Most of you know we live in a Cape in Connecticut. It was built in the 1950’s…so I consider this an old home. When we moved in two years ago we were not really prepared for how cold it get’s in Connecticut. We are by the beach, so in my mind I didn’t think we would get much snow. I was completely wrong! Not only do we get snow, it feels so much colder because of the humidity. We came from Utah where it is a dry snow, much lighter fluffier snow. Since this will be our third winter here I have been on a mission to keep the heat in our home and make living more pleasant in the winter. I was thrilled to partner with Mill to share how we keep warm in style during the cold winter months with the EASIEST changes I could make.
Here are some tips that I came across when looking for the easiest ways to keep heat in!
- First- I liked this tip- the house doesn’t care if it is cold, but the person does. So put on some slippers and a cozy sweater!
- Cover bare floors- that is why carpet was invented…to cover up cracks and floors that were not insulated properly. I read that 10% of heat loss can come from floors. Not to mention adding a rug keeps your feet toasty and look great too! I found mine HERE
- Let the sun light in- don’t shut your curtains during the day. Try to let the sun to naturally heat inside your home.
- Close your curtains at night. I read that a lady would nail a rug to her door at night, I don’t suggest that…might look weird. But curtains are a great idea and a rolled up rug by your door like we share below.
- It is a myth that keeping your heater on all day is better. It is best to set it on a timer to come on earlier rather than rapidly trying to turn the heat up.
- Close the doors to rooms that are not being used. You want to keep the heat flowing into the rooms you are in.
- Make sure to have a programmable thermostat. Funny thing is we just installed one in this old home a couple months ago. I can’t believe it didn’t have one yet! I researched and found these are the best settings to put your thermostat at.
- 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. = 68 degrees
- 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. = 60 degrees
- 5:30 to 11 p.m. = 68 degrees
- 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. = 60 degrees (I read that keeping it lower at night can actually boost your metabolism!) But for kids rooms consider getting a portable heater like we did below.
One tip is to fill the gaps where cold air can get in. Do you see the gap here?! I sure love the look of this old door, but you can literally feel the freezing air blowing in from outside. We added weather striping to the interior frame of the door for better insulation. We have a brand new front door and we don’t have that same issue with it.
Another way to keep our kitchen warm was to add THIS little rug to the keep the heat in. We do have a brush guard on the bottom of the door, but the floor is still freezing by the door. You can buy “draft stoppers” on Amazon- but they are not very cute. I found THIS rug and just rolled it up and used a plastic thick needle and some yarn to keep it holding that shape.
Just kick it underneath the cabinet when you go outside!
I have been searching for a heater for our kitchen and for Finn’s nursery. I was pretty picky about what they looked like, since they would be sitting out all winter. Mill Heaters are very slim and modern and look nothing like a typical heater. Not no mention after doing my research they heat up a room 28% faster than other heaters. I found mine HERE on Wayfair, you can also pick them up at Home Depot, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond and Amazon HERE. They also have smaller portable heaters HERE.
I have moved it from room to room depending on where we are. But it stays in Finn’s nursery at night. I like that the heat rises from the top and heats up his room quickly. Mill actually uses oil as the heat source (just like our old 1950’s house is heated with oil) It will not dry out the air. I really like that for our little baby boy, it is a much gentler heating source.
When we use it at night I pull it out to the center of the room to keep it safest- I don’t want something to fall on the top of it. You can read more about Mill HERE.
I hope this gave you some tips to stay warm this winter!
Heater looks great and those rugs are so cute! I will have to check them out at our BBAnd B. I wish I could find your romance shades like in the kitchen. I didn’t see these at ours. Stay warm!
Thank you Donna!
We live in an older home and a few years back we participated in an energy savings progam with our local utility company. They had a team come out and evaluate where our home was losing the most heat and what improvements would give us the most imapct for the least amount of cost. We ended up having insulation blow into our attic space and into the walls. It made a huge difference. Our house used to feel drafty and you could feel a difference in temperature from room to room. Now our house temperature is even throughout and our heating and cooling bills have come down. At the time it felt like a bit of an expense but it didnt take long for it to pay for itself and our house is so much more comfortable. I definitely recommend looking into for those of us with older homes!
How great would that be! Thank you for sharing- I will for sure look into that. I know we could use more insulation. The rooms all vary in temperature.
hey girl- great tips! We live in a old home to it was built in 1940! Y’all stay warm and have a great week!
Oh wow! Yes, you totally get how chilly it gets in older homes. Thanks for comment!