In the midst of a long, cold winter, you don’t want to depend solely on your furnace to keep your home warm. After all, if your furnace is running constantly, you will be quite disappointed when you receive your utility bill. Fortunately, there are a large variety of additions you can make to your home that both add beauty and help keep your home warmer. To keep your home nice and toasty this winter, here are some additions you should consider adding.
Trees
Among their many benefits, trees provide shade, purify the air, and add a healthy dose of natural beauty to your property. Another benefit of trees that’s not considered as often is their ability to break up wind as it’s rushing across your property. This ability has long been used by farmers to protect farmland from erosion due to windstorms. For your home, a line of trees helps to create a cushion of still air around the perimeter of your property, providing a pocket of warmth that will help your house stay warmer.
Photo by Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group
Insulated Siding
Moving further in, insulated siding provides another excellent way to keep your house warm. Rather than depending on the insulation in your walls and attic, insulated siding provides an extra barrier against the cold air that’s ready to seep in through even the smallest gap. Since it is constructed with a backing of rigid foam insulation, insulated siding also helps to keep the warm air that’s already in your home right where it belongs.
Photo by Zone 4 Architects, LLC
Thermal Curtains
If it’s time to update your curtains, then it’s a good idea to do so in a way that helps your home stay warmer. Thermal curtains are made from extra-heavy material that helps hold the cold air around a window away from the rest of the room. If you have older, more inefficient windows, this is an especially useful addition. A bonus is that in the summer, thermal curtains are quite good at keeping sunlight out, keeping your home cooler.
Carpeting
In today’s world of beautiful and affordable tile and hardwood flooring options, carpet often gets left out of the mix. Many people see carpet as a germ magnet or as a hard-to-clean inconvenience that they don’t want in their homes. While carpet may be a little more difficult to maintain, it has major benefits when it comes to staying warm in the winter. Especially if your home is built on a slab, thick carpeting can provide the necessary barrier between you and ice-cold floors. If you choose a durable low-pile carpet, you can make up for most of carpet’s shortcomings.
Another great way to stay warm in the winter is to stay active. Though it can be difficult to get going on those cold and gray days, once you spend a few minutes doing an activity, you’ll no longer feel cold. This allows you to stay warm and stay in shape, providing a welcome relief from the winter blues.
Author Bio
Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.