Extreme Summer Heat Could Be Damaging Your Home's Artwork

While you're busy drawing the blinds, keeping the fan running and doing everything you can to stop your home overheating, there's one thing you probably haven't thought about: the art on your walls.

Whether it's an antique painting, a vintage map or an original canvas you picked up from a local artist, the pieces on your walls could be more vulnerable to summer than you think. The damage often happens so gradually that many homeowners don't notice until it's already taken its toll.

Fortunately, protecting it doesn't require museum-level care. A few simple changes can help your favourite pieces stand the test of time.

Brent Darby

How does summer sunshine damage your art?

Before you start moving pieces around your home, it helps to understand why warm weather can take its toll. Julia Kindermann, print specialist at Custtom, says both high temperatures and UV rays play a role.

"UV radiation slowly breaks down the pigments in your prints, and heat speeds the whole process up," she explains.

According to Julia, blues and yellows fade first, making an image look slightly "off" before the loss of colour becomes obvious. This risk isn’t limited to one type of media. Canvas prints, photographs, paintings and other works displayed in direct sunlight can all be affected.

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With antique art, the threat goes beyond fading. According to the British Association of Paintings Conservator-Restorers (BAPCR), rapid fluctuations in temperature and humidity can cause wooden panels to crack or split and may contribute to cracking or flaking paint layers over time, making stable environmental conditions especially important.

Rooms that receive the most sunshine are particularly vulnerable. "South-facing rooms and conservatories are the worst, as they trap heat," she says.

Photography Rachel Whiting, Production Ben Kendrick

How to protect your prints and wall art

Protecting your prints and paintings doesn't have to be complicated. Julia says a few simple changes can go a long way towards preventing unnecessary fading.

1. Move pieces out of direct sunlight

Even limited daily exposure to direct sunlight can gradually cause damage. Consider moving your favourite pieces to a north-facing wall, where it will receive softer, indirect light.

"North-facing walls receive the most consistent indirect light, making them the safest place to hang artwork during the summer if there's anything you'd like to keep looking its best," says Julia.

2. Close curtains or blinds during peak sunshine

Drawing your curtains or blinds during the sunniest part of the day helps reduce both heat and UV exposure, while keeping your home cooler overall. Julia recommends closing them fully rather than leaving gaps, as uneven sunlight can cause patchy fading over time.

3. Install UV window film

If moving your artwork isn't practical, UV-filtering window film can provide an extra layer of protection.

"Standard glass allows a lot of UVA radiation to pass through, but consumer-grade UV film blocks up to 99% of it while keeping rooms bright," says Julia. "It helps protect everything in the room, including your furniture and flooring, not just the art." The BAPCR notes that because ambient daylight also contains damaging UV radiation, you can reduce exposure with blinds or UV-filtering window film.

4. Move valuable pieces out of conservatories

Conservatories can be particularly damaging.

"A conservatory in summer combines direct sunlight, trapped heat and often high humidity all at once," explains Julia. "That combination does more damage in a few weeks than a north-facing room would in years."

The BAPCR warns that sudden fluctuations and high relative humidity levels pose some of the greatest structural dangers to art. Specifically, high relative humidity can cause wooden panels to warp or split while also encouraging mould growth. Relocate valuable artwork to a cooler room whenever possible.