Top tips for keeping your home cool this summer
Here comes the summer, and here comes the heat. Keeping your home cool during the hot summer months not only benefits your family’s comfort, it also means you’ll rely less on expensive air-conditioning. As well as shading your home with devices like purpose-built pergolas or freestanding parasols, there are other ways of keeping your home comfortable so you can all keep a cool head.
Fix up a fan
Ceiling fans use about as much power as a 60watt light bulb making them an extremely cost-effective way of cooling down any room. Rather than actually lowering the temperature, they create a breeze, which in turn cools body temperatures. Ceiling fans can also be used in outside areas that have a covered space and will create a truly relaxing alfresco retreat. Alternatively, freestanding plug in fans will make a cute retro addition, particularly metal ones, to any space and are definitely a cheaper and more instant option.
Lower the temperature with cooling fabrics
Although summer brings a sense of revitalisation, it can also bring endless nights of broken sleep thanks to hot and clammy conditions. By changing up your bed linen for breathable fabrics, you’ll encourage a restful nights kip all summer long. Look out for natural linens, like cotton and linen, that have fantastic breathability, rather than any other fabrics containing polyester.
Pop in some greenery
It’s well known that indoor plants are natural humidifies that will improve air quality by removing horrid toxins and increasing oxygen and moisture in the air. Introduce a plant in every room, particularly the bedroom, and enjoy a rejuvenated home that’s full of charm, character and buckets of fresh air. You could also look to therapeutic plants, such as lavender, to encourage an even deeper nights rest.
Banish harsh sunlight
When windows are exposed to full sun, it’s best to keep them closed with the blinds or curtains drawn to prevent any build-up of heat. This will also stop the harsh light bleaching upholstered or timber furniture, as well as preventing any cool circulating air from escaping.
Open the windows at the right time of day
Once the sun has gone down and temperatures have dropped, you should open windows where you can. Good ventilation prevents your home from feeling stuffy, and lower night temperatures mean you’ll have a cool breeze circulating throughout the house. If you don’t have fly screens, consider hanging mosquito nets above beds to stop any unwanted nigh time visitors.
Go for cooling colours
Although it might well be in the mind, colours can create changes in our mood as they make our body respond in different ways. Take bright red for example. It can bring a feeling of invigoration and excitement, while blue can evoke a sense of coldness and calm. With this in mind, consider the colours in your home and how they make you or your guests feel. Is it time to change the palette in your bedroom to a more soothing, serene shade to encourage relaxation? White is a natural cool colour, as are frosty blues and pale greys. All these tones will work well to lower the temperature in a space and evoke a cooling response.
Written by Kate Shaw