Generally, Memorial Day is the kick-off to summer with barbecues, star-studded, cool nights and perfectly sunny blue-sky hot days. Let’s hope the weather cooperates! Although we want to spend as much time outdoors all summer long, here are a few tips to get your home ready for summer – lighten up the space figuratively and literally.
We get it, it’s hard to change your everyday space. Ready your home for summer by de-cluttering. Think of it the same way you put away winter clothes or flannel sheets –put stuff away that you’re not going to use. It doesn’t mean pitch it, simply reorganize the space; get rid of the piles and dark baskets; clean up and organize so you have fresh, clean palette to start summer off right.
Take a cue from Mother Nature. It seems like the world goes from drab, gray, black and white to bursting with color almost overnight: the apple blossoms rain down white, choke cherry trees burst with pink, lilacs simply radiate color and scent. The bright spring green is pure happiness. Open your windows and doors and welcome in the summer light, smells and sounds.
Try using the summer pops of color in your home – get rid of the dark, heavy winter curtains and update with summer fabrics and summer colors. Try white linen curtains or delicate sheers with color and pattern. Crisp white curtains flow and make the home more airy; or try no curtains at all for a clean look. Before you put up the new curtains, though, clean those windows! Let the light shine in without streaks and splotches.
New furniture is expensive, so try an inexpensive but dramatic update with white or light-colored slipcovers on existing sofas or arm chairs. The house will immediately feel completely different in a light, summer, airy way. Another bonus? They are easily washed, keeping your home feeling pristine all summer long.
Bring the outdoors in. Fling open your balcony or patio doors and windows. Fresh cut flowers immediately brighten a room. Lilacs from your neighbor’s tree are heavenly scented and smell like summer. Nothing smells like summer like fresh-cut grass. Make the outdoor space an extension of your indoor space: add flowers and plants to your patios. Do a herb garden or container garden for simple salads all summer.
Once the indoors feels fresh and summery, turn your attention outside and spend as much time outside as possible. Enjoy meals on the deck with your family or bring a (fully stocked) bar cart outside and have an impromptu cocktail party. Make your patio or deck an extension of your living room with outdoor sofas, lounges and chaises, throws and pillows. Who needs TV when you can watch the sunset and the moon rise?
There’s not a bad view to be had where we live: it might not be the ocean but the snow-capped mountains turning pink at dusk always stop us in our tracks. Reposition your patio furniture, whether chaise or sofa or table and chairs, to make the most of your views. If you live near a park, enjoy dinner (or breakfast) al fresco.
Another fun option is a sweet, brightly colored café table set bursting with flowers, some rosé, and a few yummy nibbles. For a larger party, add fairy lights, upscale tableware, and colorful tablecloths on a long deck table so it feels make intimate and festive at once.
Help the sunshine find its way into your home early in the morning, it’s an easy and delightful way to start your day, especially if your window frames the bright blue sky. Listen to the birds, the thrum of the sprinkler and the soft coo of the wind. It’s summer: celebrate the season and the explosion of senses with easy design updates – inside and out.
This month’s inspiration is brought to you by Marilyn who radiates kindness, warmth, and creativity. Marilyn breathes new life into existing home or brings her own bit of fresh when creating a new home design, whether in sunny California or the mountains and cities in Colorado.