It is very hard for us to imagine life without air-conditioning we have become so dependent on it that we have forgotten how life used to be without it. Even our young children, if not babies, would complain when the air-conditioner is not switched on. There was always a dry and hot season in Malaysia. But how did our grandparents survive the heat back then? Turns out, the best way to keep cool in those days was through some clever home design. Traditional houses were very cleverly designed for thermal comfort. What were some of these traditional home designs? Let’s take a look: Roof design Traditional Malay houses had a double roof, with a gap between the top and bottom halves. These gaps, also known as ventilation joints provided airflow across the top of the house. Secondly, older homes had large roof overhangs to provide lots of shade to the veranda area. This allowed people to relax in front of their homes whether it was a sunny or rainy day. Stilts The method of building traditional Malay houses on stilts is another example of the clever design to reduce temperatures. Raising the house on stilts not only reduced damage from flooding, and intrusion from pests, it reduced the amount of humidity on the floor, making it more comfortable to sit. And, since the house is higher up, it gets more wind that would otherwise have been blocked by the surrounding vegetation. Even the improved airflow below the house contributed to reduced temperatures inside the house. High ceilings Another feature you may notice in older houses is their high ceilings. High ceilings allow hot air to rise above people so the room feels cooler to its occupants. They also provide more space for air to go around in a house and offer better ventilation. Air movement also exposes our skin to dryer air and helps us feel less humid in a room. In a modern home, homeowners can choose to remove their false or plaster ceiling entirely, exposing the wires and plumbing above. This immediately increases the ceiling height, allowing warm air to further rise to the top and away from the occupants. This industrial interior design style is getting popular, especially in cafes. Ceiling fans Ceiling fans are the more economic option to cool down a room. Before air-conditioners became common in Malaysian homes, ceiling fans were the best way to circulate air in the room and create an artificial breeze. The air movement evaporates moisture from the skin and makes you feel cooler in a room. However, note that if you want to install a ceiling fan, you will need a ceiling height of at least 9 feet. Otherwise, the fan will be too low, and will not have enough space above it to circulate the air in the room effectively. In such cases, it may be better to install one or more wall fans. Sun orientation The orientation of different rooms in your home can influence how hot they get during the day. Since the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, a North-facing room window will get an even amount of sunlight through the day. This is suitable for the living room. The kitchen may benefit from an East-facing room, to enjoy the morning sun during breakfast, but stay cool in the evening while preparing dinner. Air-bricks If the house is made of bricks and mortar, it can absorb heat and release it into the home. To reduce the temperature increase, that hot air needs to escape. Since hot air rises, many old homes would add bricks with ventilation holes just below their ceilings, above the windows and doors. These “air-bricks” allow warm air to escape from the house while cool fresh air flows in through openings in the lower areas. These exchanges ensure better ventilation within a house. Wall material Traditional houses were built with wood, bamboo and attap. All these materials have good thermal insulation. In other words, they don’t absorb heat, and cool quickly at night. This prevents heat from building up within the house. Of course, you would not be able to build your house out of bamboo or wood these days. The use of bricks and mortar and glass means that new homes need to find other ways of keeping the house cool. Inner courtyard Many old houses in Melaka & Penang are of Baba-Nyonya or Peranakan heritage. These houses adapted the traditional Chinese architecture of building an indoor courtyard in the middle of a house. The indoor courtyard is normally without the roof to provide natural lighting to the otherwise dark house, and serves as natural ventilation as it brings fresh air into the house. This design made the courtyard and its surrounding rooms and architecture feature brighter and cooler, especially during daytime. Air well A similar feature to the inner courtyard can be found in terrace houses. Since terrace houses do not have any windows or doors on the sides, an air well is built in the middle section of the house. Air wells in terrace houses may be covered for security and privacy reasons. The ceiling at the air well area is higher with windows that allow fresh air to flow into the house. With natural lighting from the windows, it helps the house to stay bright without having to switch on any lights during daytime. Greenery It is common to see tall trees, especially fruit trees like mango and rambutan trees, growing within the compound of old Malaysian houses. The relatively larger compound in older houses also made it easier for tall trees to be planted and grow within the compound of a house. Trees are natural air-conditioners in two ways. 1st. They provide shading to a house when they are planted at the right position and absorb heat gain from