Does the thought of summer make you wanna change up your home decor? Yeah. me too!

During the spring months, my palatte starts craving fun colors, sheerer fabrics, and oddly enough, strawberry fruit rollups. And at 50 calories a pop with no known side effects for eating the entire box, it is just the start of a beautiful summer experience.

Speaking of sweet experiences, this is the year for brightening up my home. I wanna feel easy going and casual. I wanna feel lighter than Posh Spice. I wanna walk in the door, kick off my flips, and wear shorts again. That is the feeling that inspired a little story. This story of summery transformation begins with a $3.50 placemat find at the Pottery Barn outlet.

And this is how it motivated an entire couch redo in funner colors (kinda like when fruit rollups went from only in red to swirly hues!):

Our fall/winter pillows are super fun right? I still adore that chocolate/green color combo especially with that graphic brownie-on-top-of-my-sundae pillow smack dab right in the center. But on the down side, it definitely gave off a cooler month vibe. Not exactly a swim-inspired look….unless those colors were on a VS model….they could make some pocket lint, a key ring, and a post-it-note look like a bathing suit. grrr.

And now my pillows are funner than a bunny farm! I am loving the combination of the navy with the pale turquoise and spring time green. Plus the trio of graphic prints and the various fabrics give the couch visual & textural interest. And the sheer number of pillows comes in handy come kanoodle time. Wahoo!

 

So how did we start with a placemat and end up with a summery couch? I am so glad you asked. A+ for you and one thousand points for excellent inquiry skills.

The little accent pillow is actually a placemat. You know – one of those things that sometimes makes it onto the table under the paper plate only if company is coming? Just ripped open the seam where the front layer meets the back layer. Two inches will do ya. Then just stuff that hole like you are on week 6 of Survivor. Hand stitch the sucker closed and BADA BING! An accent pillow!

I actually considered attempting to sell this sucker back to Pottery Barn to see if they would give me more money since pillows cost more than placemats. But God would be watching. Also, I am quite sure that Pottery Barn could trace my credit card and I would like to continue shopping there in the future. But the point is, this little piece of summery heaven looks a heck of a lot more expensive than $3.50. And since I chose a pillow with several colors, all I had to do was mix and match pillows till I found a combo that screamed “POOL PARTY!”

So are you changing your home decor for the warmer months? How do you do it? Are you a pillow-switcher or a slipcover & go kinda peep? I hear that drapes make a springtime switch…although I have never done it. Have you ever made a placemat into a pillow? Please share. Oh and if you guys wanna attempt this project at home – be sure that you get a placemat with two layers. Otherwise you will end up with one ripped piece of fabric and fiber fill all over your sofa…and I can think of other things that are cooler 🙂