HEAT OF THE MOMENT

Q: What colour should I

paint my house to reflect

heat? Are there any

specific paint products

that help with this?

A: When looking at paint

colours, remember light

hues will help to reflect

the sun’s rays, while dark

colours tend to absorb it.

We recommend you try

prospective paint colours

on your walls before selecting your final

colour, as your light levels, material

substrate and colour-matching apps

can make a hue look different.

IT COULD BE CURTAINS

Q: What window treatments do you

recommend to help me regulate

temperatures in my house?

A: A lot of products will help you to

maintain the temperature in your house,

so do your research and speak to

experts about what is available. But first

decide if you’d prefer a curtain or blind,

and then speak to installers about what

they would recommend. If you choose

curtains, a thick material may seem

a good option, but this will also affect

how well it hangs, so a medium-density

fabric with a good lining is a better way

to go. There is a lot of innovation in

blinds, especially, that will help to

regulate your home’s temperatures.

For example, blinds such as Luxaflex

Duette Shades come in a variety of

fabrics designed to control your solar

heat with a honeycomb-like structure,

helping to keep your home cool in

summer and warm in winter.

STEP ON IT

Q: What fashionable flooring choices will

be warm in winter and cool in summer?

A: You need to take the material’s

thermal mass into account. Products

such as flooring tiles and the concrete

slab are high in thermal mass, so,

although they look great, they hold

onto heat or cold for longer, which

means they need to be in the right

places (away from direct sun in summer,

or in direct sun in winter). And they

could need in-floor heating in the cooler

months. Timber, on the other hand, has

low thermal mass, so, to keep things

simple, this is what we recommend.

It’s breathable, natural and will be more

consistent throughout the seasons.

SOLAR PERPLEXUS

Q: My living room has huge windows and

a lot of sunlight, which bleaches my

upholstered furniture. What can I do to

prevent this? Are there fabrics that are

resistant to fading?

A: You bet – an array of outdoor and

tough commercial-grade fabrics can

be used to upholster interior furniture.

Check the specifications on the back

of the samples, or, even better, ask the

fabric supplier which ones are fade-

resistant to ensure you find the right

product. The good news is there is a lot

of stylish fade-resistant fabric on offer.

BLIND AMBITION

Q: Without doing a full-scale reno, I can’t

change my home’s orientation – are

there any other passive climate control

tricks to help with heating and cooling?

A: Identify where the heat or cold is

coming from. Then make sure it stays

outside with the help of curtains or

block-out blinds, which you can set

on timers to close when you need them

to, keeping your home’s temperatures

constant. Planting trees will also regulate

the sunlight coming into your home

• deciduous trees which lose their leaves
  in autumn will allow sunlight into your
  home in winter, while their leaves will
  offer shade in summer. Other options
  include adding double glazing, extra
  insulation or external awnings.
  SHEER GENIUS
  Q: I love the romance and elegance of
  sheer curtains, but they’re not good at
  regulating light and temperature – what
  can I do to remedy this?
  A: There’s no need to shun your beloved
  sheers. You can have the best of both
  worlds by installing another layer behind
  them, either a heavy-duty, block-out
  curtain on a second curtain track, or
  a discreet blind. Then you can operate
  them totally independently of each other,
  giving you full control of the light and
  temperature entering your room, no
  matter what the time of day. R

(^) Have a question?
Email [email protected]

Q

A

and

Keen to be green?

Interior stylists and

designers Christina

Symes and Jessica

Stewart from

We Are Triibe

answer your queries

on passive climate

control in the home

photography

tia borgsmidt (right) |

styling

mette helena rasmussen (right) |

design

sigurd larsen for the green house (right)