butterfly producing rains drizzled and poured from the sky this last summer. We boarded up for one hurricane this summer and I am ready to take the ones still up, down, letting the cool fall air and sunlight stream in, morning, day and before the night.

Yoga and Healing Winds

Six months ago, I led my first official, street legal and Yoga Alliance certified yoga class the Sukhasana Yoga and Pilates Studio – our first yoga class to be offered in Spanish to the local community. Attendance has been consistent, averaging ten students per class. So far, mostly women. From time to time a new student will show up, curious about the practice, having heard about it from another and quietly rolls out a mat in our studio.

Fall afternoon in the rain 2015

Jackie Reeves, our beloved yoga teacher and manager of Sukhasana Yoga and Pilates Studio since 2009, has already written up and posted the November schedule. It is packed with inspiring variety, both in classes and time slots. Check out our group FB page for schedule updates November through April, the high season. Jackie is also our GM for Healings Winds during the high season and she Rocks! Check out the “More Info” button on Healing Winds Holistic Center from our Home page to view all four studios, the courtyard and more!

Outdoor Living in Baja

As summer nears its end, our summer projects at UBL Designs are wrapping up with artisans applying the final tiles, paint and carefully detailed hand crafted touches. Kitchen tiles, pebbled walkways, bright and cheerful bedroom and bathroom additions with sparkling side or skylights - to name a few - await the arrival of friends and clients who have been away all summer, entrusting us to work on their homes while they spend summers in cooler climates up north or overseas.

UBL Designs, previously known as Vos en Construction, has been one of the premier builders in the East Cape since 1991. Over the years, we have designed and built one of a kind custom homes, remodels, additions, provided design consulting for interiors – providing creative solutions to projects in progress that sometimes reach a halt when owners reach the “how do we finish this project” phase, as well as, created outdoor living areas that feel like a home in themselves. We have witnessed and been part of the boom, then recession in the East Cape building industry, and worked through all the places in between. Builders have come, some have stayed, some have gone. When asked who is our competition these days, my reply and opinion stands: there is no competition or comparison. Every designer, architect, engineer, builder, contractor – we all have our own style and philosophy in our design-build practice. The East Cape attracts an eclectic group of people from all over the world. For each living area to be created, either indoor or outdoor, there is a designer and builder perfectly suited for you.

June afternoon with family and friends 2014

However, due to our knowledge and experience, full time living in the East Cape for over two decades myself - all four seasons in each year, longer for my husband and business partner who was born and raised in Buena Vista, there is an area we love and are expanding within: designing and building Outdoor Living Areas. Our artisans are expert craftsman, patient, detail oriented and have worked with us for years, one of them for as long as the company has been around. Our team is set and ready to move forward!

In Baja, outdoor living is available and enjoyable year round. Whether you are relaxing or entertaining, surround yourself with greenery, the sky above, water and mountains beyond. Bring the indoors out and the outdoors in. Indoor-Outdoor Living is about creating seamless design as you move from one area to the next during your daily living. To share different ideas and inspirations for how we can create the perfect Outdoor Living Area for you and yours, UBL Designs will be hosting a Winter Garden and Outdoor Living Area Tour - January 6, 2016. Mark your calendars, hold the date and stay tuned for more details about the tour.

Home

Before the onset of gentle summer rain and downpours of this past season, Javier and I had agreed to thin out our yard. Less is more. We started a conversation and practice during our summer vacation in Oaxaca years ago, committing to the simplification of our lives. A conversation, intention and practice that is part of our every day. Some days we do better than others. All of our gray water from showers, lavatory sinks and washing machine is immediately used to water our plants. Our home is sited on the higher elevation of our yard, making all gray water runs easy to direct. The only water that goes to our septic system is black water from toilets and kitchen sink. We did attempt years ago to re-use kitchen sink water. A year and half into the experiment, hot and humid air, smell and… let’s connect this line to the septic, now! Living in the desert where water is scarce, all our plants are hearty, many live off gray water, most of them are volunteers – desert plants, as well as flowers, and trees. We started with a few and the multiplication began. The last four years have provided wetter summers than I can remember, this one taking the prize. Seeing all the purple flowers in bloom and the trees turn into a jungle this summer, not only inspired our ten year old daughter to suggest we get monkeys, but for us to leave all the plants as they are, blooming, a little buggy and definitely overflowing. While this might not work for another, it works for us. Our home will be one of the eight Winter Garden and Outdoor Living Areas on the tour. Every one of them - unique, beautiful and livable.

Purple flowers and Chappy the mystery dog, Fall morning 2015

To all our friends returning to Baja for Fall, Winter and Spring – Welcome Home! See you in the studio, hopefully on the tour, on the beach, next door, around town and at Chapito’s, for sure!

Kindly, Tehroma

Home and summer's end 2015