Q: We live where it's hot and dry all year long. I've observed that most of my neighbors try to block out the heat by using heavy drapes and sometimes even dark colors; however, we moved here to enjoy the climate.

Are there smarter ways to cope with the sun and heat when decorating?

A: First thought: Learn from those neighbors who are already veterans of the climate. Remember the Indian proverb, "Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun." The natives knew better.

Indeed, there are other — maybe even clever — decorating methods to manage sun and heat. The operative idea is to use materials that block the sun as well as enhance the illusion of cool. Investigate window films that keep out the UV rays, which heat up your rooms and damage furniture, rugs and works of art. A number of companies offer films, such as 3M, Sola UV and Vista.

Applied by professionals, the film does its work without significantly changing the color of your view; you can afford to lighten up on the draperies. The pictured room is a paean to cool, with tall, lightly dressed windows, white furniture and uncluttered expanses of bare and beautiful wood-look flooring. "Dark Oak," a laminate by Pergo (www.pergo.com), promises to withstand the most taxing of conditions.

Q: Ever hear of "Burger King" design?

A: Customization, also known as the "have-it-your-way" movement, was the popular word at the recent High Point Furniture Market in North Carolina. It's the furniture industry's hopeful answer to the economic downturn. When housing starts to tank, can the furniture industry be far behind?

Furniture experts have decided to let the home decorator custom-design sofas, chairs, beds and other items to individual specifications. It's an enormous shift in position for manufacturers, who until recently operated only off minimum orders — you had to purchase by the truckload before they'd even open their order books.

Minimum orders are a thing of the past. Almost the entire industry is now eager to satisfy individual needs in terms of height and length, seating depth and styles for frames and fabrics. Your interior designer can also command custom-built items at regular retail prices.

Even high-end manufacturers like French Heritage (www.frenchheritage.com) will adjust their gorgeous French cherry dining table to almost any size that suits your sit-down requirements. Hickory Chair (www.hickorychair.com) is offering its "Milo Series" in a half-dozen sizes and 50 different finishes — some 8 million options altogether.

Perhaps the most innovative manifestation of the new "your way" attitude is LaneVenture's "Private Couture" collection (www.laneventure.com) by mega-talent Raymond Waites. You choose among l0 different sofa silhouettes and three "cuddles" (oversized chairs), and Waites (or his local surrogate) will combine fabrics to your individual taste.

We saw Waites at work during Market, leaning over a hot drawing board. He was trying different combinations of fabrics in order to find the right blend to suit the wants of a home decorator, which is definitely not what next-door neighbor Ms. Smith already has in her home.

Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Hampton Style" and associate editor of Country Decorating Ideas. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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