Decorating & Design
10+ Rooms That Inspire Summer Decorating
Updated on November 17, 2023
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
…. 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.
Hang Some Hooks
No fussy folding required: a casually draped towel dries just as well and looks breezy draped from a hook.
Add Some Raffia
In this Florida golf cottage, raffia placemats are an inexpensive ways to incorporate some tropical flair.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.