Interested in Your Own Personally Branded Magazine? Click Here!

Want to customize this content for your business?

Learn More

Categories

  • Home
  • Decor
  • Real Estate
  • Life & Culture
  • Food & Recipes
  • Holiday & Entertaining

  • Printables
  • Videos


General

  • About the Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Careers


Editorial

  • Editorial Calendar
  • Issue Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Pitch an Idea

American Lifestyle Magazine Logo
  • Home
  • Decor
  • Real Estate
  • Life & Culture
  • Food & Recipes
  • Holiday & Entertaining
  • Search
  • Follow
  • 0 Heart
  • |
  • Food & Recipes Categories
    • All Recipes (772)
    • Appetizers (147)
    • Breakfast (63)
    • Cooking Tips (37)
    • Desserts (231)
    • Dinner (246)
    • Drinks (59)
    • Gluten Free (9)
    • Healthy (76)
    • Lunch (16)
    • Quick & Easy (67)
    • Vegan (38)
    • Vegetarian (59)
Egyptian Falafel
Lunch | May 30, 2025

Egyptian Falafel

  • Holiday & Entertaining Categories
    • Celebrate (5)
    • Christmas (106)
    • Easter (17)
    • Entertaining (56)
    • Fall (65)
    • Father’s Day (5)
    • Halloween (34)
    • Hanukkah (24)
    • July 4th (31)
    • Mother’s Day (7)
    • New Year’s (24)
    • Spring (29)
    • St. Patrick's Day (14)
    • Summer (52)
    • Thanksgiving (55)
    • Valentine’s Day (8)
    • Winter (82)
Backyard party
Summer | Jun 11, 2025

A Summer Party Playbook

  • Decor Categories
    • Crafts & DIY Projects (288)
    • Curb Appeal (5)
    • Decorate (93)
    • Interior Design (114)
Interior Design | Jun 4, 2025

Step Inside Virtual Design

Interior Design | Jun 3, 2025

Making Malibu Design Magic

Interior of home
Interior Design | Apr 2, 2025

A Colorado Interior Design Collaboration

  • Real Estate Categories
    • Buying & Selling (172)
    • Home Trends (16)
    • Staging (19)
    • Your First House (30)
Moving truck
Buying & Selling | Mar 25, 2025

The Proper Way to Unpack

Historic home
Buying & Selling | Aug 15, 2024

Living in History

Flower
Buying & Selling | Jul 31, 2024

Four Ways to Increase Your Home’s Value

  • Life & Culture Categories
    • Editorial (346)
    • Family & Pets (233)
    • Finances (33)
    • Health (164)
    • Travel (311)
Dogs in photo
Family & Pets | Jun 17, 2025

A Sit-Down with a Dog Photographer

Family & Pets | Jun 11, 2025

A Fetching Museum

© Brooks Lake Lodge & Spa
Travel | May 23, 2025

5 All-Inclusive Resorts You Have to See

  • Home Categories
    • Cleaning (46)
    • Organizing (55)
    • Home Improvement (92)
    • Outdoors & Gardening (78)
Flower
Outdoors & Gardening | May 19, 2025

Create Your Blossom Bliss

Patio
Home Improvement | May 15, 2025

Freshen Up Your Patio or Deck for Spring

Mattress store
Home | Apr 14, 2025

A Mattress Buying Guide

Follow us on social media today!

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Protect Your House from Sun Exposure

Decor | By Andre Rios | 0 Likes
SHARE
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More

Sunlight peers through a steel-framed window, bestowing a pleasant golden glow throughout a room. It gently touches curated artwork, the upholstered arm of a sofa, and the vibrant fibers of a valuable rug. Everywhere it goes, it gifts immense beauty—and slowly renders permanent damage.

Our star is generous enough to provide warmth and boost our mood with its glimmering rays, but in exchange for our appreciation, it warps, cracks, dries, and fades most surfaces it touches. Over time, the results of this damage may become evident and, depending on the cost of the damaged goods, potentially horrifying. What can be done to protect your indoor valuables without shunning the light completely? The answer is simple: strategize your design around the sun. Then you can continue reveling in natural ambient light indoors.

Serious side effects

Just as the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays are responsible for sunburns and other skin damage, this radiation light can also roast your home’s decor. Consider that many popular home materials are made of organic matter, including wool, leather, and cotton, and you can fathom how direct sunlight would produce similar results with the accoutrements throughout your home. UV light can fade rugs and artwork into irreversible ruin, and wooden furniture can darken unevenly in sun-soaked areas. Upholstered furniture wrapped in plant-based materials can also fade, while leather will harden and crack in the sun.

Even paint can succumb to the effects of UV sunlight, which can bleach it into unpleasant shades over time. This is not to mention how the sun can wreak havoc on seemingly resilient building materials like hardwood flooring and wallpaper. Just about every material except for stone falters in the face of direct UV light exposure.

The cardinal rules of direction

The sun moves from east to west across the sky, casting light into your home at different times and intensities depending on the direction your windows happen to face. While east-facing rooms endure the most intense sunlight in the morning hours, west-facing rooms bear the brunt of afternoon and sunset rays. North-facing rooms receive the least amount of natural light, and south-facing windows absorb consistent light throughout the day.

