Summer FuN home decor

6.3.13- 

  Happy Monday everyone.  I've been so excited all weekend to show you what I've been up to inside Lilac Lane.  I've had a blast decorating for Summer around here & I've added lots of COLOR along with a vintage twist & retro- flair. 

I simply adore it!! 

As I was decorating I had one thing in mind,  Summertime fun. I kept that in my head as I looked around to find things to decorate with. 

-Come along with me on a little home tour & take a peek- 

-Looking from the kitchen into the Living Room.  I was having so much fun one night I had to stop & capture the moment- 

The upstairs mantle is where I always start when I want a change.  I love to update things usually the 1st of each month.  But for some reason that hasn't been happening lately {too busy of a schedule I guess} So I really enjoyed playing around & creating something entirely new that I've never done before.  I like to challenge myself to think outside the box when I decorate a space. 

I knew I wanted to use my vintage pop bottle collection in some way.  At first I just lined them all up along the mantle, liked the look but didn't LoVE it, so I walked away for a second & then kept playing around with it. Just when I thought I couldn't adore my pop bottle collection anymore I placed them on candlesticks- Ta-Dah!!  That was it!!  

The inspiration I needed. From there I had a blast rearranging & placing the bottles just so.  

{I also threatened my kids not to throw any balls, dog toys in this direction!} 

Here's a close up of some of my favorites {who am I kidding, I love them all!}  It's fun to look at a collection & know just where you got each one or who gave you each bottle.  Lucky for me I have sweet friends who know me well. 

I just love how it turned out.  Screams Summertime to me, drinking ice cold pop on a hot day, taking a break in the shade sitting under a tree, enjoying a baseball game or at a family BBQ.  

-Such a cute display from any angle, if you ask me- 

 Next moving over into the kitchen area.  I've really enjoyed this wire rack cubby I moved up for the basement last year.  I thought it would just be used for The Hive displays but I think it's found a permanent home in our kitchen nook.  It always presents a challenge on what to fill it up with.  

{Everyone likes a good challenge right?}  

So I started at the top & worked my way down.  It's completely full of just this & that's I had stashed away or stored somewhere else.  That's the best thing about decorating &  my advice to you is- Look around & use what you already have.  I'm sure you have more than you think you do. Cluster them together & you have instant decor.  The chalkboard & tin pie sign I've had for awhile the cool protractor I just bought at the last Hive.  

I love how they look together.  

-Old soup cans I saved from a year ago because I loved the labels.  I think Campbell's did these as a commemoration of their brand awhile ago.  Love the colors!- 

-These cubbies are stacked with colorful recipe books & not your ordinary berry baskets but cute turquoise ones- 

-A vintage Coleman cooler fits snug in one cubby & kid cookbooks in another.  I still have the cookbook my Mom gave me when I was 10. Fun memories!!- 

-A colorful pop holder holds some pop bottles & a larger cooler stuffed underneath in another cubby- 

Moving downstairs we pass by one of my favorite spots to decorate, our stair ledge.  I specifically had this put in our house plans. I had a ledge at our old home & loved it so much I wanted another fun space like it in this home.  

 Such a fun unexpected place to decorate.  I love combining all sorts of things in this space. It's a bright cheerful place to see every time you use the starts no matter what time of day. 

-I like this H&H sunshine board I made years ago, still one of my favorites- 

-Some H&H blocks with positive messages- 

-The question everyone seems to ask this time of year.  Oh, what do you do in the Summertime? -

Now, our downstairs family room.  The mustard mantle is the perfect backdrop to add anything on.  I love it!  Such a bright statement piece in our home. As you can see here lots of color & nothing really goes together, yet it all seems to work.  Another decorating idea I would give you is don't worry about it all looking perfect, just play around, mix it up & it will all look great in the end. 

-Some more fun blocks set on the mantle.  Love the turquoise bench against the mustard mantle.  The picture of my 2 girls is one of my favorite things! - 

-One of my favorite summertime decorating accessories, my vintage baseball collection displayed in the famous chicken feeder- one of it's  many uses- 

 This is our mudroom. I love this space because this is the door my kids walk into, I don't know, maybe 50 times a day during the Summer. Not to mention their friends, our neighbors & family when they come by.  So I wanted it to be a happy space that screams FuN! I think the finished result does just that! 

I didn't go out & buy anything for this space.  I looked around grabbed this & that & threw it together.  The common link tying it all together is color & fun! 

-From the marquee frame to the vintage truck & bowling pins love the color combo & playful spirit of this space.  The bowling pins are from a set we have that we used to play sidewalk bowling outside with our neighbors on Summer nights.  So Fun! -

How adorable is this!  You know that I love banners & this is an example of just looking through what you have & putting it to use.  I bought all of these things at The Hive, not  knowing exactly how I would use them but knowing I would someday.  Another tip I would give you is start a stash of basic things {such as garlands} that you can use for a variety of reasons.  

 I bought this pom pom garland knowing that I loved the colors & the party spirit it had in it.  Paired with vintage trim & a homemade bead garland {I bought the beads & then strung them together} it just looks perfect together.  The best part is if I changed up anyone of these & threw in a different color it would look totally different. Have fun, look around & don't be afraid to buy something & just hold onto it.  I love having a go-to garland/banner drawer for decorating.  

One of our favorite quotes around here just had to be showcased on our marquee board. 

{I dare you to not be singing along right now. ;)} 

Last space to show is the kitchen mantle.  Love the Summer spirit this space has.  From the bright colors & the tin signs I think it says it all.  Bring on the hot summer & cold beverages.  

One last decorating tip I would give you is levels!!  Use height & variation in your decor.  It makes a big difference to any space.  You can see that as you look back over the pictures I've shown in this post.  Look for unique ways to add levels too. 

  Here is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.  I used an old bread tin to set the Rootbeer Float sign on.  That way it got it off the same level as the little hello & helps it stand out a bit.  

 Also placing something tall at the end of your display helps your eye travel from one part to the next.  It just has a nice way of pulling everything together.  This was an old wheat tin my Mom gave me that was her mother's I love it!  I've used it for lots of different things but I love how it works here to give some real height. 

I hope you enjoyed taking a mini tour of our home with me.  I hope you've been inspired to decorate your home & welcome in the fun months ahead.   

Remember my 4 decorating tips: 

-Look around & use what you already have

-Don't worry to much- enjoy the process! 

-Start a stash of basic supplies

-Levels, levels LeVELS!!  

Thanks for stopping by I'd love to hear from you. Tell me what one decorating tip you're going to incorporate in your home.  

{M}