Beat The Heat: 5 Stylish Ways To Stay Cool At Home

Keep your cool with these handy home design tips that will help you craft a space that helps to beat the heat

Picture this: you step out of the shower, feeling immensely refreshed, only to start perspiring five minutes later. Sounds familiar? Coupled with the humidity courtesy of our tropical location, more warm days are anticipated; according to The Straits Times, the daily maximum temperature may even average around 35 deg C on some days in July.

If you’re seeking ways to stay cool at home, these design tips will come in handy for your perennial fight against the unrelenting heat and humidity.

1. Materials matter

Above For fabrics and textiles, choose breathable fabrics like linen and cotton

Above Avoid materials such as leather and suede for furnishings such as your sofa

Materials play an important role when it comes to keeping your home cool. Surface materials like marble or porcelain tiles can dissipate heat quickly, keeping your floors cool to touch. For your upholstery and textiles, avoid materials such as leather and suede.

Instead, opt for breathable fabrics like linen, rayon, and cotton. These light and airy fabrics provide cool comfort, and often help brighten dull spaces.

2. Choose light and cool tones

Above An all-white interior, such as this living room designed by Rebecca James, can help keep temperatures cool Photo: Rich Gooding

The colour of your walls not only influences the ambience of your home, but also the temperature of the space. While darker shades like black absorb and retain heat, cool tones such as white and other pastel hues can help reflect heat.

These soothing shades also deliver a relaxed and laid-back energy to your space. To further reduce the heat that your home absorbs, you can also opt for a thermal insulation coat over your paint.

3. Get shady

Above Hunter Douglas’ Duette shades are expertly designed to diffuse light and trap heat Photo: Courtesy of Hunter Douglas

Above The versatile blinds are suitable for a variety of spaces, and can be customised according to your needs Photo: Courtesy of Hunter Douglas

While natural light can make a space look bright and inviting, letting too much sunshine in will swiftly heat things up and raise the temperature within your interiors. Innovative window treatments can help diminish the overwhelming heat and glare.

Hunter Douglas’ Duette shades, for example, feature a honeycomb structure that traps the heat in its pockets to diffuse light and shield your interiors from the sweltering heat outside. The contemporary blinds are available in various fabric types and colours that will suit a range of interior styles.

4. Get a ceiling fan or portable cooler

Photo 1 of 2 Spin's designer fans adds style to any room, whilst providing optimal airflow Image: Courtesy of Spin

Photo 2 of 2 Winner of the Red Dot Design award in 2018, the EuropAce ECO 4751V is a four-in-one air cooler Photo: Courtesy of EuropAce

Appliances such as fans, portable air conditioning units, and dehumidifiers are one of the quickest and simplest solutions to beat the heat. Ceiling fans, such as homegrown fan specialist Spin's designer pieces, are recommended as opposed to standing fans; their larger blades generate stronger drafts of wind, which offer better air circulation and coverage.

If clean air is your priority alongside staying cool, homegrown electrical appliance brand EuropAce’s ECO 4751V is ideal for you. The winner of the Red Dot Design Award in 2018, the four-in-one portable air cooler provides a refreshing respite from the heat by absorbing moisture. You can insert four ice boxes within the device for an extra cold touch to deliver better cooling capabilities.

5. Use energy-efficient lighting

Opt for LED bulbs for lighting pieces such as this Fritz Hansen Kaiser Idell table lamp by Christian Dell, from W.Atelier Photo: Courtesy of Fritz Hansen

Above Opt for LED bulbs for lighting pieces such as this Fritz Hansen Kaiser Idell table lamp by Christian Dell, from W.Atelier Photo: Courtesy of Fritz Hansen

Your choice of lighting definitely makes a difference. To bring down the temperature in a room, opt for energy-efficient lighting like LED light bulbs. These light bulbs typically last longer and use up less energy compared to traditional incandescents, which have a tendency to radiate a lot of excess heat.

Topics

decor tips decor furnishings home design