How to Create a Welcoming Summer Entryway | Entryway Design Ideas
Welcome to summer my friends! Summer is by far my favorite season. Michigan summers are beautiful and a welcome reprieve from our harsh winters and non-existent springs. It also happens to be the season in which my family entertains the most guests! We love a good BBQ and bonfire so today I am sharing how to create a welcoming summer entryway.
If you’ve been following along with my kitchen renovation, I will be coming back to that series shortly with a tutorial on painted tile followed by all the finishing touches a kitchen needs! You can subscribe now to receive updates on all my DIY projects and design tips!
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Easy Summer Styling Blog Tour
I love being inspired by others so I’m thrilled to join up for the Easy Summer Styling blog tour hosted by Kelly at The Tattered Pew. There are so many talented bloggers joining me on this tour so make sure to visit them all. If you’re joining me from Lindsay at Aratari At Home then thank you for hopping over!
How to Create a Welcoming Summer Entryway: Outdoors
Summer brings so many fun events and is a busy time of year. While school is out we enjoy gardening, beach days, maintaining our 38 acres of land, all with plenty of fun sprinkled in. That means that I do NOT want to spend a lot of time creating intricate arrangements, watering dozens of patio containers or re-decorating my home constantly.
So I’m excited to share these simple steps for how to create a welcoming summer entryway without all the fuss.
Add Simple Potted Plants
The easiest patio planter you will ever find is a potted Boston Fern. These ferns thrive with part sun to shade and once or twice a week watering. If you live in a very hot climate, you might try succulents instead! I also have a two-tiered hanging planter that can easily be filled with vines or a simple arrangement of low maintenance annuals.
Choose a Door Wreath that Packs a Punch
Don’t neglect your front door! Whether you are a fan of wreaths or not, you should always decorate your front door. You can try a basket of flowers, decorated monogram, or a character piece that you love! This beautiful wreath is full of summer flowers with hydrangeas, ferns, magnolia blooms and plenty of greenery.
And don’t forget to welcome your guests with a smile and food. If all else fails or you simply don’t have time to spruce up your home prior to guests arriving, feed them, laugh with them, love on them, and it won’t even matter what your entryway looks like. ๐
How to Create a Welcoming Summer Entryway: Indoors
Let’s journey inside, shall we? We tend to have a doors-wide-open mentality when guests arrive. If the weather allows it, I love to have my doors open to avoid the awkward, “Do I knock? Do I walk right in? Do I stand here and wait until they notice me?” feelings. ๐
Entryway Design Ideas | Create Zones
Once our guests are inside I want them to feel as welcome as possible. That means that I want them to feel at home. They need a designated space to put their belongings, a seat to sit on to take on and off their shoes, and a table to put their potluck goodies on until I can come grab them. And I want the entryway to showcase my favorite pieces!
I created a simple gallery wall full of unexpected items. A print I purchased in Polland in high school, an architectural piece that was a gift from my parents, a vintage corbel that I scored on a junkin’ day with my mom, plus the standard mirror that every person who’s ever eaten corn on the cob at a BBQ will appreciate. And thrown into the mix are my practical items like hooks for coats and hats and a bench.
Add Nature
Summer means that the outdoors are lush and green, so why should the inside be any different?! I love a beautiful centerpiece of fresh flowers but that doesn’t always happen. So in its place, I sprinkle faux foliage everywhere! Easy to take care of, never wilts, never needs to be watered, and mostly child-proof.
Tip 1: Put a smidge of water in with your faux flowers!
I bet you didn’t know those tulips were faux! A little water added to a faux arrangement makes them look like the real deal. ๐ And I even add nature with my decor! This lemon tree pillow is another summery addition of plants with its beautiful imagery on lightweight linen.
If you’re looking for ideas of beautiful faux plants, you can find over 25 of my favorite faux florals and foliage {here}. And if faux flowers aren’t your favorite, then I have also pulled together 6 indoor plants for the black thumb {here}.
Tip 2: Pop off faux flower heads to create a shallow floral centerpiece.
If you have room for a centerpiece on your entry table, then I recommend keeping it low. This is mostly because my tall centerpieces end up getting knocked over by one of the 20 kids we have at our get togethers! But it is also just a simple way to add a pop of color without a lot of work.
Just pop off the heads of your prettiest faux flowers, add a bush of greenery, and nestle it all into a shallow bowl or vase. Bonus points if the bowl or vessel is a character piece on its own!
Add Comfort
The beautiful linen pillows I have spread throughout my home are the perfect summer addition to our entryway and living room. They are lightweight and comfortable for our guests to settle into. And when all else fails, they add some cushion for the kiddos who inevitably end up on the floor. ๐
How to Create a Welcoming Summer Entryway | Atmosphere
Perhaps the most important element of how to create a welcoming summer entryway is the atmosphere YOU create! If you’re relaxed and laid back then your guests will be too. If you’re casual about your decor then they won’t be afraid to mess it up.
I may love to make my home inviting but I am NOT a fussy host. Mi casa es su casa. Does that mean that sometimes my guests have to figure out where the bathroom is by wandering my house? Yes. Does that mean they have to get their own drinks sometimes? Yeppers.
But will they ever go hungry or be uncomfortable? Nope. Not a chance. Part of inviting someone into your home is making sure they feel comfortable using the space as if it were their own.
Bottom Line
Create a space your guests will enjoy and the decor won’t matter. This may have been a post on how to create a welcoming summer entryway, but I hope you walk away knowing that how you treat the people in your home is more important than how you’ve arranged your gallery wall or fluffed your pillows. ๐
Be sure to continue on our Easy Summer Styling blog tour by heading to Amanda at Midcounty Journal next!
She Gave It a Go // Aratari At Home // Grace in My Space // Midcounty Journal
Little Nest of 4 // The Tattered Pew // The Design Twins // Jenna Kate at Home
CityGirl Meets FarmBoy // The Turquoise Home // Crisp Collective // Adventures In Decorating
Designs by Karan // My 100 Year Old Home // Bless This Nest // Dreaming of Homemaking
Be blessed and enjoy summer my friends!
{People will forget what you said, forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.– Maya Angelou}
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can you tell me where the mirror is from ? its gorgeous
Thank you! It is linked directly for you at the bottom of the blog post. ๐
Adorable interior ideas for welcoming guests, making them feel like they are at their home.
Thank you so much!
love your living room layout and your sofa table. Could you show more pics of your living room layout?
Thank you so much Cassidy! I will plan to revamp my living room this fall and am excited to share it more with you soon!
Love your beautiful home and all your ideas! Just gorgeous!
Thank you so much Deborah! I appreciate that so much.