Getting to design a warm home is one of those usual obsessions of decorators or interior designers.
But with the uncertainty of the price of energy and the arrival of the colder months, that warmth is no longer an abstract and subjective concept: we need our house to be warmer and to keep the temperature better or, at least, to seem so. to our eyes.
And although the most obvious solution seems to be to reform it so that it makes the most of energy —in Spain almost 84% of homes have poor energy consumption ratings, according to the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU)—, the fastest and most economical it may be resorting to little decorative tricks.
But is the decoration useful when preparing the house for winter?
“Locating the cold or humid areas of a home to be able to treat them is important, but so is the decoration.
It can not only allow the temperature to be maintained, but also convey a feeling of warmth and make the house cosy”, explains the Barcelona interior designer Noé Prades.
Specialist in designing contemporary atmospheres with touches of craftsmanship, Prades recommends choosing furniture or surfaces in materials that convey comfort for this purpose.
Among his favorites is, of course, the classic wood, but also others with a Mediterranean air such as clay.
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The chimera that your house has energy efficiency: changing windows and doors and removing the blinds helps
“Ceramics are colder and therefore it is difficult to heat them, as is the case with natural stones, such as marble.
It is important to see where they are to use other resources in those spaces”, points out the decorator.
Yes, to alleviate the presence of those colder floors, Prades recommends resorting to classic rugs, in which he is an expert after publishing a collection with the Catalan firm Dac Rugs.
“A rug not only fulfills its aesthetic function, it defines a space and, depending on the type of floor, it is necessary to maintain heat and insulate”, he analyzes.
If possible, by the way, he recommends using natural materials and discarding those of synthetic origin.
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According to the opinion of Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea, 50% of the architecture studio AGi Architects
together with Nasser B. Abulhasan, the choice of materials is “vital” in a residential project.
But he advises against pulling clichés.
Thanks to the latest launches on the market, you can choose submersible wood that is cold to the touch or porous ceramics that, unlike the classic ones, transmit heat and can be used for radiant heating.
Pérez-Goicoechea is clear, however, that without proper insulation "it is difficult to achieve energy savings with decoration alone".
He knows what he is talking about: his studio has worked hard on numerous projects in Kuwait, where they have a second headquarters next to the one in Madrid, in which the weather forces us to avoid the heat through all kinds of resources. .
Along with elementary measures such as improving the walls and windows —thanks to which they are capable of reducing the energy cost of an entire building by 6% and that of a home by 80%— they also apply passive strategies such as a correct distribution and relationship of the spaces depending on the incidence of the sun.
“Here passive protections are essential.
I mean traditional exterior blinds, awnings,
The Casa Decor 2022 space by Erico Navazo, entitled 'Danish Eclectic'.
Manolo Yllera
Curtains?
Of course, they are a yes.
“They play an important role that contributes to both thermal and acoustic comfort.
They are one more layer that, on an already insulated wall, offers greater comfort and warmth”, he explains.
Here the fabrics do not have to be natural, when trying to isolate the passage of air and be almost a second wall, acrylic may be advisable.
For the interior designer Erico Navazo
Curtains are also a totally valid option when it comes to helping to alleviate, in a certain way, the inefficiency of a window.
His choice is those with lining, much thicker than the traditional ones and more aesthetic than the artificial ones, or those woven in wool.
“Wool is a great thermal insulator and it also has other functions: it filters the light and creates intimacy”, explains Navazo.
In one of his latest projects, the Casa Decor 2022 space called
Danish Eclectic
, Navazo also demolished clichés by making it clear that a warm room does not have to be dark.
With the collaboration of the Danish embassy and reinterpreting the classic Nordic style, he designed a kitchen and living room space in which the presence of light, thanks to large windows with a minimal profile, was not at odds with a sensation of thermal comfort.
In addition, using kitchen furniture made of recycled wood and with fronts made of PET bottles, he demonstrated that the choice of furniture not only influences energy consumption: it can also improve that of the planet.
“Every choice is important to generate comfort and warmth in a house.
But, above all, it is being ecologically conscious, not wasting energy, being sustainable, ”he summarizes.
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