For those in the Bay Area looking to spruce up their living space, Yulonda Buster from Designs by Duchess provides guidance on how to get started.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A DESIGNED LIVING SPACE?
It is important to have a designed and organized living space because your home should be a place that makes you happy to be there; a place to let your hair down to breathe, relax and dance a little.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF DESIGN TO YOU?
If I had to choose only one aspect of design, the most important one would be rhythm. Rhythm is the movement of the space. It’s the way the eyes move around a room, bringing all of the individual design elements together in a cohesive fashion.
WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT DESIGNING HOUSES AND APARTMENTS?
The differences in designing an apartment versus a house would be very minimal for me. What’s important is to keep in mind and apply the principles of design as well as the elements of design. Balance, emphases, harmony, proportion, rhythm and scale, color, light, line, mass, pattern, shape, space, and texture are important to bring any space together perfectly.
My design philosophy leans more toward loud and proud; however, it depends on the lifestyle and personality of the individual and not just the living space.
WHERE SHOULD A HOMEOWNER SEARCH FOR INSPIRATION?
I recommend looking at magazines that resonate with how you want your space to be, Instagram, Pinterest, and places you’ve traveled or want to travel, just to name a few.
Yulonda Buster
Owner
Designs by Duchess
281-699-6678
www.designsbyduchess.net
ASK A ROOFER
Prosperity Roofing & Construction owner Alex Ruiz, who services the Bay Area, has some tips for ensuring the health and integrity of Houston homeowners’ roofs.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD A HOMEOWNER INSPECT THEIR ROOF?
Around the month of May they should do one inspection. ... Homeowners don’t really check their roof until they realize that something is either missing or slapping on the roof. In hurricane season, when you get the high winds and rainy days and stuff, I think it should be paid more attention.
HOW SHOULD A HOMEOWNER SAFELY INSPECT THEIR ROOF?
Well, I don’t recommend homeowners to get on their roof. Basically, just [a] visual inspection walking around the house and just looking at the shingles as close as they can from the ground.
WHAT SIGNS SHOW THE NEED FOR REPLACING SHINGLES?
By looking at your shingles you can see when the granules on the shingles are just being brittle, they’re just coming off. A lot of the times when the shingle is about to end its cycle, when it rains or you have heavy winds, it’s starting to release a lot of granules, and it’s coming down in the gutters or the side of the house. ... That’s when you know you’re getting close to the end of the life of the shingle.
Look for wind damage, I would say, all the perimeter around the house. ... Just anything that looks lifted a little bit. Sometimes the wind drifts in and then just lifts up some shingles or edge metals or even your pipe jacks or bands. Anything that just looks suspicious and lifted. ... Sometimes it looks like the shingles might be OK, but because they’re being lifted, they’re breaking under, and now the roof is actually exposed to the next heavy winds.
Alex Ruiz
Owner
Prosperity Roofing & Construction
2837 Miller Ranch Road,
Ste. 133, Pearland
832-831-9945
https://prosperity-roofing-and -construction-llc.business.site
