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Easy Ideas for Summer Decorating

Welcome to my summer home! I am sharing easy ideas for summer decorating using simple DIY craft projects, lighter textiles, seasonal flowers & greenery, and vacation keepsakes. 

Blogger’s Best Summer Home Tours

Bloggers Best Summer Home Tour Pin

Hello and welcome to the Bloggers Best Summer Home Tour, hosted by my sweet friend Kelly from The Tattered Pew. I am thrilled to be joining a talented group of bloggers to share ideas for summer.

Each day this week a different group of bloggers welcomed you into their homes and shared their summer decorating ideas with you. Please be sure to visit all of the links at the end of this post. There is so much creativity being shared here!

If you are visiting from my talented friend, Jen, at Noting Grace, welcome! I always love visiting her beautiful home. It is always so light, bright, and welcoming!

For those of you who are new to My Family Thyme, welcome! I am so glad you’re here! My name is Lynne and I am a Connecticut wife, mom, and elementary school teacher, as well as a lover of all things home and family. Here at My Family Thyme, you will find budget friendly home decor idea, creative craft projects, and simple recipes.

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Easy Ideas for Summer Decorating

Today I am sharing seven easy ideas for summer decorating to freshen all your spaces for the season ahead.

During the summer, I like to keep things easy and casual, and my summer home style reflects that.  Inspired by the colors and textures of nature, I love to use light fabrics and bring the outdoors in as much as possible with fresh flowers, greenery, along with shells and some sea glass too.

pin with view of family room sectional with pillows and peonies

Spruce up your porch with a new doormat to welcome guests

Welcome to my Connecticut home! I live in a traditional New England colonial, with a modest front entry. Although it is a small space, I like to add some seasonal decor to welcome our guests.

This fun summertime doormat is a recent budget-friendly DIY. Creating your own customized doormat using is easier than you might think. Check out this tutorial to learn how to stencil an outdoor doormat.

DIY stenciled outdoor doormat

Switch out dark and heavy textiles for lighter fabrics

Come on in! Let’s head into our family room. Our family room is the room where you will most likely find me. We recently updated this room by painting the walls Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore Paints. I love how fresh and bright it is!

We recently purchased a new sectional from Ikea and had a custom made slipcover made from this Etsy site. I love the simplicity of slipcovers…especially for summer. When they get dirty, I can just throw them in the washing machine.

When the warmer weather began to arrive, I switched out the heavier textile curtains and pillow covers for lighter fabrics. The faded floral blue pillow cover is from an Etsy Shop. The quality is amazing and I love purchasing items that support small businesses.

view of slipcovered couch with summer pillow covers

Bring the outdoors in with greenery and flowers

Use what is in season and is blooming in your area. We just finished peony season here in Connecticut, and I love bringing these beauties into my home! Adding some freshia and silver dollar eucalyptus from Trader Joes, complete this pretty arrangement.

Here is a simple tip for keeping your peonies fresh! Cut the stems, then add a teaspoon of sugar to cold water. Also, peonies like cold. At night, put them outside or in the refrigerator to help them stay longer.

close up of peonies with fresia

What is growing in your area that you can bring indoor?

flatlay view of peonies and fresia

Add fresh summer candle scents

When I think about decorating my home, I try to think about all of the senses. How does my home look? How does it feel? How does it smell? This new season calls for light, fresh scents.

tray with summer candle, colored. bottles, and peonies

Shop the Look

Bring in pops of color

During the summer months, everything is lighter and brighter. Bringing in unexpected pops of color is such a simple way to add a summer touch to your home. Whether it is with a towel, a pillow cover, or a beautiful bloom, don’t be afraid to add color.

As the season goes on, our hydrangeas will be in full bloom. Each year I have been adding another bush as I can’t get enough of the vibrant color of these beauties!

blue hydrangeas

Display Vacation Mementos and Memories

Whenever I see these seashells and sea glass displayed in our dining room, below, it reminds me of our Martha’s Vineyard vacations and I can’t help but smile. Every time we’re there, we walk the shore and come home with pockets full of treasures.

summer vignette with shells

When my children were little, they used to think that these thin shells looked like potato chips and would scour the beach to try to find them! It’s fun to use these sweet treasures in our home decor. I love the memories they bring back.

close up of summer shells

I have created a collection of Martha’s Vineyard watercolor prints that I use in my home decor and I would love to share them with you! Just subscribe to my email list and you will have full access to these beautiful printables!

Martha's Vineyard Oak Bluffs cottage

view of summer dining room with wreath on mirror and shell vignette
view of summer vignette on side table in dining room

Add Pretty Touches to Your Outdoor Area

Since we spend a great deal of time on our porch, I try to add a few pretty touches out here too. In the summer, you can never go wrong by adding patriotic touches for the summer. I recently shared more about my Easy Patriotic Decor on the Porch.

view of wicker couch with patriotic pillows

By adding some simple and budget friendly touches, you can make your your al fresco dining experiences feel truly special. Here, I added a simple piece of fabric as a tablecloth, along with some natural woven placemat, and my DIY cloth napkins to create a simple summer table setting.

