| |
25 Ideas For Enjoying Your Summer Home
By Colleen Moulding
Indoors
Lighten up. Put away any dark throws, rugs etc. Use white or cream accessories wherever you can and free your rooms of as much clutter as possible. Natural or white wicker baskets can store essentials neatly.
Gather together all your floral china and indoors or out set the prettiest afternoon tea table ever. The pieces don't have to match, it's almost better if they don't! Float some flower heads in a glass bowl of water or
some slices of lemon and lime and add a floating candle or two if you have them. Just add cucumber sandwiches, fruit cake and of course plenty of hot aromatic tea.
Make a cheesecake. Get wonderful recipes here
http://www.pastrywiz.com/archive/category/cheesecake.htm
White or pale cream lace looks lovely with Summer flowers. Drape cloths on indoor or outdoor tables for a touch of vintage luxury.
The most amazing table decoration for a Summer party is an ice bowl. Get instructions on how to make one at the links below.
http://www.diynet.com/diy/le_party_food_decorations/article/0,2041,DIY_14026_2277634,00.html
or http://www.recipelink.com/ch/2000/may/girlfriendsforever1.html
These always look amazing and gets lots of compliments.
Give an inexpensive bunch of flowers designer style by displaying them in a group of vases or glasses of varying heights. Experiment, you'll love the results.
An inexpensive way to add drama to a plain wall is to stretch and staple a bold piece of fabric over a wooden frame. It's easy to change too should you get tired of it.
Start a kitchenalia collection. Yard sales, flea markets and boot sales are good hunting grounds for retro and vintage kitchen equipment, but an often overlooked fact is that older members of your family may still have lots of this stuff tucked away in cupboards and would be glad to let you have it.
A table runner makes a pretty alternative or addition to a cloth. As this is basically a rectangle of fabric hemmed on all four sides, it is easy to make several to suit the mood you want. Runners are very economical on fabric too. Make napkins out of any leftover fabric.
Paint tired pine, garage sale or hand me down furniture white or cream to bring it bang up to date.
Makeover your linen cupboard. Line the shelves with pretty wallpaper or gift wrapping paper so that it is a pleasure to open. Tie sets of bedding together with pretty ribbons and use lavender sachets to make
everything smell wonderful and repel moths.
Your home can be whatever you want it to be. Whether your fantasy is a sophisticated urban pad, a whitewashed beach house or a country cottage - think of it as that, decorate as that - why not?
Just as you fill your home with the spicy scents of cinnammon and pine at Christmas time, bring perfumed roses, sweet peas and fragrant herbs in to your Summer home.
Make lots of ice and serve long cool drinks from a pretty jug on a hot afternoon.
Change heavy curtains for florals or sheers to instantly brighten any room. Tie them back to maximise the light coming in.
Change any dusty candle arrangements for new pastel ones. Old fashioned glass cake plates with pedestals are good bases for candles as they keep the heat off polished table tops. Wind beaded wire around the candles for added sparkle.
Make up your bed with crisp white sheets and pillowcases and place a pretty flower arrangement on your bedside table.
Cover some cardboard boxes with fabric for pretty storage for any room. Full instructions here http://www.allthatwomenwant.co.uk/coveredboxes.htm or find pretty boxes meant for gift wrapping in card and gift stores.
Outdoors
Light your garden for lazy evening gatherings. Use lanterns, flares or solar push in lights if you don't want to run electricity. Citronella candles help keep bugs away.
Style your garden the way you would your home. Add decorative jars, stones, cones, shells, windchimes, cushions etc. to your outdoor space, however small. Even one chair and a pot of flowering plants straight from the garden store will lift your spirit when glimpsed through the window and entice you outside.
Make a still life of garden tools, flowers in a trug, straw hats, watering cans, gardening gloves and such in a boring corner of your yard or porch.
Make a pretty chair planter. This is a charming addition to a country garden. Full instructions here http://www.allthatwomenwant.com/chairplanter.htm
Seaside striped pillows or table cloths, shells, buckets and spades, a fat trashy novel and a deckchair or two equals instant seaside vibe.
If traffic or other urban noise is a problem when trying to relax outside, play some gentle music or tapes of birdsong, waves crashing on a beach or other sounds of nature.
If you have a timber garden shed consider having a major declutter, sorting out essential storage and using it as a Summer house. Pale lavender, pale blue grey or the palest pink paint would help the transformation and look wonderful. A comfy chair, a pile of books you've always wanted to read............escape there whenever
you can.
Copyright 2004
Colleen Moulding
About the Author
Colleen Moulding lives in the south of England and is the owner/editor of the All That Women Want web sites.
She would love you to visit either http://www.allthatwomenwant.co.uk or http://www.allthatwomenwant.com
She also publishes the popular free monthly All That Women Want ezine already subscribed to by over
18,000 ladies worldwide. Join them by sending a blank email to allthatwomenwant-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
It was made for you!
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/22586.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/22586.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| Some other articles by Colleen Moulding | 20 Toys You Don't Have To Buy
Fed up with forking out for the latest piece of over-hyped plastic? Answer "What can we do now Mum?" by making toys from items you ...
Fabric Covered Boxes For Storage And Decoration
Cardboard boxes covered with pretty fabrics can be an attractive addition to many rooms. They can store hair accessories and brushes in the bathroom, underwear, scarves ...
Harvest Home Decorating
Porch or Hallway Display
If you can get hold of a block or two of hay this is perfect for the base of your hallway or porch display. ...
Quick Clutter Control
10 Tips For A Tidier Home
1. Whenever you have a few minutes to spare put away five or ...
Make Your Cut Flowers Last Longer
Nothing lifts a room like fresh flowers, but they can be expensive. Here are ten tips to help you get the best out of your arrangements.
1). ...
Everything's Coming Up Roses
Scentsational ideas for getting even more pleasure from Summer's most glorious blooms.
Crystallized Rose Petals
These look so beautiful on a special occasion cake or even a cheesecake ...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
