5 easy ways to summerize!

 

it's summertime... and the livin' should be easy!

it's time to simplify, lighten up, and create rooms that welcome a casual, fun, active lifestyle

to enjoy over the next few months.
i have a few simple ideas to make your home feel like a resort all summer long
without having to spend a lot of your vacation / stay-cation cash!

here are my top five tips for adding summer style to your rooms:

my hat trick!

decorating with collections is an easy way to bring your own personality into your home, 

and changing them up seasonally is a fun way to change the 'wardrobe' your house wears!

i love straw hats, and have a nice collection (tho it is smaller than it used to be).

displayed in spring and summer, i often hang them on a pegrack or pile them all on a chair.

sometimes, i even hang them on a wall. yes, RIGHT on the wall, as seen here...

it's as simple as putting a few clear pushpins in the wall and plopping a hat on it.

a grouping like this makes it pretty easy to grab one when needed - and hey, it's free wall decor!

then there's that OTHER hat trick... continue reading to see what i used under those chapeaus!

beach in a jar

it's JUNE! that puts me in a summery mood, how about you?

way back in 2013, i shared '5 ways to decorate with seashells' in a post...

while they were all good ideas, i can say that based on pins, re-pins, and blog post visits, 

THIS ONE has been the overwhelming fave every summer since then.

it's a perfect time to revisit this easy summer decor project!

continue reading to see how simple it is to create variations of your own...

create a garden scarecrow using what?!

we finally had nice sunny weather this past weekend,
and i enjoyed working out in the backyard garden on a project that i've had in mind for months.
i am excited to finally share this easy tutorial with you! 

continue reading to see what i was working on... and how you can make one of your own!

re-purpose a fire pit!

when we planned + designed our backyard landscape, a fire pit was on the 'must have' list.

Mom had always wanted one, and i missed the huge one on my farm.

so, we created a spot for it, and then bought a simple metal one - 

no propane gas tanks to lift & carry, just something to safely burn half a firelog for an hour or so.

and we've used it exactly TWICE in the past two years. 

[we live in a canyon - a DRY canyon. high temps and high winds mean high fire risk.

too high to chance it. so, we don't use the firepit.]

one day i moved a round glass tabletop being stored inside the house, and this idea sprang to mind:

take this glass tabletop and put it on the firepit!

i put an inch or so of pea gravel in the bottom of the firepit, to cover the blackened area

and make it look a bit more 'terrarium'-like as a table.

it's perfect for a planter and some lanterns (which look lovely at night!)

and as a place to rest a drink while sitting in the chairs visiting. and we do!

i love that we found a way to USE this piece regularly, instead of having it just sit there...

the domed screen top that normally sits on the firepit is hanging on the wall in the garage,

quickly reachable if we have conditions where a fire is possible. 

wanna' take this idea further? plant succulents INSIDE the fire pit / table base!

if you put them in a removable tray, you'd still have the option of removing them to build a fire.

and of course, you could find a rusty ol' firepit at a yard sale or thrift shop for this project!

see more easy DIY ideas from our backyard here here and here 

shared online:

funky junk interiors |  diy salvaged junk projects #428

summer kickoff: red, white & blue

 over the years i've shared so many 'fast, cheap & easy'TM tips for decorating...

and my faves are always the party themes!

the 'official' start of summer is on the horizon! 

don't you agree that summer parties should be EASY to pull together? 

uncomplicated? fun? whimsical? and inexpensive? i thought you would! 

so let's use stuff we already have - nothing precious or expensive, just simple.

continue reading for one of my easiest centerpieces EVER - plus a few helpful tips...

tiki punch!

this recent project in our backyard makes me feel like we're time-traveling back to the sixties!

remember these guys? 

these Tikis were in Mom & Dad's backyard for over 20 years, and i featured their first 'makeover'
as part of my 'Thrifty Weekend Makeover' series here on the blog a few years ago.
(that post is really gettin' hits right now because of the 'one step bamboo fence makeover tip' in it!)

well, we saved those tikis when we moved to the new house, 
but we didn't think we'd use them... except for a party, maybe.
here in the desert /wine country, it just seems out of context to have Hawaiian decor.

then i saw some photos from Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern Week.
and an idea came to mind for an area of our backyard that needed a little punch.

... keep reading to see how i created some TIKI PUNCH!

the grass is greener...

...when it's faux!

because we live in a dry desert climate here in SoCal, we work hard to conserve water.
(which cracks me up, having lived north of Seattle for 18 years with more water than i knew what to DO with!)
one of the things we've done to keep our consumption down
is the choice to install artificial turf when designing our backyard.
the color is perfect all year long, there is NO maintenance - just picking up a few tree leaves and rose petals,
and because all of our landscape plants are on a drip system, no one else needs to come back here.
it's our own private oasis!

continue reading to see how i used faux turf to solve a few challenges...

orange crush

one of the best things about decorating with a neutral palette is flexibility...
it's easy to add in a vibrant new color accent each season, to bring new energy to rooms.
adding in fresh accessories affects your rooms like an exclamation point!

here in the home i share with Mom, that accent color is most often orange.
Mom once painted the front door of my childhood brown and white tract house bright persimmon,
and planted marigolds in matching wood planters on the front porch...
it shocked the neighbors, but delighted me! i thought Mom was a genius! (i still do)

she's basically had a crush on orange for most of her life - it's a happy color! - so it works for us.

there's a secondary hallway in our home, and it's dark. even with a window at the end, it's just dreary.
it has needed a touch of warmth and light and color. of course, i figured that it would be orange!
and when i saw THIS on Pinterest, i knew it was the solution...

continue reading to find out what inspired me!