Summer Decorating – Controlling the Heat
May 13th, 2010Air conditioning is a modern marvel that allows us to control the temperature of our homes no matter how hot it is outside. The problem is that there is a cost; monetarily, environmentally, and sometimes even to a persons health. Power guzzling machines, air conditioners soak up energy, and spew out fumes, which empty pocket books, and harm the natural world around us. They also create an unnatural environment, and humans traveling from the warmth of the outdoors, to the icy cool air of an air conditioned room, can find themselves subject to a weakened immune system and a variety of health related problems.
For these reasons, many people are returning to the wisdom of our ancestors, who, without the luxury of air conditioning, were forced to keep their homes cool using clever decorating tricks, which served to keep their indoor environments naturally temperate. By looking at the world around you in a strategic manner, it is quite possible to control it using energy efficient and relatively simple methods.
The first thing you should do is to make certain that you have thick curtains set up on all of the windows. The sun is the greatest source of heat on the planet, and in the summer, the warmth from its rays shining through the windows of your home can cause a greenhouse effect, raising the temperature by several degrees during the afternoon. By controlling the amount of sunlight that gets in you can take control of the environment, choosing how hot or how cold your rooms get.
Its not just sunlight that can affect the temperature in your home, almost any illumination can make a space feel perceptibly warmer. In the summer you should decorate in a way that minimizes the light, seeking to create soft, dimly lit spaces with cool, relaxed atmospheres. This will create an environment that feels less hot than it actually is.
Light bulbs aren’t the only things in your home giving off excess heat. Almost every electrical device that you own can contribute to the warmth in a space. That is why it is best to try and minimize their use during the summer months. If possible, wire electronics into a surge protector and turn them all the way off when not in use, to prevent them from adding to the heat of a space.
Color is another powerful way to affect the temperature of an environment. At the very basic level, white tends to reflect heat, while black tends to absorb it. Therefore using black in a summer decorating strategy is a recipe for an over heated home. On the other hand thick white curtains, pillow covers and couch cushions can help to evoke a space which is cool and serene, seeming to cast off any excess warmth which seeks to linger in their presence.
Summer decorating is a practice in controlling temperature, and taming heat, to try and create spaces which naturally feel cool and comfortable, no matter how hot out it gets. Through the use of color and light, it is possible to develop rooms which feel inherently cool and comfortable, and which facilitate a calm relaxed atmosphere all through the warmest months.
This article sponsored by PebbleZ.com’s line of illuminated onyx lamps, a unique selection of stone filtered ambient pieces that glow with quiet color and intensity. The author of this piece was Joey Pebble.
