• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Californians at Home
  • Home & Decor
    • Our California Remodel
    • Shop My Home
    • Lake Tahoe Cabin Style
    • Books I Adore
  • My California Closet

Northern California Style

Northern California Style

  • Home
  • About
  • Californians at Home
  • Home & Decor
    • Our California Remodel
    • Shop My Home
    • Lake Tahoe Cabin Style
    • Books I Adore
  • My California Closet
  • Shop My Home
    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Summer House Tips

June 21, 2013 By kimwheeler No Comments

It’s that time again to get the home spruced up for the summer. Finally things have slowed down and I can give my house a bit of love. I recently found this a piece of art which had such a fun California vibe for my son’s room.

Once I got it home  I decided to keep it for our living room. It made me happy to look at it. (And let’s be honest was it really going to be appreciated in the boy cave? Probably not!)  The bright colors made me want to change everything.

  I ditched my curtains, moved the furniture, and gave my beast of a ficus tree a haircut  (I honestly had never even thought I could do that) and a new locale- away from my window. Now I have more window, more light and a another spot to read.

I love it and we are using that room nonstop now to enjoy the sun and just hang out. That’s huge for a living room, which often goes unused in most homes.

That change up inspired me get the lead out, so to speak, in the main front room. First up was new counter stools for the kitchen. My friend Wendy, a decorator, has had some comfy counter chairs around her island for 4 years which get a ton of wear and still look new. So you know what? I copied her! They are all weather wicker from Pier 1, and I love them. Comfy and you can even hose them off.  Let’s hope it never comes to that…However, with all the men here in this house it’s a possibility!

 In the purging mode, I got rid of my kitchen nook table and chairs.  Why do I need three places to eat in a my home?  My home is modestly sized. Crazy. Now my main room has so much room. It’s bright, open and the house feels huge. We can eat at the bar or the dining table. We are actually using the dining room instead of it gathering dust and enjoying it. Less is more! I am finding this is really the key to so much. Try it..

Sorry throws are kind of sloppy here- no staging done prior! 

 Isn’t this dining room amazing? It’s one of Jeffery Bilhuber’s creations. I’ll have to do another post on him. All his rooms are beautiful, but inviting!

 I wanted to share Jeffery Bilhuber’s tips for your Summer Home from Vogue.

 Jeffrey Bilhuber’s top tips to get your summer house in shape:

Clear colors- like pink, chartreuse and daffodil yellow say summer.

Create as much openness and air as possible. Push furniture against walls, keep floors bare.

Simplify. Edit your belonging, put things away, clear tabletops.

( I restyled my living room shelves for summer.)

Bring in flowers – hydrangeas and roses from the garden. ( I clipped a branch from a tropical tree on the top photo.)

Add smells– a big bowl of lemons or summer fruits: tuberose or sea-scented candles.

Diane Keaton’s Wallace Neff Home via Architectural Digest.

For the living room mantle, I used two blue glass jars, favorite old books and driftwood we found and a Restoration Hardware candle.

If you have children, relax about their stuff. Swimsuits, balls, flippers, surfboards are fantastic to have around.

This Pottery Barn coat rack generously holds a ton of suits, towels and more for my pool area.

Use workhorse furniture and fabrics Add white slipcovers for summer freshness.

This white cotton duck fabric couch from Pottery Barn has been with us almost 10 years now. Washable and still holding up. Creamy white and brown accents is my color scheme in the front room.

  Black cats do not help with the maintenance, but do add a cozy vibe!! 🙂

Put up a bulletin board where you can build a collage of memories: drawings, paintings, photographs and seashells.

I found this bamboo and linen bulletin board at Aaron Brothers Art Supply. 


A few tips of my own…

Add striped cotton or natural fiber rugs like seagrass or jute. They feel wonderful under bare feet and are low maintenance.


Bring your inside furniture out when entertaining. It’s okay to drag out lightweight chairs and couches, rugs to make your outdoor space more inviting and comfy.

Sunset Magazine

 I love adding my favorite piles of throws and colorful pillows to my chaise lounges and chairs. As long as you don’t leave them for an extended time, they are fine and so much more comfy than outdoor pillows.

