Decor | Lifestyle | Design
Thinking about spring and summer and spending more time outdoors? Get yours ready with our five tips for elevating your outdoor space.
As the weather warms up, we all start thinking about our outdoor spaces. How to improve them. How to style them. However, it can be discouraging when you look at photos on Pinterest and Instagram of gorgeous outdoor spaces that seem unattainable. But even the smallest, simplest patio can feel more luxurious with just a little effort!
Looking for ways to lighten and brighten your home this season? We’re sharing simple decor ideas for a spring and summer refresh!
Most years I’m rushing to decorate for spring. I literally can’t wait to lighten and brighten and do a little refresh for the season. But this year, time got away from me! Not only that, it was so cold and rainy for so long that it just didn’t feel right to be decorating for spring yet.
Do you love a relaxing outdoor space? These patio decor ideas will help you create an outdoor oasis of your own!
Summer has a feel all its own. Warm nights sitting outdoors, time spent reading on the patio, and of course, dining alfresco. All of these activities call for an outdoor space where you can relax and recharge. But if you’re anything like me, your outdoor space may not be quite what you want it to be.
Embracing each season is something I love, and that includes the inside of my home.
When the weather warms up there’s a natural feeling of wanting to lighten up, both literally and figuratively. So why not do that with your home, too? With that in mind, I’m sharing my living room and dining rooms all dressed up for summer.
Or I guess I should say, dressed down. 😉
Because summer for me is all about less. Less heavy, less dark. More light, more bright.
And the first thing we did to achieve that is paint the rooms a nice, clean white! We decided on Cloud White from Benjamin Moore which is what our kitchen cabinets as well as all the trim in the house are painted. I’ve been wanting to paint these areas for several years now and just hadn’t gotten around to it. And wow, what a difference it’s made!
I’ve also added lots of blue accents (my favorite color that just screams summer) like this distressed blue bowl on the coffee table.
One of the first things I do when I’m doing a summer refresh, is remove all the things I think feel too heavy or not seasonally appropriate.
In this case, my green pillows were wonderful for winter and spring, but I wanted to bring in some soft blue tones so out they went. (*Tip: if you love to change pillows like me, buy pillow covers and not a fully stuffed pillow. I purchase most of mine in a 20 x 20 size and then I just change out the covers as needed. That way, there’s a lot less to store!)
On the sofa is a mix of floral linen, solid textured linen, and another paisley pattern. Once you’ve decided on a color palette, you can mix and match to your heart’s content.
I also took out some darker vases and accessories, and of course, the pine cones I found in one of my urns, haha! Yes, pinecones. They were tiny ones so I guess I never noticed them? Now the same urn is filled with tiny shells. Much better!
Speaking of shells, I added shells to the marble bowl that always lives on the dining table. I’ve decorated with these in other rooms in the past, but this was a fresh way to use them and I love them in here. I feel like it ties the two rooms together, too.
Some coral is also nice for a seasonal touch. I put this piece under a cloche, and used this piece on another side table. They are small and easy to store and like the shells, I enjoy bringing them out again each year.
If you have heavier throws or rugs, you may want to swap those out for lighter, brighter options as well. We already have seagrass in here but natural fiber rugs are one way to really make a space feel more summery.
And I also decided to change out the art I had leaning on the living room mirror. It was a landscape which is perfectly fine, but I thought this seascape would really give a coastal vibe to the room for summer so I switched them. Then in the fall, I’ll just switch them back. When in doubt, shop your house!
And of course, I added a little bit of blue with one of my favorite ginger jars. I love the pop of dark blue, as well as the vintage vibe it adds. You can find some of my favorite ginger jars below.
And how great is this oyster shell ball? I purchased this in North Carolina when we were there a few years ago. At the time I’d never seen one before, although now I’ve found them elsewhere as well as online. I love the coastal feel it imparts and of course, the fact that it reminds me of our trip is nice, too.
If you don’t already have plants, greenery or flowers, it’s nice to bring those in, especially in the summer. I love the inside of our home to reflect the outdoors.
And even if you don’t want to go crazy with seasonal decorating, give your rooms a good cleaning. Shake out the rugs and sweep underneath them. Wash all the pillow covers and throws, and even the slipcovers if you have them. Dust everything.
And make sure you clean the windows, too. It’s amazing how much brighter and prettier the space looks now that we cleaned them! It literally lets the sun shine in!
If you’re looking for some summer decor ideas for your own home, be sure to take a peek below at some of my seasonal favorites, including much of what I used here!
Happy Summer!
Sheila
xo
And now be sure to check out all the summer decor ideas my friends are sharing below, too!
The Happy Housie |Maison de Cinq| Clean and Scentsible
My Sweet Savannah | She Gave it a Go | Rambling Renovators | Paint Me Pink
I’m sure you guys saw the charming summer table setting I shared a few weeks back, and it’s become one of my favorite summer tables I’ve ever put together. I loved the pops of yellow and how cheerful they felt, and that’s had me obsessed with all-things-citrus ever since!
Every year it seems summer sneaks up on me a bit. At least when it comes to the outdoors. A few weeks ago I added some summery pillows to the living room, and freshened up the kitchen and family room with blues and whites and some seasonal decor.
But the backyard was another story! It was still a mess from the winter; with dirty furniture, lots of leaves and debris, and of course, dead plants in every pot! 😉