At Crown Paints, we’re renowned for helping people transform their homes, and we’ve recently been working with Silentnight to help you transform your nights too. As the summer rolls on and night-time temperatures soar, we bring you our tips for keeping cool on those hot nights.
Keep it Neutral
Bedrooms that have a light and bright colour scheme can trick your mind into thinking it’s a cooler space than perhaps it is. Our matt emulsion is perfect for bedrooms and gives a no-shine finish for a contemporary feel.
When picking a scheme that’s suitable for hot nights as well as working as a backdrop come winter, choose colours in natural hues like wheatgrass and mellow sage, or canvas white. These can then be warmed up or cooled down with the addition of soft furnishings.
Our colour expert says: “Lighter, cleaner colours are seen as fresh and airy. Minty greens, or neo mints as they’re referred to, and cooler blues with less red in them are also fresh and cooling.”
Texture is key to this natural colour scheme. In summer we recommend choosing light, soft linen furnishings in cool hues. Come winter, add in more sumptuous hues like jewel tones in rich velvet fabrics. If you really want to up the texture ante, consider a suede paint textured matt emulsion. Giving walls a brushed suede look, the range is available in sumptuous colours ideal for bedrooms.
Keep it Natural
Invest in high-quality cotton or linen bedding and sleep with a sheet covering instead of a duvet or blanket. Wear light cotton nightwear and avoid wearing anything restrictive to help keep you cool at night.
If you’re really committed to keeping cool at night, choose bare wood floorboards and come colder nights add in oversized rugs and top with faux-fur throws. Just be sure to protect your wood to prevent wear and tear with a specially formulated wood stain like Sadolin. While natural wood colours suit all schemes, if you’re looking to create a truly summery scheme, why not give floorboards a whitewashed effect for a nautical nod to the New England style. Whitewashed floorboards look great if they’re slightly distressed.
Have a Warm Shower Before Bed
It might sound counterintuitive to have a warm shower before bed on a hot night, but a cold shower stimulates the mind and body making it harder to switch off. But don’t go too hot either, instead opt for a lukewarm shower. The steam acts as a natural decongestant – perfect for hay fever sufferers – and can help you get a restful night’s sleep.
We like to tie a sprig of eucalyptus around our shower so the steam can activate and release the eucalyptus oils into the air, helping clear the airways.
Keep Curtains Closed
For those hot August nights, keeping curtains closed during the day can help reduce the temperature of your home dramatically. If possible, switch out thicker winter curtains for lighter voiles/drapes in the summer.
A light linen or cotton curtain is also perfect for summer and is evocative of warm Riviera nights. You can also swap heavier soft furnishings for lighter alternatives. French linen cushions and a natural jute rug are perfect for hot nights.
Drink a Hot Drink
We’re renowned for our love of tea, but drinking a hot beverage before bed can keep you cool at night. Similar to the effect of taking a warm shower, if you drink a hot drink, it lowers the amount of heat stored inside your body.
If it’s a hot, balmy night, why not sit outside in your garden as the sun sets and enjoy the sound of birdsong for a truly relaxing experience?
Sleep on a Cooling Mattress Pad
During the summer months, adding a ‘cooling’ topper to your mattress can help keep temperatures at bay and ensures you are kept cool at night no matter how hot the temperature.
Get ready to sleep easy with our range of breatheasy® emulsion paint. Asthma and allergy-friendly, it’s perfect for bedrooms. Available in a whole host of colours, you’re sure to find the shade that keeps you cool this summer.
