Ep. 255: Breaking Design Rules with Summer Thornton

How to Decorate

We are thrilled to welcome Chicago-based interior designer Summer Thornton to the show. Her work has appeared in Architectural Digest, ELLE Decor, House Beautiful, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, as well as on the recent cover of Veranda. Her style is described as maximalist with a modern sensibility, whimsical textiles, bold art, and surprising patterns. She also wrote a fabulous and fun new book called Wonderland: Adventures in Decorating. We talk all about Summer’s fantastic use of colors, how to break the rules, and how if you really love something it’s never “too much”!

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

• We talk about how much we all love Summer’s coffee table book Wonderland: Adventures in Decorating.
• Why Summer loves using her dining room table as a “stage” when entertaining.
• How does Summer account for having two young children when designing?
• What are Summer’s guidelines for coming up with a color scheme?
• How you can break the color rules of a color palette and make it work.
• Summer’s biggest tip for designing a room is to try to plan it all at once.
• Summer thinks the important investment pieces are fabric and textiles.
• What are some of Summer’s favorite fabrics, colors, and combinations?
• Summer loves using bold and fanciful shapes.
• To layer and “make it work”, Summer really recommends truly loving everything in your space.
• Rules that Summer likes to break like using neutral sofas and the idea of throwaway spaces.
• Summer is designing a beach dream house in Mexico. Follow the progress for Casa Rosada Sayulita!
• Summer’s final tip is to use a larger sample swatch to truly see a color.

Decorating Dilemma:

Hi Deb,

I love the idea of incorporating an older piece into this space. I don’t like rooms that have all painted furniture, so I think the concept of using a wood tone balances this. What I think might be throwing things off is the style of this piece; I think it’s maybe too delicate compared to the other pieces. That said, if you wanted to try to paint it, you could see if that helps it fit in better. Otherwise, I would recommend getting a different piece with a wood stain finish; I do think that works well. The other thing to consider is the styling; I would maybe take the runner off and style the lamp with a more modern shade. If you wanted to try, you could also bring more warm tones in to incorporate with this piece; maybe something like throw pillows and/or a floral fabric. I think you could live it up a little and change that wall color! If you are set on neutral, really soft pink or if you want to stay on the cool side a light lavender is a good place to start dipping your toe into colors.

Good luck, Deb! Pick up Summer’s book for inspiration and send us pics!

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Summer Thornton Design
• Summer Thornton Design on Instagram
• Wonderland: Adventures in Decorating
• Casa Rosada Sayulita
• “The Blue Room” - Lakeshore Drive Co-Op
• Veranda May/June issue
• Mary Blair
• Farrow & Ball Paint Colors