The Washington Post - 01.08.2019

the washington post

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thursday, august

1

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2019

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BY MICHELLE BRUNNER

A cold Negroni on the porch

sounds awfully enticing — until

you open the door and are as-

saulted by a blast of muggy, op-

pressive air. High heat and hu-

midity will make even the most

nature-loving homeowner want

to stay indoors and crank up the

air conditioning until the leaves

change color.

But what’s the point of having

an outdoor space if you can’t

enjoy it during the summer? To

help make even the most misera-

ble August days a bit more bear-

able, we talked to some experts

who shared their favorite tips,

tricks and gadgets.

The first tip is the most obvi-

ous: Make it shadier. According to

Anthony Wilder, principal of An-

thony Wilder Design/Build, the

easiest and cheapest way to block

the sun is to hang a shade sail or

canopy. “It’s a simple piece of

canvas that you attach to your

home and to a pole out in the

grass,” he says. “And they’re af-

fordable. You can pick one up at

Ikea for a pittance” (Dyning cano-

py, $24.99, ikea.com).

If you’re looking for a more

high-tech solution, lifestyle ex-

pert and HGTV contributor Car-

ley Knobloch suggests the Blos-

som umbrella, a luxury parasol

that contains solar-powered

lighting, speakers and a charging

station ($7,500, shadecraft.com).

You can raise and lower it with

your smartphone, and it even

closes automatically if it senses

high wind. The company also

makes another smart parasol, the

Sunflower, that constantly alters

its position to block the sun’s rays,

so you never have to get up from

your lounge chair to readjust the

angle. The futuristic umbrella has

an even steeper price tag:

$10,000. “It knows where you live

and it automatically follows the

sun throughout the day, just like a

real sunflower,” she says. Come

fall, the brand will introduce the

Bloom + Parasol, a device that can

attach to your existing umbrella,

turning it into a smart parasol

equipped with charging station,

speakers and wind sensors at a

lower price point ($899, shade-

craft.com).

Smart shades are a tech-savvy

way to keep out the sun, if you

have a porch or a veranda. Knob-

loch used them on an HGTV

Smart Home and became such a

believer that she put them in her

own home. Made by Phantom

Screens, the motorized retract-

able screens offer both UV and

bug protection and can be raised

or lowered by remote control, so

you have the option of either an

open-air space or a screened

room (starting at $3,300, includ-

ing installation, for a 16-foot-by-

10-foot opening, phantom-

screens.com).

For an overhead shade solution

that feels more organic, Wilder

suggests building a simple arbor

structure. “Wisteria, which can

reach 30 feet after it’s established,

provides great coverage,” he says.

“Unlike a structure with a roof,

there are no leaves in the winter,

so you get sunlight and warmth

streaming through when you

need it; it’s a win-win.”

Making the air feel more com-

fortable is an ongoing challenge

when humidity is a factor. Out-

door fans can help. Knobloch

likes the Haiku outdoor ceiling

fans from the company Big Ass

Fans (from $1,494; big-

assfans.com). “They have smart

technology, they’re attractive and

they come in custom finishes that

don’t feel overly industrial,” she

says. “You set it so it kicks in at a

certain temperature, and it does a

cool, whooshing motion that em-

ulates a natural breeze.”

For homeowners or renters

with patios or decks, pedestal

fans can be a godsend. Knobloch

recommends the multidirection-

al variable speed oscillating fan

from GreenTech Environmental

($129, homedepot.com). One

more tip: If you’re tempted to

turn on the fan before you head

outside, don’t bother. Because

fans don’t actually cool the air —

instead they move air over your

skin, which makes you feel cooler

— it’s a waste to run them when

you’re not there. Along with in-

creasing your comfort level, fans

offer an added perk: Their blow-

ing air also makes it harder for

mosquitoes to land on their prey.

Wilder also offers two low-cost,

old-school tricks to keep cool that

require little more than water and

air. “Hang outdoor draperies on a

porch and wet them down with a

mist of water, then turn on a fan,”

he says. “The air will automatical-

ly feel about 15 degrees cooler,

which can make a significant

difference on a hot day.”

DIY enthusiasts can take this

heat-beating method a step fur-

ther by creating a cooling system

with products that can be found

in the hardware store, including

screw-in eye hooks and a drip or

soaker hose. Wilder suggests

screwing the hooks along the

inside perimeter of a porch sev-

eral inches above outdoor draper-

ies. “Thread the drip hose, which

has a ton of microneedle holes,

through the rings of the hooks,”

he says. “Let it gently drip water

onto the canvas while a fan is

running on the porch. It’s like a

DIY air conditioner.”

Another way to ensure outdoor

comfort is to guard against hot

surfaces. Chances are you’ve

walked barefoot across a deck or

patio and regretted it. Painting

the deck a light color can be

helpful, because lighter colors re-

flect the sun’s rays and darker

hues hold the heat. But there’s

one caveat: If that paint is oil-

based, you may wind up with a

hotter surface, even if it’s white.

“When oil-based paint is in the

sun, it gets really hot, hotter than

slate, because of its oil content.

It’s best to avoid it,” Wilder says.

For the same reason, teak, a popu-

lar material for outdoor furnish-

ings and decking, shouldn’t sit in

direct sunlight, because the wood

also has a high oil content.

The easiest fix for a hot deck or

patio? Throw down a light-col-

ored outdoor rug.

[email protected]

 Chat Thursday at 11 a.m. Jean

Brownhill, Sweeten chief executive,

joins staff writer Jura Koncius for our

weekly online Q&A on decorating and

household advice. Submit questions

at washingtonpost.com/home.

 At Home newsletter Go to the

Home & Garden page to subscribe to

our email newsletter, delivered every

Thursday.

Expert tips to keep the summer swelter from trapping you inside

Home

BIG ASS FANS

Outdoor fans, such as the Haiku outdoor ceiling fan from Big Ass Fans (from $1,494), can help make

the air feel more comfortable when humidity is a factor.

JOHN COLE

The Blossom umbrella ($7,500) — a luxury smart parasol that

contains solar-powered lighting, speakers and a charging station —

is a high-tech solution to the shade problem. You can raise or lower

the umbrella from your smartphone, and it even closes

automatically if it senses high wind.

SHADECRAFT

For this curved porch in Chevy

Chase, Anthony Wilder

incorporated ceiling fans, light

colors, and lattice screens to

provide comfort from the heat.