the sun. 2nd. Trees help reduce temperatures when water evaporates from the surface of the leaves. When water turns air into vapour in a process called evaporative cooling, it removes heat from the air. The evaporation from a single 5m-tall tree is equivalent to an air conditioner operating 24 hours a day. Greenery Plants https://www.plantsupply.com.my/products/palms-cycads/ https://www.plantsupply.com.my/products/trees/ https://www.plantsupply.com.my/products/shrubs/ https://www.plantsupply.com.my/products/climbers-ferns/ https://www.plantsupply.com.my/products/fruit-seedlings/ Cool home design: Many old techniques are still relevant today These days, we are seeing fewer of these features in modern houses and building for different reasons. However, they provide some good references for modern architecture design, especially for the construction of green sustainable buildings. Naturally, some methods, such as building your home on stilts, or building it out of bamboo and attap would not be possible today. But many techniques remain relevant and can be incorporated into the design of new homes for better energy efficiency. read more

Trees add a lot to the home landscape. Planting in the right location and practising proper tree maintenance such as pruning and watering is critical to the tree’s health. A shade tree is an investment in your home’s future and in the environment. A misplaced tree is doomed to a stressful and perhaps short life. A tree that outgrows its space can damage and endanger nearby structures. No matter what type of shade tree you choose, you need to consider the following: Here’s some advice on choosing, planting and caring for shade trees. Benefits of Shade Trees     Reduce heating and cooling costs both indoors and out.     Drop the temperature during the hot season.     Reduce heat reflected from paved areas.     Attract and sustain wildlife.     Convert CO2 to O2     Help prevent soil erosion.     Increase your property value.     Provide leaves for the compost. Choosing Shade Tree Location     Soil – Do a soil test and follow the recommendations. Urban areas often have shallow or compacted topsoil that needs amending.     Sun – How much sunlight does the site get? Most shade trees prefer full to partial sun. Check the plant tag for sunlight requirements.     Wind – Strong prevailing winds dry out the tree and the soil. Trees with dense foliage can be toppled by severe storms.     Space – How much space do you have? Plan for the tree’s size at maturity. The mature height and width should be on the plant tag. You can also check a plant guide for these key measurements. Remember the space needed for proper root growth. A tree’s roots can grow up to 3 times the diameter of the canopy. Consider your neighbours when choosing and planting – they might not enjoy raking leaves as much as you do. Don’t plant a shade tree too close to other trees. They’ll compete for water and nutrients and none of them will thrive.     Utilities – If you have wires overhead, your tree can only reach a maximum of 20 feet in height (maybe less) before interfering with utilities Shade Tree Consideration     Maintenance     Healthy shade trees require little maintenance other than occasional pruning and feeding. And of course, there’s the raking. A mature tree can produce a lot of leaves. Make sure you’re up to the challenge. Also keep in mind how you’ll be mowing around the tree. Unless you enjoy whacking your head every time you pass underneath it on a riding mower, look for a tree without low-hanging branches.     Appearance     Trees will mature into distinctive shapes. Make sure the tree fits the overall design of your landscape.     Planting     All of your thought and research when selecting a tree is worthless if it doesn’t grow. Make sure that you plant the tree correctly and get it off to a good start.     Pruning and Trimming     Lower branches help support the tree and trunk and provide balance. Cut sparingly or consult an expert before pruning anything other than dead wood. Don’t top trees – if your tree has overgrown its bounds there are alternatives to giving it a flat top. Crown reduction is a technique that allows the tree mass to be reduced without changing its natural shape or endangering its health. Again, consult an expert about these techniques.     Trimming Around Trunks     Avoid string trimmers unless you have a very steady hand. Even small wounds to the outer bark allow insects and disease inside. When the bark is stripped from around the trunk (called girdling), the tree eventually will die.     Grass underneath     sometimes trimming underneath a large shade tree is a non-issue since very often no grass will grow there anyway. The fact is, maintaining turfgrass under shade trees can be a challenge. When grass and trees compete for water, nutrients and sunlight, usually the trees win. If you insist on grass, there are shade-tolerant grass varieties available. The alternative is to make the area under the tree a turf-free area. Mulch 2-4 inches deep (more than 6 inches is too deep – water and air won’t get through). Keep the mulch 1-2 inches away from the trunk.     Feeding and Watering     Healthy trees generally don’t require much fertilizing. If you notice reduced growth, give them a feeding. Provide water regularly, but only if you’re able to water the tree deeply. Remember that a tree’s roots are normally in the top 6-12 inches of soil and any water or chemical (fertilizer or pesticide) will be absorbed by the tree. read more

