Summer means light, colorful, easy, and breezy, and that’s true whether it’s about weekend plans, clothing, or decorating your home. That’s why when it comes to summer fabrics for interior and exterior design, the trend this season is moving away from bland neutrals and toward embellished designs and colorful fabrics in pretty prints, including ones that evoke the natural world and bring the outside inside. “We still see a lot of white slipcovers.
It’s classic and never goes out of style,” says Daniel Zimman. “But this season people are being more adventurous with their colors, and they’re bringing in blushes and pinks and greens and blues.” Zimman would know. He’s the fourth-generation owner of Zimman’s in Lynn, which is not only the largest fabric store on the North Shore but also the largest resource for in-stock fabric in the United States, with two floors of 50,000 in-stock fabrics, as well as two floors of furnishings and designers who can help shoppers navigate it all.
The store also offers in-house services for reupholstery and drapery. “It’s a one-stop shop,” Zimman says. “together we find your perfect fabric, and Zimman’s does the rest—measure, fabricate, install, bringing your vision to reality.”
Color Makes a Comeback
For summer fabrics, the first thing to consider is lightness, both in materials and patterns. Instead of heavier materials like wool, bouclé, and mohair that warm up chillier months, decorating for summer means light, breathable, airy fabrics like linen and cotton, as well as coated cotton fabrics that are durable for outdoor living and entertaining. When it comes to color, designers are taking cues from the outdoors this summer season. Instead of the gray and beige neutrals that dominated color palettes for so long, woodsy lake or mountain homes might draw on leafy green foliage for inspiration, while cottages bring ocean blues inside.
For those who want something bolder and more adventurous, jewel tones are also making a summertime splash. Zimman pointed to one client who recently paired a deep emerald-green wall with cotton drapes printed with lush green fern fronds, combining two trends in one. Other prints are hot this summer, too, like delicate, English garden–style botanical prints in pretty pinks, soft greens, and dusty blues; classic French country styles; and patterns like stripes, checks, gingham, and block prints. “Those are timeless styles that people love to decorate with,” Zimman says.
Have a Seat
When summertime blurs the line between indoor and outdoor living, fabrics that can stand up to sun, sand, surf, and elements are a great way to lengthen the life of your furniture. They also look better than ever, thanks to indoor-outdoor fabrics that have evolved considerably in recent years.
Instead of being stiff to the touch and limited to solids and stripes, today’s indoor-outdoor fabrics are soft and pliable and come in a wide variety of patterns and textures, all using durable, 100 percent acrylic dyed yarn, Zimman says. “These fabrics are made for outdoors,” Zimman says, but they come in beautiful designs like houndstooth, flamestitch, and chevrons “that people could put on their formal living room sofa.”
Window Dressing
Summer drapery tends to favor a lot of doublewide linen sheers, which are especially popular on sliding doors to make the transition from indoors to outdoors bright, airy, and seamless. However, color, prints, and decorating detailing rule when it comes to drapery this summer, too.
“I’m seeing a lot of this trend with a lot of traditional prints that are coming back in vogue,” Zimman says, such as archival tapestry prints. But they’re back with a modern twist. Instead of traditional tapestries that are heavy, woven, and expensive, new options digitally print archival tapestry designs onto cotton or linen fabrics, offering looks that are lighter, more accessible, and less pricey.
Look for natural or botanical scenes with details like trees, peacocks, and antelopes that are mirror images of each other. Other fabric detailing is popular this summer, too, including embroidery on linen sheers.
“For a while it was all solids, so it’s nice to see some of the embroidery embellishments on the linen,” Zimman says. Those bright details also extend to other accessories, like accent pillows, tablecloths, and napkins that can easily make the transition between indoors and outdoors during the summer months. It’s all part of a light and cheerful return to color that’s welcome after a long stretch of neutrals, “which is nice to see,” Zimman says.