southwestern design q&a

design underfoot

Get floor-to-ceiling hints for authentic Southwestern appeal, plus learn how a classic architectural element saves water in style.
Edited by Alicia Kellogg
Photograph by Robert Reck

This article first appeared in Spring II 2008 Su Casa

Southwestern flooring fix
Q: I’m building a Pueblo style home in Grand Junction, Colorado. We’re doing a tile floor, and I was wondering if you know of a source in northern New Mexico or southern Colorado for small decorative Southwestern tiles.
—Susan Gamble, Grand Junction, Colorado

A: When considering decorative tiles to complement Southwestern decor, Talavera often enters the discussion. Hand-painted Talavera tiles from Mexico are available in a wide range of patterns and colors from suppliers such as Vargas Tile Company in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. The tile is a great choice for backsplashes and other vertical surfaces, says Christine Vargas, manager of Vargas Tile Company. However, Talavera is not as strong as other tile, so it is not the recommended material for an expanse of flooring. A better choice for covering the majority of a floor is Saltillo, a Mexican clay tile, or ceramic floor tile, Vargas says.

You can add style to your flooring design by incorporating Talavera as a border or as accents among these heartier tiles. Vargas suggests thinking about the traffic in your home when planning where your Talavera accents will go. Place the Talavera in areas where you aren’t constantly stepping, she says, such as near baseboards.

Vargas Tile Company sells presealed Saltillo tile. After your tile is installed, grouted, and cleaned, Vargas says you can restore the tile’s shine with an acrylic floor sealer. How often you apply this finish will depend on the wear and tear your floor endures, she says, but you could typically plan to use the sealer every three months. The tile is a resilient surface and can be washed with a good-quality cleaning product, Vargas adds. She notes that concrete is a better base for a tile floor than wood, which shifts and can cause the grout to crack more quickly.

When it comes to creating a tile design for your home, Vargas Tile Company recommends starting with solid tiles—“That’s what you can live with the longest,” Vargas says—and mixing in patterned pieces. If you are in the Taos area, Vargas suggests coming in to the store, where you can receive help designing your layout. The company’s website features the majority of the tile in the store, Vargas says, and you can place orders online. The site’s Create-A-Layout feature allows you to preview your design on-screen before you buy.

Advice from Christine Vargas, Vargas Tile Company

Q:I have a love-hate relationship with our brick floor. It looks fabulous when newly sealed, but the time and frequency involved in doing that doesn’t seem to be paying off. In addition, problems are developing. There are black and white spots—some in moister areas like around the dishwasher but others for no obvious reason. Also, there is some other fading-type discoloration in a large section, accompanied by some chipping. For the last five years, I have been using an acrylic sealer. The house is about 30 years old, and I assume the bricks are also. Shouldn’t they last a lifetime? I need advice on solving the problems and the real best way to care for brick. —Judy Reuter, Albuquerque

A: Brick floors give Southwestern homes traditional appeal and provide thermal mass in passive solar home designs. Unlike many flooring choices, however, bricks’ porous surface makes them more prone to complications than other materials. Maintenance woes and damage often arise as a result of products applied to the surface of the bricks. “The bricks themselves are more or less indestructible,” says Douglas Ring, owner of Ring Brick Floors, a flooring contractor specializing in brick and stone, and creator of Ring Brick Floor products. But when bricks are coated with plastic, the plastic can trap moisture, leading to long-term problems such as discoloration and fading, Ring explains.

If a brick floor suffers damage from plastic sealers, Ring suggests stripping the floors as a solution. This is a costly procedure, he warns, although this option saves some money compared to replacing the floors. This is a specialized process that should be left to an experienced contractor, he adds.

According to Ring, a new brick floor should be treated with a sealer such as the one he developed, Ring Brick Floor Sealer, which is made with linseed oil. Avoid products that coat the surface with plastic, including acrylic sealers, polyurethane, and epoxy products, Ring says.

Care for your brick floors by washing them with water, Ring advises. Steer clear of soap, which can leave a residue. A treatment like Ring Brick Floor Keeper can be applied once every week or two as a maintenance product. This mineral oil treatment renews the surface without applying a permanent coating, he explains. Ring’s floor products are sold at local hardware stores in New Mexico. Ring also suggests Trewax Indian Sand Paste Wax, a brick-red pigment that adds color and sheen to brick floors and hides discoloration.

Advice from Douglas Ring, Ring Brick Floors

Santa Fe ceilings
Q:We own a home in Santa Fe and are overwhelmed with our wood ceilings. We have just purchased this house, and we love it but feel it could be much brighter and more welcoming. Apparently our ceilings are vigas and beams with tongue and groove. We are thinking that whitewashing the ceiling will be our best bet.
—Brie Remily, Santa Fe

A:Before altering your house in such a significant way, pause to think about your home in terms of its surroundings and historical context. Once you whitewash a ceiling, it’s difficult to go back, so consider this decision carefully. If you own a very traditional house, take into account the value of maintaining that style, suggests architect Wayne Lloyd of Lloyd & Associates Architects in Santa Fe. An adobe home with plastered walls and classic Southwestern architectural features such as corbels and vigas will likely benefit from its original wood-toned ceilings.