Bright or cozy throws are wonderful to protect your indoor furniture from little grubby bare feet. I want my kids to relax and when they pile on my couches with pals in wet swim suits, my upholstery is protected.  I leave baskets of them next to the couch as well as on it. (Throw pillows also protect the arms of the couches by being a buffer from nacho cheese paws if you get my drift.)

 I love these Pottery Barn cable knit throws. Like a soft sweater.

Bring Stripes In for a Summery Nautical Feel. Even on dark pieces they lighten things up.

Add wicker and woven pieces to your indoors. Just adding a bit of a natural look will give you a lighter feel. I love the look of a woven chair around a dining table. They look fresh and they invite you to linger and relax at the dining table. They are also easier care. Everyone has them now, so check them out as an indoor option! I am hoping to do something similar in my dining room.

via Cote de Texas

  Baskets look great as bar trays or to hold magazines. Baskets keep you looking organized even if you’re not.

They also look good hung from the wall with plants. The natural color of them looks so summery.

I love the addition of ivy everywhere in summer months!

Change out the towels in your bathrooms to brights and lights. Add a fern, ivy or other plant to give the bath a bit of green. I love this garden stool from my grandmother in my bath and found this dhurrie rug to match. I like the bright yellow and sea glass blue mix in here.

Remove all the winter bedding. Wash everything and let it dry in the sun before you tuck it away. Then  cover all the beds in white sheets and cotton blankets and a fun throw in a pattern or sherbet  shade. I just changed everyone to white sheets and duvets and have cotton throws like this one on top.

 I like adding summer postcards or maps to my kid’s bulletin boards and clear away the clutter from school. My son Griffin’s board below…

Display summer books, framed photos of favorite summer vacations, or shell collections. I like having a photo album of past holidays or a pretty bowl with photos to browse through. This is a great time to keep things light and bright and store away your usual accessories and photos.

Make sure your entry or mudroom isn’t still loaded with coats and boots. It just evokes summer to have woven bags, caps and straw hats hung from hooks. Baskets for flip-flops and espadrilles look wonderful as well!

Change out your art. I love a vintage summer photo blown up. You find a something that says summer to you. A souvenir of a past holiday, like a print or a book may be wonderful as well displayed. I love this egret print and it’s white tones so I just moved this from a bedroom to my family room.


Have fun to staging your home a bit. You are doing it for yourself. You have to look at it every day and be there. 
 Surround yourself with what you love!

For more inspiration, I started a Pinterest board called California Style and it’s got some gorgeous examples of light and bright and natural homes I’m in love with.

 Enjoy the summertime.
Kim

Images property of northerncalstyle unless noted.

Filed Under: California style decor., home decor, Jeffery Bilhuber, Northern California decor, Summer decorating

ON MY RADAR...

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Featured Posts

Fun Kitchen Styling Tips!

Asian Noodles & Other Main Dish Salads

Signature Style- Fall Edit & New Season Wishlist

Remodeling – The Social Front Patio

Loving Rattan and Serena & Lily

My Favorite Sheets, Duvets & More- Refreshing Your Bed

Get My Posts by Email!

Find Me on Facebook

Northern California Style

Archives

Categories

Footer

Don’t Forget to Follow!

Blogger, writer and explorer sharing about my native California, and parts farther afield. Join me here where I chat about things to love in the worlds of design, fashion, home, travel and culture.

Currently Pinning

  • Это прекрасный мир!
  • David Jimenez on Instagram: "France is officially on lockdown and and I’m grateful the government has moved quickly to curb the spread of the virus. Pharmacies, markets and the corner Tabac stores remain open (we depend on our Tabac stores the way that New Yorkers rely on corner bodegas). My corner Tabac offers expanded services that include being a Post Office annex and the easiest place to buy metro tickets in bulk while loading up on magazines and having a shot of espresso at the zinc bar. I'
  • White kitchen with copper island stainless hood.
  • A rare glimpse into how one of Boston's oldest and premier florists (and my favorite) gets ready for Valentine's Day.
The weekend post is up with chat about the trendin The weekend post is up with chat about the trending colors for 2023 in home decor and fashion.. Did you love the 80’s? If so this is perhaps a more sophisticated version with sherbet tones and bits of magenta, greens and navy.  Here I added a bit of these Easter tones to the coffee table with a grass cloth box, one of my books and a candle. I think the best way to update things is to add touches to the home and closet that appeal to you and mix them in with neutrals.. 
What do you think of these colors? I think they’re fun. Some clothing pieces bring me back to my Esprit loving days. It could be fun to add a shirt, shoe or bag in these tones and I selected a handful to consider..

