Cottage Inspired Summer Entry & Dining Room
Today, we’re excited to share our cottage inspired summer entry and dining room!
A Slow & Simple Summer…
When it comes to summer decorating the past few years, we’ve definitely taken a more relaxed approach. This year will be much the same as we’ve chosen “slow and simple” as our summer theme.
While we were deep in safer at home orders, I literally sat in each room for hours with a sketch pad and a to-do list trying to hone a vision for every single space in the house.
I wrote down easy and action-oriented things I could do to help each room feel more pulled together.
And I’m hoping this summer, I’ll be able to make good on completing that list.
I still want the house to feel like summer though. I just don’t have time for a lot of extra fuss because I have lots of projects I want to complete.
If you’ve been at home the past few months and waiting for specific stores to finally open up, you might feel the same way.
Easy Summer Decorating Guidelines…
No matter what kind of projects we have going on, we almost always approach seasonal decorating using the same simple guidelines…
- Keep a consistent color palette
- Embrace seasonal accents
- Layer in texture
- Bring the outdoors inside
- Create an uncomplicated display, vignette or centerpiece
- Make it easy to maintain
We live in an open concept home and you can see multiple rooms the minute you walk through the front door. Keeping a consistent and complementary color palette for the cottage inspired summer entry and dining room is key.
Truthfully, the entry and dining room feel like one large space. And if not for the big columns defining the two areas, it would probably read like a big giant box.
Cottage Inspired Entry & Dining Room…
Every season, we start with a piece of inspiration. Most of the time, it’s a piece of fabric. But in the past, we’ve been inspired by everything from movies, to a home décor books, to things growing in the garden.
If you had a chance to check out our cottage inspired front porch tour, you already know we spotted this Waverly fabric at Joann’s a few months ago and loved it so much, we bought what was left on the bolt.
While, it was meant to solely be used on the porch and for pillows around the house, it’s been so beloved, we even used it in the master bedroom refresh too.
It seems like such a small thing but that one piece of fabric helped us pull together all the elements for a cottage inspired summer entry and dining room boasting lilacs, lavenders, creamy whites, pale grays, roses and sage greens.
Present Not Perfect This Summer…
As I’ve shared in the past, I feel like there’s a lot of pressure to “go all out” with seasonal decorating sometimes.
If that notion gives you joy, by all means, do it up as bright and as cheerful as you want.
But if you’ve gotten used to the slower pace of life, are downsizing or just looking to find a balance between a well-appointed home and enjoying adventures with your friends and family, take the pressure off and consider only putting out those things that makes your heart sing.
Creating cottage inspired summer entry and dining room is an easy way to welcome your guests in a festive but budget friendly way without a lot of extra effort.
All you need is a few well-placed flowers in vintage containers, and to switch up your pillows.
These small steps will go a long way in helping you create the feel you’re after in minutes.
That way you can spend the rest your day celebrating all the season has to offer.
Let us know if you’ve created a cottage inspired summer entry and dining room this year!
Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.Many blessings,
CoCo
I love this so much, CoCo! The colors are so summery and restful! The purple and green accents are subtle and just right…love!
I really appreciate it, Linda, thank you! It’s been fun to add quick pops of color here and there around the house this season. Hugs, CoCo
I absolutely ADORE that fabric, CoCo! I’m hoping I can find it online because I’m not ready to head to the stores just yet! It just screams lazy, summer days and I’d love to make a few pillows with it for our front porch! Your home is so lovely and I do agree with less is more way of decorating, especially this time of year. Thank you so much for the inspiration!
So glad you like this fabric, Christine, it’s been fun to find fresh ways to use it all over the house. I’m totally with you every time I see it I think of lazy summer days and snuggling up with a book or taking a nap 🙂 Hugs for a happy week, CoCo
Your summer entry and dining room remind me of the good ol days when I was younger and didn’t have a care in the world. They also make me want to paint and redecorate! I’ll be heading to the craft store to make more topiaries, to the grocery store to purchase more blooms and I suppose I’ll get the vacuum out and get to those dust bunnies on the floor. Bleh. Love this! Pinned 🙂
You are so funny, Cindy! Believe me, when you have a dog has hairy as the one we have you make sure to have a broom in one hand and a stick vacuum in the other or it looks like you’re walking on yarn skeins ha ha! It’s definitely going to be an interesting summer 🙂 Hugs for a happy week, CoCo
These are some terrific summer decorating ideas. I like the idea of keeping it slow and simple for summer, especially.
Thank you! After all we’ve been through this year, I say we need to keep it as easy as possible 🙂 Hope you’re having a great week, CoCo
Thank you for sharing your design thought process. The steps you outlined really make it so much easier to create a cohesive design!
You are so welcome, Heidi! I try to keep everything as consistent as possible so it doesn’t feel like reinventing the wheel every season 🙂 Hugs for a happy week, CoCo
It is nice your husband dosen’t mind the pretty flowers and helps you decorate. We (me and my husband) do not agree how things should be.I like flowers and colors as you do as well,but he wants things darker. Any advice on how to convert him? I do not like recliners and dark furniture. Looking forward to your adivce, I need it! :0
Thank you for your sweet words, Shelly! I get this question a lot and I always make sure to tell people that I had to wait 7 years for the go-ahead to paint the kitchen cabinets white. Sometimes it takes a while and I know it can be frustrating too 🙂 We finally settled on a list of things that were non-negotiable as far as what could be painted, moved or traded out. This really helped because I was able to decorate around those pieces and have free reign on others. Another thing that helped was coming up with a color combination we could both agree on and then carrying it throughout the house. Lastly, we try to compromise as much as possible. For example, I didn’t want a tv in the living room but I was ok with a big tv in the bedroom and the office. It’s not always easy but little by little we started making progress. Even small steps are a step in the right direction. Hang in there, I’m thinking of you! Hugs, CoCo
Your home is lovely and has a relaxed-feel to it. Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ’s.
I really appreciate it, Ann, thank you so much! Hope your week was a fun one, CoCo
Thank you for sharing this on Farmhouse Friday. I remember reading it the first time and thinking I needed to get on the ball! I still need to get work done. Featuring this (probably did last time too, LOL!) on Farmhouse Friday at the end of this week. 😉 pinned
That’s so sweet of you, Cindy, thank you! I’ve been sharing a lot more heart posts than home posts lately because we’ve dedicated this summer to a sleepaway camp theme and spent time at the cabin. It’s actually been one of my favorite summers ever though and slowing down has been really, really nice. I was just looking at my content calendar for the holidays and goodness gracious it will be here before we know it all which is to say, I need to get some work done too 😉 Big hugs and thank yous, CoCo
I just love everything about how you decorate, CoCo. It’s just amazing to me and I’m so inspired every time I read your blog and look through your photos. You truly have a gift and I’m so thankful you are sharing it. Hope you have a happy weekend!
So kind of you to say, Rachel, thank you! It’s taken lots of practice and trial and error but I feel like we’re finally getting things to a good place which is exciting. Big hugs, CoCo