Summertime blue skies. Summer to me is a long season of rest and a time of recharging. It’s like every day could be a Sunday if you allow the quiet space into your schedule. The low key, longer filled days of relaxing creates such a room for rest; the calming color palette of ocean blues creates that same serenity feeling, and that’s why I love mixing the two.

When I think of summer, I think of simplicity. I think of simplicity in my home as well and how I want to evoke a color palette of calming and peacefulness.

It’s a time where I shift around my decor to incorporate more of the natural elements and colors that you find outside, like those long days of the infinite blue skies that I love. I’m drawn to the tranquil colors of nature, like the peaceful blues and especially the greens. If you are around here for long you will notice how I love using pops of green, which is by far my favorite color!

So, let’s get started! I want to show you how a few simple thoughtful changes can really shift your decor to create a calming palette.

Here in the kitchen, I’ve added in a few pieces of my vintage stoneware pottery that has the cutest un-uniform blue stripes to them. I have a growing collection of these primitive blue stripe pitchers. I usually find them when I’m on the hunt at antique malls. I keep a few of them here on display through my chicken wire covered cabinets because they are perfect at holding summer flowers at a moment’s notice.

Another cute little blue stripe container, that sits on our Carrara Marble countertops, is the handmade pottery that holds a plant. Even though it’s not vintage, I was drawn to the handmade midnight blue hand-scraped stripes. It can be found at Schoolhouse. It’s pretty special to me because it’s one of the many things I picked out last summer, after winning Remodelista’s Considered Design Awards in 2018 for our kitchen. That winning not only came with a reward and recognition but a fun $500 to schoolhouse.com which is an American-manufacturer full of special heirloom pieces. You can read more about our winning Award here.

I also love collecting blue and white striped linens. You will see them all around, like in the kitchen, on the dining table, and even in the laundry room. Some are old and some are new but either way, I like them to have a French vintage look to them. With the summertime simplicity in mind, I love to collect a basket or a crate to hold all the necessities for a summertime ready meal. This vintage Belgian Crate is perfect for so many uses and offers great storage while looking so farmhouse! I’m drawn to rustic pieces and this one especially since it has the typography on the side. It’s from one of my favorite shops called dreamywhitesatelier.com and you can find the crate here.

In the crate I can fit a complete set of dishes, sets of my blue and white stripe vintage napkins and a little vintage jar to hold some serving ware. I think it’s just perfect! Oh, and I can even shift things around to fit a little vintage milk bottle that I use for a vase to hold my cut hydrangea from my hydrangea garden. Pillows are another simple switch out and here I add more of the blue and white stripe patterns. If you are wanting to add in farmhouse fabrics then blue ticking stripe is the way to go!

At the beginning of summer just about every plant nursery place or big box store has some kind of a lavender plant. I love the sweet and floral smell of lavender with its balsamic undertones. It creates a peaceful aroma and is easy to maintain. It’s a great way to bring the outdoor nature of summertime indoors. I love using containers of vintage pottery or baskets. I will leave the plant in its pot and just add a drain plate underneath. This green old-schooled bell alarm clock, though new, was also one that I picked up from schoolhouse.com.

I hope you are a little more inspired by a love of summertime blue. Decorating does not have to be overwhelming and I hope I’ve inspired you to evoke the emotions of the season that you are wanting to create in your home and your life. Here at Whitetail Farmhouse, I invite you in to have a seat at my table and I hope you will enjoy the simplicities of design mixed with an intentional lifestyle.