10 ways to make your home feel summery

Whatever the weather outside, warm up your décor inside with sunny splashes of yellow. Bring in the sunshine with yellow accessories, such as cushions or throws, display a bunch of sunflowers or yellow roses in a strategically placed vase to brighten up a corner, add a yellow lampshade or even decorate a feature wall with wallpaper featuring subtle yellow hues, such as Farrow & Ball’s Wisteria BP 2212. 

Farrow & Ball's Wisteria wallpaper is one way to bring a summery yellow into your home.

Just gazing at a deep blue sky makes you feel as though you’re on holiday, so why not surround yourself with feel-good factor? Blue is calming and tranquil and goes with just about every other colour and design trend. In fact, we love blue so much that we’ve just introduced a couple of shades into our own collection. Our bestselling Petit Royale ottoman coffee tables are now available in a delectable pale blue velvet and moodier royal blue velvet – the perfect way to introduce the timeless beauty of blue into your home.

Blue sky thinking: our royal blue Petit Royale ottoman coffee table is a great way to introduce timeless blue into your home decor scheme.

We have also just taken delivery of our Hamilton upholstered dining chairs in these shades, which are the perfect foil for our weathered oak dining tables.

The Hamilton dining chair in pale blue velvet.	The Hamilton in royal blue velvet.

Summer is when our gardens and countryside are usually at their lushest and greenest (bar the occasional seasonal drought!). So why not invest in some summer-flowering plants or verdant ferns and enjoy a herbaceous haven indoors? Citrus trees, such as lemon, can be kept in a sunny position inside, such as next to a window under a skylight, bringing a Mediterranean feel to a room. If you’re not good with houseplants, faux olive trees are a great fallback.

Faux olive trees or large decorative leaves are a low-maintenance alternative to house plants.

When the heat is on, you need to keep your cool. Along with fresh greens and ocean blues, metallics such as silver and pewter can help to tone down a summery scheme, while crisp whites and natural fabrics keep rooms light and airy during hot weather. Add a couple of white photo frames along with a summery bouquet to brighten up a side table or console and consider some white or pale-wood framed wall art. Our trio of beautifully illustrated ferns will add a breath of fresh air to any wall.

White photo frames add a light touch.	Our illustrated ferns in pale wood frames will brighten up a wall.

White blinds or shutters reflect light to keep rooms cool … and if you’re contemplating replacing an old carpet, now might be the time to take it up, paint floorboards and invest in a natural neutral rug to encourage the airflow underfoot.

What better way to invoke high summer than with a tropical theme? We’re not suggesting Tiki bars and pina coladas – ah, remember the days of the long-haul flight? – but a subtle suggestion or two of tropical climes. How about a decorative coconut or our set of four botanical palm prints to allude to that paradise island?

Decorative coconuts look lovely either displayed singly or in a group on a console table.	Take yourself off to a paradise island – our palm illustrations come in a set of four.

We don’t need the lights on so much during summer but make the most of a balmy evening after dusk with lamps that cast a subtle glow. Keep to the summery vibe by choosing a light coloured lamp base and shade, such as our antiqued white Zena table lamp, or update an existing lamp with an on-trend natural woven bamboo or rattan shade.

The Zena table lamp has an antiqued white wooden base.

Honeysuckle, jasmine, roses, fresh mint and thyme, eucalyptus and fig… there are myriad fragrances associated with summer, all of which can be wafted through our homes courtesy of scented candles and reed diffusers. We stock a range of gorgeous Parkminster scented candles and diffusers, all hand-poured and hand-packaged in an array of summery scents, including pomegranate, coconut, fresh fig, cucumber and mint, and tomato leaf.



Fill your home with summery fragrance... take your pick from our range of Parkminster candles and reed diffusers.

Naturally we would all like to be sitting outdoors during summer, but in a typically British climate, this isn’t always possible. So a comfortable vantage point by the window enabling you to survey the local flora and fauna on a longer evening is the next best thing. A well-padded occasional chair, in natural light summery linen fabric, is just what’s required. Depending on how much room you have, take a look at our baby Annabelle, square-backed Arthur or throne-like Aston.

Just as you swap your winter wardrobe for a summer one, you can ring the changes with your table top, too. We love styling our collection of weathered oak dining tables, either dressing them up for a dinner party or down for more casual use (or home-working for that matter) during the day. We have a great collection of tableware for all occasions, including dinner plates, table mats and luxurious finishing touches, such as sparkly jewelled silver napkin rings and ribbed champagne glasses.

For dinner parties, why not use a gorgeous flower as a place setting, tucked inside one of our echeveria napkin rings. You can either use the same flowers or mix them up for even more visual interest.

Our echeveria napkin rings will set the scene for a summer dinner party. Tuck in a single flower for an elegant place setting.

OK, so we can’t have Wimbledon, Henley, Glastonbury, Edinburgh or (officially yet) go abroad on holiday, but we can still create the great British summer… simply grab the cucumber, mint, strawberries, ice, lemonade and add that drink beginning with P (we’re advocating glugs, not plugs!) Serve in chilled glasses on our mirrored trays.

A set of mirrored trays (comes in a trio), perfect for ottoman coffee tables and serving summer drinks.

Happy summer styling from the LRI team.