apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have always sailed according to the direction of the wind... not the sun.

And yes, when the sun heats my house too much I close the blinds.

It is simile, labchick.

Sorry, I've re-read it and it doesn't seem like a simile to me, it truly makes absolutly no sense.

This is a really dumb analogy, unless he meant there would be gale force winds blowing through your home, in which case I would be running far far away.

I think its a pretty good comparison. You move around the house adjusting to the sun the same way you move around a boat adjusting the wind.

Regardless of the comparison to sailing, who doesn't know to close the blinds to block out the sun's heat???

you trim a sail to the direction of the wind.

you trim the blinds to the direction of the sun.

hoist and drop sails...hoist and drop blinds.

perhaps they are old fashioned blinds and need to be cleated off to maintain a height.

in a powerboat you can simply head to wind under motor...with A/C you can simply let all the sun in and blast the cool air, but i think the idea is to simply work with what nature is throwing at you.

really not that much of a stretch and no reason harp on the posting as dumb and senseless.

@ Jeff - AVAST!

I didn't take the post as a tutorial, but maybe a fresh way to look at a mundane summer ritual.

it's a little disappointing to see this comment area filled with lectures on how wrong the writer is in simile usage (when it can be reasonably argued that it was a correct usage). do any of you have anything better to do with your days than complain? just move onto the next article...it's much easier than injecting negativity into situations...

I actually clip my heavy drapes to the railing of my balcony creating a loose awning to block the low evening sun but still let the wind through. The curtains also act like sails to capture the breeze, depending on my clip placement I can catch full wind and direct it right inside my condo.

i have do this in my house as well. in the summer at night we close the southern facing window draperies and in winter we leave them open all day to absorb some heat. it works pretty well.

Is it just me or are the comments on each post becoming increasingly hostile? If you don't have anything positive to add please move on to the next post that is relevant to you.

Man, I"ve been wanting some window treatments that are rough and slightly industrial looking, but without the cold edge that most of that sort of stuff has, and the picture at the right strikes me as the perfect compromise- some crisp canvas blinds, clipped to wire guides and with a reel to raise and lower them.

Before I dive into the depths of google, does anyone happen to know of anything similar to this?

Having spent some time on the rail of a sailboat to weigh down the windward side of the boat, I can see another reason while the sailing analogy (or whatever you want to call it) could be used here. If you are in the middle of the boat, you basically can only see what's around you on one side of the boat because the sail blocks your view - just like the blinds.

To that point, I always like to keep a bit of the window visible so I can see how the day is unfolding...

Honestly the Swedish Chef made the article make the most sense and NOW I get it! Thanks, maybe we were just all cranky last friday afternoon!

Yes, I got it the first time, and it is still a dumb analogy. I've sailed around the world and I have never adjusted my sails to the sun. In my home however, as in most homes, I adjust my blinds to the sun.