Clumsy, neglected landscaping not only hurts your house appearance, it can cut the value of your property and make it harder to sell. Even more important, bad landscaping is a downer that hurts the way you see and enjoy your home. Don’t let bad landscaping happen to you.  Here are the 5 landscaping mistakes to avoid 1. Planting Without A Plan To come out with a landscaping design plan & also resolved some landscaping related challenged, landscape architects/designer are worth the investment. They will render elevations of your future yard, and provide plant lists so you can install landscaping yourself. 2. More of the Same Resist the design temptation to fill your garden areas only with your favorite plant or shrub, because it will create a boring, monochromatic landscape. Always design your landscape by following with a theme or two likes: Balinese style, Contemporary design, Japanese-style design, English garden, Zen-style design & etc. 3. Too Much Planting in Clusters Yes, planting in clusters looks way better than installing single plants throughout your yard. But make sure your groups of shrubs, and trees have plenty of room to spread, or they’ll look choked and overgrown. Also, over-crowded landscaping competes with itself for food and water, putting the clusters at risk. Find out how high and wide the mature plant will be, and then combine that info with the spacing suggestions on planting labels. At first, garden beds of young plants will look too airy and prairie-like. But within three years, your beds will fill in with room to grow. 4. Dispose Or Bury Your Dead Plants Dead or dying shrubs and plants are eye soar in a garden, so quickly remove your dearly departed landscaping from your garden. Spent plants that lived their natural lives are good choice for a compost pile – you can grind them first to make them decompose faster. And Of course, if your landscaping succumbed to disease or infestation, it’s best to dispose them in black plastic bags, and then throw away. 5. Letting Weeds Gone Wild Weeds not only make the look of your landscaping very messy, they also compete with plants for water and food.  Weeds also can shorten the life of brick, stone, and pavers by growing in mortar cracks. The best way to stop weeds is to spread a pre-emergent about three weeks before weed seeds typically germinate. If you can’t stop them from growing, at least get rid of weeds before they flower. read more

Weeding can be times consuming and tedious tasks when maintaining your garden or lawns. Are there any good from weeding? The answer is resounding YES! 1. Power of Connection: Weeding allows you to get closer to plants, learn more about them, watch their progress, and simply helps you to develop a better relationship with your environment. 2. Power of Contemplation: Weeding can give you a chance to slow down, let your thoughts wander, and open your mind to new ideas. 3. Power of Physical Exercise: By doing weeding, actually it does add variety to your exercise routine (if you have one and if not, you just earned a little sweat). 4.Power of Accomplishment. Some days you might feel like you’ve rushed through life and not achieved a single thing. With weeding you see (and feel) accomplishment within minutes. Change your perspective & celebrate the power of weeds 🙂 read more

Location of plants – Select plants that suit the environment, because even the most dedicated gardener can’t make a sun-loving plant thrive in a cold & shady area. So, ensure that your plants are suited to the light levels and temperature of the room in which they’ll be positioned. Avoid direct sun- Direct sunlight is not suitable for most house-plants. Also, don’t place house-plants over direct sources of heat likes: radiators & etc. Avoid shady areas- Ensure there is sufficient light for your house-plants to photosynthesise effectively. Water wisely- Don’t over-water house-plants; adding some drainage material at the bottom of the pot will help to keep roots aerated and ensure that they don’t drown. Re-pot regularly- Aim to re-pot your house-plants into larger pots every two years. This will ensure that they are not stressed and will thrive. Be vigilant- Learn to recognize potential problems early on before a pest infestation or other physiological problems kill off your plant. For instance, recognize a danger sign for low air humidity when flower bud falling off, leave withering, and leaves with brown tips. Signs of high humidity include mold, rot, and soft growth. Think long-term- Some popular house-plant gifts only have a short growing period, so choose plants that will thrive for longer if you want a year-round display. read more

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A HOUSE should include elements that help create a sense of security and comfort, including in its backyard. Just like how your body needs good back support the same goes for your house. A sloped backyard can bring bad Feng Shui to a house as it lacks supporting energy. In traditional Feng Shui, the back of the house is the area of the tortoise, which is one of the four celestial Feng Shui animals. The energy of the tortoise is to create support and stability for the house. Therefore, placing one in your backyard would bring good fortune. You can apply Feng Shui elements to create beautiful and cohesive backyard landscape designs and bring positive energy into your outdoor living space. To balance the energy in your backyard, consider adding the following: ORGANIC WALL Build an organic wall made from natural materials that blend in with the environment to raise the energy in your backyard. You can do this by putting in place a tall