The Decor You Need To Nail The Summer Camp Aesthetic In Your Home

Swaths of log cabins along luscious green hills, the smell of campfire, and sun-kissed skin earned by long days at the lake. These glimpses of summer camp nostalgia can transport you back to a simpler time, when you looked forward to arts and crafts and gathering around a fire. But even if you didn't spend your summer days at camp, it's still easy to see why you would be drawn to the warm and whimsical summer camp decor aesthetic. When it comes to decor, sweet childhood wistfulness doesn't have to live on through memories alone. You can capture the same essence of a carefree summer in your home with certain styling choices. Think plaid and gingham fabrics, sporting equipment filling up the walls, and vintage crate-style furniture. 

With tasteful and modern tweaks, these key decor choices can bring a cozy atmosphere to your home. For example, you may consider vintage furniture, rustic accents, natural materials, and mismatched patterns to mimic nostalgia. Playing with color, layering textures, and shopping secondhand are also integral to the summer camp trend. To really embody the visual interest, nailing the summer camp aesthetic means allowing your furniture pieces, wallpaper, and other decor choices to be a reflection of youthfulness and wonder, and letting your inner child come out to play.

When you think of summer camp, vintage sofas, ladder bunkbeds, and craft desks may come to mind. These can also be integrated in your home by thrifting campy crate-style chairs and adorning bookshelves and end tables with trailing plants. Natural elements, such as rattan bookshelves, rustic coffee tables, and terracotta vases, are options for a more sophisticated route. However, if you lean more toward the authentic and eccentric vibe, you may want to play with around with charming vintage bookcases or funky rugs and art tables to accentuate the mismatched vibes of summer camp decor. You can even use outdoor elements to DIY decor.

The whimsical interior invites warmth and childlike wonder, and a summer camp look should appear lived in, so keeping everyday items out are a reflection of that. Board games and sporting equipment, for example, might double as decor by livening up a coffee table as centerpieces or greeting guests at tables. Hanging oars or camp tapestries can be a quirky addition to the summer camp charm. You may consider decorating a corner console by decking it out with fun secondhand compasses, lanterns, and vintage record players.

More goes into embracing summer camp vibes beyond the furniture pieces and decor choices; it also involves the color scheme of each room. The vibe of this aesthetic relies on the cohesive and intentional use of bringing the outdoors inside. That means earth tones — like deep, luscious greens and natural browns, along with other muted colors — can be a great palette to get started with. Consider botanical or outdoorsy small-scale wallpaper, or go with a white base and allow hanging posters and signal flags adorning your walls to have the spotlight.

You can also experiment with textures, such as grasscloth peel-and-stick wallpaper for a modern vibe or landscape or animal prints if you're going for an eccentric, boho feel. Beyond fabrics, play around with other textures like this stylish tile hack that adds a pop of gingham to kitchens, bedrooms, or bathrooms. Rustic panelling mimics the cabin elements of camp, and pops of color or patterns give a fresh, sophisticated look to a laid-back space.