Tackling the heat this summer

Speak of the summer heat and all those people living on the higher floors of their apartment complexes won’t sound too delighted. In fact, they are constantly looking at ways to run away from home to escape it — especially during the afternoons.

Air conditioning is definitely an option but apart from the fact that it contributes generously to the carbon footprint one leaves behind, it’s not exactly an inexpensive choice. But worry not. Even on a shoestring budget, your home can be transformed into your little hill station. Working with what you have at hand in the right manner can change your home into a much cooler place. The first thing you need to do is lay your hands on all the wooden artefacts in the house, if any, and distribute them in different rooms to keep the heat away. When asked on tricks to keep top floors cool, interior designer Sandeep Bangera says, “Wooden artefacts around the house act like an insulator, blocking the heat. Even a thick-lined curtain helps block sunlight keeping the room’s temperature lower that it is outside.”

Little stone troughs filled with water and some petals sprinkled on them keep the surrounding a little cooler than usual, giving you a better place to relax in. Little flowering plants in your rooms keep the house poised and cheerful at the same time. Water, when poured on straw mats, is very cooling and works best if spread out on the terrace above your apartment.

Interior designer Arti sud says, “Straw water coolers, used commonly in the North, are an extremely effective method of keeping rooms well-splashed.  One can also install floor fans to ensure greater air circulation at home.”

Add colours like beige, baby pink, and sky blue and even white with intricate embroidery to avoid dullness everywhere you can, in the form of curtains, painted chairs and tables and fabrics used at home like cushion covers, bedspreads and sofa covers. Heat is mainly radiated through gadgets and in a machine-centred world like ours, the simplest way to cut the heat out is by tuning into some lovely soothing music rather than let the television radiate warm waves in your little den.

And finally, don’t forget that your home needs ample cross-ventilation. So keep your doors and windows open as much as you can to allow the breeze to waft in.