wooden fence or vertical wall garden. LIGHTS Install high lights at the end of your sloping backyard to raise the energy level. ROUND OBJECTS Round shapes such as a round patio set can evoke a sense of family togetherness and security, thus making a great addition to your yard. The chairs and table do not necessarily have to be big. LIFE/COLOUR You can bring life, colour and a sense of stability to your backyard with good landscaping and feng shui products. WATER Water is known for its serene and calming effects. You can create a small stream with a waterfall or a koi pond. If space is limited, even a small fountain would do as long as there is running water. BREATHING SPACE Just like a cluttered home, a backyard full of items can create a stressful environment. Keep things minimal and do what is really required. You can place small flower pots but keep large trees and plants away from the walls and windows of the house. The more space your yard has, the more positive your yard will feel. read more

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Mangoes may very well be the king of all fruits. They fight cancer, alkalize the body, aid in weight loss, regulate diabetes, help digestion, clean your skin, and make the perfect snack. Here are 15 healthy reasons why you should be eating a mango every day.   Nutrition chart One cup of mangoes (225 gms contain) contains the following percentages that apply to daily value. 105 calories 76 percent vitamin C (antioxidant and immune booster) 25 percent vitamin A (antioxidant and vision) 11 percent vitamin B6 plus other B vitamins (hormone production in brain and heart disease prevention) 9 percent healthy probiotic fibre 9 percent copper (copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes plus production of red blood cells) 7 percent potassium (to balance out our high sodium intake) 4 percent magnesium     Fights cancer     Antioxidants like quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat present in mango protect the body against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers.     Keeps cholesterol in check     Mango has high level of vitamin C, pectin and fibres that help to lower serum cholesterol levels. Fresh mango is a rich source of potassium, which is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps to control heart rate and blood pressure.     Skin cleanser     Mangoes help you unclog your pores and add freshness to the face. Mangoes are applicable to any skin type. They help clear clogged pores that cause acne. Just slice a mango into thin pieces and keep them on your face for 10 to 15 minutes and then take bath or wash your face and see the results.     Alkalizes the body     According to natural health school.com, mango is rich in tartaric acid, malic acid and traces of citric acid that primarily help in maintaining the alkali reserve of the body.     Weight loss     Mango has a lot of vitamins and nutrients that help the body feel fuller. Also, the fibrous fruit boosts the digestive function of the body by burning additional calories, helping in weight loss.     Regulates diabetes     Not only the fruit but the leaves of mangoes are healthy too. For people suffering from diabetes, just boil 5-6 mango leaves in a vessel, soak it through night and drink the filtered decoction in the morning. This is helps in regulating your insulin levels.     Aphrodisiac     Mango has aphrodisiac qualities and is also called the ‘love fruit’. Mangoes increase the virility in men. Vitamin E, which is abundantly present in mangoes, helps to regulate sex hormones and boosts sex drive.     Eye care     Did you know that mango is rich in vitamin A. One cup of sliced mangoes equals 25% intake of your daily need of vitamin A. Mangoes help in promoting good eye sight, fights dry eyes and also prevent night blindness.     Helps in digestion     Mango contains enzymes that help in breaking down protein. The fibrous nature of mango helps in digestion and elimination. It is is rich in pre-biotic dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals.     Heat stroke     When the sun is bogging you down this summer, just chop of a mango in a juicer; add a little water and a tbsp of sugar free or honey. This juice will instantly cool you down and prevent heat stroke.     Strengthens your immune     The deadly combination of vitamin C, vitamin A and 25 different kinds of carotenoids keep your immune system healthy.     Body scrub     Make a paste of mashed mango, honey and milk and use as a body scrub, you will feel that your skin is tender and smooth.     Aids concentration and memory     Studying for exams? This fruit is rich in glutamine acid– an important protein for concentration and memory. Feed mangoes to children who find it difficult to concentrate on studies.     High iron for women     Mango is rich in iron, hence it is a great natural solution for people suffering from anemia. Menopausal and pregnant women can indulge in mangoes as this will increase their iron levels and calcium at the same time.     Reduces Kidney Stones     In Chinese medicine, mangoes are considered sweet and sour with a cooling energy also capable of reducing the risk of kidney stone formation.     Perfect Snack     Instead of snacking on unhealthy chips and cookies, why not feast on slices of mangoes instead. They are perhaps one of the tastiest dehydrated fruits of all.     Stomach Tonic     Before going to bed put some 10 or 15 mango leaves in warm water and close it with lid. The next day morning filter the water and drink it in empty stomach. Do this regularly. read more