30 Simple Home Updates for the Summer

Trista - July 25, 2019

Photo: Freshome

The warm and welcoming sunshine can brighten up not only your mood but your home, too. The changing season is a great excuse to update your decor. From indoor central air to the shaded outdoors, your summer fun pulls you from one spot to the next. If you want to spruce up your home for the summer, keep reading!

These easy home upgrades will make your house look updated as well as more comfortable during the warm months. Some of these do it yourself projects you can complete over the weekend.

1. Create an Outdoor Entertaining Space

Everyone loves summer entertaining, especially when the party is outside. Be sure to pick a comfortable outdoor seating set that encourages conversation. Bright outdoor pillows and throw blankets for chilly summer nights are great.

If you’re making an area that brings your indoor decor to the outdoors, choose accessories that fit into the color palette you already have in your home. You also have the option to include lots of bright colors and patterns to go with the season.

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2. Add Pops of Color

Incorporating splashes of bright colors to your space can instantly transform the look you want for the summer season. You can swap in graphic paintings, fresh flowers, or vibrant dishes for the fastest possible makeover. You can add bold, bright colors or patterns that are interesting and have a summery feel to them.

If you’re ever stuck with what to do, adding contrast to bright colors can give your space more dimension. Having very light colors and dark colors and having fun with colors will bring balance to the room.

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3. Don’t Forget About the Bar

A bar makeover is a great way to add a taste of summer to your home. Having fresh and fruity cocktails call for a special station of their own. Mix up a mojito or mai tai at a well-stocked table. Put some tasty non-alcoholic drinks are the menu, too.

Decoration of your bar or bar cart with fresh fruits, flowers, plants, and themed artwork is a great way to add a warm touch to your home for the season.

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4. Create a Bright Patio With an Outdoor Rug

Indoor or outdoor rugs are fantastic for bringing color and pattern to your space. Look for rugs with lots of vibrant shades. Your outdoor seating and cushions might be neutral, so you can be creative when selecting your rug, pillows, and other accessories. Consider using colors like yellows, reds, and oranges; that way, you can easily incorporate a warm, color palette to your patio. Cool shades like blues and greens will also create a beachy vibe.

You can also add a bright and fun rug to any room to bring the summer aesthetic inside of your home. If you need help in choosing colors for a carpet or other accessories, try matching shades to your favorite flowers or fruit colors.

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5. Restyle Your Tablescapes

Changing your tabletops with seasons is a fantastic way to change the look and feel of your home subtly. Adding a bouquet of roses, hyacinth, wildflowers, or orchids bring the look, smell, and feel of summer into your home.

You should also add items like beachcombing treasures, seashells, driftwood, rocks, coral, pressed leaves, or flowers. Utilizing plants and fruits is another way to include the summer trend in your home decor.

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6. Frame a Map or Local Art

Finding and Framing a Local Map is a great way to give a nod to your hometown or a favorite summer vacation spot. Using natural materials like wood or driftwood as a frame provides extra interest and a fabulous summertime feel. Adding this will give your home a lakeside cottage vibe.

Alternatively, you can frame photos of flowers, a seascape, a forest scene, and get a similar effect. Utilize local art and artists and follow the type of aesthetic you want for your home, but use summer themed prints or artwork.

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7. Switch to a Summer Duvet Cover

A new duvet cover can instantly upgrade your bedroom. Try to use light fabrics like linen and cotton; that way, you will have comfortable bedding even when it gets hot outside. Beach-inspired shades like aqua are perfect for summer decorating.

Alternatively to a beach style, you can add a colorful and fun theme. Using summertime patterns to duvets, pillows, and other bedding is a great way to liven up a guest room for summer. You can use vibrant hue and patterns to add interest to a neutral color palette.

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8. Brighten Your Bathroom With a New Shower Curtain for Summer

Replacing your shower curtain with every season is such a simple and inexpensive way to upgrade your bathroom. Make sure you properly clean, dry, and store the curtains; that way, you can rotate shower curtains in and out every season. For an extra bit of summer decorating flair, have one set of seasonal towels to match with your new shower curtain.

You can also include a splash of color to liven up the design a little bit or add attractive decor that matches the seasonal shower curtain. The choice is yours, and the possibilities are virtually endless.

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9. Use Summer Scents Throughout the Home

Decorating for the summer months is about more than the visuals. Tropical, Citrus, and Floral scents will create a summery mood. The secret to getting that perfect mix of smells is to choose only a few fragrances for your home. Match your candle holders and diffusers to each room’s theme for a customized look, even with only using one or two scents through your home.

Trying out different candles, reed diffusers, wax melts, air fresheners is an inexpensive and easy way to add summer elements to your home without trying too hard. You can find aesthetically pleasing candles and scent decor that matches your home, and you can change them by season.

