Tips to Decorate a White Living Room for Summer

I can’t believe this is the last room to share for our Summer Refresh in our home! I love adding color to my white living room.

Every season I like to change up the feel of our home with a quick decor refresh. Having a white living room makes it so much easier because all I need to do is add some color and a few recycled accessories. And then when the next season arrives I start all over again!

Adding Color to a White Living Room

Our home, having been built in 1915, has a sizeable and traditional living room space. My favorite features in this room are the bookcases that flank the tall french doors that lead to my craft room and the fireplace/mantle and the painting that hangs above it.

Like the other rooms in our home, it is decorated in neutral tones. The big-ticket items like the couches are slipcovered in white cotton duck and the incredible french chairs are upholstered in white linen.

I have written several posts about slipcovers, slipcovers vs upholstery, how to buy slipcovers and how to clean slipcovers. Check out my posts where I have shared with you what I have learned the hard way!

Ways to Add Color to a White Living Room

Given the neutral landscape of the white livingroom, when the seasons change, it is very easy to create a pretty impressive impact by adding color through pillows, accessories and flowers.

These green lumbar pillow covers add such a nice pop of color.

The Art

The painting above our fireplace has a very special place in my heart. Our dear friend Ray Turner is an incredibly talented artist. My husband Dave commissioned this painting of the baseball fields in our town. This painting is so special to us for several reasons.

First, we spent hours and hours, and hours on these fields. Dave grew up in the town we live in, so he played baseball on these fields and then our children played when they were growing up. Second, Ray’s landscapes are a study in spectacular skies. When in this room, it is impossible to not get drawn into this painting.

Art is a really way to add color to a room. You don’t have to commission a painting to have art in your home. There are so many incredible sources to find art and support artists these days. This article from House Beautiful provides a wealth of sources!

The Pillows

Pillows are my favorite way to update/refresh a room. Just a little pop of color can make a huge difference. Since sage green and tan are my new summer colors, I hunted for some new pillow covers and found an incredible embroidered pillow cover that might be one of my favorites of all time!

I also repurposed a pillow cover from last summer that has a sage-ish green and blue stripe. I love the way these pillows blend together. Don’t forget to shop your own home before you go searching on the internet or in stores. You never know what treasure you will find lurking in a bin! Hahaha!

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Creating Vignettes

The piece of furniture in the photo above is one of the most treasured pieces in our home. I found it at a vintage store and rumor has it that it lived in a famous actress’s home. It is the perfect amount of chippy, and architectural and has a huge personality. It is also one of my favorite places to create vignettes. The light from the paned window can create some pretty magical photos!

A vignette, is a small styled area. Vignettes can be created on coffee tables, bookcases, kitchen islands, and side tables. In my humble opinion, the key to styling a vignette is to create an area of interest that has multiple textures. Texture can mean hard surfaces like books or vases mixed together with soft surfaces like flowers. I love to add in adjacent colors and different-sized items too. I add and subtract, and add and subtract until it feels right.

So, now that you have all of these tips to decorate your white living room for summer, get started! Add pops of color with cheerful throw pillows and blankets, layer in some texture with vignettes, and add plants or flowers for a natural touch. With just a few simple changes, you can make your living room bright and inviting for the warmer months ahead. What are you waiting for? Start decorating!

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I hosted an Amazon Live Show last week and I shared Summer Decor Ideas for the Family Room. I thought you might enjoy it.

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