How to Make Your Living Room Feel Like a Holiday Villa This Summer
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This Post is all about how to make your living room feel like a holiday villa.
Cast your mind back to the last time you walked into a holiday villa or a really lovely hotel room. That feeling. Light, airy, uncluttered. Everything just feels considered without being overdone. Nothing is fighting for your attention. It just feels like a proper exhale.
Here’s the thing mi darlin. That feeling isn’t reserved just for holidays, because you can absolutely make your living room feel like a holiday villa right here at home this summer. And you don’t need to redecorate or spend a fortune to do it. My years working in interiors and furniture taught me that the difference between a room that feels like a retreat and one that just feels like a room usually comes down to a handful of simple things done well.
Here’s exactly what those things are.
Start with a simple swap that makes an immediate difference. Swap out any heavy or dark cushion covers for linen or cotton ones in warm natural tones. Cream, soft white, warm sand. I picked up a Set of two Linen cushions covers with a nice trim and the difference to the whole feel of my sofa was instant. Light, breathable fabric.
Step 1: Let the Light In
This is the single biggest thing you can do and it costs nothing. Natural light is everything in a room that feels like a holiday escape. Villas and hotels lean into it completely. Big windows, sheer curtains, nothing blocking the flow.
If you have heavy curtains, swap them out for the summer or tie them back fully during the day. If you haven’t got sheer panels, these Full length Linen look voiles from a amazon loosely lets the light filter through without sacrificing any privacy.
Open your windows in the morning and let the air move through the room. It sounds obvious but it genuinely changes how a space feels. Air and light together are the quickest way to make your living room feel like a holiday without spending a penny.
Step 2: Strip It Back
You know why holiday rooms feel spacious? it’s because they aren’t full of stuff. That’s it. That’s the secret.
Go around your living room and remove anything that doesn’t need to be there, like the pile of post on the side table. The three remote controls dotted around the sofa and all the other things you meant to put away. It’s the random bits and pieces that accumulate on every surface over time.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to minimise permanently. Just clear the surfaces for summer, put things in a Storage Basket, a drawer or another room. Immediately your space will breathe differently.
From my time selling furniture and flooring I can tell you that the number one thing that stops a room feeling luxurious is clutter. It’s not the furniture or the flooring, it’s all the stuff that sits on top of it all.
Step 3: Bring In Natural Texture
Most holiday villas have a texture language such as Rattan, wicker, linen, jute, terracotta and wood. These are the natural materials that feel warm and grounded rather than plasticky or over-produced.
You don’t need to buy new furniture. You can just bring in texture through smaller things, like a jute rug layered over your existing floor. A Rattan tray on the coffee table. A wicker basket for throws or magazines. A terracotta pot with a trailing plant.
A Large jute rug is genuinely one of the best summer investments for your living room. It will instantly ground the space with that natural holiday texture and they work with almost any existing colour scheme. There a various sizes available and the difference it will make to how your whole room feels will be remarkable. I always say from my flooring background that the right rug can completely transform a space without changing a single other thing in it.
Step 4: Go Green
Plants. You can use lots of them but I think just one or two well-placed ones in wicker baskets look lovely.
For a villa feel go big and leafy, like a monstera, a bird of paradise or a large peace lily. Just one statement plant in a corner does more for the holiday feel of a room than a dozen small ones dotted around.
I found this set of 3 Wicker baskets for plants in different sizes and they work brilliantly for the holiday villa look we are going for here
Holiday villas in warm climates are always full of lush greenery. It’s part of what makes them feel alive and effortless. You can recreate that same energy at home with the right plants in the right spots.
If you want to know which plants create the most peaceful and luxurious atmosphere at home, this post has some brilliant options that work just as well in summer.
Step 5: Rethink Your Scent and Sound
Close your eyes in a holiday villa and what do you notice. The air smells different. There’s often gentle sound. Music or the sound of the outdoors coming in.
Working in the hotel trade, I know that scent is one of the most powerful and yet underused tools in homes for changing how a space feels. A hotel will always have a signature smell and they do it for a reason- because it immediately shifts the atmosphere. A good diffuser or a room spray with notes of rose, fig, lemon, jasmine or fresh linen immediately creates this shift.
I love this Rose Scented Room Spray for summer, also available in other scents, one spritz genuinely makes your living room smell like somewhere you’d pay good money to stay. It’s one of those small things that consistently makes people comment when they walk into a room.
For sound, put a summer playlist on low rather than having the TV on in the background. Acoustic, jazz, bossa nova. Anything that feels warm and unhurried. Your brain picks up on it more than you’d think.
Step 6: Add One Holiday Statement Piece
Every great holiday room has one thing that anchors the whole space. One piece that makes you look twice. It doesn’t have to be expensive.
A rattan or woven chair in a corner. A Large ceramic vase with pampas grass or dried flowers. A large framed print of somewhere you love or an abstract that feels warm and summery. A low coffee table with a stack of beautiful books and a candle.
Just pick one and style it well then everything else will support it rather than competing with it.
If you’re going to invest in one piece this summer, a Rattan accent chair is the one I’d point you towards every single time. It brings texture, warmth and that unmistakable holiday villa feel in one piece and it will genuinely change the whole energy of your living room. Put it by a window with a plant alongside it and a throw over the arm and that corner becomes the best seat in the house.
For more ideas on making every room in your home feel like a permanent retreat, this post is worth a read alongside this one.
And if you want the full summer staycation experience beyond just your living room, here’s how to pull it all together properly.
For more interior design inspiration on the holiday villa aesthetic, this guide from Homes and Gardens on Mediterranean interior style is a brilliant visual reference to have alongside these tips.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make my living room feel like a holiday villa?
To make your living room feel like a holiday, start by maximising natural light with sheer curtains or tied-back drapes. Clear surfaces of clutter, bring in natural textures like jute, rattan and linen and add one or two large leafy plants. A good room scent and a warm ambient playlist finish the job. None of it needs to cost much and the impact is immediate.
What colours make a living room feel like a holiday?
Warm whites, soft creams, sandy neutrals and terracotta tones all evoke that holiday villa feeling. Add accents of warm green from plants and natural wood tones. Avoid anything too cool, dark or grey if you want that sun-soaked Mediterranean feel.
How can I make my home feel like a staycation this summer?
Beyond the living room, think about every sensory element. Scent, sound, light, texture and temperature all contribute to that holiday feeling at home. Small intentional changes in each room add up to a whole house that genuinely feels like somewhere you’d choose to be. Start with the living room and work outwards.
What is the holiday villa interior style?
The holiday villa interior style is characterised by natural materials, warm neutral tones, abundant natural light, lush greenery, uncluttered surfaces and a relaxed effortless feel. It prioritises comfort and atmosphere over perfection. Think linen, rattan, terracotta, wood and plants. Warm, light and lived-in rather than showroom perfect.
Well go on then mi darlin, get those curtains tied back and that living room feeling like the villa you deserve. It’s easier than you think. Start it today.
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