Tips to Make Your Home Decor Feel Cooler
This is one hot summer out East, and we all crave a cool space to come back to after the beach. But keeping your home cool takes more than maintaining your central air, interior designers advise.
“Even with great AC, materials, color and light play a major role in how a space feels,” said Jordy Murray, founder of the design firm Friends of Form.
Psychological factors also influence the temperature we perceive in a space, added Jennifer Weisberg Cohen, owner and principal designer at JLW Interiors. “Hamptonites associate vibrant colors, natural materials and light woods with cooled-down summer decor,” she explained.
A home should be refreshing, especially in the warmer months. If yours is feeling hot and stuffy, try these tips to chill out.
Easy, Breezy Layers
Consider incorporating light, breathable materials and nature-inspired textures into your decor. Swapping out accent pillows and blankets for versions in soft, light colors and natural fabrics can make your home feel instantly “easy breezy,” said designer Gala Magriñá.
“Lightweight textiles, such as linens, help ensure that body heat does not get trapped inside the upholstery,” Weisburg Cohen said. “Sheer drapery also allows air to better circulate throughout a space.”
Natural textures like sisal or jute blends, which are popular in coastal homes, add an effortless, summer-ready vibe while subtly evoking the qualities of the agave plant from which sisal is made.
“Agave has moisturizing and anti-inflammatory properties that soothe our skin and gut, so we may unconsciously associate it with a naturally cooling sensation in a warmer climate,” Weisburg Cohen noted.
A Space That ‘Breathes’
“Cool interiors often come from thoughtful editing,” Murray said. Space out your seating, if there’s room, and clear off your surfaces, even just by removing a few dense or dark objects. “Small moments of breathing room can shift the energy of a space,” she explained.
In a physically cooler home, “fiery elements like red walls, animal prints and geometric shapes create an energetic heating effect, fostering excessive passion or activity,” Magriñá added. “Studies are showing us more and more how deeply our interiors affect us!”
Cool To The Touch
Take a cue from traditional Mediterranean homes, which mastered passive cooling long before air conditioning. “These homes [use] thick cement and stone walls that naturally stay cool,” Magriñá said. “Their layouts are intentionally designed to catch cross-breezes, allowing air to move through the space.”
If switching out your kitchen countertops isn’t in the cards, start with small accents in an endothermic material like soapstone, Weisburg Cohen suggested. “Bring in a soapstone cheese board or coasters, swap out your throw blankets and pillows for airier textiles, and incorporate accent tables that are open and allow light to pass through,” she said.
Fresh scents can help, too, added Murray. Try “a ceramic bowl of citrus on the counter,” she said. “Tiny shifts like these can make a room feel instantly lighter without changing a thing.