A less-than-ideal home orientation can put your valuable decor at risk of premature damage if placed in a room that receives too much light. For instance, a bedroom that faces east and receives obtrusive sunrise light might not be the best spot to hang revered artwork. Conversely, a living area directed due north that appears noticeably well-shaded all day would best protect your precious pieces (and may give the room a needed spark of life).

Barriers to entry

Window treatments are the obvious and most time-tested solution to obtrusive sunlight, but the proper treatment type will vary by room. When decorating, weigh the advantages and disadvantages of window features that either filter UV rays or omit sunlight completely, making sure to factor in how you’d like to enjoy each setting.

Bedrooms

Thick blackout drapes are best hung across bedroom windows, lending the perfect combination of privacy and a blockade to direct morning sunshine. They can also reduce energy costs by insulating against outdoor temperatures. If you appreciate awakening to gentle indirect sunlight, you could also consider hanging thin, light-filtering curtains, which sift light without obstructing it completely. For a hybrid experience, try double curtain rods, such as these West Elm pieces, which can support two types of treatments in a streamlined fixture over a single window.

Kitchen

Those with north-facing kitchens may crave extra daylight, especially in the morning. Hang charming roller shades like these modern designs by the Shade Store to vary your light exposure throughout the day and welcome soft northern or western light. If your kitchen faces a less ideal direction, like east or south, consider thicker blackout shades, which you can adjust to eliminate sunlight during the brightest hours.

Living spaces

A UV-filtering tint can reduce the damaging effects of sunlight without obscuring the view of your lawn and garden, making this the ideal type of window treatment for living rooms, dining rooms, dens, and other common areas. Tinting bare windows also permits you to embrace a spacious indoor-outdoor design. While tint can work in combination with other window treatments, it’s best implemented in rooms where you’re more likely to spend time lingering during daylight hours.

Study areas

If you work from a home office or have a home library, the stimulating effects of sunlight are especially valuable. Design these study spaces with bare, tinted windows, then hang light-filtering curtains for a classic Tudor-influenced design. Adjust the curtains accordingly to reduce the glare on your screens and to optimize appealing webcam lighting throughout the day. Blinds and pleated shades are also purposeful in these rooms, but curtains lend a more formal style.

Prioritize sun protection

Should you risk exposing your interiors to unfiltered sunlight, at least apply the decor version of sunscreen. Invest in a fabric-protecting furniture spray that can shield upholstery from the effects of UV radiation. Note that it’s important to follow the product’s directions, as application times and appropriate surface types may vary.

In addition, just as limiting your time in the sun safeguards your health, you can also put forethought into where you position your decor. Lighter-colored upholstery is somehwat more fade resistant, as are synthetic fabrics, so place only these suitable pieces in the path of UV light. Framing art behind glass offers slightly more sun resilience, but be forewarned that treasured art belongs well out of reach of direct sun. You may also want to place your most valuable furniture and decor in darker or sun-shaded rooms. After all, embracing sunlight may be pleasant, but respecting it is shrewd design.

13553 Views

This article is tagged in:

Home DecorHome ImprovementHome MaintenanceSummer

Related Posts

Backyard party
Holiday & Entertaining | Jun 11, 2025

A Summer Party Playbook

Decor | Jun 3, 2025

Making Malibu Design Magic

Woman vacuuming
Home | Apr 10, 2025

Creating a Healthier Home

House insulation
Home | Oct 3, 2024

A Well-Insulated Home

Person hanging art
Decor | Sep 27, 2024

Avoid These Common Design Mistakes

Popular Posts

Life & Culture | Feb 17, 2020

Trash vs. Recycle: Do You Know When to Trash it?

spring-cleaning-countdown
Home | Mar 23, 2021

Spring-Cleaning Countdown

Make Your Own Seed Paper
Decor | Mar 17, 2016

Make Your Own Seed Paper

Real Estate | Dec 14, 2017

House Selling Checklist

home office with white furniture
Life & Culture | Mar 30, 2020

Here’s How to Work From Home Effectively

You may also like:

Health | Feb 17, 2020

Trash vs. Recycle: Do You Know When to Trash it?

spring-cleaning-countdown
Cleaning | Mar 23, 2021

Spring-Cleaning Countdown

Make Your Own Seed Paper
Crafts & DIY Projects | Mar 17, 2016

Make Your Own Seed Paper

Buying & Selling | Dec 14, 2017

House Selling Checklist

home office with white furniture
Health | Mar 30, 2020

Here’s How to Work From Home Effectively

decorating-basics
Interior Design | Jun 9, 2020

These Tips Are Your North Star For Home Decorating

for sale sign
Buying & Selling | Jan 18, 2021

10 Questions Everyone Selling a Home Should Be Asking

Share on Social Media

Our mission is to deliver entertainment that inspires and motivates our readers, encouraging them to follow their passions as they explore new horizons.

© 2025 American Lifestyle Magazine

General
  • About the Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Careers
Editorial
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Issue Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Pitch an Idea
Categories
  • Home
  • Decor
  • Real Estate
  • Life & Culture
  • Food & Recipes
  • Holiday & Entertaining
Follow Us
Facebook Pinterest Instagram Youtube

Customize this content for your business!

Learn More

,