10 Easy Midsummer Decorating Refresh Ideas To Enjoy The Rest Of Summer

July 4th is behind us and the dog days of summer are here. Freshen up your home with these 10 easy midsummer decorating ideas so you can enjoy the rest of the season before fall decor begins.

July 4th has come and gone, and the dog days of summer are officially here. If your home still looks exactly like it did back in June, you are not alone.

I tend to get a little lazy this time of year. I get so used to keeping our summer decor status quo that I just let it be until fall decorating season rolls around.

But right now is the perfect time for a little midsummer refresh. Fall decor is still a month or so away, so why not enjoy the rest of summer in a home that feels fresh and a little more interesting? A few small changes are all it takes.

Today I am sharing ten easy ideas to freshen up your home for the second half of summer. None of them require a big project or a trip to the store, just a little time and attention to the spaces you already love.

In This Post

• Why packing away the patriotic decor matters before anything else
• The one thing to do before you buy or add anything new
• Simple ways to bring midsummer flowers into your home
• Quick pillow swaps that make a big difference
• A fresh approach to styling your coffee table
• Small touches that freshen up your front door in minutes
• Why something living changes the whole feel of a room
• A new scent to bring in the second half of summer
• The kitchen counter reset that takes five minutes
• Easy ways to add texture with what you already have

It’s Time To Put Away Patriotic Decor

This year it is a little harder for me to put away our patriotic decor. We fully embraced America’s 250th birthday this summer, and I loved having those red, white, and blue touches throughout our home.

But summer moves forward, and it feels like it is time to move on too, so we can make room for the beauty of midsummer.

Start by walking through each room and gathering anything tied specifically to the Fourth. Flags, bunting, star-shaped accents, and red, white, and blue pillows or table linens all fall into this category.

Pack these pieces away carefully so they are ready to use again next year. A labeled bin works well, and keeping patriotic decor separate from your everyday summer pieces makes next year’s setup much easier.

Once those pieces are put away, take a look at what is left. You may find you already have a lighter, more neutral summer base to build on for the rest of the season.

🌿 TIP BOX: Before packing patriotic decor away, snap a quick photo of how you displayed it this year. It makes decorating faster and easier next summer, especially if you added new pieces you want to remember.

Edit Before You Add Anything New

Edit is one of my favorite decorating words. When I clear an area of pretty distractions, it is so much easier to restyle and refresh it. And once a space is edited down, new possibilities become much easier to see.

Before you add a single new thing for midsummer, walk through your home and simply take stock. Remove anything that feels tired, out of place, or left over from earlier in the summer. You do not need to replace it yet, just clear it away.

Look at each surface and ask yourself what is working and what is not. Does this pillow still feel fresh? Does this vignette still make you smile? Choose what stays, what gets packed away, and what might need a small update. You do not have to decide everything at once, just enough to create a little breathing room.

Right now my white buffet, the focal point of our living room, has only a pair of lamps on it. It has been sitting that way for three days. Just this morning I finally had a lightbulb moment about how I want to refresh it, so new images of that buffet are coming soon.

🌿 TIP BOX: Give yourself permission to leave a space simple for a day or two before restyling it. Living with an edited space first often makes the next step much clearer.

Add Midsummer Flowers To Your Home

Midsummer is the perfect time to celebrate the flowers of the season. Everything seems to be in full bloom right now, and it is such an easy, beautiful way to refresh your home.

Bring In Fresh Cut Flowers

Our raised beds are full of snapdragons, zinnias, marigolds, salvia, and a plethora of other pretty summer blooms, along with plenty of herbs. My morning ritual is to spend a little time out there first thing, tending to them and often clipping blooms at their peak to bring inside.

If you do not have a garden to clip from, a simple bunch from the grocery store or farmers market works just as well. Even one small vase on a kitchen counter or coffee table can make a room feel instantly more midsummer.

Mix In Faux Summer Flowers

As much as I love real flowers, I also keep a stash of faux summer flowers on hand that I use just as often. Real or faux, they look beautiful together in our home, and mixing the two makes it easy to keep arrangements looking full all season long.

