February presented with beautiful weather. For ten days at the beginning of the month it was wonderfully spring-like, and I was beginning to wonder if winter was over. But we're back to frigid temps, sleet, and snow again. Good thing I wasn't tempted to start on my outdoor garden plans! (Well, I was, but experience prevailed).
Because we've had such long cold spells this year, I got to thinking about more ways to keep the cold out and the warm in. I've put up thermal curtains in several rooms, but our living room and kitchen have remained curtainless.
Not hanging curtains or drapes is a fairly common style nowadays. For some people it's just mini-blinds for privacy. But I've seen a lot of windows with no covering. One neighbor across the street is like that and their next door neighbor only has mini-blinds that she leaves partly open all the time. On the one hand, the extra light is lovely, but on the other, even energy star windows leak energy; just more slowly. My mission this winter is better insulation for our windows.
I started with the bay window in the living room.
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Photo was taken right after we finished the living room and before
we put the furniture back in. It's looked like this since summer 2015. |
Dan built it when we replaced the old living room windows. We both love it, but this winter I thought it might be a good idea to cover it at night to help keep the living room warmer. To do that, I found these really nice thermal curtains on Amazon.
These have made a difference! So much better than the thermal curtains I got at WalMart. These are thick and the fabric is lovely. Good price with lots of colors to choose from. I can definitely feel it's cooler in the bay window behind them. Highly recommended.
The front door was next. Even though it's insulated and energy-star rated, it's still colder to touch than the walls when it's frigid outside. But then it's steel! (And metal is not an insulator.)
My idea for the front door came from observing background details in movies and programs taking place in early to mid-20th century Britain. I noticed that they used curtains to cover doors.
It covers the entire door including the floor, where draft leaks are notorious.
And it's easy to push it aside to open the door. On sunny winter afternoons, we open the door to take advantage of the late day solar warmth that the storm door lets in.
For now, I'm using one of the summer curtain from the bay window, but I'll replace it with
the same brand as the thermals for the bay window. Actually, I'm thinking I will gradually replace all of my current thermal curtains with these. They'll also be useful in summer to help keep the sun's heat out. Even so, the lighter weight curtain is helping for now.
The other room I wanted to address was the kitchen. In the morning, the kitchen is the coldest room in the house, until we get the wood cookstove going. Neither of those windows had more than lacy curtains for the look.
While I love having the natural light, I realized they were why the kitchen is always chillier in the morning than the rest of the house, even after
replacing the windows. The curtains I put up were made for different windows, but they definitely help.
When the sun hits that sink window, I open the curtain and let in the light and solar warmth.
I admit that these steps make the house darker, and that I miss the natural light. But then I ask myself, which takes more energy, heating the house or turning on a couple of light bulbs? Every little bit helps.
Anyone else taking steps to make their home warmer this winter? I'd love to hear your ideas.
