When a home is hot and stuffy, it can feel unbearable, and I don’t know about you, but I’m literally willing to try anything to cool it down. Luckily, experts have revealed an easy and free method that can help cool a room, and all it requires is you moving your furniture.
Cooling a bedroom can feel like an impossible task in a heatwave. While it’s a no-brainer that the best portable air conditioners and best fans can be amazing at cooling us down, we should also be considering how the layout of our spaces can impact our cooling capabilities.
Experts recommend moving your furniture away from the walls when the weather is hot to help improve air flow, which in turn can cool your room. Here’s how it works.
Why should you move your furniture in hot weather?
This week, my bedroom has felt unbearably stuffy. While my Status Tower Fan has been doing a lot of heavy lifting, the heat has prevented me from having a decent night’s sleep for days. So, I’ve been looking for ways to help keep it cool.
I already know why I should leave my blinds down all day, and why I should close the windows during the hottest part of the day. Now, I’m learning I need to move my furniture – my drawers, clothes rail and bed away from the walls, too.
‘Furniture pushed flush against walls, particularly large pieces like wardrobes and beds with headboards, blocks the natural circulation of air around the room. Even a small gap of a few inches allows air to move more freely and prevents pockets of warm air from becoming trapped behind surfaces,’ explains Richard Lord, founder of bamboo bedding company, Lost Loom.
‘Air needs to circulate to cool effectively. When furniture blocks walls entirely, warm air has nowhere to go and simply sits there, gradually raising the overall temperature of the room. Pulling pieces forward even slightly breaks that pattern and allows cooler air from lower in the room to circulate upward and around the space more naturally.’
Now, don’t expect this hack to instantly make your room feel cooler. But by improving air flow, you can help lower the temperature and make the space feel less stuffy.
‘Even a small gap of around 5 to 10 centimetres can help, but if you have the space to spare, around 30 centimetres is ideal for really encouraging good airflow throughout the room,’ adds Kate Palmer, creative director of The Painted Furniture Company.
‘It is a simple, free and surprisingly effective trick, especially when used alongside other cooling methods like opening windows in the evening. It is also a great opportunity to give those forgotten corners a quick dust while you are at it!’
Alternatively, here are a few more cooling options we recommend for stuffy bedrooms.
Silentnight
Silentnight Airmax Pro360 Pedestal Fan with Remote Control
One of our best-rated fans, this fan is whisper-quiet, making it perfect for use in bedrooms. It has 12 speeds, 360 oscillation and has two height settings so you can use it as a desk fan, too.
Marks and Spencer
Stay Cool Lyocell Rich Bedding Set
Woven from a lyocell-rich fabric, this soft-to-the-touch bedding set is also incredibly breathable to help keep you cool on hot nights.
Silentnight
Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Pillow Pad
Place in your pillowcase or directly on top and this pad will absorb your body’s heat and keep you cool – no more flipping the cushion to find the cool spot!
If the May heatwave has remained as a nightmare in your mind, save this clever, free trick for the next one.
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