Design Unscripted

☀️ How to Refresh Your Home for Summer: Light, Airy, Effortless Design

• Manuella Moreira • Season 1 • Episode 9

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In this episode of Design Unscripted, award-winning interior designer Manuella Moreira shares how to refresh your home for summer with effortless elegance. Learn practical and elevated summer design tips—from lightening your materials and updating your color palette to incorporating natural textures, seasonal florals, and outdoor styling ideas.

Whether you're redesigning a full space or making thoughtful updates, you'll discover how to create a home that feels light, airy, and aligned with the slower rhythm of summer. Manuella walks through everything from swapping rugs and drapery to curating your entryway, styling outdoor spaces, and choosing scents that set the mood.

You’ll learn:

  • The best materials to use for summer interiors
  • How to bring the outdoors in with flowers, herbs, and fresh textures
  • Easy styling ideas for coffee tables, bar trays, and entryways
  • Tips for designing outdoor spaces that feel intentional and inviting
  • How to use color and negative space to create calm and ease

If you're craving a seasonal shift in your home that feels as good as it looks, this episode is for you.

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube and subscribe to the channel for more interior design inspiration, styling tips, and behind-the-scenes insights from Manuella Moreira.

📲 Follow Manuella on Instagram @manuellamoreirainteriors for daily design ideas, project reveals, and exclusive peeks into her creative process.

Your summer home transformation starts here.

There’s a certain magic to summer.
Everything feels lighter. Time expands. The light shifts. Even our routines soften. So it only makes sense that our homes shift with it.

Welcome back to Design Unscripted. I’m Manuella Moreira, and today we’re designing for the season we wait all year for—summer.

In this episode, we’re exploring how to create spaces that feel light, airy, and effortless—using seasonal textures, natural elements, curated color, and styling that invites ease.

Whether you're redesigning an entire space or simply making a few thoughtful updates, these ideas will help you capture the feeling of summer.

Let’s start with what sets the tone the moment you enter a room—texture.

Section 1: Lighten the Layers

Summer is the perfect time to reassess your materials.
Think about your space right now. Is it still holding onto visual or physical weight from the colder seasons? Heavy throws, dense fabrics, thick rugs? These might feel cozy in winter, but they can weigh a space down once the temperature rises and the light shifts.

So let’s start with textiles. Swap out wool and velvet for materials like washed linen, cotton, or lightweight cashmere blends. Introduce lighter textures on pillows, window treatments, and soft accents—like breezy linen drapes that move with the air or crisp cotton cushions that feel cool to the touch. Even subtle changes like a lightweight throw or a sheer layered drapery panel can completely shift the energy of a room.

One of the easiest tricks that makes a big impact is swapping out rugs. A heavy wool or thick rug can visually and physically anchor a room in colder months—but come summer, it can feel too dense, too warm, too heavy. Try rolling it up and replacing it with something lighter—like a flatwoven cotton, jute, or sisal rug. These natural textures not only feel cooler under your feet, but they instantly shift the mood of the space. They bring in a sense of effortlessness, a laid-back elegance that mirrors the season. It’s a simple change that creates breathing room—both visually and energetically.

When your materials feel lighter, your space starts to feel more open—more alive. But texture is just one part of the shift. To fully embrace summer at home, you don’t just lighten what’s inside—you start bringing the outside in.

Let’s talk about how nature—through florals, scent, and natural elements—can completely transform the mood of your space.

Section 2: Bring the Outside In

Summer and nature go hand-in-hand. So bring that energy indoors.

Fresh flowers are an obvious starting point, but don’t just think in terms of bouquets. Think sculptural. Think seasonal. An oversized vessel filled with tall branches. A single bloom in a bud vase on a bathroom counter. Even clippings from your backyard—hydrangea leaves, citrus stems, or wildflowers—can feel elevated with the right styling.

Fragrance has a quiet power—it sets the mood before you even realize it. A fresh candle in the entryway, a bowl of lemons, limes, or oranges on the kitchen counter, a few sprigs of eucalyptus in the bathroom—these subtle layers bring the essence of summer indoors.

In my own home, I lean into scents that feel clean and expansive this time of year. I love mint, grapefruit, and coconut—scents that make your home feel like a vacation spot. They bring in that relaxed, sun-drenched energy that makes everything feel just a little lighter.

When your home begins to feel lighter and more connected to nature, it creates space—not just physically, but emotionally. The next layer is color.

