When your apartment turns into a sauna

Jun 28, 2026

When your home turns into a sauna

I don't know about you, but as soon as the temperature outside hits 30 degrees Celsius, my brain only works at half speed. And the increased ice cream consumption among our team certainly suggests that we're all somehow affected by the heat.
On such days, however, it's not just our energy levels and craving for cold desserts that change, but also our relationship with our own homes. Suddenly, it's no longer about the apartment looking nice; it just needs to feel as cool as possible. For example, I don't have external blinds, so I've copied my neighbors and covered the south-facing windows with emergency blankets from the first-aid kit. It's not pretty, of course, but it works. Others place fans in every room, put ice packs in their beds, or relocate their lives to the basement for a few days. As soon as it gets hot, everyone develops their own survival strategy.
This made me wonder: How do people who live all year round with temperatures for which we in Germany receive heat warnings on our phones actually manage?
In Southeast Asia, for example in Vietnam, traditional furniture is often made of hardwood or bamboo. Upholstered furniture or heavy fabrics are largely avoided. This has practical reasons: natural materials feel more pleasant even in the heat and cope much better with high humidity, whereas engineered wood products like chipboard or MDF react much more sensitively to moisture there. I find the traditional sleeping places in more rural areas particularly fascinating. Instead of sleeping on a mattress, people often sleep on artfully decorated hard wooden beds. What sounds uncomfortable at first makes a lot of sense in a tropical climate: mattresses store heat and moisture, while wood remains comparatively pleasantly cool and well-ventilated.
Architecture also reflects the climate. In Spain, Italy, or Greece, thick stone walls, small windows, shutters, and shady courtyards ensure that buildings absorb as little heat as possible during the day. And in many regions of the Middle East, wind towers were built centuries ago to channel air currents into buildings, a kind of early form of air conditioning.
In Germany, on the other hand, we long had a different challenge: winter. Nearly 75% of residential buildings were built before 1990, a time when the main goal was to lose as little heat as possible. Good insulation and solid construction ensure warm rooms in winter, but in summer, the heat often remains just as stubbornly in the house. And then there's the matter of air conditioning.
In countries like the USA, Japan, or Australia, it's standard equipment. In Germany, however, it's not yet so well received in private households. We often associate it with a certain skepticism and the dreaded "summer flu." People prefer to darken, ventilate, and sweat before seriously considering air conditioning. This has to do with our comparatively temperate climate, high energy prices, and also our building methods. However, demand for cooling technology is now increasing in this country too.
Unfortunately, there's an uncomfortable truth in that: Summers are changing. Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense. They pose challenges for our homes that they were never originally built for. And they remind us that sustainable action is more important than ever. Precisely for this reason, these summer days secretly reinforce what we do at Revive. Consciously using resources, preserving things for as long as possible, and appreciating what already exists will only become more important in the future.
And until we in Germany perhaps get used to wooden beds and air conditioning, the best solution will probably remain a dip in the lake, a visit to the outdoor pool, or simply a cold drink in the shade. And if you need to escape the heat for a short while: It's pleasantly cool in our showroom, and cold drinks are also available.