Summer Charm: A 2024 Home Tour

As we near the midpoint of the summer season, I can’t help but feel a little bit sad. Summers are such a lazy time of year! Before it becomes just a memory, I’m reminded that I promised you a summer home tour and I had better get to it!

Welcome everyone! Please come inside!

The house is put together in a way that I consider acceptable for the moment.  My struggle there is that when all is said and done, I know I won’t be staying here.  While I want it to feel homey, the word “temporary” is forever in the back of my mind.

As I always did in Colorado, I’ve gone with a coastal look for the summer. Although I’m a little closer to the ocean than I was before… I am still as landlocked as ever! But again… I believe the decor you choose should have absolutely nothing to do with where you live and everything to do with what you love.

Creating Serenity with Color, Texture, and Form in the Main Living Space

The living room is bright and open and exactly the type of room that can embrace a coastal style.  I chose shades of aqua and turquoise with an added touch of sea foam green as my color scheme.

Artful Expressions

Choosing art is an incredibly personal thing. I measure its worth not in monetary terms but in the depth of the emotions I feel when I look at it. For some, a walk through a meadow brings them peace. Others, a hike down a mountain trail renews their spirit. For me, standing stationary at the edge of the sand and simply watching the tide come and go, speaks to my very soul. I choose accordingly.

The ability to turn my tv into a work of art has been such fun! The simple seascape below compliments the actual painting above perfectly!

I love a big flatscreen when I’m settling in for a movie but I’ve always wished I could get rid of it at the end of the show. Now I can and you can too! (You won’t need to purchase an expensive framed tv to do the same. (Message me if you’d like to learn how… you’ll be amazed at just how easy it is!)

I found I also needed a bit of the familiar as well. This picture of a pelican was one I had taken on the Ocean Beach pier in San Diego. I blew it up and used it in a 100 year old window that had been gifted to me. It has always hung in my summer home. You can learn the process I used by clicking here.

Choosing artwork that provides a focal point to build on is so important regardless of your decorating style.

Comfort and Style

One of the things that I love about the sea is the ever-changing colors it displays. Those beautiful shades of blue and green are very much a part of my summer home. Pillows are such an easy way to bring the colors in.

Likewise, throws of different textures bring depth to the overall look.

A lightweight knit or a muslin material is perfect for the summer months! The white of the cresting waves is represented here too.

Complimenting Accents

In our family, I am known as the collector – or as my husband puts it, the hoarder! However, when it comes to many of the coastal pieces we possess, I can honestly say… that’s on him! He has never seen a sea-life statue that he hasn’t fallen in love with.

With every visit to a new coastal city, I will always check for a Wyland and/or Lassen gallery on arrival. This tends to keep him occupied for hours, leaving me to visit one local gift shop after another. These outings normally end with one or two boxes being shipped home and waiting for us when our trip is over. Our downsize forced us to make some difficult choices but our favorites still remain. They take center stage in our home this time of year.

Sea turtles are such fun to watch. The statue is a favorite but the picture, done by my sister-in-law, is the absolute best! Her talent just amazes me.

I used a distressed white tray to display other favorites on the coffee table. The whale tail brings us back to several wonderful trips to Maui. The humpbacks come each year to have their babies in the warm tropical waters. Seeing them up close is life changing.

Artwork and pillows and throws define the room but it’s the accents that define you. They are a collection of things you love and by association, who you are. When a friend comes for a visit and their first comment is “This looks like you,” then you’ve designed the perfect room.

We will be heading to San Diego very soon to recharge by the sea. Until then, I will take comfort in this room that represents the peace we know we’ll find there.

Summer Kitchen Vibes

A summer kitchen needs a clean, fresh, look. To accomplish that, I’ve gone back to my old standby… lemons. I have used them for several summers over the years in many different ways. With this room being long and narrow without a lot of counter space, I have kept my decor to a minimum here. I’ve utilized the space above the cabinets to bring the lemon theme into focus.

Of course, I’ve recreated my lemon coffee bar from year’s past with just a few new twists. It’s bright and cheery for my first stop each morning.

Since I no longer have a back door off my kitchen, I’ve used my wreath as an anchor for this year’s version.

While my favorite tiered tray is much too big to use here, a smaller version on the coffee bar is just as nice!

Lemon decor is the perfect fit for a summer breakfast table. Such a cheery sight first thing in the morning!

Although I am short on space, I still managed to bring the lemon theme home I think, don’t you???

Powder Room/Guest Bath

I tried to make this room as functional as possible. Being right off the family room, it needs to be pretty yet still have everything a guest might need.

With that in mind, I added towel hooks and baskets of necessities that can be hidden away when no overnight guests are visiting.

Little touches here and there are just what you need to make sure your guests feel at home!

Coastal Guest Room

Our guest room is a quite a bit smaller than before but just as welcoming. I kept the same bedding and bedroom suite. I still love the look of wicker and it always seems to beg for a coastal look. So of course I complied!

A few more accents and we are ready for company! That being said, I’m thinking it’s best to wait until the weather here cools down. However, there are always cheap flights to Phoenix this time of year! Can’t imagine why!

There is another bedroom here that I won’t be sharing today. At the moment, it is still full of boxes and bins. I am hoping to at least have room for a bed at some point soon.

Our Room… Well sort of…

You might have noticed the sign above the slider in our family room. “You, me, & the dogs” it proclaims. That statement is completely accurate these days. For better or worse, our lives really do revolve around our fur babies. The evidence is everywhere but perhaps it is most apparent in the place we ridiculously refer to as “our room.” The eyesore at the bottom of the bed begs to differ!

Having a Dachshund in the family requires ramps all over the place. They are prone to back injuries and we’ve had a few to recover from even with the ramps. But I can tell you without hesitation, they are worth every inconvenience that comes with them!

We love having a pool out back and it’s the first thing I see when I wake in the morning. It’s a little bit of an incentive to get up and start my day.

On days when I would rather have a view with a little more of the green that I left behind in Colorado… I simply add another window!

Just as I added a painting to the tv in the main room, I added a window here, complete with the sounds of the great outdoors.

If all else fails, I can take an imaginary stroll down the path in this picture! I fell in love with the colors and decided to build out our room around it.

We have found it to be the perfect evening retreat. We are grateful to Teddy and Cooper for agreeing to share it with us too!

Note: You can find links to several of the items in my summer decor in the Create the Look section of the blog.

The summer here has been quite the struggle for us weather-wise so far and we are looking forward to October when I’m told it will get better. In the meantime… the POOL! Before you leave today, take a peek out back to see how we’re Beating the Heat this summer.

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See you soon!