The sun is bright, you can hear the sound of birds chirping happily outside your window, and Virginia’s colder months have begun to fade into a distant dream. Summer is around the corner. What better time to gradually start giving your home a little refresh for the warmer months?
From swapping pillows and bedding to incorporating fresh foliage, it’s the little things that can make a big difference. Here are some cost-effective tips to easily transition your home’s decor from NoVA-based Georgia Hoyler, owner of Passerine — an online boutique shop which sources heirloom-quality handmade vintage rugs from authorized merchants around the world.
Play with Different Textiles
Swapping out your textiles is a fun way to easily change up the feel of a room for the season. Think about switching up the feel of fabrics in parts of the room that are interchangeable.
“The recent trends have been all about embracing the look of wear and age,” says Hoyler. “Think pillows that are made from vintage fabric or have more of a handmade feel.”
For example, pack away tweed or velvet that may have been fun for the cooler months and replace them with a cotton batik fabric, which instantly gives the room a more global curated edge for summer, Hoyler suggests.
Another easy way to achieve this is with a simple throw blanket.
“Everyone loves the idea of a blanket on the arm of a sofa,” says Hoyler. “It just brings a feeling of coziness to the room.” Maybe consider replacing your heavier wool blanket with a something a little lighter like a Turkish towel style blanket, recommends Hoyler. “The function remains the same, but it’s a little less formal.”
Up the Aesthetic Through Lighting
“I think there is a real opportunity, particularly in NoVA, for embracing the warmer seasons using the outdoor spaces that you have as an extension of your home,” Hoyler says. “We’re currently in sort of the perfect sweet spot for warm weather without the bugs and humidity.” Consider adding twinkle string lights or landscape spotlights to create an aesthetic that draws you out of your home and inspires you to read or enjoy a glass of wine on the patio before it becomes less pleasant to do so.
“Lights are one way of doing that,” Hoyler adds. “Make it feel as inviting as an indoor space would be.”
Swap Out Your Rugs
In any room, the most substantial change you can make without replacing a single piece of furniture is updating your rug. On cold winter nights, the shag of a Moroccan rug’s thick pile may have appeal, but spring was made for a vintage Persian area rug. The lower pile height makes this a perfect option in warmer months.
Or if you have a rug you just can’t part with — even for just a season — you could try pulling other colors from that rug’s palette to use as jumping points for pillow or blanket textiles, Hoyler says. Adding some smaller jump rugs is also an option.
“You can always move these around to different parts of a room to help freshen up a space,” Hoyler says.
Bring the Season Inside with Foliage
Northern Virginia is full of flowering trees at this time of year, so why not embrace the best of the season and use it to your advantage?
“Make a more dramatic statement by bringing some of those flowering branches inside,” says Hoyler. And when it comes to branches as decor, bigger is always better,.
“Oversized branches bring a sculptural element to a space that evokes a natural drama,” Hoyler continues. “Opt for an asymmetrical arrangement to create a more graceful line.”
By refreshing their water daily, a cut branch can last up to two weeks in your home.
Megan Herr is an editor and writer residing in the Shenandoah Valley. She graduated with a degree in journalism from Penn State University.
Feature image by Keyanna Bowen
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