When your dog barks at other dogs you pass on the trail, he may be giving the other dog an invitation to play. Dogs are social creatures; and since so many of them live in one-dog households, the chance to interact with other dogs is very exciting. Some dogs bark to say, “Hey, I want to meet or play with you. NOW! NOW! NOW!” Puppy barking frequently falls into this category. These barks are generally high pitched, and are often accompanied by wagging “propeller tails,” loose or wiggly body language, play bows and jumping.

Ask those dog owners who would like to interact with your dog to wait for calm, quiet behavior from your dog before greeting to avoid reinforcing the behavior. If your dog strains at the leash when you pass other dogs and barks non-stop at the dog, you are probably pulling the leash taut and transferring your tension, stress and fear down the leash to the dog. Now the dog feels he is the pack leader and has to defend both of you. The barking ramps up even more; and soon you find yourself dreading walking or meeting other dogs. A dog who knows you are the pack leader and who walks beside you — not in front will be less likely to have fear or defensive barking at other dogs.

You need to train your dog to look at you with the “watch me” command to distract your dog as you approach another dog. First encounters with a friendly dog should just be “walk-bys” several times with the emphasis on getting your dog to look at you and away from the other dog with a treat lure and sounds. Once you consistently have your dog’s attention, you can advance to having your dog sit quietly at your side as the dog passes. After this stage you can allow your dog to sniff and greet the other dog while keeping the leash loose.

Enjoy a well-mannered dog that is an asset to your family. Invest in training to transform your dog into the best friend you have always wanted.

Call Jean Cary for an evaluation and a customized training program for your dog.

— Jean Cary, Jean Cary Interiors

To find the solutions to your home dilemmas, give Jean a call: of (650) 593-9622

Do the windows in your home allow so much sunlight into the interior that some of the rooms have an unpleasant glare? Are there high decorative windows and skylights that allow the sunlight to directly hit your flooring and furnishings? Ultra-violet (UV) rays can cause color changes in art, fabrics, paint and wood in just three months. Fix the problem now before the damage occurs. Luminette® and Silhouette® window shades from Hunter Douglas will preserve the view while blocking 99% of the UV rays. Another alternative is to apply tinted window film to the problem windows for about $13 per square foot. Window film can also be applied on a custom made window (stained glass) to prevent the glass from shattering in case of an earthquake. I often recommend window film on the sidelights of a front door as physical deterrent to burglary.

Consider upgrading from mini-blinds and cheap vertical blinds. These blinds are installed in many new homes, but after five years the vanes bend, the cords break, and they become a nuisance to clean. Dangling drapery and shade cords become a dangerous attraction to children and pets. Investing in shades or shutters with lifetime warranties are a smart option. If your house includes children or pets you should consider the many shades available with cordless adjustments or with wireless remote controls. How wonderful it is to punch a button and have a whole wall of shades raise or lower! If you have tall windows or an unsightly view, installing top down bottom up shades will allow the light to come in the top of the window and still provide privacy to the occupants of the room. Vignette® fabric Roman shades roll up into a 4” head rail to completely clear the glass and create an updated look for sliders and large windows.

— Jean Cary, Jean Cary Interiors

To find the solutions to your home dilemmas, give Jean a call: of (650) 593-9622

When your parents or older friends and relatives are visiting (or moving in with you), you can make several modifications to your home’s interior to make everyone more comfortable. Changes in visual acuity, upper body strength and balance can make negotiating stairs, getting up from a soft chair or sofa, and getting in and out of bathtub or showers difficult for older adults. These are all places for potential falls. Let’s examine three areas of the home where quick upgrades will yield the most benefits.

Guest Room:

A separate space for your guests that’s away from the bustle of your household will give everyone more privacy. Provide a comfortable upholstered chair for reading with good lighting, because reading in bed can be uncomfortable for many people. The chair should have a firm seat cushion and arms to make it easier to get out of. A storage ottoman on wheels can do multiple duty as a place to put bed linens, set a suitcase, sit on to dress and to prop up feet on while reading. Check to see if the window coverings are due for a cleaning or replacement. Dust-collecting fabric drapes and mini-blinds can be replaced with cordless shades or shutters to decrease allergens in the room. A hard floor surface rather than carpet makes it easier to negotiate with a walker or to roll a wheelchair. Placing a large area rug under the bed that extends about 30″ around the bed’s perimeter makes a cozy spot for bare feet to land first thing in the morning.

