Summer is my absolute favorite season of the year and I look forward to it all year long. I love the sun, the food, the activities and, most importantly, the more laid back summer vibe. The summers truly are beautiful here, and when the sun is out everyone just seems like they are so much happier!
Today I am joining in with some of my favorite Canadian bloggers for a special summer home tour. You can find all of the links to their beautiful tours at the end of the post so be sure to stick around. There are lots of unique summer home decor ideas and styles from all across the country – I know you will love them!
Once I had taken all of my photos, I realized that there were actually a lot of pictures so I decided to break the tour into a couple of posts to make things a little easier and avoid photo overload! When it comes to summer decorating, I usually like to start with our outdoor spaces. I showed you our summer front entry a few weeks ago and the flowers have all been blooming nicely.
After a couple of weeks of rain, I was finally able to finish up our back patio last week {you can see all of the details HERE} – only to have it start raining again! It looks like the sun is back though so we should be able to get out there this week for a few more dinners. 🙂
Today I am going to take you on a little tour of our summer kitchen and living room. In keeping with summer’s more relaxed attitude, I really don’t make a lot of changes, but I always like to switch up some seasonal elements. These little touches don’t take a lot of time but can make a big impact in the feel of the space.
Fresh flowers are always nice to add, but can get a little pricey if you don’t have your own garden out back. I’ll usually pick up a bouquet every couple of weeks, but I also add lots of greenery that will last throughout the summer and some faux flowers that I don’t need to worry about watering!
I’m trying out a little herb garden this summer and if this goes well I will try getting a few more. Right now we have basil, cilantro, and oregano and I’ve already used them a few times. Fingers crossed that I manage to keep them alive!
If you have faux flowers, paint the ends of them with clear nailpolish (to seal the metal) and put them in a vase or mason jar with water. If you purchase a good quality faux flower, they really can look just like the real thing! I purchased some real hydrangea bunches, but needed a few more and you can hardly tell the difference.
I always like to have lemons handy for cleaning and to add to my drinking water, but we always need extra in the summer for lemonade!
I change up my kitchen chalkboard every season but kept it super simple this time around. I really am made for sunny days! 🙂
And you can’t go wrong with anything ice cream in the summer!
We have a fairly open floor plan on the main level and the kitchen looks onto our main eating area and family room. The farmhouse table is a relatively new purchase from Urban Barn and I ended up getting a bench built to go with it since I didn’t like the one that went with the table. It’s working out really well and, as much as I loved the upholstered chairs that we used to have, the wood chairs are so much easier to keep clean. I spent forever looking for chairs that I liked and ended up going with these ones from Ikea which were happily the cheapest chairs by far at just $30 per chair. {Definitely a shocker as I usually love the most expensive item!}
Our little kitchen hutch always gets changed out for the seasons but I kept it really simple this year.
If you do a 180 degree spin you will be back looking at our family room again.
My one new purchase for our family room was these throw pillows from Home Sense. I love the pop of color that the blue adds and they fit with everything else that was already in the room.
I have a couple of ferns in the house {you’ll see the other one in our dining room} and have found that they are fairly easy to keep alive – even with my black thumb. A little fresh greenery is always nice!
Even in the summer, the nights can still often get a little chilly – especially outside on the patio – so we still keep a stash of throws handy in a basket by our back door.
I also keep some extra pillows, blankets, and some of my favorite family scrapbooks in these DIY wooden crates that I made a few years ago. They are pretty much our only storage in the family room and they hold a lot!
Well that’s it for today’s tour but check back a little later in the week and I will have our dining room, front entry, and piano room to show you. Here’s a little sneak peek and I will see you there!
And, of course, before you go be sure to check out these other amazing summer home tours for even more summer decor inspiration.
Elliven Studio /A Pop of Pretty / The Happy Housie
The Sweetest Digs / The DIY Mommy / The Creek Line House
Clean and Scentsible / This Little Estate
Thank-you so much for dropping in! Happy Summer!
I loved your outdoor areas! So beautiful! And the pops of green indoo are such lovely touches within your pretty spaces. That herb garden is darling. I need to copy ASAP! 😉😄
Thanks for inspiring once again!
Bethany
Absolutely beautiful! You included so many perfect touches. 🙂
Thanks Stacey! I hope you have a wonderful summer!
Everything is so lovely! I’m adoring all of your little pops of white and blue everywhere. And your kitchen gets me every time!
Thanks so much Christina! Happy Summer!
Your home has such a fresh, clean feeling to it that I love! I also think it’s pretty great that you just went totally overboard on the flowers! Thanks so much for the lovely tour! 🙂
You have a lovely home. So bright and fresh. Glad I stumbled upon your pins.
Thanks so much Lauren! Glad you could drop by!
Nicely done Jenn ~ your home looks inviting and oh so pretty. Thanks for sharing and I like your little tip about placing faux flowers in a bit of water.
Thanks so much Sheila! Happy Summer!
