Quick Summer Style Tips

As summer approaches, schoolchildren count down the days until freedom and parents start planning family trips to the beach or cooler climes. At Bel Furniture, we find no reason at all why your very own home can't serve as a rejuvenating summer sanctuary. Before you leave for this year's summer adventure, try these simple decorating tips that will transform your living space.

Striped Cookouts
Summer weather is perfect for cookouts. You have the grill and you certainly have the friends and family. All you need now is a picnic table and a table cloth that will make your feast pop! Durability doesn't hurt either. To accomplish this, we recommend outfitting your table with a simple painting drop cloth from Lowe's or Home Depot. Paint stripes the color of your choice. We recommend subtle blues. By taking preliminary measurements and marking off sections in painter's tape, your stripes will look neat and uniform.


Natural & Delicate Candles
Our second tip is great for indoor and outdoor entertainment. As you comb the beaches this summer for the perfect shell, be on the lookout for ones that can serve as candle holders. Once you have washed off your shells in a solution of bleach and water, you may choose to either melt candles you already have-or paraffin wax-in a double boiler. Simply pour the wax into your shells and be sure to secure a metal wick holder at the bottom. It will cool and harden in about 30 minutes. If the shell is too wobbly for the wax to cool uniformly, we suggest placing it on top of water glass, where it can rest evenly.

A Live Centerpiece
These shell candles make a wonderful addition to the dining room table. Kick it up a notch by including a live, miniature herb garden as the centerpiece. This will not only add fresh aromas to the atmosphere, but will encourage conversation. You may even pluck fresh herbs right off the stems and branches to add flavor to salads, entrées, or desserts. When you're not entertaining, the herbs are easily transportable back to the porch or garden.


Are You Stumped?
Our fourth tip is equally as earthy as the fresh herb garden centerpiece. Add a little fun variation to your interior décor by incorporating a table made from a stump of wood. If you are feeling particularly ambitious, we encourage you to try making one yourself. For step-by-step instructions, see this enlightening blog by "17 Apart." After several rounds of sanding, applications of "Wood Juice" and satin spraying (and more sanding), this stump table was given a final top coat and little legs to stand on. We think a trio of stump tables would look great together even without legs.


Pillows, Pillows, Pillows!
Our fifth and final tip this week is easy enough. It involves a keen eye for design. Transform the ideal summer space like the front porch, stairway nook, or sun room into a haven of comfort and luxury by adding plush and brightly colored throw pillows. The image featured to the right is of a sun room with pastel-colored walls and rugged, wooden floorboards. All of the textures are working in harmony to create a summery artistic space. You can never go overboard with too many pillows if you are working with an unconventional piece like the makeshift couch in this image.

Final Words
If you have more interior or exterior décor tips that are perfect for the summer, we would love to hear from you! Simply comment on this post below or send us a message on any of our social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter. We look forward to featuring more tips like these five throughout the summer season. Additionally, we'll be announcing some amazing giveaways, so stay tuned!