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10+ Rooms That Inspire Summer Decorating

By Wendy Jacob On

If you want to give your rooms a breath of fresh air, try incorporating a hit of summer sprucing.

It doesn’t require a major overhaul. Small tweaks — such as incorporating breezy, organic textures — can make your home instantly feel more fresh.

Go Bare

Consider swapping out dining chairs with a folding campaign-style version and roll up the carpet to mimic the breezy look of this dining room.

  • Photographer Valerie Wilcox
  • Designer Interior: Jennifer Ferreira; Design-Build: Structural Anomaly

Add Nautical Stripes

They don’t always have to be navy, these bands of sunshine yellow are a juicy hit in a PEC bedroom, plus the graphic contrast is bracing and fresh.

  • Photographer Valerie Wilcox
  • Designer Interior: Jennifer Ferreira; Design-Build: Structural Anomaly

Mimic A Living Wall

For a budget-friendly alternative, plantfluencer Dorrington Reid mimics a green wall with an assortment of plants and plant-themed art. For a sleek look, keep all the planters the same color and vary the heights for interest.

  • Photographer Dorrington Reid

Layer In Wovens

With their tropical overtones, woven textures are a perennial summer staple. What makes this bedroom unique is seeing wovens incorporated in unexpected ways, such as the headboard or try a wicker lamp shade.

  • Photographer Valerie Wilcox
  • Designer Interior: Jennifer Ferreira; Design-Build: Structural Anomaly

Go Monochromatic

This room is as cool as a scoop of vanilla. To give rooms a wintry chill, swap out anything colorful for neutral woven chairs, a neutral rug and white walls.

  • Photographer Valerie Wilcox
  • Designer Cory DeFrancisco

…. Or Mix It Up

If there was ever a time to embrace a boho moment, it’s summer. Make some fun pillow covers from colorful fabric remnants. This cottage daybed has a Tulum vibe, thanks to mix of patterned pillows and a striped fabric that incorporates exuberant multicolor fringe.

  • Photographer Spacecrafting
  • Designer Lucy Interior Design

Hang Some Hooks

No fussy folding required: a casually draped towel dries just as well and looks breezy draped from a hook.

  • Photographer Alex Lukey
  • Designer Sam Sacks

Add Some Raffia 

In this Florida golf cottage, raffia placemats are an inexpensive ways to incorporate some tropical flair.

  • Photographer Andrea Kellaway
  • Designer Emily Griffin and Gail Marshall

Bamboo-Inspired Accents

Bamboo is a beloved decorator staple dating back to the days of Dorothy Draper. A mirror frame and sconces reference the classic lacquered look, or try a bamboo motif motif wallpaper in a powder room.

  • Photographer Andrea Kellaway
  • Designer Emily Griffin and Gail Marshall

Ship Shape

You don’t need to be on the water to get lots of summer mileage from this well -loved cottage motif. Model ships and boats are beautiful and evocative. In the P.E.I. summer home, a vintage model clipper ship takes pride of place on a dresser in the bathroom.

  • Photographer Alex Lukey
  • Designer Architecture by David Lopes

Supersize Your Scale

An oversize planter subs in for centrepiece on this patio dining table, and it couldn’t be easier to pull off. Big vessels and planters filled with large branches and boughs deliver a major hit of drama to tabletops.

  • Photographer Patrick Biller
  • Designer Leigh Gravenor

Swap In Summer-y Art

A piece of art can change the mood of space. In this case, a shot of a sunwashed desert home dwarfed with palm trees is transportive and the colors are cheery.

  • Photographer Stacey Brandford
  • Designer Sam Sacks

Show Off Those Shells

Shells are natural picks for cottages, as seen in this Muskoka great room where they also serve as travel souvenirs. Shells are easy to incorporate into any vignette, but for environmental reasons, opt for resin replicas of coral which can be found through many retailers.

  • Photographer Virginia Macdonald
  • Designer Montana Burnett