Late Summer at Home

There is something special about the weeks when summer begins to soften.

The days are still warm. The garden is still full. Tomatoes are ripening, flowers are spilling out of their pots, and there is plenty of summer left to enjoy.

But something has begun to change.

The light comes through the windows at a slightly different angle. Evenings arrive a little earlier. The air occasionally carries that first hint that another season is waiting just around the corner.

I love this time of year.

Late summer isn't quite summer and it certainly isn't fall. It sits beautifully somewhere in between, and I don't think we need to rush it.

Let Summer Linger

By late August, it can be tempting to start thinking about pumpkins, heavy blankets and everything autumn.

But I'm never quite ready to pack summer away that quickly.

There are still flowers to cut for the table. There are still evenings for sitting outside. There are still meals that taste better eaten on the patio with the windows and doors wide open.

Instead of decorating for the next season, I like the idea of simply noticing the one we're still in.

Bring some flowers in from the garden.

Fill a bowl with peaches, tomatoes or whatever looks beautiful at the market.

Open the windows in the morning.

Light a candle when the sun begins to disappear.

Sometimes changing the feeling of a home doesn't require changing very much at all.

Bring the Garden Inside

This may be my favorite part of late summer.

The garden has become a little wild by now.

Flowers aren't standing quite as perfectly as they did earlier in the season. Herbs have grown larger than expected. Some plants are beginning to fade while others seem determined to put on one final show.

Cut some of it and bring it inside.

And don't worry about creating the perfect arrangement.

A handful of zinnias or gerbera daisies in a simple glass vase can be enough to completely change a room.

A few branches clipped from the yard can be just as beautiful.

Late-summer arrangements should feel a little loose and imperfect — just like the garden itself.

Make Small Changes

This isn't the moment for completely changing the house.

Instead, make little shifts.

Move a favorite chair closer to a window.

Change the flowers on the table.

Bring out a pottery bowl you haven't used in a while.

Add a lightweight throw to the sofa for cooler evenings.

Maybe rearrange a few books or move something from one room to another.

Small changes have a funny way of making familiar rooms feel new again.

Enjoy the In-Between

We spend so much of life looking toward what's next.

The next holiday.

The next trip.

The next season.

But late summer is a lovely reminder that we don't always have to hurry forward.

There is something wonderful about a season that asks almost nothing from us.

Dinner can still be simple.

The doors can still stay open.

Flowers can still come straight from the garden.

And there is still time to sit outside with something cold to drink and watch the light disappear.

Fall will arrive soon enough.

For now, I think I'll leave the windows open a little longer.

There is still plenty of summer left at the table.

From the Table

Don't rush into the next season so quickly that you miss the beauty of the one you're still in.