Camping AreD Camping Cooking FunCamping Rv GlampingCold CampingCamping HikingCamping StuffCamping MonthsFe PopupPopup OzForwardReflectix is to add a layer under each mattress to help keep the cold out during the colder camping months while also improving bed comfort....Keep guests comfortable with careful decorating and a well-dressed air mattress. For overnight guests, comfort starts with the sleeping accommodations. Even with an air mattress, your guest room can be relaxing and inviting as well as well decorated. Start with a neutral paint color and install window treatments directly above the window frame, rather than higher up to allow for plenty of privacy. This keeps the eye from traveling too far upwards, making the low profile of the mattress less noticeable. Choose a Color Scheme Start your design process by choosing a traditional color scheme, and use this when deciding on paint color, linens, window treatments and other pieces in the room. For a guest bedroom, cool or muted warm colors and neutral shades work best, creating a relaxing, serene environment.
Pick a neutral shade, such as creamy beige, a medium-tone cool gray or crisp white, and then pick one to two colors that coordinate with it. Pastel green or lilac work beautifully with beige, while gray comes alive against a muted coral or yellow. Pair white with an icy blue or keep things clean, using the white as a backdrop for several different shades of beige and taupe. Treat the Air Mattress Like a Traditional Bed Outfit the bed -- positioned head against the wall -- in high-quality sheets, pillows and a bedcover to make the air mattress look and feel like a traditional bed. Arrange the bedding so that it hides any hint of the vinyl mattress below. If you’re having a hard time finding a fitted sheet that covers the mattress, wrap it in a large, flat sheet and secure this with sheet suspenders, ensuring they don't cut into the bed's plastic. Include at least two pillows per person, a comfortable quilt or comforter and an additional blanket. Due to the air, an inflatable mattress can be cold, so extra blankets are essential.
Choose linens that coordinate with your color scheme, and layer solids with patterns to add a decorative effect to the room without going overboard with artwork or knickknacks. For example, pair a solid steel gray fitted sheet with a crisp white flat sheet and pillowcases featuring a subtle gray print or gray stitching. Top this with a patterned quilt in muted coral and gray, a second set of pillows adorned in coral and a white and gray throw blanket. The resulting bed is inviting, comfortable and colorful. Add an Area Rug If you have hardwood floors, place an area rug underneath the bed to brighten the space and keep the air mattress from sliding across the floor. Choose a rug that comes out around the base of the air mattress at least 12 to 18 inches. This sets the mattress off, creates a stage for the rest of the room in the decor, and makes the space feel cozier. Opt for a smaller pattern or solid color so that the rug isn't cut off at an odd angle by the edge of the mattress. For guest rooms with wall-to-wall carpeting, place a patterned or solid area rug slightly wider than the air mattress at the foot of the bed.
Look for the least prominent color in the bedding and use this for the rug to balance the sleeping space, or use this as an opportunity to bring in a complementary color. With the coral and gray bedding, a mostly neutral rug with a subdued teal print works beautifully. When in doubt, a neutral rug that is much darker or lighter than the flooring beneath it makes a classic statement. Furniture Choices In a guest room, less is usually more, and too much decor often means too much clutter. Choose a few pieces of artwork to adorn the walls, opting for neutral prints or paintings rather than family photos. Black and white landscapes, either on canvas or in traditional frames, work with most decor styles and color schemes. Place short lamps, a clock and a vase of flowers or potted plant on the nightstands. Add a floor lamp across the room from the bed and include a few decorative pieces along the dresser so that they take up about one-third of the surface. This leaves room for guests to put their things without the space looking too sparse.
Candles, decorative stones or a set of antique vases are all good choices. Room-Wide Decor Keep the height of the pieces in mind when choosing furniture for the guest room. With an air mattress, a traditional nightstand looks awkward and isn’t very functional. Get creative and use large decorative boxes, a decorative footstool, or hard-topped ottomans for high-rise mattresses in lieu of traditional bedside tables. Add a low chaise lounge to the room to give guests additional seating. Place a short, long dresser as far away from the bed as possible; the low profile keeps the scale of the room relatively balanced, but even a short dresser can seem disproportional when sitting directly adjacent to an air mattress. References Apartment Therapy: Tips for Sleeping Comfortably on an Air MattressHouzz: 11 Area Rug Rules and How to Break ThemApartment Therapy: Making Guests Comfortable Without a Guest Room Photo Credits Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionSkip to main content
You are hereHome » Insect & Pest Info » Home & Health Pests » Bed Bugs ENTfactHome & Health PestsStinging or Biting PestsWhether you are a seasoned summer canoe/kayak camper or a novice, weekend warrior, you may be ready to consider extending your camping season. Three-season camping means extra consideration for the elements around you and acquiring additional equipment (usually in the form of warmer clothing) to help you maintain a healthy and safe comfort zone. And while the ponds, lakes and rivers in many parts of the country are starting to ice over, there are still opportunities to get out and enjoy one more paddling campout. You can extend your summer gear list for colder season camping without breaking the bank on new equipment.Ten Inexpensive Ways to Convert to Cold Weather Camping:1. As someone who participates in the outdoors, we should all know the advantages of layering. For colder weather, simply add layers or increase the bulk of those worn in cold weather.
