Wasn’t it beginning to feel like all of 2020 was just one long dark winter? We were all so ready to put the winter behind us.
Who else is with me? I’m happy to share my spring and summer house tour with you today.
In NC we race through a few days of spring weather to full on summer, and the hot days last through September. Rather than two seasonal tours, I am focusing on spring and summer together this year.
Table of Contents
Our House Tour: Come On In!
For this warm weather refresh, we dusted off the front porch and added some fresh (and plenty of faux!) flowers, some new Serena and Lily pillows, and fresh bedding for our bedroom.
I was going for fresh and happy in here, and that’s all it really took!
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See my post about our Memorial Day porch decorations with these flags here.
Sources: XL Wreaths | Topiaries | Blue Pots | Doormat (various sizes)
We welcomed these extra large olive wreaths a few weeks ago and I plan on keeping them up through the end of summer. They are from my favorite wreath shop on Etsy and where our giant holiday wreaths were from also!
She allows you to mix and match ribbons and placement. (She generously gifts my readers 15% off all shop purchases with the code CHRISSY).
It felt wasteful to buy another real topiary if it was going to just die every winter, so we are using these popular faux topiaries. Fluff the branches out so they look a tad less symmetrical! I covered the base in dirt inside our blue planters.
A Summer Entry
The entry bench right by the front door is an opportunity to make a bold summer statement as you walk in the home!
Sources: rug | pillow 1, pillow 2, pillow 3 | pillow 4, pillow 5, pillow 6
Serena and Lily’s inserts are the best I have found for getting pillows to look designer- they are the heaviest and thickest fill. When possible, use an insert 1 size larger than the pillow of course.
If you want more of a budget insert, these Amazon inserts do the trick. Although not as heavy, for the price they are a great deal! They are offered in a 2 pack; I’ve used them happily around my house.
We love to shake up the pillows in our entry by the front door with the season. I added a few of Serena & Lily’s newer pillows here. The striped ones are made of indoor/outdoor fabric – so we can throw these on the patio sofa if we want!
And it’s making me a little bonkers that the little rug isn’t symmetrical in front of the door!! We are STILL waiting on a larger rug to arrive that will fill up the space with pattern!
Summer Living Room
Pillows are a lot like paint in that a little switch changes the feel of a room, or gives a boring room interest! I focused on new textiles here, just repeating some of the pillows from our entry to each side of the sofa.
I brought our rattan chair down from the bedroom. Honestly? I would much prefer two upholstered chairs in this spot and will be looking into that in late summer. But until the kids are all back in school full time, we are using furniture we already have. The kids are so destructive to the house when they are home full time – and the cushion on this chair can be washed! It’s about 5+ years old and still a crisp white. So… it stays.
Sources: Rug (indoor/outdoor and we love it!) | sofa (read our review here)
Pillow Sources: Topanga blue tassel pillow | striped pillows | navy lumbar | Bowden fringe pillow | light blue stripe pillow | mirror
Our outdoor coffee table is still my favorite piece in the room, but with its’ large and irregular shape I used the South Beach Tray to help style it. The tray has grasscloth bottom and the sides are a glossy white! It is a large piece, so it makes a great fit for bigger coffee tables.
Sources: coffee table | grasscloth tray | blue and white pot | topiary | similar coasters | India Hicks Island Life book | blue bone inlay box
I should have just bought the tray months ago. It’s solved all my styling dilemmas with the table.
Our drapes in here are the same drapes from Amazon we have in our bedroom! We loved them so much we bought a second pair for this room. We did black out for the weight and thickness, but we could have gotten away with just regular lined since we don’t actually close them.
Sources: large table lamps | driftwood | sconces | topiaries on mantel | blue pots | console table
Our Summery Kitchen
Heading into the kitchen, we made a few swaps in this room for the warmer weather.
These small lumbars perched in the end chairs in an outdoor fabric offer a pop of summer color. The green is so fresh! I’m not concerned about the kids and food since they sit in our end chairs.
sources: table | end chairs | side chairs | pillows
The faux cherry sprigs in a glass vase add instant life to the kitchen!
Just two sets is plenty for a vase of this width. This is the ivory color- and they are such a mood booster. Real cherry flowers are ideal but the blooms hardly last a week before they’re all over the counter.
sources: vase | cherry sprigs | pulls | shop where vintage runner is from | stools | pendant light
They might be faux but I’ve gotten so much joy out of these show stopping stems!
We added a second smaller white and wood serving tray to our collection that Jose grabbed on Amazon – if you love cheese boards like we do you will use the both a lot- but most importantly you can leave them out! Their beauty is helpful for kitchen styling.
(The ratings were bizarrely bad for this serving board, but if you are familiar with Etú and their serving boards – this is just like what is advertised!)
Large serving board | smaller serving board | utensil jar | bubble vase | cookbook holder
Outdoor Patio
Sources: Sectional in Fog Gray | coffee table | buffalo pillow | stripe pillow | ikat pillows | white planter
Read about our huge backyard makeover – or see my unbiased thoughts on our pricey but premium Outer outdoor sectional here.
Our Bedroom
We added greenery and made a few swaps in the bedroom as well – I wanted to share some ideas with you!
To mix it up from the all white bedding I used three Solamna sham euros in the sky color! These used to be white and I’m glad I brought this French blue in.
This lumbar is a new kind of pillow from Serena and Lily and is their longest pillow, offered in a 40″! I was drawn to that long size and the material.
The extra long width takes away the need for smaller pillows if you like. The material reminds me of a casual linen shirt in the summer.
Sources: Rug (on sale!) | Bench | Tassel Pillow | Pom Pom Lumbar Pillow
Drapes | Rod is custom from Q Design Centre | Drapery rings | Night tables | Lamps | Similar Sconce | Wallpaper
We swapped out our duvet cover for this luxe cover from Serena & Lily– it is a crisp white and beautiful. We love both covers, nothing was wrong with my previous duvet cover (I know some of you will ask!).
Right after I ordered mine I saw their new Priano duvet cover they are now offering – it has a scalloped edge and is beautiful! Truthfully I’m still looking at that one enviously, for another room. The Oyster Bay cover is a thin stripe and also tempted me.
Also – our gorgeous rug is on sale right now! We have zero complaints about this rug – its thick, lush, just mild shedding and repels stains nicely (if gotten to right away that is – we’ve had some experience here!).
Sources: white & blue pillow | dresser | floor lamp | Drapes (rod is extra long and custom)
I hope you enjoyed the tour and it inspired you to make some changes in your own home!
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What is the paint color you use in your living room? The white is so light and bright but not overly harsh.
its extra white by Sherwin Williams. thank you! 🙂 we do get a lot of warm sunlight in here so its a nice balance
What paint color are your kitchen cabinets and island? It’s gorgeous!