Easy Summer Decorating Ideas

Five Tips for getting your Living Room Ready for Summer SUPER QUICK

Let’s welcome summer with these easy summer decorating ideas! These simple and quick decor ideas are the perfect way to start preparing your home for summertime living.

Decorating for summer is mostly about taking things away, clearing spaces and surfaces, and lightening up the weight of your room. It is about making room for summer colors, textures, and decorations in moderation. It is about simple decorations and quick and easy flower arrangements.

Are you ready for summer as much as I am? After being extra cooped up for so long, I am longing for lighter and brighter times. So far we have had to practice patience because even spring is making us wait for consistent sunny days. But time is moving quickly and I know that soon those patio doors will be open all the time and we will start living outside again.

In anticipation of summertime fun, I wanted to get my house ready for summer and free up space and time to let the good times roll.

So let’s get ready! Free up an hour or two of your time and whip your living room into summer shape with these 5 easy tips.

….. if only I could whip my muffin rolls into summer shape in an hour 😉 ……

1. Remove the Extras

If your home is anything like mine then you will have little ‘extras’ everywhere. When moving through the seasons, from Christmas to winter, to spring, little decorative items seem to be sticking around. The collection of candlesticks I brought out for Christmas are still hanging out on the side table. My winter plaid is still lounging over the couch because the cats love it so much. And I haven’t had the heart to put away some of my spring centerpieces completely (although I did remove the Easter items, I am not that bad….).

Bringing free and empty space into your home should be the first step. Start by putting away some of the decorations that really don’t need to be in a summer home. Think about:

• plaids, throws and heavy fabrics
• collections of candles and candle holders that are just too much
• put away the thick rug and remove heavy curtains
• take away the draft stoppers and bring in the insect screens
• critically examine all your accessories and decorations in the room: how many can you put away for this season.

2. Change the Fabric

One of the quickest and easiest ways to change the ‘feel’ of a room is to change the fabrics you use. If you have heavy and dark-colored curtains, pillow covers, and table runners this is the time to change them out for lighter colors.

For summer I like fabrics in light, neutral colors as my base and I will sometimes add a pop of color to bring in that summer feeling (think soda pop and ice cream colors like lemon, orange, pistachio green, or baby blue). You can see it in my summer home tour, from a few years ago (different house).

For texture, I choose light and easy fabrics like cotton and linen. These are perfect for the warm season because they feel cool to the touch.

Summer patterns can be colorful and flowery, or you can choose my go-to style with nautical stripes and cheery polka dots.

3. Add Texture

Summer is beach and sand, farmers markets and strawberry picking, dry grass under your feet, and fluffy clouds in the sky.

I am sure you have heard it a thousand times before but adding texture to your home adds visual interest and makes it look finished. Summertime decorating is no exception to that rule.

Summer textures are cotton and linen, raffia and wicker, straw and rope. So don’t forget to change out some of your decor and organizing units for summer style. Here are some quick ways to add summer texture to your home:

• Use baskets and wicker trays to coral small items and keep your space airy
• Replace the wool rug with a jute rug
• Hang some straw hats on the wall
• Bring out the totes and display them on hooks and coat racks
• Drape a light, soft stola or thin plaid on your couch for cooler nights

Related Reading: 50+ DIY Bohemian Decorating Ideas (perfect for summer)

4. Bring in Summer Accessories

Whether you want to go full out in your summer decor or you want to ease into transitioning from spring to summer decorating adding some summer-themed accessories back in is the way to go. When I think of summer decorations a beach theme and nautical style first comes to mind. And as you might know, I love coastal-style decorating! So I never go without scattering some shells and pieces of (faux) coral around to quickly ad a summer feel to my home. I like driftwood mirrors and easy coastal vignettes, but also vintage crates with shells and sea stars, and of course centerpieces with DIY fishing floats.

But even if the nautical look is not your thing there are other summer-style decorations to choose from. Maybe you like the tropical birds and flowers look. Or you are into an Ibiza and bohemian style. Maybe you want to add just a touch of coastal to your farmhouse design. And the French country style is also easy to summarize with its love for lavender and linen.

One quick tip for accessorizing your home for summer: keep it light and airy, maintain empty space and surfaces, and rather rotate your favorites than displaying them all at once. After all who wants to spend their precious summer time dusting and cleaning a room full of tchotchkes!

5. Play with Flowers

You knew I kept the best for last, didn’t you…….

In my book, no room is fully decorated without some flowers (or plants). Summertime decorating with flowers is easy. The garden and parks are full of flowers and even the simplest of grocery store flowers are pretty now.

When making floral arrangements for summer I like to keep it simple. I usually go for just one kind of flower and either use them in simple, small bouquets (like my blue mason jar flower arrangement number 1 and 2).

Or I go for a big statement bouquet in a big pitcher of even bucket.

I also love to make small posies of whatever flowers are blooming in the garden at that very moment. Just three roses and some airy lady’s mantles is all that it takes.

Quick and Easy summer Decor

Now that wasn’t so hard, was it!?

I strongly believe that summer decorating should be light and airy, quick and easy and most of all uncomplicated. After all, we won’t be spending nearly as much time inside as we do in the colder months of the year. But I do like my home to move with me through the seasons and to have my inside decor be a reflection of my life and activities. For summer that means that I want my house to feel like a vacation home or a beach cottage where I can have the perfect staycation all season long.

Have you started summer decorating? What is your favorite summer decorating tip?

If you liked this post, don’t forget to pin it to your decorating board on Pinterest!