Section 3: A Breath of Color

In summer, boldness has its place—it just needs to be balanced. A vibrant artwork, a saturated throw pillow, a stack of colorful books, or even a striking floral arrangement can add a jolt of energy to a room. These pops of color don’t compete with the space—they complement it. The key is knowing where to pause and where to play.

This introduces color in a way that feels intentional, elevated, and aligned with the rhythm of the season.

Section 4: Curate for Ease

Summer invites us to slow down—and our homes should reflect that.

Instead of overstyling every corner, start editing. Reassess what’s on display. Leave a few shelves open. Clear the visual noise. There’s a certain kind of luxury in negative space—it lets your eye rest and your mind exhale.

Coffee tables are a perfect example. Edit them back to just what feels intentional: a stack of summer reads, a sculptural object, a vase with a single flowering branch. That quiet restraint creates more presence—and more impact—than a table packed with objects ever could.

Styling for summer is less about filling space and more about letting it be.

But curating for ease isn’t just visual—it’s practical too. Think about how you live this time of year. Are you hosting friends more often? Keep a bar tray styled and ready with glassware, linen cocktail napkins, and a favorite summer drink recipe close by. Do you tend to come and go throughout the day?

Even the smallest routines can be elevated. A large woven basket in the entry for hats, sandals, and beach bags. A bowl of fresh citrus on the counter. A simple tray by the door for keys and sunglasses. A lightweight throw within reach for breezy evenings on the patio. These small gestures quietly support your day while adding texture, warmth, and rhythm to the home.

Summer ease is about flow. When your home supports the way you live—when beauty and function align—everything feels just a little more effortless.

And that sense of ease doesn’t have to end at your front door. Outdoor spaces—no matter how small—deserve the same attention and intention. Let’s step outside and talk about how to design exterior spaces that feel just as thoughtful, relaxed, and elevated as the rooms inside.

Section 5: Outdoor Spaces that Feel Effortless

If you have an outdoor area—a patio, balcony, backyard, or even a small terrace—it’s time to treat it like a real room. Not an afterthought, but a true extension of your home.

But here’s the key: let the outdoors speak. Let the sky, the breeze, the shifting shadows do the heavy lifting. Your role is to support that natural beauty—not compete with it.

Choose furnishings that are low-profile and quietly refined with neutral-toned cushions. Choose frames in teak, woven rattan, or powder-coated metal. Materials that weather well, both literally and aesthetically. These textures ground the space without overpowering it and help the area blend seamlessly into its surroundings.

You don’t need much to make an impact. A teak bench layered with throw pillows. A lightweight linen or throw for cooler evenings. A pair of lanterns casting a soft, ambient glow. The goal is to create a space that feels open and unforced—where the design fades into the background and the atmosphere takes center stage.

And while beauty matters, function matters too. Use an outdoor rug to define the space and create visual warmth under your feet. Choose lighting that feels intentional and subtle—solar-powered lanterns or sculptural candle holders that create intimacy without distraction. And always include something fresh—a potted citrus tree, a rosemary plant, or a vessel filled with fresh herbs. These elements breathe life into the space and reinforce that connection to nature.

Your outdoor space should feel like an invitation. A place you want to linger in. A place that reflects the calm, clarity, and ease of summer itself—elevated, effortless, and fully alive.

Closing

Designing for summer isn’t about chasing trends or making drastic changes. It’s about tuning in—lightening your materials, freshening your palette, inviting the outdoors in, and curating with calm.

When you let your space reflect the season, it starts to reflect you—how you want to live, feel, and move through the day.

It’s a shift that’s both subtle and powerful. The textures you choose, the way light filters through your drapes, a natural element that breathes life into the room—these small details shape your daily experience. They don’t just make a space more beautiful. They make it feel intentional.

Summer design isn’t loud. It’s quiet, grounded, and alive. When your home aligns with the rhythm of the season, it becomes more than a backdrop—it becomes a support system for the life you want to lead.

So whether it’s a new rug, a bowl of citrus, or simply rearranging what you already have, lean into the idea that your home can evolve with you—and for you.

If this episode inspired you to refresh your space for summer, I’d love to hear what you’re doing—share it with me on Instagram @manuellamoreirainteriors or send me an email.

And if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and send it to someone who’s ready for their summer home moment.

And whether you’re listening or watching, thank you so much for being here. See you next time.