Also on the blog, a few good white jeans, skin cleansers you may need and more! 

Stop on by our blogs- links as always, in our bios or stories:
@northerncalstyle 
@makemineaspritzer 
@pineconesandacorns
 Happy Sunday!

#color2023 #springcolors #trending #serenaandlily #coffeetablestyling
A January PSA- get in your closet and get those wh A January PSA- get in your closet and get those white jeans out! I found mine at the bottom of my closet today in a basket and thought -yes! I love the look of a classic white jean, paired with a chunky sweater or turtleneck in black, beige, tan, creams-  neutral colors always look fantastic. Today it was warm enough that I could go sockless and wear my Madewell loafers with them and a little jacket I have from Anthro. Get your white jeans out. it will give your winter wardrobe have a little kick. White jeans can be worn all year and they even look great with winter boots and coats. 

This is also a great time to look at your white Jean inventory. 🤍If you don’t have a pair that’s comfortable and straight leg, in a thicker material…this might be a good time to look. I’ll share some on the weekend blog as well.

if you missed our LIVE this morning, you can watch it on Juliet’s @makemineaspritzer Instagram and I’ll link to it on my stories ! Thank you everyone for tuning in in for the fun questions and comments. We love doing this with you all weekly! Let us know in comments if there are any other topics you want to hear about. Today we talked trending colors, exercise classes .. finding art and pillows and more..

#whitejeanseason #januaryclosetremix #winterwardrobehacks
I love the sunshine in the morning streaming throu I love the sunshine in the morning streaming through the kitchen.. My baby daffodils are blooming to make it even happier. This is one of my favorite things about the new year, the bulbs and daffodils and California poppies that hint spring it on the way.💛 If you don’t have a few blooms in the kitchen, maybe you can add a few?

Hope your having a beautiful week!

#kitchensun #californialife #januaryincalifornia
I love this of Liz Taylor at her first wedding to I love this of Liz Taylor at her first wedding to Richard Burton in 1965. She’s wearing a empire, knee length dress and orange blossoms in her hair, which must have smelled heavenly. I want yellow in my closet this spring!

This is the center of my spring vision board! 💛 Link to all Elizabeth’s wedding dresses on the weekend post -and a few yellow things I added to the house if you missed it! 

#yellow #yellowaesthetic #liztaylor #thebrideworeyellow #springfashion #spring2023 #vogue
Sunday beach trip… We made it to Santa Cruz to c Sunday beach trip… We made it to Santa Cruz to check out the coast after these rough last weeks. Aptos looks pretty good and poor Seacliff is terribly battered. So sad to see what people have lost. My heart goes out to them.

We had the beach to ourselves and the weather was winter perfect. ☀️Cold and sunny. We had a picnic of sandwiches from Zoccolis deli and took in the sun and sea air while watching surfers and birds.

This song just seemed to fit -and relatable as I could not sleep last night! No idea why. Isn’t it maddening? 

Hope you get a chance to take a winter beach walk.. They are the best. 

#santacruz #aptos #california #northerncalifornia #winterbeachwalks #seacliff #norcal #seascapebeach
Happy Sunday! The weekend post is up and I’m sha Happy Sunday! The weekend post is up and I’m sharing a few good ideas for a dining room refresh, pops of yellow, my favorite winter skin care essentials right now, a beautiful and unique San Francisco house in @archdigest, online yoga, and the story behind a historic San Francisco home I came upon last week.. Head to the blog for all the deets! 