It looks so clean and refreshing. I think what really draws me in is all the greenery and blossoms. Great job like always. You have such an eye for decorating and putting things together. I still love that backsplash in the kitchen! I try to clean my house and make it presentable, but it’s usually destroyed within a matter of minutes by my kiddos, especially now with school being out. Thanks for sharing and I think I need a glass of that lemonade – yum!
haha! Kids have a tendency to do that! 😉 Thanks so much for dropping in!
Your home is beautiful! I love your backsplash. When we bought our home four years ago the previous owners had just installed bead board, and painted wood directly behind a stove isn’t the best combo. :/ I can’t wait to replace it. Thanks so much for giving us a peek into your charming home.
Thanks so much! I can imagine that the bead board isn’t the best for behind a stove but I do like the look of it. We are STILL working on projects that I said we would replace as soon as we moved in and we have been here for over 10 years. lol!
Your house is absolutely beautiful and I can certainly see why it’s on the home tour! Thanks so much for sharing your pictures with us at Share The Wealth Sunday!
Your pictures are as lovely as your beautiful home! Thanks for sharing with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday!
I don’t know where to begin – I’m simply in love with your whole house! You certainly have a flair for interior design.
Thanks so much Sam!
A nice fresh look, really pretty! thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!
Truth or dare Jenn, does your house REALLY look like that everyday, or was this put together just for us? If this is everyday I gotta tell you, I’m discouraged. I live in a log home (yeah, they’re awesome until you have to try and dust and wash EVERY surface EVERY year) between two glacier fed rivers with an abundant supply of wind to whip up all that silt, 2 dogs and 7 cats (they all live outside, mostly), my daughter and her family (husband, 9 yo boy and 7 mo boy) downstairs with me upstairs, and it’s a constant battle and dirt chase just to keep it livable. Beautiful?, almost never. Lived in?, absolutely, and loving every minute of it. Happy? exquisitely joyous, and thanking God everyday for all these blessings. Sigh, I do like the look of your house tho’.
lol! No, it doesn’t always look like this (I have a hubby, two boys, a special needs man that lives with us, 2 cats (that are mostly inside) and a big dog that all make a mess!) and the post is definitely not meant to discourage anyone. I will say though that I’ve spent many years decluttering and organizing our home and coming up with a routine that works for me so it’s actually a lot easier to maintain now than it used to be. Everyone has their own priorities and own things that bring them happiness though and it sounds like your home is filled with all of yours. Living with your grand children forms a special bond that not everyone gets to experience. Enjoy all of your blessings! xo
Wow that’s a relief. Thanks for the pat on the back. My family is certainly my number 1 priority, after God, so some times I just have to say, “okay, a lick and a promise, I’ll catch it later” then we’re off to pick currents or take a hike or just hang out in the yard together. Life is good.
Definitely! Sounds like you have your priorities lined up. 🙂
Beautiful! I love all the white. It makes things so clean and fresh. Thanks for sharing with us at Family Joy Blog Link Up Party this week.
These are so gorgeous! Thanks for sharing at Think Tank Thursday.
Thank-you! 🙂
Beautiful home tour! I love the neutral colour choice along with your gorgeous pops of colour! 😉
Rebeca
Thanks so much Rebeca!
Your home is so lovely! I absolutely enjoyed this tour!!
And I LOVED the “command center” type wall hanging for keeping files and such.
So glad I stopped by! 🙂
Your home is beautiful. I love how you kept t simple, elegant and stunning. So many wonderful touches, I have to scroll back up and take a second look.
Everything is BEAUTIFUL! I have to say that my favorite is the white kitchen cabinets! That’s my dream kitchen!! One day I’ll get it! But I’m going to certainly bookmark this page so I can refer back to it!! Thanks for sharing on Saucy Saturdays! 🙂
Thanks so much! I dreamed of white cabinets for years too – I’m sure you’ll get yours too! 🙂
Sounds silly, but I love your wood dish scrubber and bowl! Where did you find them? Thx!
The dish scrubber is from World Market and I just had the little bowl lying around. You should easily be able to pick up an inexpensive white bowl from Target or Home Goods though.
I love all of your features. Thanks for sharing the tip with the flowers because I can’t grow hydrangeas in Texas.
Where did you find the beautiful chalk plate? Love it.
Hello down in Texas! Yes, I can imagine that hydrangeas don’t like your weather down there too much! 😉 I got the plate from a little store that has since gone out of business. You could always make your own with some chalkboard paint though!
What a fun tour!! I’m getting a little kitchen envy!! Thanks for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
Your house is lovely. I actually love your wood dish scrubber and bowl! Where did you find them? I’ve been searching for a great one for awhile! Thx.
Thanks Nancy! The scrubber is just from World Market ad I just had the little bowl lying around. Check Home Goods or somewhere like that for one – they shouldn’t be hard to find!
Love your site! Trying to get it in my daily emails but isn’t connecting correctly? Enjoyed your summer tour.
Thanks so much! I’m sorry you were having trouble. Will this link work for you?
http://cleanandscentsible.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=87143f484a9f6df019f3d5dde&id=2172636bde
You’ve created a very lovely home for your family. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Cynthia!