Refresh Your Home for Summer

We’ve partnered with interiors-obsessed Bianca Hall, a.k.a French for Pineapple, to bring you all the décor tips you need to whip a fresh summer breeze through your home and refresh your interior.

An art and design writer, blogger and DIY’er, Bianca has shared her top tips to help you recreate her playful, urban, grown-up glamorous style in your own home. Accompanied with her hand-selected category of artwork from a selection of our fairs, read on to dive right into your summer décor. Take it away Bianca…

Give your living room a fresh feel for the warmer months by switching up your cushions. Such an easy thing to do, but it really makes a big impact and can transform the feel of a room.

Store away deeper colours and heavier textures for the summer months and bring in some lighter fabrics and some more colour – a little or a lot! Cottons and textured linens are always a winner.

Make sure you choose colours that work with your existing palette – you can even take inspiration from a favourite piece of art.

The pale pink, blue and lilac in ‘Summer Light’ by Kirsten Jackson is the perfect summer colour palette inspiration.

Make your own mini-jungle by bringing the outside in. Green is an uplifting colour and house plants can not only lift your mood but help to purify the air, which is especially important if you’re unable to get out to the park as much as you’d like to!

Keep to a tight colour palette to make a statement, using several different shades of greens in your accessories too, for an elegant layered look.

Consider hanging plants from your curtain rails to add height and accessorise with home accessories made from natural materials such as bamboo or ceramics.

This piece ‘A Ripe Landscape 6’ by Jon Rowland, which celebrates the fertility and sensual nature of the countryside, is all kinds of greenspiration!

Create an ever-changing living Summer ‘still life’ vignette with a beautiful vase of flowers or greenery from the garden, grouped with some favourite decorative objects and a bowl of fruit. Restyle as flowers wilt, or fruit gets eaten.

You could even echo a still life artwork for a bit of fun – a simple bowl of pears and green grapes would look beautiful sitting below this piece by Estelle Day.

Transport yourself

Transport yourself to your favourite real or fantasy holiday destination, using colour, texture, art and scent.

Never underestimate the power of scent to instantly evoke special memories and moments in time, so get your favourite scented candle burning – who says they’re only for special occasions!

If you have the space, consider creating your own little personal sanctuary. It needn’t be a whole room, it could be just a chair in a corner of a room, with a few things on a side table that make you smile.

From books and magazines, to a plant and scented candle or favourite object. Create a little area that really makes your heart happy, like this piece by Kate Boxer makes me!

Monochrome magic

If the idea of bringing colour into your home makes you anxious, never fear as monochrome works for all seasons.

If black and white is your thing, you can still make a space feel more summery with lighter textures for the warmer months and perhaps switch out some of the heavier dark pieces for whites and pale neutrals.

The timing couldn’t be better to add a home bar into your living area. As the nights get a little balmier, you can just grab some ice and get mixing!

You don’t need to have an actual bar cart of course, it can just be a dedicated spot on a sideboard, or shelf. Use a nice lacquered tray to keep it looking organised and make sure your best glasses are on display too.

Peter Kotka has the right idea with this ‘Tanqueray Temptation’ hyper-real oil painting which would look fab hung behind your bar tray.

Oh look, it’s G&T o’clock. Cheers!