While everyone knows that turning on your fans and air conditioner will serve to keep your home cool, what many people don’t know is that they way you decorate and set up the interior of your home can play a big role in how often your air conditioner will need to kick on in order to cool down your home. So if you’re looking for a way to save you your monthly cooling bill, or you’re just wanting to save your air conditioner from working too hard and needing frequent repairs, here are three interior design tricks that will help keep your home cooler.
Choose The Right Window Treatments
The windows of your home are one of the biggest ways that heat can enter your space. Even if your windows themselves are closed, the heat from the sun can penetrate through your windows and cause your rooms to rise in temperature.
To combat this, Alexa Erickson, a contributor to Reader’s Digest Canada, recommends that you think strategically about the shades, blinds, or curtains that you put over your windows to help block out the maximum amount of sun. Ideally, you’ll want something that’s a little on the thicker side so that the sun’s rays won’t easily go through the material and heat up the room. You should also try to find something that is white on the side that faces your window so that it can reflect the maximum amount of light back outside rather than soaking it in.
Avoid Dark Accessories
Although most people know that it’s a bad idea to wear dark colors when they’re outside in the heat, as it will soak up the heat of the sun and cause you to get warmer, this principle can apply for the furniture and other accessories inside of your home as well.
According to Morgan Greenwald and Sarah Crow, contributors to BestLifeOnline.com, filling your rooms with lighter colored accessories will help those rooms to stay cooler than if you had decorated with darker accessories. Especially in areas where you want things to stay cool, like around your bed, choosing white or lighter colors will help keep you from overheating while you sleep.
Keep Your Floors Bare
While it can feel nice and luxurious to have thick, fuzzy rugs padding the floors of your home, these types of coverings can also cause your rooms to be warmer than they otherwise would have been on their own.
Knowing this, Katie Holdefehr, a contributor to Real Simple, advises that you keep your floors bare, especially if you have hardwood or tile floors, in order to keep the rooms feeling cooler. And, for areas where you do want or need a rug, choose one with a lower profile.
If you’ve never thought about how your decor and design choices can affect the temperature of your home, consider implementing some of the tips above to help you keep things cooler in the future.