Have you visited the Seasonal Simplicity Summer Home Tours? Over 20 blogger friends are sharing their homes this week and today I get to share my home decorated for summer. Be sure to click through all the other tours listed at the bottom, in case you've missed them!

If you've landed here from Judy's place at Life Is Better At Home, welcome! Today I'm opening the doors to our summer home, our country cottage located in Prince Edward County, and sharing easy summer cottage decorating ideas. 

Are you in the process of furnishing your cottage or simply want to bring that relaxed cottage feeling to your space? Furnishing a cottage can be a fun and exciting experience, but it can also be a daunting task. After all, a cottage is a summer space where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and you want it to feel cozy, comfortable, and inviting.

In this blog post, I'll walk you through easy summer cottage decorating ideas. Whether you live by the lake or in a downtown apartment, there's something appealing about bringing summer cottage style to your interiors. Cottage decor imparts a feeling of stress-free, simple living. We could all use more of that these days!

A 2.5 hour drive from our home in Toronto, Wildwood Cottage is where we escape each summer and reconnect to our wildhoods. Read this post for the story behind the name. 

There is not just one way to decorate a cottage but there are certain elements that are common no matter your style. A cottage for me is all about nostalgia and comfort. It's about bringing back that feeling you had when you were 10 years old and the excitement of a whole summer lay ahead of you. It's about laid-back living, bright interiors, simple pleasures, and never being afraid to put your feet up or sit your sandy bottom down.

How can you decorate your house like a cottage? Here's 11 summer cottage decorating ideas to bring to your home:

Cottage summer living is just as much about the outdoors as it is the indoors. One cottage must-have is a place for eating and sitting outside. A covered porch like ours is ideal (no pesky mosquitoes and bees to deal with), with room enough for dining and enjoying the outdoors. 

This four-person outdoor dining table provides just enough room to enjoy informal barbeque dinners or al fresco breakfasts. Depending one the room you have available, you can have just as much fun with a picnic table, rectangular outdoor dining set, or bistro setup for two. 

An outdoor patio furniture set provides a comfy spot to admire the trees, birds, and the at fresh cottage air. Allow for ample seating and different options to accommodate guests. 

A simple place to enjoy a morning coffee and listen to the birds chirping is all you need to truly feel like you're away from it all.

Summer brings with it abundant flowers and plants. Clip a few lilac branches from your yard and bring them inside for quick and free summer cottage decor. Soon, the scent of summer will fill your home and you'll be instantly transported.

You can also bring the outdoors in with floral or botanical accents. These outdoor pillows in a tropical print bring liveliness to the otherwise neutral cream and black scheme.

Add that timeless cottage look by incorporating rustic materials into your decor. Here on our back patio, we've used old red brick for the flooring. It feels great even in bare feet and brings a sense of history to our new-build cottage. Using rustic materials can bring a lived-in, comfortable feeling to your space.

Think of how you can reuse materials. Old windows used as wall art or salvaged barn wood used to make shelving or a table can add the unique character that cottages are known for.

One fun and unexpected way to give your home summer flair? Give it a name! Names can make your home feel out of the ordinary. Use a moniker that has special meaning, has family history, or speaks to the location or style of your home. Saying "I'm headed to Blue Willow Cottage" feels like you're headed to a fancy summer destination moreso than saying "I'm headed home", don't you think?

Cottage style is all about comfort. This is not a place for minimalist modern furnishings or hard edges. So bring on the overstuffed chairs, the bed piled high with vintage throws, and the dozens of supersoft toss cushions. 

Without a doubt, the Reston sleeper sofa from Crate and Barrel was the best choice for our cottage. It's been discontinued but there are other sleeper sofas that have that same sink-in-your-seat feeling. I mean, look at how large and comfortable this sofa is when we pull out the trundle...

It is just made for cottage movie nights. No more fighting about who gets to stretch out. I jokingly told my husband that when I die, I want to be buried in this sofa. It is that comfortable, lol!

Wicker or rattan furniture might currently feel trendy, but these materials have long been used in cottage homes. Not only do these wood and natural products add warm colour but they bring texture to any decorating scheme. 

In our cottage living room, the wood shiplap wall, wicker ottomans and wicker baskets add breezy summer style.

The same can be said of our bistro counter stools. The Serena & Lily Riviera Counter Stools are a modern classic. With bamboo legs and plastic webbing, they feel just right in this cottage kitchen and stand up to the dings of daily use. 

There might be a shift towards more colour in interiors, but when it comes to achieving the cottage look, you need to paint it white. 

From white kitchen cabinetry, to white trimwork and white walls, white is the top choice for your summer cottage home. It's the colour that best reflects summer light and keeps your home feel light and breezy. You can't go wrong with white!

Cottages (at least in normal times) are a magnet for friends and family. Celebrate that feeling by always being at the ready to host guests. That can mean having a table large enough to seat 8, having towels ready for beach day, or even placing hooks at the door to hold market totes or cool weather hoodies.

A summer cottage feels welcoming and open. Think about how you can make your guests feel more at ease through your decor. What small gestures can make them feel relaxed and at home?

There are certain patterns that evoke the ease of summer living. Ticking stripes and gingham plaids are classic summer decor patterns. Furnish your cottage by bringing in these time-tested patterns through pillow covers, your summer bedding, window or wall coverings.

10. Display Your Collections

11. Mix It Up

The most important summer cottage decorating tip? Don't be afraid to mix it up. Cottage style means not taking decor so seriously. If you want to mix your wood tones, your patterns, and your furniture, just do it. 

Place thrifted art found in a country barn alongside glass lamps bought on Wayfair. Turn vases into pitchers, and discarded wood signs into wall art. Cottage style is about summer comfort, memories, and easy living. However you express those things is up to you.