Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
How to Give Your Home That Lazy Summer Vibe
Slow down and kick back in the comfort of home with simple additions and tweaks for a relaxing summer feel
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design. I just completed my first remodel, turning my crumbling 1941 kitchen into a beauty of grays, whites and natural wood. If I could, I'd sleep on the countertop. That's how much I love it.
You can also read my parenting blog on Baby Center http://blogs.babycenter.com/author/sschoech/
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel... More »
Summers are lovely, but aside from actual vacation time, they are not too different from the rest of the year. We still have to work and pay bills and change our oil.
Still, there is something in the air (it's called sunshine) that makes everything a little more relaxed. Mealtimes get longer, evenings linger and clothing takes it down a few notches. Life just doesn't feel so frenetic in summer. Or at least it shouldn't.
There is no reason you can't capture this feeling in your home. Lighten things up, relax a little, make room for kicking back. You may not have more actual hours to chill during the summer months, but your home can make you feel like you do.
Still, there is something in the air (it's called sunshine) that makes everything a little more relaxed. Mealtimes get longer, evenings linger and clothing takes it down a few notches. Life just doesn't feel so frenetic in summer. Or at least it shouldn't.
There is no reason you can't capture this feeling in your home. Lighten things up, relax a little, make room for kicking back. You may not have more actual hours to chill during the summer months, but your home can make you feel like you do.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Hang a hammock. If it's too hot and buggy out, hang it inside. A book and a glass of lemonade are just as good in an indoor hammock as they are in an outdoor one.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Have an outdoor pavilion for shade, breezes and all the comforts of an outdoor living room. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
An outdoor pavilion is not in your cards? Create a makeshift lounge. Think of it as your summer living room. A few layered rugs, some floor pillows and a low table will do the trick.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Adding an outdoor fireplace or a fire pit helps to create a focal point for an instant outdoor living room. And it keeps things going after the sun has gone down.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Hang a mosquito net. There are few things as romantic as a sheer mosquito net over the bed. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
No place for a mosquito net? Hang gauzy curtains. They let in the light and flutter in the breeze.
|
by Rough Linen
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Sleep outside. Moving a summer bed out into the yard or onto the porch is a great way to feel as if you are on vacation even when you have to get up in the morning. |
by Dreamy Whites
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Go casual. Canning jars become tea glasses, yard clippings are centerpieces and nothing really has to match. It's summer. You should be eating in your swimsuit!
|
by Tamar Schechner
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Go white and bright. White slipcovers are bright and summery, and they can be washed. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
White, white and more white.
by Sandy Koepke
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Move the dining room outside. You don't need a beautiful rose arbor and a raised gravel bed to temporarily move outdoors for your meals.
by A Beach Cottage
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Bring outdoor furniture inside. This vintage beach chair just screams "summer lake house" to me.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
All you need is one small area where you can get comfortable. Even if a balcony is your only outdoor space, you can create a summer chill-out spot.
Comments
pettstar I love all these pics, but every time I see the rustic chairs outside, I cringe. What if I have my white linen pants on...I would die if I got rust on them!
10 months ago · Like
olldbobbi White, white and more white with a touch of blue and a sandy beige - now that is summer!
10 months ago · Like
· 
1
1
Margery Come on...white slip covers? prbably get one season use-- not practical
10 months ago · Like
Samantha Schoech Actually, white slip covers are one of the most practical furniture fabrics you can have. They can be removed and washed with bleach. They are even good for kids wielding dirty hands and crayons. I promise.
10 months ago · Like
· 10
10
Casart Coverings Prior to a/c, a sleeping porch used to be "de riguer" for homes in the south.
10 months ago · Like
· 1
1
bubblyjock Eh - Margery - those look like a cotton or linen mix used to make the slipcovers, which is about as machine-washable as machine-washable can be: problem solved, right!
10 months ago · Like
· 2
2
Jason Shepard That rustic dining room outside is GORGEOUS! All that earthy color is far, far better than horrid asylum white. Unfortunately, I could never have one of those dining rooms as I cannot bring myself to eat outdoors with the bugs, but it is beautiful nonetheless. The rust wouldn't bother me as I never wear white :)
10 months ago · Like
· 1
1
barbmcomish Great spread of ideas. Please tell me where I might purchase the ceiling fans shown in the outdoor pool pavilion (either in the U.S. or Australia)? Am recreating a West Indian vibe in our tropical Queensland house... Thanks again for ongoing inspiration. Barb McO.
10 months ago · Like
happyrooms That is why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Something is always our there for each of our individual tastes. Keep up the great ideas Houzz!
10 months ago · Like
elsiecakes Barbmcomish, I have seen those fans in Hunter's collection. I am pretty sure they sell hunter fans in Australia as well.
10 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on July 18, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
basements · bedrooms · dining rooms · entries · family rooms · garage and sheds · halls · home offices · landscapes · laundry rooms · powder rooms · wine cellars and more.
