Easy summer decorating ideas for a seasonal refresh
Unlike our clothes, we don't change our decoration ideas with each passing season – though what a wonderful life it would be if we could. However, there are small changes you can make throughout the house when summer hits to cool things down and make the most of the warm glow of (hopefully) endless sunshine.
First things first, you want to switch out wool cushions or throws on your sofas and armchairs for lighter, linen fabrics and maybe even consider getting linen sofa covers for a seasonal swap too. Surrounding yourself with fabrics that don't retain heat makes a big difference, so curtains and blinds can be changed too. Blackout blinds that completely block out sunlight are all very well, but they're not great if you're at home in the day. Instead, choose blinds or ready made curtains that block the sun's heat but diffuse lovely colour throughout a room.
In the bedroom, switch to airy linen bedding for the summer months and invest in a quiet fan. If you have a canopy bed or four poster with heavy fabric on the sides and it's easy to remove, think about taking the sides off to let air move around you easily as you sleep or swapping heavy fabric for something more breathable. Now's the time to buy a new mattress too if that's been on your list and there are so many these days with a cooling effect, perfect for summer.
Elsewhere, the garden should be your main focus. Now is a good time to buy some cheerful tableware for outdoor dining, and possibly even invest in some new garden furniture. While you're at it, think about sprucing up your outdoor space, even if it's just a small garden, with some fresh, colourful plant pots. Garden chairs, benches and garden lights are all key, so once you've cooled down the inside of the house, look outside and get a garden parasol for that summer essential: shade!
We've gathered some top tips from our very own decoration team's summer schemes over the years to inspire your own small – or big – seasonal updates.
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Owen Gale1/11If you've been overheating overnight lately, the sight of this airy bedroom is almost enough to cool you down. In Angus and Charlotte Buchanan's house, they have created an easy, airy canopy using a lightweight aluminium frame and lots of white linen. The valance and headboard are done in Buchanan Studio's Studio Stripe in rose. A vintage sofa re-upholstered in a cream boucle from Yarn Collective stands in the window.
2/11A sheer pinoleum blind allows a wonderful amount of light into this sitting room in California by Rita Konig, without dazzling anyone who happens to be sitting and reading by the window. Surrounded by white panelled walls, the natural wood weave of the blind complements the muted tones of the patterned rug and daybed.
Miguel Flores-Vianna3/11The Plumbago Terrace of John Stefanidis' Patmos house, shaded by olive trees and cypresses, is a beautiful example of a low-key outdoor space. A blue and white flatweave rug defines the area, and blue and white floor cushions allow for informal lounging. Pots of white agapanthus and trailing pelargonium add to the lush Mediterranean atmosphere, which the cobbled patio heightens.
Elsa Young4/11The same light, fresh greens and blues appear in the kitchen of Victoria von Westenholz's strikingly pretty Battersea cottage, one wall of the kitchen is made of sliding glass panels that can be fully opened so that the dining area and garden come together seamlessly. It has the dual benefits of extending the space in both the kitchen and garden and allowing for al fresco dining whenever the sun shines.
Paul Massey5/11Fresh white walls and accents of straw and rattan make for a beautifully summery scheme, as we see here at Lucinda Chambers' summer house in France. A collection of woven straw hats gathered on trips to Morocco and wicker-framed mirrors found at brocantes pick up on the natural tones and textures of the vintage cane furniture Lucinda loves. We also love the cushions made from djellabas bought in Marrakech. All these echo the patterns of a mix of vintage rugs and Ikea rugs.
Michael Sinclair6/11We're seeing more and more hand-painted decorative details in the interiors on our pages, and this beautiful ceiling in a house designed by Lucy Hammond Giles is incredibly inspiring. Painted with an ivy-wrapped latticework motif by the decorative specialist Magdalena Gordon, of Atma Decorative Arts, it's making us want to cover our walls in trailing flowers. You don't have to be quite as ambitious as this to be inspired by it: if you have any artistic talent, adding a few blooms to walls or furniture could be a fun weekend project.
Anne Nyblaeus7/11Blue and white patterns, yellow gingham and block prints are a perfect summery scheme in Cathy Nordström's Swedish summer house. In Cathy’s bedroom, the wallpaper is William Morris. “I pinned a picture with a bedroom from, I think, Soho House Barcelona and knew I wanted to use that wallpaper one day.” The headboard is her own ‘Gingham’ in Lemon. “It complements it so well, and I just love spending time here.”
Dean Hearne8/11Red and white stripes instantly call the seaside to mind, and we love how designer Nicola Mardas has used the pattern in this house in Deal. The stripe in this instance is Ian Mankin's bold 'Devon Stripe Peony' fabric', a great choice for a large, informal seating area like this.
Paul Massey9/11Heavy window dressings are the last thing you want in summer. Sheer, light fabrics are much more seasonal, allowing light and air in but preventing glare. This blind is an unstiffened roller in 'Wheat Ears and Scrolls Border', £580 a metre, an embroidered cotton panel from Chelsea Textiles. 'It is particularly pretty with the light coming through, which is good for a bathroom,' says designer Emma Burns of Sybil Colefax & John Fowler.
Owen Gale10/11Linen bedding is a must for summer, and this bed in the German country house of the couple behind Our Food Stories is a supremely inviting place for a summer's evening. The bed linen is from By Mölle with a linen blanket from Tekla.
Paul Massey11/11What makes a good summer colour scheme? Fresh, light greens and blues would surely be included. In the open-plan living room of a Berkshire house by Nicola Harding, both the colours and the fabrics are distinctly summery, with ticking stripes on the armchairs, and a cheerful blue and white rug. The seating area has a sofa from Sofa.com and vintage armchairs reupholstered in a striped fabric from Tissus d’Hélène. The walls are painted in ‘Tracery’ and the woodwork in ‘Normandy Grey’, both by Little Greene. Large plants add a sense of lushness in the corners.
