Looking to get your home prepared for the warm weather? Creating the right summery vibe is often a matter of sticking by a few basic design principles in your home. Let’s run through a few of the more effective ones and get ready for summer.
Embrace Lighter Fabrics and Soft Furnishings
Lightweight fabrics will allow more light to circulate around your interior. This makes them an excellent choice for curtains, soft throws, and cushions. Linen and cotton are both great choices – but as long as the fabric is light, it will tend to support the summer vibe.
This is often a matter of pure association. Since we tend to wear lightweight fabrics at this time of year, it’s easier to link them with the season. But heavy wool and coarse-knit hessian textures might be uncomfortable if you’re literally sitting on them, too.
Introduce Nature-Inspired Colour Schemes
For many homeowners, natural hues are preferable to oversaturated, artificial ones. The reason that loud colours might feel exhausting is because they don’t occur often in nature – outside of flowering plants – and thus our attention is often drawn to them. Often, this effect is subtle – sometimes, it isn’t.
By favouring natural-looking palettes, which feature plenty of deep reds, browns and greens, you can approximate real-world, natural materials. These tend to be easier on the eye, and the mind, too. During summer, they’re a natural fit. A luxury green kitchen, for example, might work better than a bold, brash, yellow one.
Create Seamless Indoor-Outdoor Living
During summer, you might spend more of your time in your garden space. Breaking down the barriers between your interior and your patio might therefore be particularly worthwhile. This is where bifold doors, potted plants, and outdoor furnishings can be fantastic. Think about the kinds of alfresco activities you want to perform, and choose your layout accordingly. For smaller homes, biophilic designs, which incorporate plenty of natural elements, like plants, are a wonderful choice.
Refresh with Sustainable Décor Choices
For many homeowners, design choices should reflect not just personal taste and style, but a commitment to sustainable values. This generally means picking out items and materials that don’t impose a cost on the natural world. Looking for fast-growing timber, like bamboo, and prefer recycled or second-hand furnishings to brand new ones. A sustainable home is often one that’s cheaper to run, too – and so you’ll want to make sure that your changes don’t drive down energy efficiency.