How to refresh your home decor for summer – tips and trends

Ready to say goodbye to those miserable grey afternoons? Us too. We all crave a massive seasonal shift the second the weather turns nice, but doing a complete overhaul of our interiors sounds incredibly exhausting – especially when the sunny outdoors is calling.

The good news is that you can actually pull off the home decor for summer refresh of your dreams using just a handful of smart tricks. We’ve gathered the best summer house interior ideas so you can easily upgrade your space with zero stress and all the sunshine vibes. Grab an iced latte and get ready to be sun-spired…

Our ultimate guide to summer decor

When your summer home design era is calling, there’s only one thing to do – go all in on the sun-drenched aesthetic. Even if your space is a little lacking in natural light, you can instantly change the vibe of your home just by updating your wall displays – and we’re obsessed with using personalised wall art to brighten up a lounge or breathe life into a gloomy hallway. Swap any dark winter prints for sunny holiday pictures or bright pops of colour to welcome in the new season in style.

Not sure where to start with your wall art? Check out our ultimate guide.

Essential summer room decor colours and fabrics

If you’re anything like us, you’ll have spent most of winter snuggled under knit blankets (and how cosy those dark nights were). But now’s the time to pack them away, peel back the heavy curtains and let that sunlight pour in – because if spring and summer decor demands anything, it demands breathable and lightweight fabrics, soft textures and grounding sun-washed shades like terracotta or soft blue.

Updating your soft furnishings is one of our fave indoor summer decor hacks to totally change-up a room (and peeling yourself off a leather armchair in July is a sweaty nightmare we refuse to deal with, tbh). Why not try draping soft throws over chairs, add a textured runner to your dining table, or throw a few personalised cushions on your sofa?

We also love leaning framed poster prints against walls or on shelves to add a little something-something to the decor without the need to repaint or overhaul your furniture. They give the same visual impact but keep things low maintenance, and that’s the exact summer home decor vibe we are going for.

If you’re on the hunt for something unique, have a read of our modern wall art design ideas for every room blog.

Using plants and natural materials for boho summer decor

If turning your home into a bit of an indoor jungle isn’t the summer decor goal of the season then we don’t want to know. Pretend you’re living in a Mediterranean villa and introduce organic shapes like trailing vines or round woven baskets as an easy fix to soften those harsh work-from-home desk edges and really nail those summer room ideas. Sitting a leafy plant inside a natural woven basket also creates the perfect boho summer decor look.

You’ll definitely want to try weaving linen and rattan into your current setup to keep things feeling grounded too. If you want to keep your memories close to those earthy textures, our wooden photo blocks are a great way to add natural elements to your summer home accessories.

Our wood framed canvases are also perfect summer room decor to get that natural feeling on your walls.

Currently renting and banned from using nails? Our renter friendly home decor guide is exactly what you need.

Indoor summer decorating ideas

Tackling a summer home design project is much less scary when you take it one room at a time. A ruthless decluttering session is the only way to start (we’re looking respectfully at you, huge pile of unopened post on the kitchen table).

Once those surfaces are finally clear, you can start peppering in lighter summer home accessories like vases of seasonal flowers and candles in your favourite summer scent.

Rotating your wall displays is a super effective trick for summer bedroom decor ideas. Why not hang a framed photo collage packed with your favourite beach moments directly over your bed to keep those sunny memories front of mind? Or for something a bit different, you could opt for acrylic or aluminium prints of zoomed-in photos of nature, like grains of sand or turquoise seas.

For this, you might also love our tips on how to turn your holiday photos into stunning wall art. Or if you’re planning a seaside getaway, our guide on how to take great beach photos this summer is a must-read before you pack your bags.

Adding the final touches to your summer home design

Focusing on your smaller surfaces is the best way to tie your whole seasonal aesthetic together. Add the finishing touches to your interior glow-up by updating your summer coffee table decor or your shelves to bring in some lighter energy without spending a fortune (mostly because we’ve already spent our budget on iced coffee, IYKYK).

Spend a Sunday afternoon designing a photo book full of bright summer decor themes to get that creativity flowing. After all, there’s nothing like having an eye-catching personalised photo album sitting on your table to bring seasonal life into your lounge. 10/10 would recommend.

Outdoor decorating ideas for summer

Your outdoor space absolutely deserves the exact same energy as your interior. Playing with creative outdoor decorating ideas for summer will help you build that lazy weekend sunny sanctuary of dreams.

Try styling your garden furniture exactly like an indoor sofa. Drape a few lightweight throws over the chairs and add a colourful (or textured) outdoor rug for the ultimate chill space – the perfect excuse for doing absolutely nothing all Sunday (it is called SUN-day, after all).

You can also easily level-up your hosting area by placing oversized lanterns next to big plant pots, or adding hanging disco balls in the trees to reflect the light. The soft lighting makes the perfect sun-worshipping partner for when you finally sit down with a cold glass of something. Hello, golden hour, we’ve been waiting patiently for you.

Our one golden rule for spring summer home decor is to avoid overcomplicating things. You know by now that you don’t need to commit to a full renovation when you can just make a few tiny swaps. These spring and summer decorating ideas are perfect if you want to keep things low effort but high aesthetic (which we do, obviously). And choosing a few summertime home decor pieces like Photobox wall art and lightweight interior decorations is absolutely the way to go, don’t you think?

Create your summer wall art