Summer feeling indoors

As a child my summers were spent in Arkansas where my grandparents lived. We children entertained ourselves, running through the woods, swimming in the creek, drinking Coca Cola from thick, green bottles and catching fireflies in glass jars. Years later I still enjoy the unhurried ease that summer brings. In my city home, I open windows to let in summer warmth, peel away layers, and do my best to capture summer much as I caught fireflies, for my own personal enjoyment. Here are a dozen ways to capture that summer afternoon feeling at home.

1. Modify window treatments by removing heavier side panels from draperies, allowing breezy sheers to remain.
2. Roll up and stow patterned or heavy carpets out of sight. This will give you the opportunity to appreciate the hardwood or stone floors which are usually covered. As a general rule, pattern absorbs (and therefore does not reflect) more light than a solid fabric.
3. Add mirrors beside your best windows. Not only will this work to expand visual space, it also amplifies available sunlight and helps to brighten interiors.
4. Adopt a more casual attitude when it comes to summer decorating. Loose fitting slipcovers are the decorating equivalent of a summer shift, instantly revitalizing rooms.
5. Embrace today's fresh pastels; a splash of pale aqua or a blush of lavender work beautifully with deeper tones to lighten and brighten stale rooms. Look for accessories such as vases, throws, and lamps to enliven neutral colour schemes.
6. Nothing says summer like fresh, wide cabana stripes adorning furnishings and windows. Look for crisp, two tone options such as red and white or blue and white to deliver lasting power. Accent this orderly look with floral pillows and lightweight throws.
7. Grass matting such as seagrass and sisal offer casual barefoot beauty and provide a pleasing contrast to stone and hardwood floors. Seagrass is my choice because its waxy leaf provides a measure of protection from spills and it's more comfortable under foot.
8. Neither southern porch nor northern garden room is complete without at least one piece of easy-going wicker furniture. Effortless elegance is what makes wicker so pleasing year-round and it works equally well indoors.
9. Plantation shutters with 3.5" louvers and California shutters with 2.5" louvers provide maximum sun control without the fuss of drapery panels. Crisp white always looks right.
10. No matter where you display them, pebbles and shells always look like they were just plucked from the beach. Today, you can even find flooring tiles made of real pebbles embedded in plastic resin for a year-round beachy look.
11. Today's fabric manufacturers offer a range of linens and sheers with decorative detailing such as embroidered stitching and beading; accents that give these lightweight fabrics a stylish presence.
12. Whether it's a vintage chest, a handsome bench or a four-poster bed, painted furniture is a staple of summery shabby chic style.