The Summer Edit: Summer Decorating Tips for Every Room
Get your home summer-ready with simple decorating tips to bring in light, color, and a laid-back feel for the season.
Summer is right around the corner, and now’s the perfect time to get your home ready for the sunny season ahead. Warmer days and longer evenings call for a fresh approach to decorating that feels light, relaxed, and full of joy. Whether you’re swapping out throw pillows, refreshing your front porch, or setting a pretty summer table, this is your go-to guide for simple updates that make a big impact. I’ll walk you through my favorite tips for bringing that easy summer feel into every corner of your home.
What is The Summer Edit?
Think of The Summer Edit as your personal guide to creating a home that feels just right for summer—easy, breezy, and effortlessly beautiful. It’s a handpicked collection of simple decorating tips, fresh ideas, and seasonal trends to help you bring the relaxed charm of summer into every part of your home.
From updating your indoor spaces to making your outdoor areas shine, everything here is designed to help you create a home that’s both stylish and comfortable during the warmest months of the year. Whether you’re hosting guests, enjoying a quiet morning coffee, or just want your space to feel a little more cheerful, The Summer Edit has you covered.
Let’s dive into all the inspiration!
How to transition from spring to summer decor
First, let’s talk about making a change from spring decorating to summer.
When you decorated for spring, your goal was probably to create a sense of renewal and freshness in your home.
To shift your home to summer, you’ll be making changes that embrace the warmer, more vibrant energy of the upcoming months.
Focus on the overall feel of your space to match the bright, buoyant mood that comes with summer.
You might consider updating your color palette with the addition of bolder and brighter hues that reflect sunshine filled days.
Patterns might shift from delicate spring flowers to more vibrant summer themes.
To accomodate the rising temps and humidity, materials and textures typically become even lighter and more breathable.
Overall, summer decorating typically focuses on creating an atmosphere of breezy ease and relaxation, preparing your space not just for daily living but for the leisure and entertainment that comes with the season.
Let’s get your home summer ready
Alright – now that we’ve set the stage for what summer decorating entails, let’s dive into some specific ideas that can really bring the season into your home.
Select a few ideas that catch your eye and start working on them a little at a time to turn your home into a refreshing summer retreat.
Summer Decorative Touches
At the heart of it, creating a certain feeling or mood is what any seasonal decorating is all about.
Below, you’ll find 25 indoor ideas to help you capture the essence of summer and make your space more inviting.
• Hydrangeas: Fill a container with a several stems of faux or real hydrangeas for a stunning display.
• Add green accents: Add green accents to your decor for an eye-catching pop of color.
• Shop the floral section: Don’t have a flower garden? Bring home a potted floral plant from the grocery store to enjoy all summer.
• Add indoor plants: Did you know that certain plants like aloe vera or snake plants help to keep the air cool?
• Summer’ize your bowl filler: Replace the filler in a decorative bowl with a collection of seashells.
• Switch to lighter bedding: Replace heavy, winter bedding with lighter materials such as cotton and linen.
• Rearrange your furniture: During the cold months, did you have your furniture arranged to take advantage of a fireplace?
• Add mirrors: Brighten up rooms by adding mirrors to reflect the increase in natural light this time of year.
• Decorate with lemons: Lemons have a bright, cheerful yellow color that captures the spirit of summer.
• Swap out throw pillows: Change the throw pillows you display to brighter, more colorful choices.
• Add baskets: Baskets made from natural materials like wicker or rattan fit in perfectly with the laid-back vibe of summer,
• Set up a lemonade bar: During the winter, you may have had a hot chocolate bar. Replace that with a spot dedicated to lemonade.
• Display coral: Add a piece of coral to a vignette on the top of a stack of books.
• Show your patriotism: Add an understated bit of red, white, and blue to celebrate Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
• Use slipcovers: Use slipcovers to give furniture a lighter, fresh look for summer.
• Set up a hydration station: Set up a hydration station offering infused water options in glass dispensers.
• Incorporate moss: Add a diy moss bowl to a table top for a touch of nature indoors.
• Summer Scented Candles: Choose candles with summer fragrances like coconut, citrus, or sea breeze to fill your home with the scents of the season.
• Summer-Themed Book Stack: Create a stack of books with bright covers or titles that evoke summer themes to use as a decorative element on coffee tables or shelves.
