apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

the sun just doesn't come in very far. and i live on the street level, street side. so bypassers would look in all the time if i raised the blinds. being untidy, i need to keep sheer curtains up. but i definitely try to lighten the cave as much as possible. i even move a set of cut glass coasters to reflect the light onto the ceiling further into the apartment to lighten it up.

9 Months out of the year, Houston is a wonderful place to live. Mild winters, and the 3 months of Spring and Fall are spectacular.

However the summer here requires all the shutters/blinds shut and only artificial lighting. Otherwise our AC has to work overtime, and the energy bill goes through the roof.

The rest of the year, I let the sunlight in. This time of year I live in a dark little coffin (unless company is coming over of course).

i agree with HeatherHLP. in San Antonio its the same story and lately its been in the 100's for weeks it seems. my shades get closed when the morning heat kicks in on days like these.

even though my home faces southward, i dont get any direct light through any of my windows.. just nice soft sunlight. love it.

I always try to have the curtains or blinds open. It is so depressing to walk into a home that is all shut up during the day and lit by electricity.

But I don't arrange furniture so that it's always sitting in patches of sunlight. I get overheated easily and would rather not have to wear sunblock in the house (though I suppose I could get UV filtering window film, but really, not sitting in a patch of bright, hot sunlight seems easier.)

When the sun is out, I usually have the blinds opened - I just rarely put them up it's a hassle getting them down. I love natural light over electricity when it's possible.

Now I wouldn't rearrange a room just so I can perch in the sun - I go for comfort and being practical over that.

Another Texan with the blinds closed here. Actually, I consider myself fortunate to have big banks of windows on the north side of my house. I get plenty of light but very little direct sun.

That said, I remember sunbathing in front of the sliding glass door (indoors) in April when I lived in the north.

I don't get much light pouring into my apartment anyway, but I am with HeatherHLP and deeboyayay. I generally keep my windows uncovered in the fall, winter, and spring. But everything is closed in the summer's 100 degree weather. Unfortunately, it's been much too hot to use my balcony as well.

Arranging furniture for the sun and leaving the curtains open all day is a recipe for sundamaged and faded furniture, carpets, fabrics, artwork and accessories.

I was reminded of this last week when I noticed the back, right arm and right outer wing of my one-year-old blackwatch plaid wingchair in the corner of my southeast-facing den has faded noticably. It was a relatively inexpensive chair that I purchased off Craigslist (a new-in-the-box manufacturer's sample) but it's heartbreaking nonetheless.

I live in Toronto but I close my blinds through the hot month or 2 of the summer to reduce heat. I have central AC, but I try not to use it because it's not great for the environment and it's pricey. I can manage as long as it's not too humid and the house doesn't get warmer than about 27 or 28 C. By closing all the blinds before we leave for work, we can easily accomplish this. Then, when the inside and outside temps converge, we open all the windows to let in the breeze for evening.

It would never occur to me not to use the light in my apartment as a decorating element. The light is my favorite thing about my place!

I love natural light and I open my blinds during the day year round. I have houseplants arranged near most windows. I don't arrange my furniture to maximize exposure to sun, though some of my furnishings do get exposed to strong sunlight and some things have faded. I try to protect sentimental objects from sun damage and I don't worry much about others items. I do like to move things around, though.

Another Houstonian sitting here with the solar blocking shades pulled tightly closed around me. The sun is not my friend right now. She has killed my plants, raised my electric bill, made my jeans stick to my butt, turned my car into a sauna, kept me from being able to properly walk my dog, melted my brain, and turned my house into a cave. I still love her, but right now it's more of a love hate.

ps. Either it's time for a Texas Apartment Therapy or mentioning the sun brings out the sweltering Texans en masse.

I do, but not in the way you meant.....I position furniture so that laptop and TV screens won't be washed out by sunlight coming in through windows. For example, I don't want to have to shut the blinds in the morning while working in my office, so I positioned the desk accordingly.

I also make sure I position artwork out of the way of direct sunlight! I have a beautiful green chair that has faded to yellow in the sun, and it's a tangible reminder that the same thing happens to photographs, prints, and paint.

Too keep the utility bill lower....I can't keep the curtains open as much as I would like. It gets too hot outside here to have the luxury of minimum window insulation.

I live in a Boston studio with one window. It's a huge, floor to ceiling window with a sliding glass door as one of the four panels, but still, its the only natural light in the house. Every Single Piece of Furniture is arranged to take maximum advantage of the natural light coming in.

And then there's the deck which I live on whenever weather allows, which hasn't been all that often this summer!

I have a 100% cotton blue velvet sofa - I keep it out of direct sunlight to avoid bleaching it.

Fading, schmading. Oklahoma can be rough in summer, but after experimenting with keeping the curtains drawn during the day and suffering a bout of significant depression, I now open the ones in the living room and leave the rest closed. I can deal with some darkness, but too much really messes with my mood. I'll take my sanity over my furnishings any day.

Ha, I can see both sides of the comments on this post. I just returned from OKC where I got heat exhaustion due to my unadjusted body coming from Boston where it's been raining and cool for months...years? I noticed everyone in OK had their shades drawn..for good reason too, it was 103. Here, I live in a ground level apt, so I have one big sliding glass door in the back for sun, my bed is placed there, the rest is a cave.