How to Refresh Your Home for Summer

This post may contain affiliate links, which means we’ll receive a commission if you purchase through our link, at no extra cost to you. See our disclosure here.

While we love a transformative spring clean, we equally enjoy refreshing our home for the summer. There’s just something about the summer that sparks the urge to make some changes around the house. 

A summer refresh is all about adding new decorative accents, swapping out throw pillows, adding a new coat of paint to the walls, or upgrading furniture pieces. Small, subtle changes that make a big difference in your home and add a bit of joy this season. Today, we’re sharing 12 practical and affordable ways you can make your home feel crips, clean and fresh for summer. 

How to Refresh Your Home for Summer

1. Paint a Room or Accent Wall

Painting a room or accent wall doesn’t cost much money and can completely transform the feel of an entire space. Whether it’s your living room, a small bookcase, or the color of your front door, paint has the power to freshen up the look of many parts of your home.

2. Refresh Your Bedding

In the summer, we always feel the need to update our bedding. It could be something as simple as purchasing new sheets or swapping out the blanket on the end of our bed. There’s nothing more satisfying than making your bedroom feel like a relaxing space, and sometimes that means making small tweaks here and there. 

3. Swap Out Throw Pillows

Throw pillows are one of the easiest ways to create a new look in your living room. Our go-to is always Target (for a cheaper option) and Pottery Barn when we’re looking for a bit of a higher-end feel to a space. We usually swap out our throw pillows every season. 

Pro tip: If you live in a small apartment with a small living room, this is always an affordable and super simple way to change your space, despite not having a ton of room or ability to make other permanent changes.

4. Roll Out a New Rug

We say this a lot, but rugs truly do complete a space. They have a way of grounding a room and tying all the elements and furniture pieces together. If you don’t already have one in your living room, try adding one — you’ll be surprised at home much of a difference it will make. 

Need help deciding what rug size to choose? Check out our rug-size guide HERE.

5. Install Some New Art

Adding new art to your home doesn’t have to be expensive. It can be as simple as downloading some gorgeous prints from Etsy, Minted or ordering a print from your favorite artist. Then, swap out your existing art, using the same frames and it’ll create a new aesthetic and vibe to any room in your home.

6. Upgrade Your Furniture

Over the years, we’ve been given a lot of hand-me-down furniture pieces or refinished a few pieces of our own, but after a while, our aesthetic matures and changes and it’s time to pass them on to someone else.

Whether it’s a dresser, a bed, or an accent chair that’s seen better days, creating a space you truly love starts with investing in pieces that will last and stay with you for a long time.

7. Change Hardware & Other Fixtures

Many people don’t immediately think that changing hardware and other fixtures (like faucets, shower heads, etc), can make a big difference, but you would be surprised at how they can change the entire aesthetic of a room. Plus, these are swaps you can make in rental spaces too!

8. Add Some Summer Decorative Accents

Summer is the season of sunshine, light, woven textures, and coastal accents. We always love channeling a New England summer in our space. It’s such a cozy, light-hearted decor style that can be fun to add to your home. Think woven baskets, light blankets, linen duvets, and florals.

9. Diffuse Essential Oils

There’s nothing that makes a space feel cleaner than diffusing essential oils. For summer, we love adding drops of citrus and vanilla essential oils. It makes our home smell clean and warm — perfect for the season.

10. Organize A Closet or Cabinet

Even though spring is meant for cleaning, we admit that we still haven’t had the chance to organize everything yet. With the longer summer days, organizing our untidy spaces around the home gives us more opportunity to dive in. We always love how clear our mind feels once we’ve sorted, cleaned out and made extra room in spaces that felt cluttered before.

11. Burn a Summer Candle

When we aren’t using our essential oil diffuser, we are always burning a candle. In the summer, we reach for candles that have a sweet, citrus scent, have berry notes, or a simple in scent-profile. A new seasonal candle can instantly make your space feel fresh and new.

12. Freshen Up Your Bathroom

Making affordable updates to our bathroom in the summer keeps us feeling fresh and clean. We swap out our shower curtain and liner, deep clean our bath mats, and swap out our toothbrush holder for something new. All of these items are relatively cheap and easy ways to refresh your bathroom.