Continuing along with our theme of looking ahead to summer, I bring you the Summer Living Room Tour!
Our family spends a lot of time together in our living room, so it’s always fun to add some seasonal flair while protecting the functionality of the room.
I took inspiration for this year’s summer living room from red, white, and blue, but also the idea of fun and spending time at the beach (something I think we’re all looking forward to more as summer approaches!).
The first thing I did was take down the curtains for the season to let more light in!
We’re fortunate to not have any privacy concerns with the window coverings removed, and we also don’t have to worry about heat issues due to sun exposure!
If your house needs curtains for privacy or for certain times of the day when the sun hits – I’d suggest some cute seasonal tie-backs for the times when you CAN pull them wide open to let the light flood in!
*This post contains affiliate links to products I know &/or love.
Above the couch, I hung a cute and simple fern wreath and put one of my favorite little tea-stained flags in the center.
If you’ve ever seen a wreath and thought, “I could probably make that” – You totally can! I have a simple How to Make Wreath in 5 minutes tutorial that shows you how!
In the center is one of the cheap flags you can find just about everywhere near the Fourth of July that cost around $1. I think the tea-staining process adds a cute vintage charm and makes them look much less common than how they come! I did a tutorial on Facebook Live if you’d like to try the “aging” process yourself!
To the right of our front door, I updated the styling of this cute tall shelf to include some of our summer colors and textures.
On the top shelf, I added blue and red vintage books from my collection. I scoop up vintage books whenever I see them at garage sales and thrift stores – especially in pretty colors that I know I can work into different themes.
In the middle shelf, I added a Christmas flower arrangement (who would even guess?!) that had pretty blue juniper berries in it. I added a few of my tea-stained flags for continuity across the different areas.
Next to the shelf, I have my wooden easel with a vintage Victorian-style house print.
On the other side of the room behind the door, I used my trusty bi-fold louvered doors as a backdrop for this neat bicycle poster.
If you like this style and have a different picture or poster in mind, you can follow this tutorial for your own DIY Vintage Wall Hanging.
In the corner we have what I affectionately call the “Lego shelf” which I styled with a vintage American flag held up by two pretty thrifted birds I found a while back.
I love keeping my eye out for pretty details just like those at thrift stores and garage sales that I just KNOW will find a home within my designs.
The tall glass jar on the Lego shelf has a cute collection of shells that ties in with the centerpiece – which I’ll discuss more in a minute!
Next to the Lego shelf, we have one of my favorite parts of the room, our window seat.
I kept it pretty simple with blue and white pillows and covers, with a pop of red from my Thrifted Pillowcase turned Pillow.
The beautiful embroidered pillow shams on either far end are from Serena and Lily.
I love how the white pillows give your eye a place to rest from all the cute stripes in the blue grain sack pillow covers and the striped lumbar pillow.
This red chair is a remnant from a set my children used when they were younger.
I just love the bright and bold pop of red! I’ve found that too much red, white and blue all together can be overwhelming, but a few bold pops of red among the more neutral white and blue does my heart good!
This sweet little driftwood sailboat helps bring in the beach feel! They’re really easy to make and can be so cute within your summer decor.
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Moving on to the next corner of the room – we reach the piano!
Our living room doesn’t have a fireplace or mantle, so the top of the piano often serves as my eye height level display.
For summer we have a Olive Tree Topiary to bring in some greenery. I actually made this one myself, you can learn how with my DIY Olive Tree Topiary tutorial.
Next to that I have:
Hanging from above I have a pretty red and white star and a bunting banner made by folding cupcake liners in half and taping them over a length of twine!
In the middle of the piano, I have my “As for Me and My House” bible verse sign. You can find these on Etsy, or you can make your own!
On the couch, I kept the subtle blues and whites for the pillows and included a blue “throw blanket” made out of a curtain panel from Goodwill.
I had originally gotten it thinking I would make it into pillows, but decided I liked the trim too much – so for now it’s safe from my scissors and sewing machine as a faux blanket.
I used another of the pretty french lemonade jars here by the couch as well,
Back to the couch, aren’t these macrame and bird pillows just darling?
For the centerpiece on the coffee table, I used a dessert stand to display some cute seashells, and nearby I filled vintage buckets with faux moss.
And what centerpiece would be complete without a pop of vintage color – in the little red dish!
And that completes the summer living room tour for this year!
I hope you feel inspired and ready to start your own summer decorating!
I look forward to hearing from you about what your theme is for the year, (you can leave a comment below) and seeing pictures of your finished projects (you can tag me on Instagram.)
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