Refresh Your Potted Annuals

Remember to refresh any potted annuals you are using in your home too. Grab a container of annuals from your local garden shop and tuck it into a pretty pot to display in a sunny spot. I do this all summer long.

Right now, I have red geraniums growing in a blue-and-white chinoiserie container on our dining room table. I will simply remove the American flags from it, and it will look lovely just as it is until fall decorating begins.

🌿 TIP BOX: Potted annuals last longer indoors when you choose a container with drainage or a plastic liner you can slip in and out for watering. It keeps your table or counter dry and your blooms healthier longer.

Add A Set Of New Summer Pillows

I love pillows. I say they are a room’s jewelry. They can dress a room up or down in an instant, and they are one of the easiest ways to bring a fresh look to a space without changing a single piece of furniture.

I recently ordered a set of inexpensive pillows to add to our sofa until it is time to decorate for fall. The flowers and colors bring such a fresh, summery look to our living room.

You do not need to spend a lot to make an impact. A new pillow cover or two, in a pattern or color that feels like midsummer, can completely change the personality of a sofa or chair.

When choosing pillows for this time of year, look for lighter colors, botanical prints, or simple stripes. These feel fresh and airy, and they pair easily with whatever else is already in your room.

🌿 TIP BOX: I find buying two of one kind of pillow very smart. You can usually put a pair on matching chairs, or a set of two on either side of a sofa. When I only buy a single pillow, I am usually sorry I did not buy two.

Restyle Your Coffee Table

Styling a coffee table is one of my favorite things to do. I have been writing about this topic for seventeen years, which means I have styled enough coffee tables over the years to fill all twelve I have owned along the way, countless times over.

Right now, I like using a basket or tray to hold the pieces I love to display, usually flowers, both cut and potted, or a plant. Coffee table books tend to sit right alongside them on the large table in our living room.

This is one area I am only tweaking for midsummer rather than starting over. I really love the lemon sedum I planted in a blue and white bowl for the Fourth of July, so it is staying put for now, just without the patriotic accents around it.

A coffee table does not need a full redo to feel midsummer ready. Sometimes swapping one or two pieces, or simply removing what feels seasonal to another holiday, is all it takes.

🌿 TIP BOX: Keep a small saucer or coaster tucked under any potted plant on a coffee table. It protects the surface from water rings and makes watering in place much easier.

Freshen Up Your Front Door

This is one area that usually needs a bit of freshening up at midsummer. We live on a quiet street, but grass and dirt from the golf course nearby tends to waft over, so our porch needs regular cleaning this time of year.

If it is hot where you live, this is a job best done early in the morning before the heat of the day sets in.

I just changed our wreath from a red, white, and blue door basket to a big, fluffy hydrangea wreath that mimics the hydrangeas in our front beds. If we did not have an American flag hanging by our front door, I would have happily left the basket up a bit longer.

While you are out there, give the door itself some attention too. Wipe it down, and clean any glass on or around it, both inside and out. Fingerprints, pollen, and summer grime tend to build up more than we realize, and a clean door makes everything around it look fresher too.

🌿 TIP BOX: A mixture of warm water and a few drops of dish soap works well for cleaning most front doors and glass. Just avoid anything abrasive on painted or stained surfaces.

Add Something Living

Living things bring life to a room, quite literally. This is a wonderful time of year to add freshly potted annuals to a flat surface in your home. They last much longer than cut flowers, and watering and tending them becomes a lovely little ritual all its own.

Lately, I have accumulated quite a few plants here at Tanglewood House. Because of all the light we get, they are thriving, and I love having a bit of green in nearly every room.

Treat yourself to a pretty plant and let it become part of your decor through summer and into fall. A single plant on a console table, a windowsill, or a kitchen counter adds warmth and interest that faux greenery simply cannot match.

