Small space summer decorating ideas

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The days are longer, the sun is brighter and those big woolly blankets on your couch aren’t giving your space the Spring vibes to match your newfound energy.  It’s time to start implementing some summer decorating ideas into your space!

Living in a small space can be hard to justify decorating seasonally.  Having Christmas decorations is socially acceptable.  Transforming your home from warm and cozy to bright and airy when the seasons change seems like something you need a lot of storage space to accomplish.  I’m here to tell you it’s not.  With my small space summer decorating ideas, I’ll have your home transformed from winter to summer with little to no need for storage!

LIGHTER PILLOW COVERS

Contrary to what furniture stores would try to sell us, we can’t own a winter couch and a summer couch.  Depending on the size of your home, you may not even have a couch, or if you do, it may be a couch, a bed, a home office and storage!  One of the easiest small space summer decorating ideas I love to implement, is as simple as lighter coloured cushion covers. 

Cushion covers come in pretty standard sizes to fit your pillow inserts and can come at all price points.  Give your space a face lift with a fresh colour palette for the new season.  And the best part?  Just pop the other season’s cover inside with the pillow insert!  It’s like a self-cleaning oven … but just a self-storing pillow! 

LIGHTER CURTAINS

Depending on what your climate and space are like, another great idea from my list of small space summer decorating ideas, would be lighter curtains.  In winter we want to feel warm and cozy and potentially keep that cold air out, with thick, rich curtains.  Summer calls for letting in all that beautiful sunlight and having your dreamy curtains dance on the warm summer breeze.  Lighter curtains can be a great statement piece for giving your home an airy feel in a small space.  Curtains can easily be folded up and popped away in your linen cupboard, without taking up too much space.  With a variety of price points available, a fresh set of curtains to match the season can be a simple way to make a big impact in your small space, without requiring much storage.

LET YOUR SMALL SPACE BLOOM

I love plants, but I am not a plant mama.  I’ve killed ALL the plants I’ve ever had.  Even the ones they tell me are the most resilient of the bunch.  When I moved into my van, plants weren’t even on my list.  Not only do I kill them, but a day in the van is like 1000 mini earthquakes, so I knew they weren’t an option.  But then Spring sprung, and I wanted greenery.  I was seeing nurseries lush with green and wanted that in my small space.  I opted for faux plants.  Since adding them to my space, it feels lush and happy and like summer.

Whether they’re real or faux, adding in some lush plant life into your small space is one of my newfound favourite summer decorating ideas to transform your home.

SHOWSTOPPER FEAUTURE WALL

Feature walls have always been a thing.  But they also always have seemed like a lot of work.  But trends are working in our favour these days friends.  Maybe this will be controversial, but one of my summer decorating ideas I would like you to try this season, is a seasonal feature wall!  You heard me.  Slap a light coat of paint on a wall.  Too much?  Paint an arch or a fun design on top of your existing paint colour. 

My absolute favorite is peel and stick wallpaper for a simple pick me up.  My bedroom has had summer vibes all year round with my wallpaper from RoomMates Decor.  It’s been palm tree wallpaper all winter in my bathroom, but I’m thinking of changing it out for something fun for the upcoming sunny season.  A peel and stick wallpaper feature wall is a quick and easy solution to transform a space.

NO NEED TO THROW IT OUT

If you’re like me, you have at least one big, warm, woolly throw blanket in your small space throughout winter.  But when it gets sunny out, the last thing I want to look at is that big, warm, woolly throw blanket.  The weather is hot enough, you don’t need that thing heating you up too.  An easy one on the list of small space summer decorating ideas is to swap out big, woolly blankets for lighter ones.  A thinner, lighter looking throw blanket will still add texture, colour and interest to your space, but without weighing it down. 

I know, I know, having enough space to store extra, decorative blankets seems like a luxury reserved for big spaces. Don’t worry, I’ve got you sorted.  When you’re sitting on the couch, wouldn’t it be nice to have a little footstool?  Maybe one that could double duty as a seat for guests?  Enter the leather pouf.  Not only trendy, but these little guys are also handy in a small space and can even be used outdoors!  I put all of my extra throw blankets inside as storage and nobody is the wiser.

BEDROOM UPDATE

Sticking with swapping out throw blankets on the summer decorating ideas list, let’s also look at another possible swap:  bedding.  In the winter, we wear thicker jammies and want thicker sheets and blankets on our bed to stay warm.  Once the weather warms up, I don’t know about you, but all that warmth starts to feel suffocating.

A quick swap out of a fresh duvet cover and some lighter sheets not only cools me down but brightens my space with a summery vibe.  With linens available at all price points these days, there is sure to be summer and winter options that will work with your budget.

Depending on if you are just changing the linens, or if you also need to change your duvet, you may need additional storage.  I always like to save the storage bag my duvet comes in for long term storage in the season it’s not being used. 

PRO-TIP:  Wash or dry clean it at the end of the season before you store it and pop some dryer sheets in the bag to keep it fresh.

Living in a small space means that décor choices make a big impact on our space, more so than in a larger area.  Our pieces are more considered, our color palettes more impactful.  And what better way to welcome a new season than with a few summer decorating ideas that have a big impact with little to no storage requirements! 

Are you ready to take your small outdoor living space to the next level?  Read my article Clever Small outdoor living space ideas that don’t need much storage for ideas on how to elevate your space, again, with little to no storage needed.