Bathroom:

Changes here can benefit the entire family. Replace your toilet with a “comfort height” toilet with an elongated seat. These toilets’ seats are about 19″ high and much easier to use as hips stiffen with age. These toilets come in low flow and dual flush models from Kohler and Toto. Grab bars can be installed without replacing the tile when you use the Securemount Anchor series from Moen. These should be placed for ease of entering and exiting the shower and the bath tub. A grab bar near the toilet can also be used as a towel rack. Install an occupancy sensor in the bath that will turn the light on when someone enters the room and turn off the light when motion is no longer detected. Using wireless remote controls for a shade on a window above the tub prevents the awkward stretching for a cord.

Main Living Areas:

Install motion detectors at the top and bottom of the stair landings which will turn on lights to illuminate the stairs as someone enters that space. Individual battery operated LED lights can be mounted on the sides of the stair wall near the tread level for only about $10 each. These lights can be controlled wirelessly by the motion detector to avoid electrical work that cuts into the drywall. Provide comfortable seating for all ages with firm seat and back cushions on upholstered furniture. An upholstery shop will replace a sofa seat cushion for about $75. Consider replacing a worn occasional chair with a motorized recliner. They are available in many design styles and fabrics to coordinate with your current furnishings and have the advantage of infinite positioning for different height individuals. If your beige walls and neutral furnishings look dated, you may want to use a new color scheme to breathe life into your rooms. Non-allergenic paint like Benjamin Moore Aura will dry in two hours and not smell like you just painted when the guests arrive. Enjoy your guests, knowing the improvements you’ve made will be enjoyed by the entire household for years to come.

— Jean Cary, Jean Cary Interiors

To find the solutions to your home dilemmas, give Jean a call: of (650) 593-9622

When stores started selling their wares on the Internet several years ago, they opened a Pandora’s box. Customers are now faced with so many options that they can easily feel overwhelmed and suffer “paralysis by analysis”. I have clients who delayed starting a remodeling project for twelve years because they had the misconception they could save time and money by doing all the planning and shopping themselves. They spent hours perusing the web and became thoroughly confused about what was a good investment, which products were reliable long term and where to begin the project. All they discovered was that the task was too daunting to undertake without professional experienced guidance.

Shopping on the Internet doesn’t save money unless you consider that all your time is of no value. Mistakes in Internet purchases can be difficult and costly to resolve. Some companies don’t even have a phone number on their website for customer assistance! The customer is responsible when they order a product in the wrong size. This can be a major dilemma when measuring for window treatments or not considering the clearance for the swing of the door on an appliance when it is installed in cabinetry. Then there is the problem of tracking the product from purchase to delivery and installation-all without damage to the product or the home. The California Board of Equalization now requires the consumer to retro-actively pay sales tax on all out of state Internet purchases, so there isn’t even any saving in sales tax. When a customer shops for furniture, appliances and plumbing fixtures on the Internet they are unable to sit on the product, test its’ functionality or judge its’ quality.

Working with a designer keeps the customer from being overwhelmed with choices and decisions. Designers guide their clients towards durable products and companies with proven track records of excellent customer service. Often making a slightly larger investment in the initial purchase will yield a product with a history of lower maintenance and better warranty service. After all, doesn’t everyone want the dollars they spend today to provide years of pleasure and worry-free maintenance in their home?

What happened to the clients who delayed their remodeling project for years? Within weeks of hiring a decorator, they had a team that included an architect and a contractor who transformed their wishes into a specific floor plan with detailed attention to their needs for storage as well as dedicated spaces for music and video gaming. Now they can proceed with confidence to build their “forever “ home.

— Jean Cary, Jean Cary Interiors

To find the solutions to your home dilemmas, give Jean a call: of (650) 593-9622

Everyone knows that interior painting in the winter usually means days of leaving a window cracked to ventilate the space, dry the paint and eliminate the odor. Now there is a paint that will speed of the time of the project and eliminate these hassles.

