How to keep your living room cool in summer

With temperatures once again soaring across the UK, it seems we’re all feeling the effects of this latest heatwave. While we all love the warmer weather, sunny days, and the chance to spend more time outside, there comes a point where the heat can start to feel like a little too much, especially when you’re trying to relax at home (or get any sleep).

If you haven’t managed to get your hands on an air conditioner, don’t worry; there are still plenty of simple ways to make your home feel cooler and more comfortable.

At Cover My Furniture, we know that creating a welcoming home is about more than just how it looks. It’s about making your space work for you throughout the seasons, whether that’s adding a fresh new look with our bespoke fitted sofa covers or making small changes to help your living room feel more comfortable during the warmer months.

So, if you’re wondering how to keep your house cool in the summer, here are a few of our favourite simple tips and tricks to help you enjoy a fresher, more relaxing living space.

1. Control the sunlight coming into your living room

When the sun is shining all day, your windows can quickly become one of the biggest sources of heat in your home. Natural light makes a living room feel bright and welcoming, but once the sun starts streaming through the glass, it can rapidly increase the temperature indoors. In fact, sunlight passing through your windows creates a greenhouse effect, trapping heat inside and making it much harder for your home to cool back down later in the day, which is why it somehow always feels hotter at night.

The best way to keep a room cool​ is to stop that heat from building up in the first place. Closing your blinds, shutters, or curtains before the room gets too hot can make a noticeable difference, particularly on south- and west-facing windows that receive the strongest afternoon sun. Rather than waiting until the room already feels uncomfortable, it’s worth keeping them closed during the hottest part of the day and opening them again once the temperature outside begins to drop in the evening. If you like to keep your windows uncovered, even partially closing the blinds can help reduce the amount of direct sunlight hitting your furniture and flooring.

If you’re able to make changes outside, these can be even more effective because they stop the sun’s rays before they reach the glass. Awnings, pergolas, outdoor blinds, or even a well-positioned tree or climbing plant can all create natural shade that helps prevent your living room from heating up throughout the day. The less direct sunlight entering your home, the easier it is to keep your space feeling comfortable, even during a heatwave.

2. Improve airflow around the room

When warm air becomes trapped inside your home, even the largest living rooms can quickly start to feel stuffy and uncomfortable. Opening a window might seem like the obvious solution, but alone, it’s not going to do much of anything. If there’s nowhere for the warm air to escape, you’re just letting more warm air in.

Instead, try opening windows on opposite sides of your home to create what’s known as a cross breeze. This allows air to flow through the property, pushing warmer air out while drawing cooler air in. If you live in a two-storey home, opening an upstairs window alongside one downstairs can be particularly effective, as hot air naturally rises and will escape through the highest point.

If you’ve got a fan to hand, use it to keep air moving around the room rather than pointing it directly at yourself all day. Fans don’t actually lower the temperature, but they do improve the air circulation, helping sweat evaporate more quickly and thus making you feel cooler. For an extra helping hand, you can place a bowl of ice or a frozen bottle of water in front of the fan so it blows cooler air around the room.

3. Switch up your soft furnishings

When the weather heats up, the fabrics around your home have a bigger impact on how hot you feel than you might think. Thick throws, velvet cushions and chunky knit blankets are perfect for creating a cosy atmosphere in winter, but during summer they can make a room feel heavier and hold onto warmth long after the sun has gone down.

Replacing these with lighter materials is the simplest way to instantly make your living room feel more comfortable. Linen and cotton are both naturally breathable fabrics that let air circulate, so cushions, blankets and upholstery feel cooler to the touch. Swapping darker colours for lighter shades can also help create a brighter, fresher atmosphere that naturally feels more suited to the warmer months.

If your sofa feels too warm or you’re simply looking to give your living room a seasonal refresh, our bespoke fitted sofa covers make it easy to change the look of your furniture without replacing it. Choosing lighter fabrics and colours, like our Luxury Cotton Weave in Pearl, can instantly transform your space. Then as soon as it cools back down again in autumn, you can swap them back. It’s that easy!

4. Rethink your living room layout

Sometimes the room itself can make staying cool more difficult. If your sofa sits in direct sunlight for hours each day, it will naturally absorb heat and remain warm to the touch even after the sun has moved. The same applies to coffee tables, rugs and other furniture positioned close to large windows.

Moving your seating into a shadier part of the room can make a noticeable difference, especially if you spend most evenings relaxing in the living room. You don’t necessarily need to completely redesign the space; even shifting your sofa slightly away from a window or creating a little more space between larger pieces of furniture can improve airflow and help the room feel less enclosed.

Think about where the coolest areas of your living room are throughout the day. If one side of the room benefits from a natural breeze, arranging your seating near that side can make it a much more comfortable place to unwind. You want to work with your home’s natural airflow rather than against it.

5. Bring in cooler summer touches

Keeping your living room cool isn’t always about lowering the temperature. Sometimes it’s about creating a space that simply feels fresher, lighter and more comfortable to spend time in — it’s mind over matter. Small styling changes won’t replace a fan or air conditioning unit, but they can completely change the atmosphere of your home.

Houseplants are a great place to start. Everyone loves a houseplant, and as well as adding colour and life to your living room, they help create a calming environment that naturally feels cooler and more connected to the outdoors. Pairing them with lighter accessories, natural wood finishes and soft neutral colours can instantly brighten your space and make it feel more open.

Mirrors are another useful addition when they’re positioned carefully. They can reflect natural light throughout the room, helping smaller spaces feel brighter without relying on artificial lighting during the day. Just avoid placing them where they’ll reflect direct sunlight onto your sofa or seating area, as this will make it feel warmer.

Finally, don’t underestimate how much lighter colours can change the feel of a room. Swapping darker cushions, artwork, or even your settee covers for soft whites, sandy neutrals, or gentle blues can create that fresh summer living look, making your home feel brighter and more inviting, even on the hottest days.

These are just a few simple ways to help keep your living room feeling cooler during the current heatwave. You don’t have to tackle everything at once, either. Even making a couple of small changes, whether that’s keeping the sun out, improving airflow or swapping heavier fabrics for lighter ones, can make your home feel much more comfortable.

If you’re thinking about giving your sofa a summer refresh too, you can order up to five free fabric samples to see and feel at home before making your choice. When you’re ready, simply follow the easy steps on our How it Works page, and your bespoke fitted sofa covers will be with you in no time.

If you have any questions or need advice on choosing the right fabric for the warmer months, our friendly team is always happy to help. Don’t hesitate to get in touch or give us a call on 01772 901507!