I hope its a wonderful weekend.☀️

Don’t forget to visit Juliet and Elizabeth blogs ..links as always, in our bios or stories:
@northerncalstyle 
@makemineaspritzer 
@pineconesandacorns

#northerncalifornia #weekendpost #yellow #diningroomdecor #bernardmaybeck #sanfranciscohomes #architecturaldigest #potterybarn #serenaandlily #californiastyle
Our dear friend Contessa @contessa_and_her_pig has Our dear friend Contessa @contessa_and_her_pig has been seriously sick and fortunately is back home now, but still struggling with pneumonia. If anyone wants to send her a snail mail note please dm me and I will share her address. She loves unique cards and pretty postcards you’ve saved from travel, so she would be thrilled to get a little note!

It seems like just yesterday we were in her gorgeous yard taking photos for my Californians at Home series. It’s still one of my favorite photo shoots and if you want to read it again -or missed it I will link to it in my bio today. She’s one of a kind, so let’s get her well soon and bolster her spirits!!💛💛

#californiacontessa #californiansathome
I have to share a snippet of just some of the wisd I have to share a snippet of just some of the wisdom that was Martin Luther King. He will always be one of my biggest heroes and ten years ago I wrote a small post highlighting some of his very meaningful words and quotes that we could all use as a life guide. Link to the post in my bio and more on my stories. 

Do you know he is the only American to have a holiday for him that hasn’t been a president? He also had a low approval rating when he died. That has changed. Now people around the world use his teachings of living in peace and the fight for justice as a model we can strive for. I find his words so very needed in a world that is polarized more than ever. ❤️

#mlkday #mlkquotes #whatareyoudoingforothers
It’s still raining here! In an effort to use som It’s still raining here! In an effort to use some beautiful citrus and boost morale, I made these chocolate chips with a California twist. They have orange and walnuts -and for fun I added macadamias from my Hawaii trip and coconut flakes. I also switched out brown sugar for moscavado which is less refined and had more depth and flavor. So far response has been thumbs up from the home crew! 
The recipe and all the weekend fun- along with some cozy coats for this weather, and a recap of our SF meander are on the weekend blog. Juliet and Elizabeth also have great ideas this weekend.. links as always, in our bios or stories:
@northerncalstyle 
@makemineaspritzer 
@pineconesandacorns 
Have a great weekend !

#californiacookie #californialiving #californiachocolatechipcookie #weekendpost #chocolateandorange
Just a little peek at some of the homes in San Fra Just a little peek at some of the homes in San Francisco’s Laurel Heights and a little walk through the Presidio to the Lyon Street Steps. We had an unbelievably beautiful day after so much rain and darkness. I highly recommend walking through this neighborhood, through The Presidio and grabbing lunch and checking out the lovely shops like the new Emily Joubert! The views are amazing all the way to the Golden Gate, and I am in love with all the beautiful homes of San Francisco. ❤️

#sanfranciscolove #presidioheights #lyonstreetsteps #sanfranciscowalks #housesofsf #visitcalifornia #ourgoldenstate #sanfranciscomansions #citybythebay #prettycity
Unearthed my Hunter’s and dusted them up! Bring Unearthed my Hunter’s and dusted them up! Bring it on, I am ready. I’m getting used to the rain, but this California girl is struggling with the gloom. How do people do it in the Pacific Northwest? Getting out for rainy day walks seems to help. Anyone else feel the same? I feel guilty for even mentioning it, with all the flooding and struggles so many are dealing with. 
Today is good -as we have power, internet and for now, just drizzles. 

#northerncalgal #californiastorm #hunterbootslove
It’s time for our first Signature Style of 2023 It’s time for our first Signature Style of 2023 and Cindy and I are talking cozy clothes, workout outfits and athleisure! And actually what else are we wearing right now?  If you’re not trying to workout, you’re likely staying cozy so we have all kinds of good things for you. 
Hope you’re staying dry and safe if you’re in California. 💛We had the craziest night yet with wind and rain last evening. We began with no power and internet so I was a bit slow getting this out..Sending good thoughts to everyone.

Stop on by our blogs..
As always links are in our bios and stories..
@northerncalstyle 
@cindyhattersley

#athleisurestyle #workoutstyle #cozycore #pajamastyle #signaturestyle

Copyright © 2023 · Northern California Style· Blog Design by Little Blue Deer