Can you really make your home warmer this winter just by redecorating? We take a look at a few interior design tips and tricks to keep old Jack Frost at bay this winter.
Okay. We've held off for long enough now. I think it's about time we all sat down and admitted it. IT IS FREEZING!
Yes winter has most definitely set in, and apparently this is only the beginning. Temperatures are dropping very quickly, and most of the forecasts are telling us it's going to get a lot worse, with the Daily Express claiming that Britain could see heavy snowfall until May!
So with the knowledge that we're all going to be trapped in our houses until the summer, I thought I'd look into a few ways to warm up your home without spending thousands on expensive and time-consuming jobs like having cavity wall or loft insulation installed. There are a few things on the market, like thermal lining paper, which claims to help your room heat up quicker and reduce the heat let out through the walls. You can also buy insulating paint, which claims to do much the same thing, but do they actually work?
Thermal Lining Paper
Also known as insulating wallpaper, thermal lining paper is a thick sheet made up of thousands of tiny interwoven fibres that help to insulate your walls. Up to 35% of the heat lost from your home goes through the walls, so cutting this down will seriously help to keep you warm and your bills low. Whereas traditional internal wall insulation is around 100mm thick, which greatly reduces the overall room size, thermal lining paper is only 3-4mm. It's still thicker and more effective than standard wallpaper, but it doesn't impact on room size. It's a lot cheaper too. It's available for around £10 per roll, as opposed to having to shell out closer to £1000 for internal wall insulation.
But does it actually keep you warm? Chris Herring from the Green Building Store doesn't seem to think so. In an article with the Daily Telegraph online, he talked about some of the projects he and his company are currently working on that are looking to create homes that are so well insulated that they need no heating at all. “We have installed 300mm of insulation to the internal walls, so it puts 4mm into perspective.” He doesn't completely rule it out however, and many reviewers online have reported an increase in room temperature, as well as an improvement in heat retention once the heating had been turned off.
It's a difficult one to call. Without actually testing it myself, I don't think I can be confident in saying it definitely works, but there are plenty of positive reviews out there, and at that price I don't think it'll hurt to try.
Insulating Paint
You can either buy it in powder form, which you mix into standard emulsion paint, or you can buy branded thermal insulating paint. My advice? Don't do either.
The technology is sound. Originally developed by NASA (with many of its secrets still kept tightly under lock and key), the science behind the paint works. The molecules are packed more tightly together and it creates a thermal barrier which helps to keep heat inside the room, but I just can't see how a layer than thin can make any difference.
Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer as to whether it works or not. There aren't enough reviews to really sway me in either direction and there are too many rival products on the market making outrageous claims to be able to pin down some reliable figures. There are various forums across the internet looking into how effective if at all thermal paint is, and the general consensus is that while it does slightly improve the heat retention in your home, the savings are nowhere near big enough to warrant the time, money, and effort spent on redecorating.
Tapestries and Wall Hangings
Similar to the thermal lining paper, but a lot more stylish, wall hangings seem to be making a bit of a comeback. Normally the word "tapestry" makes you think of ancient stories woven into what looks like a giant blanket and hung in a grand, stately home. Nowadays however there are plenty of modern designers using tapestries and wall hangings with amazing effect.
Now the science doesn't really stand up. Whereas the paper and the paint were designed to keep you warm, the wall hangings won't improve things drastically. However what they will do is make a room seem warmer, and as you won't be able to feel the cold of the wall through the fabric you may actually feel warmer yourself. Plus they look amazing.
Curtains
Now most of you will already have curtains around the house, but not many of you will know just how good they are at keeping out the cold. A standard pair of single-lined lace curtains isn't really going to help things, but a good quality pair of double-lined, or even thermal-lined blackout curtains will do wonders for your room. More heat is lost through doors and windows than from any other part of the house apart from the roof (but I'm not sure putting curtains in the attic is really worth it), so covering them up with a good pair of thick curtains will help keep out the cold and keep your bills at a minimum.
You don't even have to splash out on an expensive pair on the high street. Simply take a few old pairs that you don't like or don't use any more and sew them to the back of each other. That way you have a pair of double-lined curtains without even leaving the house.
One Last Way To Keep Warm
So the thermal lining paper seems the most cost-effective solution, but I'd have to go with curtains as being my top tip for keeping warm this winter. But while taking measures like this will help reduce your bills, not everyone has the time or money to be able to do them, not to mention the fact that you may not want to redecorate! So what other step can you take to keep you and your family warm in the winter time?
Don't worry. There is a guaranteed way to keep yourself warm at this time of year. One that is all too often overlooked. You don't have to redecorate, you don't have to spend a lot of money, and if you have a generous aunt with a penchant for knitting, you may not need to do anything at all. But what is this wonderful, magical thing that is guaranteed to add warmth and comfort to any home this Christmas? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...
...THE CHRISTMAS JUMPER!
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