• Summer Centerpiece: Replace your spring table centerpiece with an arrangement of vibrant summer blooms, such as sunflowers, daisies, or colorful zinnias.
• Display a summer collection: Display a lidded glass display box, filled with treasures from a trip to the beach or other vacation destination, on your coffee table.
• Use terra-cotta indoors: Display greenery and flowers in terra-cotta pots grouped together on a tray.
• Incorporate driftwood: Incorporate a piece of driftwood into a summer vignette.
• Start a summer collection: Start a collection of strictly summer related items to display. Summer collection ideas include, pieces of sea glass, shells, matchbooks, postcards, etc.
• Use the back of your sofa: Drape a summer-colored quilt or throw blanket over the back of your sofa.
Summer Outdoor Living
Summer is the ideal time to focus on your outdoor spaces, turning them into the perfect getaway for relaxation and entertainment.
Below, are 25 ideas that will make you want to spend the entire summer outdoors.
• Clean outdoor living areas: Pollen season is finally over here in North Carolina and I’ve spent the last several days cleaning all of the yellow gunk off of my front porch and screen porch.
• Add a mobile barcart: Elevate your outdoor space with a mobile barcart so that you can serve up refreshing summer beverages with style.
• Use the trellis pattern outdoors: Add an outdoor rug or welcome mat with a trellis pattern.
• Install a retractable awning: Save on energy bills, protect your furniture from fading and generally be able to enjoy the outdoors more with shade provided by an awning.
• Feature an outdoor planter: Place an outdoor planter in a strategic position and fill it to overflowering with a variety of colorful flowers.
• Attract butterflies: Plant a butterfly bush in the ground or in a container to attact butterflies.
• Style your front porch: Add summer accents to your front porch to welcome visitors to your home.
• A pretty bird feeding station: Surround a bird feeder with pots of pretty summer flowers that will bloom all season.
• Add a water feature: Add a tabletop fountain for a relaxing, cool effect created by the sound of trinkling water.
• Use faux grass: Add faux grass to the floor of an outdoor balcony.
• Add a swing: Hang an outdoor swing on your porch for a cozy spot to nap, read or just enjoy a refreshing beverage.
• Repurpose furniture: Repurpose a piece of furniture for the outdoors by painting it white. Be sure to use exterior paint!
• Deter pests: Discourage pesky mosquitoes by adding mosquito repellent plants to outdoor areas.
• Nautical rope: If you have a swing, wrap the chain with heavy nautical rope.
• String outdoor lights: Add strings of weather-proof outdoor lights to a patio or deck space. They make even the most blah of spaces (like my deck) look fun and festive.
• Front door basket: Instead of a traditional wreath, display a hanging basket on your front door filled with faux flowers and greenery.
• Fill a container with impatiens: Have a shady spot? Plant a container filled with easy to care for impatiens and enjoy the blooms all summer long.
• Install a hammock: Encourage lazy summer days by installing a hammock between two trees or purchase a hammock stand.
• Decorate with seed packets: Create a garden-themed wreath with seed packets and a pair of gardening gloves. All of the supplies can be purchased at the dollar store.
• Enjoy an outdoor meal: Set a pretty table outdoors for a just-because meal.
• Disguise the ugly: Use premade lattice panels to hide air conditioning units, garbage cans or other unsightly areas outside your home.
• Scatter lanterns: Scatter various sized lanterns around your deck or patio filled with battery operated candles for a wonderful evening glow.
• Display a flag: Show your patriotism by hanging an American flag outside your front entry.
• Add an outdoor garden flag: Add a summer-season outdoor garden flag to a spot near the entrance to your home. It’s an easy inexpensive touch for welcoming visitors!
I hope this list of summer decorating ideas inspires you to create a home that feels just right for the season—light, relaxed, and full of charm. The best part about The Summer Edit is that it’s meant to be personalized, so have fun making these ideas your own!
Here’s to a beautiful, welcoming home and a summer filled with moments you love. Happy decorating—and happy summer!
Enjoyed reading all your great summer decorating ideas. Stuck inside due to rain here in Greensboro but using the time for some planning my summer decor and getting to some much needed cleaning of my office. Thanks for your pleasant distraction and inspiration. Tommorow will bring some sunshine and Carolina blue skies.
Yes, it has been lots of rain, rain and more rain here in Greensboro! At least it’s warm though or we would be having lots of ice storms. LOL