4 Tips for Easy and Carefree Summer Decorating

Have you ever left up seasonal decorations way too long during the Summer because you weren't sure what to replace them with? And I'm not talking about Fourth of July decorations left up through the month of July. I'm talking about bunnies being decorated with American flags. Or even worse....replaced with pumpkins? GUILTY! Fifteen years later, I can now tell the story of the time that my husband and I left a Christmas tree up until March 24th and the disturbing truth is that Christmas only came down because we had bought a house and had to move. #facepalm. I would imagine we all have done something like this - maybe not Christmas in March, but you get my drift! Because today in our busy lives, 1 of 2 things happen: 1, We are so busy we forget about it (or are temporarily lazy - no judgement, just the truth specifically for me), or 2, we aren't really sure what to replace it with? After Christmas or winter, we know that Spring and bunnies are coming so it's easy to grab them to put out. But after Spring...what do we go with for Summer? I mean I'm a proud American, but red, white, and blue only can be tasteful for so long. That's why Summer decorating proves to be so difficult for so many of us! We want to work too hard and over think it. And that's why we're sharing our 4 Tips for Easy and Carefree Summer Decorating, so that you can master our foolproof ways of updating the house easily and without a lot of effort, all while bringing the beauty of summer inside to the air conditioning.  Creating a home that all of your guests will love and feel welcomed, and you won't be exhausted. It's time to give those bunnies, and more importantly, YOU, some time to rest!

One of the things that my grandparents did that fascinated me while I was young, was grow their vegetable garden. It just blew my mind, that they planted these little seeds and then tiny little sprouts grew into these huge plants (to a child) AND there was food that came from it! It seemed magical (unicorns anyone?). They told me that I would be able to grow my own garden someday. Well..... they didn't know it at the time, but that was the only lie my grandparents ever told me. You see what they didn't know, was that from birth I was cursed with a black thumb, however, I could work magic with faux stems or cut fresh stems (always see the silver lining). And unfortunately, my inability to keep a plant alive even includes succulents. AND I KNOW...you're sitting there saying "You can't kill succulents"....but believe me, just call me the Angel of Death for Plants. This brings me to my first tip for Easy and Carefree Seasonal Summer Decorating. Faux SUCCULENTS are a great way to add a little color and "life" to a space or shelf? Did you have a bunny nestled with a picture frame on a bookshelf during Spring? Replace it with 2 potted succulents (different sizes) nestled together. Even better, throw some pea gravel around the bottom of the containers to make it look like you just potted them. We suggest that you group them all over the house! Faux potted succulents are the "pumpkins" of Summer! For Fall, you can never have enough pumpkins! The same goes for potted succulents during the summer! They can be tucked all over the place, and because of the magnitude of styles, sizes, and colors...using a wide combination only helps the illusion of them being real! On a bathroom sink. Grouped on a cutting board in the kitchen. Tucked in bookshelves. By sprinkling them around your home, it makes you look like the "Plant Mom" we all wished we could be! Of course WITHOUT all of the watering weekly, and let's be honest....I'll use any moment to rest when I can!

When it comes to floral arranging, gone are the days of "Dynasty" style floral arrangements? Am I dating myself? Maybe a more timely description would be "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills". And if you don't know what that is, think large, full, tons of flowers, fixed and fussy. Thank God that style is gone, along with the shoulder pads....but I would still take Designing Women any day! Today's desired look and style are more natural arrangements, I call it "Clipped from the backyard". My goal is to always look like it was clipped and brought in, think very Martha Stewart. This leads to my second tip for Easy and Carefree Seasonal Summer Decorating. DON'T FORGET THE FOLIAGE! Mother Nature is working really hard to bring us all of the real flowers and colors outside, and while all of that is beautiful, colors can be limited to use in certain spaces inside the house. Greenery or foliage goes with EVERYTHING! So focus on the green! If you had a vessel full of cherry blossoms, forsythia, or dogwood stems, switch those stems out with something all green! A vessel full of spilling eucalyptus will look great regardless of the colors you use inside. And honestly, the options are endless. Lemon leaf, nandina, ruscus, coleus....greenery stems are always a foolproof option, for Summer Decorating and are a great replacement for those Spring stems!

I've always been obsessed with ferns! I'm not sure if it was from the repetitive outside shot of the Golden Girl's house that I've seen 5 trillion times or because of the long graceful branches, but they have always been a favorite of mine! And with my affection for greenery, Fern Fronds are at the top! I guess you can say that I am FOND OF FRONDS, lol And while potted ferns are beautiful, my focus always tends to go toward fronds in a glass vase! There's just something warm, organic, and graceful about them. Unfortunately, my experience has been that cut fern fronds dry out very quickly, even in a watered vase. And let's be honest, I just don't have time to clip new ones everyday. So, of course, I turn to beautiful faux ferns! Think of them like little bud vases with flowers! They are great to sprinkle around and add color! They can do the same job as faux potted succulents but as a taller alternative, and without the fullness or volume that greenery in a vase takes up. Being Fond of the Fronds adds a warm feel and life to a space that just screams, "Welcome Summer".

Have you ever had this feeling of being home just by thinking of a location, even though you've never been there? For me, it's the Hamptons. Bougie....I know. But hey, there are worse places to feel like home, especially when Ina Garten could be cooking dinner for us anytime! When I think of the Hamptons, I think of homes surrounded by beautiful, full hydrangea bushes. And that just feels like home to me! So it's only natural that I want to bring those beautiful hydrangeas inside, BUT I have THE HARDEST TIME cutting our hydrangea bushes outside. We won't go into the backstory of why...but let's just say it took a lot of years, work, and tears to get the hydrangeas full and blooming. So I turn to our faux hydrangeas, and snowball hydrangea stems to bring the magic all summer long. They are a great way to add a large summer impact, without a ton of money or effort! Fill a large bowl or vase with them, and let them speak on their own! They do all of the work and will look classic all Summer long, without the weekly work of cutting and changing out the water!!!

And there you have it! You've learned our 4 tips for Easy and Carefree Summer decorating! Which are perfect and timless all Summer long. The best part of Summer decorating, is that it should be done easily and without a ton of effort! Just like we all would like our summers to be! So, sit back, have an icy beverage and enjoy your family and friends!