Redesigning your home for summer gives you the opportunity to have fun with your home. A few simple changes can make your home feel refreshed as well as refreshing. Make your home feel fresh and cooler with these interior design ideas: Welcome to Our Haven Start with your exterior to instill the image of a cooling retreat. Provide shade to your front door. If you don't have sheltering trees, add umbrellas in heavy pots to shade the entry landing. A wall water fountain near the front door adds cooling sounds to support your sense of hearing. You can make a standing water fountain with a small pump, a container with no drainage, a water plant like the common reed, and pebbles. Deep shade and water sounds invite you to linger outdoors while promising further respite inside. Cool Down With Lighting Yes, the color of light influences the way you feel. Use white and blue iridescent accent lights. Change out your yellow-casting light bulbs with cooler daylight-mimicking light bulbs. Look for bulbs that simulate natural daylight, the healthiest light source for the human eye, with reduced eyestrain. Soften your room lighting at twilight with more light sources instead of a few bright lights. Fans, Fans, and More Fans Ceiling fans make a great addition to living room, family room, and bathroom makeovers. However, ceiling fans above dining tables cool food too soon. Use an oscillating fan that mimics tropical breezes instead. For a large dining room, try two standing oscillating fans on medium speed. Lower speeds equal less irritating motor noise while giving you cross breezes similar to Mother Nature's cooling breezes. Also, if your outdoor rooms need air circulation, use fans in your garden. Mix Up Your Furniture If you live in an area that doesn't get many summer showers, you can have fun by bringing indoor furniture outside. Set up a bed outdoors for lazy afternoon reading or napping. Move a favorite overstuffed chair outside for serious book reading. On the other hand, bring garden furniture and potted plants inside to make your home feel like a tropical vacation. Summertime, and the Living is Easy Summer relaxing means less work, right? Give yourself a break from taking care of your knickknacks and normal accessories. Rooms with fewer furnishings give you breathing room. Especially consider storing dark and heavy accessories. Take a hint from the Victorians who covered their dark landscape paintings with sheer fabrics. Exchange your darker paintings with white wood-framed mirrors during the summertime. Lighten up your colors, your accessories, and decorate your home with less. Enjoy your summer! Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher |
