Home Changes To Make In Winter (For A Cool & Comfortable Summer Ahead)

There’s nothing quite like the heat of an Aussie summer, and with one imminently due in a few months (same thing every year); you’ll want to ensure that your home is a cool sanctuary where you can chill out.

What better time to prepare your accommodation and check out some interior ideas, than now, during the chilly months that you’ll be spending inside on the sofa more often. Aside from regular cold showers, or sitting in your freezer; there are some things that you can prepare and do now, to keep your house at a tolerable temperature come summer. The following are some tips for those who want to take steps towards a comfortable, breezy summer time this year in their family’s household.

A Cool Colour Palette

Let’s start with your most powerful tool, your brain. If your mind is telling your that you’re in a cool environment, then you are more likely to feel cool. Therefore, choose wisely when it comes to the colours and pattern choices within your home. Winter is the perfect time to utilise the hours you’re spending inside, and to bring out your paint brushes and paint. Your interior design will have a significant impact on how you are feeling and how cool your home feels, so keep a calm and serene space in mind when it comes to painting your walls and choosing your decor. You’ll still be able to cosy-up with a blanket and some scented candles during the chilly evenings, making your environment perfect for all seasons.

Pale and pastel shades create a breezy environment, so if you love a certain colour, then make sure it’s a toned down and powdery version. Pastel yellow, blue and sage green will make a fresh addition to your home, and won’t have the warming and sometimes, claustrophobic effect that deep hues like reds and burgundies do. See how Colour Can Affect The Mood Of A Room and learn more about your choices. Keep patterns minimal; the busier the print, the more it will close a space in and give it the feeling of cozy heat (the opposite of what you want in the summer). You can bring in patterns with texture, like raised jacquard cotton fabrics, in neutral tones. You can still add bursts of lively hues, with your soft furnishings and interior accessories; but, an overall light and neutral palette on your walls will help your environment feel as cool as possible when you come inside from the sun.

White is an excellent choice when it comes to a crisp and fresh interior feeling; white walls and ceiling will reflect the light, and therefore, will not absorb any unwanted heat. Keeping your large items of furniture, like tables, sofas, and wardrobes light in colour will enhance an open and breezy feel to a room. Be mindful of how the colours you pick will impact the space around you; you don’t have to be boring, just be inventive with you choices. Take a look here for some fresh, neutral interior design ideas, and spark your creativity. Pick shades that will evoke feelings of fresh and cool environments, and you’ll have a breezy home to relax in, in no time.

Open Up Your Space

If you feel that a cool colour palette won’t help your environment all on it’s own in the summer months; it might be time to consider the layout of your home, and start making some changes during the winter. Start with the furniture; see if the larger pieces are making the space feel close-in and claustrophobic at all. If so, consider rearranging your key pieces to open up each room and allow the air to flow with more freedom throughout the space. Ensure that you can enter a room with ease, and get around the space without much effort; again, this will have a psychological effect, and if the space feels airy, the temperature will feel manageable also.  

Another step would be to physically open up your home by knocking down a wall or two and creating larger living areas for your family to reside within. A free flowing, open-plan living area will allow you and your family to move around the house with more freedom, let more light into each space, which will result in a cooler feeling during summer.

Allowing the outside breeze from nature into your home is another way to keep it cool on hotter days. Installing floor to ceiling patio doors and windows, that can be opened with ease, is the perfect way to connect your interior with your outdoor environment. By having enough natural ventilation at home, you’ll be able to cool off in the shade of your living space, while you still enjoy any summer breezes that may head your way on a summer’s afternoon. It might be worth calling on the help of an expert to come and advise you on what doors would best suit your home, and how they could improve the environment; you can take a look here to see the sort of things that are available in the Australian market.

Shield Your Home From The Outside In

It’s not just your interior space that can have an impact on the quality of your living environment, and its temperature; the exterior of your home can be modified to help you cool down the summer coming and for the following summers ahead. You’ll want to deter as much heat as possible from being soaked up by your house, so painting it a light shade, will ensure that the sunlight bounces off your home’s exterior and isn't absorbed into the house. Pick a dry weekend, pop a sweater on, and pull out the paint from the garage; not only will you be prepping for the incoming weather, you’ll be adding some serious curb appeal to your home too.

Another savvy technique to keep your home cool is to consider residential tinting for your windows and any door glass that you have. Aside from increasing the privacy of your home; tinted and UV-resistant windows will ensure that the glare and heat from the sun are kept to a minimum in your interior space, so your family will be able to cool off when they walk through the front door. Tinted windows also ensure that you can save on your heating bills this winter, as they retain the temperature inside the house; making them the perfect every-season addition to your property. It’s worth tinting every large are of glass that allows light and heat to penetrate your home so that you won’t be dreading the hot season when it arrives.

Ensuring that all of your exterior windows and doors are secure and well maintained will also prevent and cool air from escaping your home; so invest in professional assistance to come and check for any problem areas. External window and patio coverings are also a smart idea; they will add an extra layer of shade to your home and will make the perfect space to sit under outside and enjoy a cool drink.

Invest In Your Airflow

An efficient solution to the problem of your house overheating is to invest in air conditioning and quality electrical fans to cool your living space. Hiring a professional company to come and fit interior air conditioners throughout your home now, during winter, will ensure that you can walk through the door and cool off immediately after a long hot day when summer arrives, or post-commuting from the office. If having air-con throughout your interior isn’t an option; consider investing in the most frequented areas of the home.

Think about where your family hang out the most and pop your cooling machines in the environment so that everyone can reap the benefits. If sleeping during the heat is a real problem for you and certain members of the family, perhaps you could introduce air con upstairs, on the landing, or in individual bedrooms.

There are an array of fans on the market too; look into which ones would best improve your space and invest now, before the peak fan season hits and prices go up. Stocking up on your home’s coolers will save you money during the summer months when everyone will be flocking to purchase items that will help them to cool down. Check out The Good Guys Fan Buying Guide to help you choose the right items for your environment, whatever your tastes and budget are.

Creative Life Hacks

The little things around your home, and that are part of your everyday life can have a major impact on how cool you feel throughout the summer. Therefore, it’s worth making a list as you sit snuggled up on your sofa during the winter, of all the little hacks to try when summer gets here. Your bedroom and bed are meant to be a calm sanctuary, where you can drift off to sleep and not somewhere you feel suffocated and sweaty each night; therefore, you should invest in cool cotton sheets and bedding made from natural fibres that won’t overheat you. Popping your sheets in the freezer (in a bag) thirty minutes before you plan to go to bed, is another hack to help cool you down on stuffy nights.

You can utilise that fan you bought earlier, and put a large bowl of ice in front of it; the air that the fan moves forward into your space will be nice and chilly, giving you a cooling sea breeze inside your interior space. Lastly, try to focus on your body’s temperature, over the temperature of your surroundings. Stay hydrated with icy drinks and wearing loose-fitted cotton clothes, will help to ensure that you’re comfortable as you move around your home during the summer, and your interior design will merely enhance how you’re already feeling.

If you think about keeping cool now, and invest in the things that will help your home remain colder during the hot season sooner rather than later; you’ll look forward to returning home to a fresh and cool environment at the end of each day. Use your winter wisely, and prepare for that beautiful summer sunshine that’s on the way!

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This is a contributed post written for WhimMagazine.com