If, on the other hand, your home is referential of Southwestern style but more contemporary, then whitewashing might be an option to consider. This treatment can lend a striking appearance to some homes’ interiors, Lloyd says, if it’s an appropriate choice for the home.
In the Santa Fe area, wooden ceilings are typically made of pine, which is not very dark in color, Lloyd points out—dark ceilings might sport an application of stain.

Lloyd recommends involving an interior designer or architect with your decision. A professional should go to your home to see how all of the elements fit together in order to offer a complete solution for your specific circumstances, Lloyd explains. Considerations will involve the overall age of your house and its historical significance, including factors such as where your home is located.

Advice from Wayne Lloyd, Lloyd & Associates Architects

Rain check
Q:What do you call the rainwater spouts that stick out of the roof of a Santa Fe style home, and how can water be diverted from them? There must be some kind of gutter system that can be used and still maintain the home’s Pueblo look.
—Frank Sandoval, Tucson, Arizona

A: Drain spouts that protrude through a roof parapet—the low wall projecting above the roofline—are called canales. Traditionally, Southwestern homes used canales instead of guttering to divert water from the roof, according to C. E. Laird of C. E. Laird Design and Construction, an adobe home designer and builder. Canales are commonly made of wood reinforced with a metal lining.

Drainage is particularly critical when dealing with a flat (or nearly flat) roof surface, so canales remain an important feature in modern home designs. However, they are the weakest point in the roof drainage system, Laird says—most leaks occur at the canale. During heavy rains, sometimes water can’t get through canale openings fast enough, which can lead to water buildup and leakage, he warns.

Laird recommends making sure that canales receive periodic maintenance. Once a year, inspect where the roof meets the parapet to look for places where leaks could occur. To prevent canales from becoming overwhelmed with water, Laird says he often adds an opening in the parapet much wider than the canales for roof water to escape. Incorporating this opening into an overhang can shade windows and facilitate roof drainage.

Rain barrels can work with canales as both a water-conservation feature and as a means for preventing erosion near your home.

The Albuquerque-based company Arid Solutions Inc.com offers rain barrels with a wide, indented top designed for use with canales, says president Lisa Ayres, who developed the rain barrels in New Mexico. Ayres’ goal is to help people save water with a product that is attractive and easy to use. Her company is a member of Build Green New Mexico and is listed in Co-op America’s National Green Pages.

When adding rain barrels beneath your canales, Ayres recommends examining the canales during a few rainfalls. If water shoots out of the canales during hard rains, she suggests directing water to the rain barrel with a chain. Rain chains are a Japanese style, Ayres says, and you can find elaborate decorative chains for your home. However, Ayres notes that any chain will direct water to the barrel. “It doesn’t have to be an expensive fix,” she says. Place your chain from the top of the canale to within six inches from the top of the rain barrel.

When an Arid Solutions rain barrel is full, two overflow outlets near the top of the barrel allow water to escape via garden hoses to plantings or trees, for example, or to additional barrels. Besides utilizing the rainwater and keeping water on your property, the barrels direct water away from your home, avoiding erosion near the house—a common problem with canales. The water collected in rain barrels can be used for landscaping, gardening, washing your car, topping off your pool, or filling fish ponds and water features.

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority offers rainwater harvesting rebates based on the amount of water that can be stored. A rain barrel rebate also is available in Santa Fe, as well as other cities in the Southwest and across the country.

Arid Solutions’ 54-gallon, octagon-shaped rain barrels are child safe and available in multiple colors. Santa Fe Adobe, a beige-toned tan shade that blends well with stucco, is the company’s bestseller, Ayres says.

When determining the capacity you’ll need for your home, you will consider the number of barrels in relation to your roof area. Ayres explains that it takes two-thirds of a gallon of water to provide a one-square-foot area with an inch of rain. “I recommend that people put rain barrels where they need a source of water,” she says. For instance, consider where you garden or wash your car. The entire system doesn’t have to be installed all at once, she adds. Additional barrels can be added to your home later.

Arid Solutions Inc.com sells its rain barrels through its website and ships nationwide. The company’s products also are sold at Just Sprinklers in Albuquerque.

Advice from C. E. Laird, C. E. Laird Design and Construction; and Lisa Ayres, Arid Solutions Inc.com

Expert contact info:
Southwestern flooring fix: Christine Vargas, manager, Vargas Tile Company, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, 575/758-5986, vargastile.com.
Douglas Ring, owner, Ring Brick Floors, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, 505/891-0943.
Santa Fe ceilings: Wayne Lloyd, AIA, president, Lloyd & Associates Architects, Santa Fe, 505/988-9789, lloyd-architects.com.
Rain check: C. E. Laird, owner, C. E. Laird Design and Construction, Albuquerque, 505/898-6878, lairdadobe.com.
Lisa Ayres, president, Arid Solutions Inc.com, Albuquerque, 505/281-7664 or 866/629-RAIN (7246), aridsolutionsinc.com.