Benjamin Moore, the leader in top quality environmentally beneficial paints, has two products that are ideal non- allergenic paints. Aura™, a latex paint with color lock technology, has waterborne colorants and a built-in primer. The biggest benefit of using Aura™ is that it has virtually no odor or irritating volatile compounds to pollute the air, which makes this an all around ideal performer for every room in the house. When the speed of the completion of the job is paramount this paint is preferred as it dries quickly and allows recoating in an hour. The walls will be completely dry in four hours and the paint surface can be scrubbed without removing any color. This is a wonderful benefit in hallways and children’s rooms. Painters love the ease of application and coverage (one coat will hide the deepest color without bleed through) and the ability to clean up with just soap and water. Aura™ is available in a variety of finishes (matte to satin) for both interior and exterior applications and is available in the entire palette of the Benjamin Moore colors on request. Other brands of paint have more water and a lower concentration of colorants, so they will not cover as well, the colors won’t be true and the walls won’t hold up to scrubbing.

For hospitals, spas, schools, bathrooms and assisted living facilities, Benjamin Moore Eco Spec Silver™ paint is the best choice. The elemental silver is an anti-microbial additive that extends the life of the paint by controlling the deterioration caused by mold and mildew. It doesn’t have any VOC’S (volatile organic compounds) and can also be cleaned up with soap and water.

To view photos of room settings using these paints and get inspired for your project, go to my website: www.jeancaryinteriors.com and click on the Color Consultations page.

— Jean Cary, Jean Cary Interiors

Imagine the convenience of controlling the reading lamps at your bedside, as well as the ceiling cans and the pendant lamps on your dresser, with a single control.

Universal design technology is available now with the Maestro¨ sensor/dimmer from Lutron¨. The clear channel radio frequency of the remote only communicates with lighting fixtures or motorized window coverings, so there’s no interference from a TV remote or cell phone. The best feature of the Maestro¨ is that installation doesn’t require cutting into the drywall or replacing existing light fixtures. The control keypad (about 2″ by 4″) can be mounted anywhere on the wall, on a stand, on a horizontal surface, or just be left loose on a counter. Now the controls that turn lights on and off, adjust dimmers and set pre-set lighting scenarios can be conveniently placed for easy accessibility for children or for wheelchair-bound persons.

Since there isn’t any hard wiring, the control panel can be relocated with ease. Wireless controls can communicate with all the lights in the house with a single keypad. Who cares if the porch light is on when you get into bed? Just turn it off using the keypad on your nightstand.

Precisely controlling the light levels in a room provides illumination that is appropriate to the task while conserving energy. The universal design of the control keypad requires a single tap to illuminate a lamp. A double tap turns up the light to maximum brightness; and another single tap turns the light off.

If you are frustrated with searching for a wall switch in a dark room, you can install a motion sensor that illuminates the room to the appropriate light level gradually when someone enters the room. The same sensor will turn off the lights at a pre-set time interval after the room is vacated. This will eliminate tripping over furniture and rugs.

Another luxurious feature of a wireless control is the use of the keypad to raise and lower motorized shades to adjust the natural light level in the room. One motor can pull up to six shades, and existing window coverings can be retro fitted to incorporate this feature. One keypad can speak to as many as nine devices.

Say, “Goodbye” to dangling drapery cords and to lamps left turned on all night!

— Jean Cary, Jean Cary Interiors

Once the children have moved out and retirement is on the horizon, it’s time to consider adjustments to the house that make it more livable. Adaptations to the floor plan or the room arrangements can create a home better suited to a lifestyle of leisure and the pursuit of hobbies. Consider each room and decide whether it has the design flexibility for a home with fewer occupants.

Sometimes it is necessary to create multi-functional spaces in a small footprint. In small spaces such as powder rooms or closets, the use of pocket doors is a good way to gain more floor space and to allow for easy accessibility for persons using walkers or wheel chairs. The dining room and living room can be separated by a sliding pocket or glass barn door so that the dining room can be used as a private study when the owners aren’t entertaining. Frosted glass doorways allow light to penetrate the interior spaces without sacrificing privacy. Pocket doors can also close off one wing of a home for privacy or sound reduction.

