Summer Bedding Looks In A Cottage Style

Hi, Friends,

Y'all know that I love redecorating for the seasons and the holidays.

The bedrooms are no exception. I thought I'd share some of my favorite tips for getting a cute, cottage look for your beds this summer. Many of these images are from my archives but there will be a few images of what is going on currently. 

I have a collection of quilts, coverlets, pillow cases and pillow covers. 

When they aren't on a bed, they are stored in one of our two armoires. 

When the system is operating as it should, covers are taken off of the pillow forms and stacked according to color and season. When the system has gone awry, pillows with covers are tossed into a closet. 

The system manager has bouts of laziness amidst spurts of creativity. 
Reds, blues and anything with a summer motif are stacked together. 

A geranium pillow from a Raz warehouse sale adorns a guest bed. I made some red gingham pillow cases years and years ago. They have been used many times.

White sheets sets, matelasse coverlets, shams and dust ruffles provide the neutral backdrop for the colorful accent pillows and pillow cases. 

Quilts in coordinating colors are draped across the end of the bed. 

We have a wonderful Tommy Hilfiger twin bedspread. When folded in half it fits across the end of a queen size bed. One side is blue and white gingham. The other side is a red and white stripes. I love this coverlet and would buy it again because it is so versatile. It's perfect for summer. I got it at T.J. Maxx. Usually, our quilts are twins size which is adequate for the look.  

An assortment of bedding red, blue and a floral give a bed such a cottage-y feel which is one of my favorite combinations when the weather is hot. 

Mixing stripes with checks is effortless. A floral is thrown in the mix as well. 

I've been known to quilt something every so often. My quilting came to halt for many years but I've recently started the hobby again. I stitched up an easy quilt in green, blue, and red two years ago. 

The square floral pillow was made out of a Chaps by Ralph Lauren sham. 

Somehow, one king size shams got misplaced. Since I only had one, I cut it up and made an accent pillow instead. 

Black and ecru ticking sheets from Red Land Cotton became the inspiration for our 2020 bedroom. 

We highly recommend Red Land Cotton Sheets. They are so comfortable. 

The black ticking strip square pillow is older Pottery Barn. The toile for the pillow came from a nearby drapery workshop. Occasionally, they would open their doors for free picking. Our fabric closet was stuffed to the gils in those days. 

The red and blue against a white headboard look so cute. 

The addition of a flag pinned to blue and white stripes turns a pillow into a festive display. 

The dutch boy and girl pillows were thrifted years go. I love rescuing vintage needlepoint. 

I'm quite cognizant of the fact that most people do not go to such lengths to get a quaint, seasonal bedroom. 

Did I miss my calling as a Macy's bedding department stylist? 

It really isn't that difficult to change the look. Sheets are changed weekly adding a few seasonal cases to pillow forms doesn't take that much extra time. 

I love our beds to evoke a summer at my grandparent's cottage feel. In reality there was no air conditioning at the cottage so I'm sure the beds were very simply dressed. I vividly remember a chenille bedspread on my grandmother's bed. That probably was sufficient unless another layer was needed as dawn approached. Who else remembers hiding beneath a bedspread to elude a buzzing mosquito looking for a meal?  

I've been on a quilt kick lately. My new red and white quilt just pops against the freshly painted bed. 

 Our bed has been given new life. I love it again. 

A few red transferware pieces echo the color story. The transferware goes with the faux brick on the faux fireplace. 

Our bedroom in East Texas tells another color tale. This time green is the hue. 

Someone steals the quilt in the middle of the night or so the story goes. I found the quilt in our attic when I was a teenager and I packed it up and took it to college with me. I have no idea who made it but it is old. 

Guest room number one is a symphony in blue. 

You'll notice the Tommy Hilfiger bedspread has appeared again for the summer of 2021. 

The chambray colored pillow covers were also found at the Raz warehouse sale. 

The gallery wall was fun to create. It is reminiscent of my cousin's teenage bedroom. 

That is about all for now. 

I hope this inspires you to create some fresh summer looks with a cottage feel. 

It's fun and it's only annoying for the person who takes the pillows off at night. 

Haha. 

Blessings, 

Katie 

The Farmhouse Guest Room

 I rambled on and on about armoires in this post. 

Thank you for putting up with that. 

There are days when I wish I could get rid of some furniture and start over. 

What would it be like to buy all new furniture for a brand new house? 

I doubt I'll ever know. 

The smaller of the two upstairs guest rooms was not working for me when we upsized our guest bedrooms last November. 

It was Jonnie's room when he lived at home and will be referred to as such for the remainder of this post. 

 I tried several different beside tables and I just didn't like any of them with the headboard. 

The headboard was made out of the kid's old crib. It's adorable. I felt like this project should have gotten much more attention on Pinterest than it did.
I hadn't seen it done and it makes great use of a sentimental crib. 

I loved the headboard when it was in the bigger of two rooms - Rebekah's room.

In Jonnie's old room it did nothing for me. 

The natural light is minimal in this room. 

The wall color is a little creamier than it is in the other room. 

Jonnie's room seems to have received a mishmash of left over pieces of furniture. 

All of them cute but together it just looked like a Granny room. 

Nothing wrong with Grannies. I'd love to be one. 

My granny's tea table was too formal so I put it down in the living room.

The little white dresser was my first ever furniture purchase as a new teacher. It's a keeper. 

Spring bedroom

What I didn't show in any of these photos is my granny's little washstand. It was tucked next to the  big armoire because it wouldn't fit anywhere else in the house. 

Imagine it under the hanger on the clothes rail. We had too much furniture. 

I didn't want to get rid of it but it didn't work in this room no matter what I did. 

Fall and Christmas 2017

The ladder? Cute. 

The chandelier? Adorable.

The pink velvet chair? Cute.

Everything together? Not so much. 

I always try to be real with you. I don't just show the after photos. 

Decorating is a process. It doesn't always come out the first time. 

Especially if you are dealing with family pieces like I am. 

When I set up the bed, the tea table was on the left and a green dresser was on the right. 

 The green dresser had to go. 

It's no longer green FYI.

I decided the pink chair had to go. It brought a bohemian vibe. It was not what I was going for. 

I'm storing it for our daughter so for the time being it's in a closet. 

Things started to come together when I pulled out the black and white bedding and the cow art. 

The little washstand looks okay now.  I know it would look darling white but I can't bear to paint it. 

A louvered shutter from our room felt at home as soon as I put it next to the window.
The wreath is from Magnolia Market. 

Some cow accoutrements go along with the theme. 

You know I love a good theme.
It's starting to feel very farmhouse.  

A few quilts are draped over the ladder we got from Harp Design Co. 

I'm loving the armoire in here. 

One of my grandmother's old kitchen chairs matches the wood of the wash stand. 

I think Granny would be okay with how it looks now.  

Katie