The weekends are too short, and summer in New England is the shortest of the short . shorts. With no spring to speak of, one really feels the need to make the most of the good weather, when said good weather finally arrives. Sun, sand, ocean, and fantastically fresh food. To bite into a juicy peach, savor a sweet chunk of pineapple, smack your lips as you sip a tart and tasty lemonade – that’s summer. It got me thinking about the roll of fruit in interior design, naturally.
Etsy is an amazing source for original art work. This gracefully executed watercolor, brings a little of that fun fruit to an Urban or Suburban setting. Etsy . Tina Vu Studio $45.
I’m not thinking dark paneled walls, velvet curtains, and Peter Paul’s Rubeneque beauties lying naked in heaps of grapes. I’m thinking a little more playful, a bit of young at heart, more daylight than dark, more laughter than tears. Fruit motifs span the gamut from sophisticated to childish, and it’s perfectly ok to mix the two, why not, no law.
The traditional motif symbolizing “welcome” – posh doesn’t have to cost a pretty penny. PB Teen $119.
City
For city surroundings I do recommend you lean toward the sophisticated palette. Potted fruit plants, faux and real, can bring a little of that summer indoors, and remind you that the world is not all hardscape. (Try Ballard Design for some realistic looking faux plants) Sculptural elements like china or metallic pineapples, sitting serenely on the shelf of an étagère, the spire on top of your skyscraper of interiors books, glinting and beckoning at that 5 o’clock hour from it’s outpost on the bar cart, pineapples are indeed welcoming. Wall coverings that blur and obscure the fruit feel polished and fresh, and are perhaps just the right splash of irreverence for a powder room or guest bed.
Flavor Paper . Fruits of Design . Sweet Potato Mica Clay Coated.
Summer Escape
Summer rightfully brings out the kid in us all. By my account there is far too much seriousness going around these days. I’m not condoning irresponsibility, just suggesting that buying a Crew Cuts tee shirt from the kids department that has glittery cherry’s on it, is perfectly acceptable, and frankly much more economically responsible than buying it from J. Crew Woman’s. Just saying…I did it, and you feel free to judge. I am also suggesting that a sequined watermelon throw pillow, could really make rolling from Sunday into Monday, just a little bit happier, and if you woke up in these delightfully chipper cherry sheets from Serena and Lily, who’s to say you wouldn’t have the best day ever?
PB Teen . Tutti Fruity Pillow Covers. 16″ Square – $12.99 each.
To making the most of your summer weekends, and not allowing yourself to turn Sunday into an extension of Monday.
Serena and Lily . Cherry Sheet Set. $128. – $228.