Summer is here in the Las Vegas Valley and we’ll be spending more afternoons indoors and evenings outdoors. So why not decorate for the season and bring the indoors out and the outdoors in and change the look of your home and enjoy the summer, in and out of your home.
When I think of summer, some of the things that come to mind are: Crisp White Linens, Soft Sheer Panels, Watermelons and Strawberries, Picnic Baskets, Sunflowers and Daisies, Straw Hats and Beach Blankets, White Wicker Furniture, and Lemonade. We want to feel more comfortable and have easy care maintenance with quick and easy clean-ups. So take these ideas and use them as decorating themes throughout your home, inside and out.
BRINGING THE OUTDOORS INTO YOUR HOME
The winter is over, the days are longer and the sun is shinning bright, so let’s freshen up our indoor’s.
1. Open the blinds and let the sunshine in when you’re home. Use soft sheer panels to dress your windows to give them a clean and fresh feel. Add garlands of flowers to your existing window treatments, daisies are one of my favorites. If your room is lacking light, add a mirror across from a window to help bring the sunlight in.
2. Add the calming sound of water with a fountain. Place it in an area where it can be heard from a couple different areas in your home.
3. Bring a casual feel of the outdoors in your family room, with a white wicker chair, stool or side table. Yard sales are a great place to pick up these pieces this time of year, because people have bought new for their patio. You can spruce them up with a can of white spray paint.
4. Have fun and theme your kitchen and entice your senses with watermelons and strawberries. Use placemats and napkins for your table, a bowl or pitcher for the counter, and a couple small prints for the walls. Or how about bringing some Surf and Sand to Las Vegas with a beach party theme. Use a beach towel for a tablecloth and place a bowl or pail of sand on the table with shells and candles.
5. Freshen and brighten your color scheme and add pillows, flowers and painted frames. If you have navy blue add a sky blue, terra cotta add peach, hunter green add moss. Then add white, as it brings a crisp, fresh and clean feel to every room.
6. Punch up your accessories with wonderful summertime containers. Picnic baskets are great for hand towels in your baths and for storing your newspapers and magazines. You can also tablescape your coffee table with a straw hat, a basket with greens trailing out, and then use a beach blanket as a runner. Terra cotta pots also bring the outside in. Group a couple different sizes together on your table, fill with sand and place a single candle in the middle of each pot.
7. Summertime also means fresh flowers. When you’re out grocery shopping buy just the $3.00 bunch of flowers and place them throughout the house in bud vases. You can pick up bud vases at most thrift stores for around 25 cents. Place them in your entry to greet your guests, master bed and bath to welcome you in the morning and remember those unexpected corners and niches throughout your home.
8. Pull up those area rugs and let your tile and wood floors shine through for the summer. Give your feet a cool touch and your room a new look.
9. Decorate indoors for the holiday that we normally celebrate outdoors, the 4th of July. Add red, white and blue to your greenery and floral arrangements with flags, flowers, candles and ribbons. Make a patriotic table topper and add some no-sew pillows to your family room.
10. Bring the sky indoors with clouds. Watch for the newest decorating theme of air in dishes, linens and glassware. Paint a faux sky of clouds in your kitchen, bath or children’s room.
BRINGING THE INDOORS OUT TO YOUR PATIO AND YARD
Whether you live in a home, apartment or condominium you can enjoy the outdoors. Here are ten ideas to extend your entertaining and living space outdoors.
1. Arrange your patio into separate areas just as you have in your home. Have a dining area with your table and chairs, living area with chairs and side table, and an area to relax with lounge chairs.
2. Use comfortable furniture with cushions and pillows. If you have a covered patio and the furniture will be protected, don’t be afraid to use regular furniture. You can save money by buying at a thrift or consignment stores and have all the comforts of home, outdoors.
3. Set your patio table with fun outdoor dishes, linens and colorful potted plant as a centerpiece.
4. Add lighting so that you can sit, read and relax. Use table and floor lamps just like you do inside. Plus don’t forget accent lighting to make your patio twinkle. Use up lights on plants and trees and drape Christmas lights around your patio railings or cover. Follow the same principle for proper lighting placement as we do indoors. If your furniture is properly placed, your lighting will fall on a diagonal or triangular path.
5. Bring out some of your favorite accessories. Use frames, vases, pottery, potted plants and have a throw for when the evening gets cool.
6. Install fans and misters for those hot evenings to bring the air conditioning out.
7. Soften the hard surfaces of your doors, windows and patio cover with fabric. Treat them with easy care fabrics that can be removed and washed, since we do have a bit of more dust than other parts of the country. Pole swag treatments or simple rod pocket valances or panels work best. Use inexpensive fabrics from the dollar stores that you won’t mind replaces after a couple seasons.
8. If you’d like to spend more afternoons outside and need sun control, add operable shades. You can use a retractable awning, woven shade, or make a rolled or roman shade from fabric.
9. Use candles for a wonderful inviting and romantic candle lit setting in the evening.
10. Don’t be afraid to add artwork. You can hang them directly on your home, just make sure that they are properly secured and you use the proper tools not to damage the stucco. If you have a wood patio cover, add stenciling to the wood beams and supports.
When bringing the indoor’s out, the main things you have to keep in mind are easy maintenance, sun control, and properly securing items for our sometimes unexpected winds. So enjoy the summer, both indoors and outdoors and have fun decorating.