Bring Summer Indoors With These Simple Approaches

It’s slowly starting to happen! The weather is changing for the better, the bees are buzzing, and the temperature is rising, tempting us all to get outdoors and soak up the sun. It’s a welcoming change after hibernating in our dark and dim homes all winter. It’s time to make the most out of the nice weather but also take the opportunity to bring summer indoors. Here are some simple approaches to get the feeling of summer throughout your home.

How to Bring Summer Indoors

Color: The Secret Ingredient

Whether it’s in your garden or a room inside your home, adding more color will lighten up the area. It’s always easier to add lots of colors than it is to add expensive lightbulbs. In the kitchen, use seasonal fruits and vegetables as a centerpiece to your kitchen surface or dining table. There are certain colors that invoke summer, yellow and blue are right up on the list. A blue bowl full of lemons in the middle of your dining table will add that zest (pardon the pun) to your kitchen space. Going to garden centers or farmers market for colors that work in the context of your home is simple yet effective.

Bringing the overall sensation of being rustic into your kitchen increases the quaint factor. Colorful root vegetables like sweet potatoes and purple broccoli (depending on where you live) will change your cookery space. If you are long overdue for a touch of paint, adding some yellows and greens to your home will bring the place out darkness. If you don’t want to change the colors too much, going for some brightly colored furniture will add brightness to the home. Green swivel bar stools in the kitchen or red cushions and throws to your couch will make everything stand out.

Bring the Feeling Of Summer Into the Home

One thing that invokes the sense of summer is freshly cut grass. Let that be the starting point for creating a summer sensation in the home. Changing your textiles is a great way to bring a breezier feel into the home. In the living room, removing any heavy fabrics and replacing them with lighter ones will let a lot more air into the room. You can change the drapes and put up chiffon or any open weave materials instead. In the bedroom, place linen or percale sheets on the bed and change the pillowcases. Using woven placemats in the kitchen instead of a tablecloth will invoke a summery atmosphere.

The Scent of Summer

Another way to bring summer indoors is to take some cues from the garden and bring them into the living spaces. You can arrange some flowers and place them on your windowsill in the kitchen. You could also take a plant pot and place it outside a bedroom to enjoy the smells of summer throughout the night. Herbs like sage, rosemary, and mint smell great. You can arrange them in a way that they would grow “naturally” in the home, bringing the feeling of the garden inside. Using gardening tools in the context of the home gives a reminder of what is going on outside. You could put your wooden spoons or spatulas in a terracotta pot, or make a collage out of gardening tools and place them in a frame. Even moving some garden furniture indoors will recreate the outdoor sensation.

You don’t need to bring in the garden furniture if you don’t have space! Creating the playful patterns of summer and putting them in your home is a simpler alternative. You could bring in different and quirky patterns such as stripes and spots. You could also purchase vibrant and colorful dishes and bowls. Partially decorating your mirror with petals, or getting rid of the big rug and walking barefoot are great approaches to making your home a bit more on the natural side.

The Importance of Light

The problem with many homes is the sheer darkness that’s inside. No matter how you decorate a place, if there is no chance of light getting in, it’s not going to recreate summer indoors. There are some little hacks you can do to change this. Adding shiny surfaces to each room will naturally increase the brightness. Materials like brass, silver photo frames and mirrors will all reflect more light into the room. The bigger the mirrors, the more light you will have. If you have space, putting mirrors opposite each other will create an impression of depth. By having a mirror at the end of a hallway, it makes the room appear longer.

Sometimes it’s the window coverings that are the reason you’re not getting enough light. Dark or heavy curtains will absorb any precious light, so replace them with light fabrics and brighter colors. For small windows, use light or sheer fabrics. If you have any issues with privacy, invest in shutters. Wood shutters are a bit more expensive than faux wood ones, but they do the same job. Glass in your doors is another simple way to bring light into the home. You can use big window panes on patio doors in your kitchen to make sure the light gets in. If you are concerned about privacy, you can use tinted or frosted glass.

Summer Activities Make The Space!

Summer activities really do make the space. Have a Hawaiian party or do a barbecue in the kitchen (space permitting) and get enough games for the kids to play. Granted, it’s not the same as being outside, but if it’s still cold out, you are better off having a luau indoors. Get inspired and create as much beach-themed apparel as you desire. Get a sandbox for the kids, and make sure there’s plenty of Beach Boys playing to get everyone in the mood! Beach towels and yellow umbrellas indoors brings so much brightness and color into the home that it’s hard not to get swept up in the party atmosphere. Use your kitchen as party central or if you have a conservatory, use that as the main area for activities.

Getting in the mood for summer doesn’t have to be something that rarely happens. If you get the right colors and style, you can bring the summer atmosphere indoors. For so many of us, we either have homes that are so dark that the inside never sees the sunlight or the weather outdoors usually consists of rain so we can’t go outside. You can take inspiration from the ideas above or go for your own summer theme. Not all of us are keen on Hawaii, and some can’t bear the thought of having garden furniture indoors. However, summer is all about the atmosphere we remember when we were kids. Whether that’s the smell of freshly cut grass or outdoor barbecues, you can bring elements of it into your home. This way, you can keep the feeling of summer all year long!

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