Thank you so much for visiting me today! Next up is Cynthia from Vintage and Grace Living. I enjoy her style and her creative, budget-friendly decorating ideas! You are going to love her summer home!

Bloggers’ Best Summer Home Tours

This week I am joining some of my blogging friends for the Bloggers’ Best Summer Home Tours. Thirty talented and creative women will be opening their homes up for you to tour all week long. You can visit each summer home tour by clicking the links below.

Monday’s Tours

The Tattered Pew / Cottage On Bunker Hill / She Gave It A Go

Cottage In The Mitten / Stonegable / My Wee Abode

Tuesday’s Tours

Thistle Key Lane / Midwest Life & Style / White Lilac Farmhouse

My Thrift Store Addiction / Willow Bloom Home Blog / Dabbling and Decorating

Wednesday’s Tours

Bricks ‘n Blooms /Amy Sadler Designs / Peacock Ridge Farm

White Arrows Home / Pasha Is Home / The Ponds Farmhouse

Thursday’s Tours

Simply2Moms / Country Peony / Southern Home and Hospitality

Shiplap and Shells / Eleanor Rose Home / Cloches and Lavender

Friday’s Tours

Le Cultivateur / Lora Bloomquist Create & Ponder / Noting Grace

My Family Thyme / Vintage and Grace Living / County Road 407

Thank you so much for stopping by today! If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to reach out to me or leave a comment below. I would love to connect with you on FacebookInstagramPinterest, or here on the blog! 

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20 Comments

  1. Love the colors you’ve used this summer. Those blue and white plates are perfect as well and I can totally see why the kids thought the shells looked like potato chips! LOL. Hope you have a great summer. Enjoyed hopping with you this week.

  2. Great tip about the sugar for the peonies! I’ve been bringing mine in by the armload this week! Love your lighter, brighter look for summer…like easy breezy;) Enjoy your summer vacation!

  3. Lynne, your tour is beautiful. I enjoyed reading all of your tips, and I am in LOVE with your gorgeous patriotic porch. Perfect for summer!! Happy to be touring with you this week. Pinned!

  4. Lynne, pretty summer tour. Love the blues and your patriotic porch.

    Great touring with you. Pinned!

  5. Lynne, you have some great ideas. Love the Martha’s Vineyard watercolor print that you created.

  6. Lynne, I enjoyed your ideas and love your charming porch and those gorgeous peonies! Pinned! Blessings, Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction

  7. Lynne happy summer and thank you for sharing your beautiful tour with us! I love all of your touches of summer especially love how you talk about displaying family keepsakes or memories . I hope you find some time to relax on your new IKEA sofa and soak up the sun. Pinning!

  8. I love your gorgeous patriotic porch Lynne. Thanks for sharing your summer decorating ideas . I especially love the one about keeping peonies fresh. Such a beautiful tour my friend.

  9. Lynne,
    Your home is so BEAUTIFUL for summer. I am so inspired by it all-pinned!
    xoxo,
    Brendt

  10. Thank you for the sweet tip on peonies, and keeping them cooler. Whatever it takes to make them last as long as possible, I’m all in! Lovely tour Lynne, everything looks so fresh and inviting! Enjoy your summer!

  11. Oh my goodness! Your home is so beautiful! So many lovely touches. I love Connecticut. It’s such a beautiful state. My son moved there last fall, so I’m lucky enough to get to explore your gorgeous state. So much fun hopping with you this week.

  12. Your back patio is so beautiful! I love the patriotic theme – just perfect for summer! And that welcome back is the best! I may have to get me one of those!

  13. Your home looks all bright and fresh… ready for summer! LOVE those big blue hydrangeas, and the shell inside the apothecary jar is so pretty too! May be stealing a few ideas from you for next summer! Pinned, and love touring with you, dear friend!

  14. Hi Lynne! I LOVE your home for summer…it’s beautiful! I can feel the easy, breezy ambience that you have created. Those little shells and sea glass stunned me…what a beautiful photo that is and special memories! I love to collect sea glass from the North Shore here in Minnesota off of Lake Superior…so fun!!

  15. Perfect New England vibe!! I always love to put out some of my shells & beach glass in the summer…one of my favorite things to do is walking the beaches looking for treasures too!!

  16. This is such a lovely post. Your home is beautiful. Of course, my favorite tip was to bring in fresh flowers. That’s a great photo of you with the CT Huskies shirt. Thank you for sharing your tips with us. Great ideas.

  17. Your home is beautiful! Thanks for the tips. I still haven’t redecorated my house yet so my first step is to switch out the heavy textiles for lighter fabrics.

  18. Your house looks amazing dressed up for summer! I enjoyed reading all of your tips! Very good ideas that are not too hard to implement! Thanks, Donna

  19. Everything looks beautiful and so fresh and summery, Lynne! I’m eyeing my sofa pillows now and thinking they need a summer wardrobe LOL. Love love love hydrangeas. I keep adding bushes to my garden too. I buy a pair nearly every year…they spend the summer in planters by the door and then get transferred to the garden in the fall when the planters get changed over for the season. Most of them have survived, and maaaaybe before I die I’ll have a garden full of big bushy hydrangeas!

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