Stay Cool This Summer with the Right Curtains

It’s been a pretty hot and sticky summer thus far. While we’re not ones to complain about the heat, it can get uncomfortable inside the house. To compensate, we turn up the air conditioner and end up with high energy bills. Fortunately with the right window treatments, your homes comfort level can be regulated to just the right temperature without impacting your wallet.

The first thing you could do the combat the heat is close your drapes when you’re not at home during the day. This prevents heat from coming through your windows. A drapery’s ability to reduce heat loss and gain depends on several factors, including fabric type (closed or open weave) and colour.

When looking at the fabric type, closed-weave drapes insulate better than open-weave drapes. You’ll want to get a heavy fabric type, like cotton or velvet.

For colour, white is the best for drapes because white reflects heat. The darker the colour, the more heat the material absorbs, making your room hotter. Studies demonstrate that medium-coloured draperies with white-plastic backings can reduce heat gains by 33%.

The higher thread-count, the better. This helps reduce the amount of heat and light coming in through the drapes/curtains.

Finally, the more layers a drape/curtain has, the higher its insulation power.

Thermal drapes or blackout drapes are usually made from heavy materials like cotton or velvet and have a layer of insulation that prevents hot air from entering your rooms through a drafty window.

Now that we’ve narrowed down types of drapes to use to help keep the heat out, we need to hang them correctly. Heat can sneak past the drapes if you leave too much space between the drape and the window. To reduce heat gain, you need to hang the draperies as close to the window as possible. You also need to let them fall onto a windowsill or floor. Sealing the drapes on the side and bottom with magnetic tape will be of tremendous help. Finally, make sure the drapes overlap in the center. Now you’ve got an effective, yet stylish, way to keep heat out of your home.

If you’re in the market for light-coloured, closed-weave, high thread count drapes and curtains to stay cool in your home this summer, stop by any of our locations. We’ll have just what you’re looking for.