After a winter cooped up indoors, every home deserves a refresh.
I’m a big fan of the half curtain in the summertime. A summerhouse is all about maximizing the flow of light and air, so start by liberating your windows from any light-blocking curtains.
1. Open your windows.
Erica Tanov’s Lovebird Table Cloth is also available in a bedding set.
2. Pick some fresh flowers (in the form of floral prints).
Charlotte Tracy captured summer’s playful air with painted nautical stripes on her stairs. Easier to clean and cooler underfoot, the painted stairs capture summer’s laid-back feel.
3. Paint your stairs.
In her children’s summer bedrooms, Julie paired Farrow & Ball’s lavender-gray Peignoir and minty Cromarty with other outside-the-box pastels.
Photograph by Justine Hand.
4. Choose out-of-the-ordinary pastels.
In her book Beautifully Small: Clever Ideas for Compact Spaces, London interiors stylist and writer Sara Emslie conjures a summery feel with fresh florals, pretty pastels, and a smattering of woven elements.
5. Weave some straw, sisal, or wicker into your decorative scheme.
At Ard Bia at Nimmos, in Galway, Ireland, natural elements, including straw garden hats complement the plant-forward menu.
In their home in Little Compton, Rhode Island, Dara and Dan Brewster of Dara Artisans employed a combination of beadboard and Shaker hooks in their master bedroom.
6. Simplify your storage with Shaker peg rails.
Photography by Nathan Fried Lipski of Nate Photography.
In the hallway of this white painted barn, a vintage American flag provides a bit of color as well as a welcome horizontal element.
7. Get patriotic (but use flags sparingly).
8. Employ some well-placed nautical pieces.
On their renovated houseboat, Gabe Cohen and Jolie Signorile of Fredericks & Mae display oars and other nautical equipment.
Photography by Douglas Lyle Thompson.
Updated Victorian, the Chequit Inn on Shelter Island, New York, strikes a vintage-modern balance with black accents and a bold yellow sofa.
9. Add a bit of sun.
Photography by Frederik Vercruysse via This Is Paper.
A bare dining room floor reflects summery light from a generous window in the 17th-century manse of Belgian architects Bram Seghers and Inge Buyse. A summery home is all about simplicity, light, and airiness.
10. Roll up the red carpet.
Izabella refreshed a dated, gilded settee from a local estate sale with the help of several yards of striped linen fabric. In my summer cottage, I use vintage tea towels and grain sacks, with a just single colorful stripe, as hand towels and bath mats.
11. Stripe it up.