Another way to free up floor space is to employ built-in window seats for seating and storage. If the window bay is deep enough, the upholstered bench can also accommodate overnight guests. Cozy seating areas with views to the outside create private retreats within a larger space.

Be conscious of sight lines within the house that improve the view and allow the natural light to penetrate the interior spaces. This will reduce the demand for artificial lighting. When the upper cabinets in the kitchen are eliminated, large windows can be installed which extend from the countertop to the ceiling to provide unobstructed views of the outside. Adding skylights or clerestory windows to vent warm summer air will minimize the use of air conditioning.

A single piece of custom made furniture that has multiple functions can transform a room. For example, a freestanding headboard can be a room divider. When it is constructed with an 18” depth, the headboard can accommodate pull out nightstands and bedside lighting on the front, storage cabinets under the mattress and built-in drawers on the reverse side. One sleek piece of furniture can replace several bureaus and two nightstands!

A home’s design should reflect the owners’ passions and provide inspiration for the next stage of life. Does yours?

— Jean Cary, Jean Cary Interiors

As the Baby Boomers and their parents age, the interest in universal barrier-free design for the interior of homes is skyrocketing. Whether you are recuperating from surgery or adapting your home for an elderly relative now is the time to explore the avenues for making alterations to your current home to allow your family to comfortably age in place. Accessible design has moved beyond clunky looking grab bars and industrial looking finishes to well-planned living environments that are bright, open and adaptable for the future needs of family members.

Since many of the problems with limited mobility after an injury can complicate the use of a regular bathroom, a few changes now can pay big dividends in the future. Designing the entry to a shower so the door is flush with the floor and eliminating the step up removes any barrier to entering with a walker, cane, and wheel chair or with an injured extremity. In some instance the doors can be removed completely if the showerhead placement is well planned. Kohler makes attractive contemporary grab bars with a variety of finishes that can double as towel bars. If you have a tub/shower unit, entrance into the tub can be facilitated with a Sonaris reclining bath chair lift. Once the chair completes its descent into the tub, the relining back can be adjusted with a hand held control. This battery operated lift has multi-position suction feet, which provide maximum stability as they adjust to the curve of the tub. This lightweight durable design will support up to 300 lb. There is still enough room to shower in front of the lift without removing it. Lever handles on the faucets and doors provide ease of operation for those with hand injuries or arthritis. When replacing the toilet, select a 19-chair height model which is more comfortable for adults than the standard height toilets. Finish the bathroom with slip resistant flooring installed over radiant heat and a new set of luxurious towels.

— Jean Cary, Jean Cary Interiors

To find the solutions to your home dilemmas, give Jean a call: of (650) 593-9622

Do the windows in your home allow so much sunlight into the interior that some of the rooms have an unpleasant glare? Are there high decorative windows and skylights that allow the sunlight to directly hit your flooring and furnishings? Ultra-violet (UV) rays can cause color changes in art, fabrics, paint and wood in just three months. Fix the problem now before the damage occurs. Luminette® and Silhouette® window shades from Hunter Douglas will preserve the view while blocking 99% of the UV rays. Another alternative is to apply tinted window film to the problem windows for about $13 per square foot. Window film can be applied on a custom made window (stained glass) to prevent the glass from shattering in case of an earthquake; and it also is a physical deterrent to burglary.

Consider upgrading from mini-blinds. Mini-blinds are installed in many new homes, but after five years the vanes bend, the cords break, and they become a nuisance to clean. Dangling drapery and shade cords become a dangerous attraction to children and pets. Fortunately there are many shades available with cordless adjustments or with a motorized remote control option. If you have tall windows or an unsightly view, installing top down bottom up shades will allow the light to come in the top of the window and still provide privacy to the occupants of the room. Vignette® fabric Roman shades roll up into a 4” head rail to completely clear the glass and create an updated look for sliders and large windows.

If your wall-to-wall carpet or hardwood flooring has faded and you are not going to replace it, consider adding a punch of color with a runner or an area rug that will hide the imperfections. Make sure to use the correct pad between the area rug and the carpet to prevent abrasion of the carpet and further wear.

— Jean Cary, Jean Cary Interiors

To find the solutions to your home dilemmas, give Jean a call: of (650) 593-9622