The winter is gone and the long awaited summer is finally here. The sun is shining outside, the birds are chirping, and it’s time for friends and family to stop by with gifts of fresh garden fruit. That means you should be dusting off the sofa cushions and getting your house ready to receive guests. The summer brings the holiday season so your family will be spending more time in the house, too. Embrace the warm months and get your house looking shiny and beautiful with one of these amazing kitchen decorating ideas for the season:

Let the Summer Sun In

Take down those thick curtains that kept you warm in the freezing winter months and shove them back in the closet until the next winter comes. Find some thin and fluttery summer curtains that don’t block out the shining sun to decorate your rooms. This season you should let the summer sun light up your living room, the dining room, the bedroom and everywhere else that deserves some warmth (which means pretty much every room). Sunlight will make your rooms look bigger than they actually are and more pleasant to spend time at. Plus, the daylight is also a good natural disinfectant that will destroy airborne germs gathered during shut-in winter months. Make sure your windows are not obstructed by anything so the daylight can freely flow in and make your house more beautiful for the season.

Get the Kitchen Ready for Baking

Forego the classic kitchen designs and prepare the second most important room after the bedroom for months of summer baking and cooking. Open the windows wide and buy new kitchen organizers to keep dishes and cutlery. Truly welcome the spirit of the summer by adding some vivid colour. Repaint kitchen cabinets in an eye-popping colour to make your old kitchen look new and swanky. It won’t cost you more than 50 dollars and won’t take much time and effort, either. Set aside some space on your Kitchen Island or dining table for a “mini bar” of chilled fruit juice and smoothies, of which you’ll need a lot in the hot months to ward off the thirst.

Create, don’t Buy, Vases

Put your newly bloomed summer flowers in anything but a designated flower vase. Use a pitcher or a clay pot for style. You can make things interesting by innovatively using seashells to present flowers in the living room or the kitchen. You can even grow succulents in sea shells that will be a hip addition to any room. It’s the summer, so think creatively. Make the best use of organic material to emphasize the spirit of growth in the summer months.

Find a New Use for the Fireplace

You will certainly not be using the fireplace in the summer, so it’s time to find it a new use as a decorative accessory. There isn’t much you can do than to artfully arrange the leftover firewood inside the fireplace. You should first clean off the soot and the grime gathered during the winter months and perhaps paint over the hard-set stains. Get it done during the summer because you won’t be able to when the months become cold once more.

Move Indoor Furniture Outdoors

Summer means the members of your family would prefer to spend their time outdoors. You can make your backyard and front lawn summer-ready with outdoor lounging areas and dining spaces. Not everyone can afford branded outdoor furniture, so in their stead, you can make use of some indoor furniture by moving them outside. You can add summer flavour by changing cushion covers with new ones. Choose bright colours and floral prints that complement the sunny weather. Ditch the tablecloths for outdoor dining sets because the wind will simply make them a bother.

Light up for the Nights

Summer nights are not quiet and lonely like the winter times. It’s when people throw evening parties and barbeque gatherings. You will surely have guests coming in for afternoon pool parties, so don’t let them get lost in your garden at night and put up some lights. Replace old porch lights and buy stylish garden lights at bargain prices online. Better yet, drape your outdoor flora in strings of LED fairy lights and switch them on after dark to make your backyard utterly mesmerizing.

Simply keep in mind to use bright colours and muted yellows in any and all redecorating ventures. Dark colours simply don’t belong in the summer. Make full use of your blooming garden and use fresh flowers and plants to add colour inside the house.