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10. Adding Plants and Flowers

Plants and flowers are a significant enhancement to any summertime home decor project. They bring color and life to any space. As well as bringing the outdoors inside your home. Add vases of bright summertime flowers like wildflowers, roses, and lilies will not only look great but make your home smell great.

Succulents inside of terrariums are easy upgrades to add to your home for summertime. Artificial plants are another fabulous option for bringing the look and feel of plants without caring for them.

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11. Fill Your Fireplace

Utilizing spaces you don’t regularly use in the summertime is lovely, like your fireplace. Since you won’t be stoking the flames for a few months, you should stack leftover wood or position candles in your fireplace. It will bring interest to the area and be pleasing to the eye.

Giving a small makeover to this area is often overlooked, but it can make a big difference to the look and feel of your home. Including summer-themed candles, art, plants, coral, crystals, seashells, statues, or figurines is a natural decor option.

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12. Try the Bohemian Look

Bohemian decor is often trendy and visually striking. Vibrant colors, a mix of patterns, and flowers everywhere make the living cheerful and bright. You can use real, painted, and printed flowers for a playful design. This style gives your room a pleasant and comfortable aesthetic while being bold, free, and flowery.

Try mixing patterns and colors of pillows, curtains, and accessories with your everyday home decor style. Alternatively, you could change everything to a bohemian paradise with flowy curtains and ceramic lamps to the mix as well.

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13. Treat Your Windows for Summer

Take down the heavy drapes that you use in the wintertime for heating and change them out for light and flowery options. Use light fabrics like linen or cotton-like material. There are many options for curtains. Keeping it sheer is the best option for the warmer months; besides, as the weather warms up and you’ll have your windows open.

Seasonal curtains are great for changing the look of the room. Try to match your summertime decor, or have a beautiful pop of color or keep it simple with plain white curtains.

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14. Set Up a Picnic Table

Outdoor dining is an excellent perk of warm weather. Setting up a picnic table outdoors is a great way to take advantage of the summertime weather while dining.

There are many options for a picnic table. You can use natural rustic wood and build your own, or you can buy a table according to your style. Incorporating stylish touches like fun, colorful tablecloths, cushions, and summertime themed centerpieces are a fun way to make it your own style.

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15. Use Flower Boxes

A terrific way to add color to your home outdoors is to put up flower boxes on your windows. You can plant various flowers to attract butterflies and bees. Please keep in mind the bees are really struggling and our pantries and grocery stores will look devastatingly different without their survival. In the past, some species of butterflies have also struggled. To help these pollinators endure, adding some plants to your yards during the summer can help.

Mix and match colors of plants and flowers or stick to one color with different tones of that color. You can also mix types of flowers and plants or plant succulents, aloe vera, or herbs — the sky is the limit!

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16. Painting Old Furniture

An easy summertime project that will unify your outdoor patio is painting your old outdoor furniture. This DIY project is a cheap and easy way to update old and tired looking furniture. Using high-gloss spray paint in a vibrant, summer hue, such as sky blue or yellow, is an easy and fast way to update it.

The glossy paint creates a bright look and gives a traditional item a new and modern edge for a more cohesive look. Make sure to properly prep and prime the furniture to help the paint adhere to the surface and last longer. Also adding fun patterns with stencils is a great way to add interest and style.

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17. Summer Lights

There is nothing better than summertime and entertaining guests and family in the backyard. Summer evenings are the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the ambiance and ideal temperatures for enjoying the night sky.

You can add lights to your patio, outdoor dining areas, or illuminate the poolside. Including bulbs to walkways and gardens is another way to add interest to specific areas. Consider getting solar powered fixtures, or opt for light sensor varieties. There are many options on the market to fit any budget and lighting style.

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18. Add a Day Bed

An outdoor daybed offers a relaxing backyard retreat and a beautiful place for both mental and physical relaxation. They can range from large shaded canopies surrounded with pillows to simple open beds that are perfect for breezy summer days.

Summer is all about relaxing, and this idea is the perfect way to unwind outside, read a book, or enjoy nature. Using colorful pillows and blankets can add to the summertime vibe, and adding lots of pillows will make the bed that much more comfortable.

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19. Create a Firepit

Transform your backyard into the ultimate gathering place with an outdoor fire pit, where your friends and family can relax and stay warm long after the sun goes down. A firepit for roasting s’mores or stargazing on clear nights is an excellent upgrade to any home.

There are many options and styles for outdoor fireplaces from great DIY firepits, rustic or modern gas. Depending on your style, there are several options for everyone to enjoy late nights by the fire in the summertime or all year.

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20. Paint Dark Wood White

Taking inspiration from Scandinavian home decor, painting dark wood white is a great way to bring much light into dark spaces. The summer idea is to bring as much light into the home, and for summer, this is an excellent way to make your home feel fresh and open.