🌿 TIP BOX: Group plants in odd numbers and varying heights for the most natural look. A tall plant paired with one or two smaller ones creates instant visual interest on any surface.

Add A New Summer Scent

Aromas are connected to memories in such a powerful way. What summer memories do you love that you could connect to a scent traveling through your home?

One of our favorite vacation spots is the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. They are known for their Paladium geraniums, and they leave geranium body wash and lotion in the bathrooms. So this time of year, I like to diffuse geranium essential oil at home.

It brings back such lovely memories every time, and our home smells wonderful too.

A signature summer scent does not have to be complicated. A diffuser, a new candle, or even a simple simmer pot on the stove can fill your home with something that feels like this season, and someday, like a favorite memory too.

🌿 TIP BOX: Keep your summer scent light and single note rather than heavily layered. It reads as fresh rather than overpowering, especially in warmer weather when windows and doors are open more often.

Declutter Kitchen Counters

Really, we should declutter our kitchen counters every day so a quick job never turns into a big one to dig into. But midsummer is the time of year we have lots of family and friends visiting, and things do tend to find their way onto the counters. Especially, with 6 little grandkids.

I like to clear the kitchen counters off whenever I see something out of place, and I give them a quick cleanup and wipe down every evening as part of my evening routine.

Keeping counters clear does more than make your kitchen look nice. It makes the whole space feel calmer and more inviting, and it means you are always ready for company to gather there, which happens often this time of year.

🌿 TIP BOX: Try the touch once rule. When you pick up mail, keys, or anything else that lands on the counter, put it where it belongs right then instead of setting it back down.

Add Texture

One thing I love to add when I want to refresh a room is more texture. In midsummer, that means baskets, books, plants, and anything that feels organic.

A basket is one of my favorite ways to do this because it works with so many other decor elements. A brown basket looks beautiful paired with blue and white, and it is a natural with plants too.

Layering in a few of these textural pieces, a basket under a plant, a stack of books on a table, a bit of woven texture on a shelf, a burlap lampshade, adds depth and interest to a room without adding clutter. It is a simple, inexpensive way to make a space feel finished. Perfect for this time of year.

🌿 TIP BOX: Mix at least two different textures in any vignette, such as woven basket with smooth ceramic, or matte books with a glossy plant pot. Contrast in texture is what makes a display feel interesting rather than flat.

Simple Answers To Common Midsummer Refresh Questions

You have questions, I have simple answers. Here are a few of the things readers ask most about refreshing a home midsummer.

Most of my life, I have not been what you would call a summer person. I am always looking forward to fall with great excitement. But over the last few years, I have really embraced the joy and beauty of summer, both inside our home and out.

Refreshing our home for the rest of summer has been so much fun, and our home looks so much nicer for it. I hope these ten ideas inspire you to do the same and enjoy every bit of the season you have left.

If you enjoyed these midsummer refresh ideas, here are a few more posts that go a little deeper into some of the topics we covered today.

More Ways To Refresh Your Home This Season

How To Decorate Your Home On A Budget: Simple Ideas That Really Work

Learn how small, thoughtful changes can refresh any room without spending much at all. This post shares thirteen simple ideas for decorating with what you already own and love.

The Secret For Keeping Cut Hydrangeas Fresh Longer

If you love bringing hydrangeas indoors, this post shares the tricks that keep them fresh for days instead of hours, along with a simple way to revive blooms that have already started to wilt.

Decorating A Large Coffee Table: 9 Simple Tips That Work

This post walks through the exact process for styling a coffee table so it feels balanced and inviting, including a simple grid trick that makes decorating any surface easier.

Dress Up Your Front Door: Simple Summer Hydrangea Wreath DIY

Learn how to make a full, fluffy hydrangea wreath for your front door using simple materials and a few easy techniques. It is the same style of wreath used in this post’s front door refresh.

How to add Texture To create Beauty In Your Home

Discover the simple ways texture can make a room feel warmer and more interesting, whether you are working with baskets, wood, or woven pieces you already own.

Happy midsummer, decorating…