Wool and synthetics are excellent layering fabrics that help you retain heat. Simply adding a layer or including a thicker weave can help you stay comfortably satisfied. You might consider a union suit. You probably already have this gear if you are someone who paddles throughout most of the year.2. If you are a power paddler you probably haven't worried about staying warm. Wearing a hat and gloves/mittens is an easy way to warm your entire body. 25% of your body heat escapes through your head. As the season cools down, carrying gloves and a hat/cap/hood may be the only additional clothing you'll need in milder fall climates. Thin gloves made of synthetic fabric can be used as an outer glove when mildly cool, or as a liner under an insulated glove or mitten in more extreme conditions (review some glove options with thisarticle). Keeping your feet dry and warm by wearing wool socks can allow you to extend the use of a favorite waterproof summer boot. The big factor, of course, is wearing fabric that keeps you warm even when wet – an obvious plus with most paddling gear.
3. Go with the foam Maybe you've been sneaking by with an "air" mattress during the summer. You may want to consider foam or closed-cell pads as they are the key to a warm night's sleep. On an air mattress you sleep above the ground on a non-insulated layer of cold air. Closed cell foam pads buy you relief by having a warming layer between you and the ground.4. One of the easiest, most cost-effective ways to add warmth to a sleeping bag is to include a liner that fits inside your regular bag. A summer bag might only be good down to 50 degrees, a three-season bag just down to freezing. Adding something as simple as a flannel sheet to your sleeping bag can increase its "warming" affect by at least ten more degrees. Add a wool or synthetic pair of long johns as sleeping attire and you can probably add at least another 7-10 degrees on top of that.5. Another way to extend your sleeping bag's warming efficiency is to use a heat-reflecting ground cloth (space blanket) inside the tent, as the first layer upon which you sleep.
It will help reflect back your body's heat. It's a good dry layer, too, presuming you don't sweat and pass that perspiration out onto the waterproof layer of the blanket. The space blanket is a handy body shelter on those colder nights as well.6. Just as it can keep things from getting too warm, it can also keep food items from freezing during winter camps. The colder it gets the more insulation you'll want around the cooler. For fall, it usually works for taking the frost off things and prevents surface ice from forming. It's especially good for keeping veggies fresh, too. If there's snow on the ground and temperatures are going to be extremely cold – burying a cooler in the snow is a good way to add extra insulation around the cooler. The snow will actually help keep items inside from freezing unless it's really cold out there!7. Lights, lanterns and lamps Besides dropping temperatures, decreased sunlight is another factor in shoulder season outings. Remember your headlamp – it's great for close-up food prep or reading while lanterns and lamps can cast a warming glow on the campsite.
Extreme cold can weaken batteries so bring extras. Be very careful when refueling gas lanterns so you don't spill icy cold fuel on your bare skin. 8. Build the right kind of fire Different shapes of fires direct heat in different ways (see my article on types of campfires). A teepee fire directs the heat upward towards the center – great for quickly heating an overhanging pot of water; a log-cabin or pyramid fire enables the stacked wood to fall into itself as it burns thus creating a good bed of coals in/on which you can cook; a reflector fire is any fire behind which you create a reflecting surface that heat can "reflect" back off and be directed forward towards your tent or dining tarp. Many of us cook using camp stoves during the summer. You may want to reacquaint yourself with your stove for cold weather starts and consider using a fire for back-up cooking as well.9. It's easy to forget to drink enough water in the winter. We often don't realize we are losing water through perspiration.
A hot cup of tea warms the innards but also encourages chilling responses to Ma Nature’s call in the middle of the night. Stowing a water bottle under several layers of clothing keeps it from freezing. Instead of having to light a stove or build a fire to melt snow for water, try adding snow to the water still in your bottle – a little at a time means you will soon refill it without having to use external heat.10. Keep fueled and energizedYou need to stoke your internal furnace! You need calories to burn in the winter, especially if you are activity recreating (cross country skiing, snowshoeing, etc.). It's often easier to prepare one-pot meals (stews, thick soups, re-heated casseroles, etc.) than to try to keep separate courses warm. Check the nutrition charts on bars and other foods to see if you are really getting the calories you think you are. Also, many freeze-dried foods and dehydrated "just-add-water" packages contain an excessive amount of sodium – for your health's sake, read the labels.