Go Simple with Home Décor for Summer
Easy & Inexpensive Ideas for Lightening Up a Room Now
May 2, 2009
A room that looked cozy and warm in December, now feels stuffy and dark. The budget for decorating has already been emptied but surely there must be a way to improve the looks of the room without emptying the wallet?
The key is to "go simple." The Victorians are icons of the overstuffed look – and that's great at Christmas time when rich fabrics, lots of gold and silver accessories and deeply upholstered furniture lend atmosphere to the festivities. But the Minimalists of the 1930s and 1940s reflected a different sensibility – one of economy, efficiency, space and freshness – by using fewer and less ornate furnishings and accessories.
That's the perfect look for spring and summer when the feel of a fresh breeze from an open window and the brightness of the sun is all that's necessary to make a home feel "new" again.
Lighten Rooms by Removing Furniture
Begin by removing some of the larger, heavier pieces of furniture. Send them to basement game rooms or a back bedroom for the next few months. An extra easy chair or ottoman that served when lots of guests were visiting at the holidays might not be needed if entertaining will be done outside for the next few months. Who knows – by the end of a few months it might seem worthwhile to give them to the thrift shop or list them on Craigslist, if the new look feels permanent.
This enables the re-placement of the remaining furniture so that there is more space between the main pieces, giving a feeling of openness and airiness to the room. Taking up an area rug, if possible, to reveal bare flooring will increase this impression.
Brighten the Room for Summer With Paint
If you have a few dollars to spend, a gallon of white or pale green paint on the walls will pop the room's look immediately – but even a quart of paint used to freshen up a yard-sale bookshelf or the wood trim around the room, will give it a new look and can be changed again in a few months if the look gets boring.
Clearing the mantel or bookshelves of the many little items that "grew" there over the winter will be helpful, too. Instead of multiple small photos in metal frames, place one or two larger photos or art works in a simple arrangement, leaning against the wall or each other in a casual way. White mats or "floating" frames will brighten them up. This looks fresher and requires less dusting as well.
Instead of the darker wood and gold lamps, vases, frames and tables that might have been used in the room, look around the house for glass, light-colored or white ceramics, and aluminum or bamboo furniture and lamps. Bring in a few pieces of wicker from the porch if they can be spared, and use instead of an upholstered piece.
By all means, this is the time of year to hold a yard-sale to remove those tired picture frames, figurines, toss pillows and drapes from the house permanently – or to spend a Saturday morning in Spring hitting the neighborhood sales for that "perfect" coffee table that someone else no longer wants. Add fresh flowers instead of silk, or flowering branches from a pretty bush outside, or even scatter seashells, interesting stones, a birds-nest (from the crafts store) or bird house as a focal point on a shelf or side table.
Replace heavy drapes with sheers or bamboo blinds, and keep the windows sparkling clean. Take half the books off a bookshelf and stack the remaining ones in small piles of varying heights for a surprising look of casual cleverness.
The room now looks open, brighter, and the air and traffic circulate more freely. While the investment of time and energy might have been more than one had planned, the results are a new and more interesting room that cost very little out-of-pocket, and will need less work to keep that way.
More ideas can be found at
- Directory M Articles - How to Save Money When Decorating
- How.com - How to Switch the Living Room to Summer Decor