Make sure you prep all wood you are painting with sanding and priming before painting your desired color. It would be best if you did this, so it lasts as long as possible and looks clean and fresh. You can also paint your wood trim to add more light to the rooms in your home.

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21. Hang a Canopy

Summer is the time for light, airy fabrics, bright colors, and spaces that support relaxation. Adding a canopy to your bed, guest bedroom, or outdoor space provides sun protection, relaxation, and an overall enjoyment environment.

Using panels of pure white fabrics feel fresh, not heavy. You can also incorporate your favorite colors or patterns and make them interesting and eye-catching. Try to match your existing home decor but incorporate summer colors and themes.

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22. Create a Napping Nook

A napping nook is a great way to relax outdoors in the summertime. You can do this by building a pergola or gazebo and adding a daybed, or lounge chairs. Alternatively, you can hang a hammock for a cost-effective solution to a napping nook.

This summer upgrade is an excellent enhancement to your home for summertime napping or relaxing. Curtains and lots of pillows will make it feel secluded while still being outdoors and enjoying the outdoors.

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23. Hang a Mirror

A mirror can add a lot of interest and depth to your patio or outdoor space. Put up a large mirror to any room or outdoor patio space to help reflect more light and create an illusion of more space.

On a smaller scale, mirrored pieces for tables can also help spread light and add a touch of shine to your area. You’ll notice an extra benefit at night; it reflects the candlelight so beautifully.

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24. Install an Outdoor Shower

This home upgrade one requires time and a budget but rinsing off sand, salt, or just sweat feels so much more rousing under the starry sky. This idea is the ideal way to refresh yourself when it’s so hot outside. It will also cut down on mess inside of your house. You won’t need to clean up sand, water, and dirt inside or your home. The whole family will enjoy it.

Installing an outdoor shower can be as easy as converting a water hose into a shower. However, that only offers a cold water shower, which might be exactly what you need. You also have the option to call a plumber for hot water, if you desire a luxurious outdoor shower.

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25. Include Floral Patterns

Fresh flowers are a great way to introduce a bit of nature’s beauty to your home. A themed throw pillow or a tablecloth is enough to bring a seasonal feel. Try to find inexpensive sheets that can be used to add a bit of whimsy to the summer bed.

Alternatively, add a floral print in the entry or the bath. Using colors and floral patterns is an instant change to the look and feel of your home for summer.

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26. Try Out a Nautical Theme

Given the theme, your best summer decorating ideas might come from the seashore. The subtle nautical decor will transform your everyday home into a beach house. Mixing navy blue and white stripes will pull off the look. On the other hand, you could find a boat-shaped relic from a local flea market.

Adding subtle hints of nautical decor will bring the feel of the beach into your home for summer. Maybe try to incorporate seashells, sand centerpieces, rocks, and crystals to your already existing home decor to give it a summer vibe.

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27. Natural Fibers and Textures

Macrame and handmade accessories feel like a perfect fit for the summer season. Mixing handcrafted decor in natural colors and fibers with boho or items creates a relaxed summer style. Add a summer feel to your living room or other rooms in your house by replacing existing framed art with macrame and woven wall hangings.

Rope and other natural fibers like wood are great accents to add natural items to your home while bringing the outdoorsy look inside.

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28. Bring Furniture Outdoors

Outdoor furniture can be used for many different things from breakfast or dining table, a reading space, a meditation area when the weather is beautiful. When the weather warms up, we look for any reason to be outdoors. If your home doesn’t have much space, turn an unused porch or a spot underneath a large tree into a place for entertaining or just relaxing.

With the right type of furniture, the functionally of upgrading a spot outside can be endless. On the plus side, you can enjoy the comforts of home while enjoying the beautiful summer weather.

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29. Recover the Headboard

If you don’t want to change the look of your living room or kitchen this summer, then turn your attention to your bedroom. Please give it a new and airy summer makeover to your headboard. Decorating these rooms in summer is easier than you think.

Choose some bright colored or patterned fabric to cover your existing headboard for the season. Match the theme with neutral colors. If you want a pop of color, try to do so with fun rugs, bright bedding, a decorative seashell centerpiece, or add summertime artwork to your walls.

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30. Floral Wall Planters

Fresh green planters add a touch of elegance and summery feel to your home. Select a plain wall to decorate with these planters. You can purchase these beautiful wooden bases with planter hangers. Try to construct the glass planters out of mason jars. Put some soil and a flowering plant in each. If you desire, simply utilize the jars as flower vases and hang the pots on these planter hangers.

This creative planter decor will highlight your summer inspired livings pace and interiors beautifully. You can also make floral centerpieces and put them on tabletops, mantle, and bookshelves if you don’t want to hang them on the wall.

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