RELAX AND CELEBRATE SUMMER WITH EASY AND FUN DECOR
The beautiful thing about living in Montreal is that we really do have four seasons, and that means lots of opportunities to seasonally decorate year-round. This summer, I want to inspire you to decorate with comfort and fun in mind, and to personalize your summer decor with elements that remind you of summers gone by. Each week we’ll discover a new summer decor theme inspired by the summer season or travels. Here’s a quick guide to freshen up, cool down and inject summer style throughout your home.
REPLACE COSY WITH COOL
Cooling down the house is easy, just as everything in summer should be. Simply stash the warm-and-fuzzy decor items and replace them with smooth fabrics and finishes. Add outdoor motifs like flowers and tropical leaves to further blur the lines between inside and out.
SUMMER MEMORIES
What are your favourite summer memories? Are they spending time on a beach, a chalet or a boat? Add themed elements inspired by those sweet summer times throughout your rooms to evoke some “good vibrations,” as the song says.
CLEAR THE FLOORS
A classic way to cool down the house is to roll up heavy carpets. Send them to the cleaners and pick them up in September when the weather cools down. Give the floors a good polish and leave them bare or add a few seagrass rugs if you love the look and feel of the tropics. You can also bring casual outdoor area rugs indoors to add fun summer colour (and they’re super durable — just take them outside and hose them down to clean).
PAINT THE CEILING
Look up to bring the temperature down: Paint the ceiling a barely-there-blue to add an instant airy feel. Pale blue complements almost any existing wall colour. I did this two years ago and love it: the pale blue actually reflects light and brightens the room. One of my all-time favourite pale blues is Benjamin Moore’s Lily White 2128-70. It looks like white but lends a subtle blue to the ceiling, so it doesn’t take over a room. Have you ever been to Key West? I just love how porch ceilings are painted in sky blue.
CONSIDER YOUR TEXTILES
The two most popular fabrics associated with summer decorating are cotton and linen. Tailored cotton slipcovers will protect upholstered furniture from sandy feet and are a great way to seasonally change the look of your furnishings and rooms. Linen (over washed for softness and left un-ironed) looks great on a bed for a casual summer vibe. Lighten up the windows and catch some sultry breezes by removing your old draperies. This trick invites light in and frees up wall space. Add inexpensive matchstick roll-down shades for privacy.
BRING THE OUTDOORS IN
Add greenery inside to match what’s outdoors. Palm trees indoors and out, for instance, are a great way to blur the boundaries and make both spaces feel continuous. Or try outdoor lanterns on the dining table to make up for not having an outdoor dining terrace. You can even have fun with patio-ware melamine dishes — they’re an inexpensive way to add a summer touch to your table and an excellent choice if you entertain small children.
TAKE ME AWAY, 1-2-3: CLEAR AWAY WINTER WITH THESE TIPS
Change up bedding. Give wool and chenille blankets a vacation in the linen closet. Love the look of the seaside? Choose bedding in blues, crisp white and sand colours.
Switch decorative pillow covers to summer-themed fabrics and patterns (washable linen and cotton are easiest). To economize, use the existing pillow forms. Take the opportunity to send winter covers to the cleaners. Want a tropical getaway? Opt for large-patterned leaf and/or floral prints for an island feel.
Bring garden flowers and plant cuttings inside during the summer so you always feel like you’re in the garden. I’ve got two ‘everlasting ’ orchids that I rotate around the house — if viewed in different spots, they don’t have time to get dusty and returning guests are none the wiser.
Got a decor dilemma? You can contact Karl at klohnesdecor@symptico.ca Karl Lohnes has worked as a home decor expert and product designer for 25 years. He appears Thursdays during the 8 a.m. hour on Global News Morning Montreal.