'Hot' Ideas: Bachman's Summer Idea House

Get excited for a look at Bachman's Summer Idea House!  This house takes a fresh approach to casual living with it's "New Naturals Celebrate the Outdoors" theme.

Bachman's is a home and garden store here in the Twin Cities.  They set up their Idea House 4 times a year with themes for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.  For additional background info on Bachman's Idea house click on this link and review my first post about Bachman's.  Also, click these links to see their Spring or Holiday Idea Houses.  

Now, let's get to it! 
We'll start with my favorite part of this season's Idea House- the stunning outdoor spaces! 
The best part of summer is being outside and they didn't disappoint with their fresh and fun outdoor ideas.

This space called 'The Nook' was set up as an outdoor reading and writing room.
Could you imagine a more soothing and inspiring place to blog in?

These straw hats along the window shade add charm to the space.

These vintage word plates were used to create a wall poem. Also, they used salvaged corbels and wire to create a shelf.

The typewriter, jars, and birdcage ooze with a vintage feel atop the desk.

The letter 'Z' was cut out using vintage ceiling tiles.  Love the numbered pillow as well (we have a few like them at home too).

This step ladder was used as a bookshelf. The addition of the clip on lights was simply illuminating (get it?). Oh I'm a nerd.

Here is a peek at the outside of 'The Nook' Can you believe all that design fits in there?

Along the side of 'The Nook' were cute birdbaths and wreaths created from clay pots.

The backside is decorated with garden hose and bundt pans turned into flowers.

The next outdoor space called 'Garden Party' was equally as sweet.  

They used a vintage bed frame with mismatched chairs to create an amazing dining area.  How fun is that?!? The bed frame posts are placed in large clay flower pots as a secure and decorative base.

Here on the table they used seed packets as napkin/ utensil holders, terra cotta saucers as chargers, vintage watering cans as vases, mason jars as candle holders, and lotus votive holders planted in terra cotta pots.

It looks just perfect for an afternoon or evening summer celebration.

Over in the Garage they had a birthday party set up. 

Here you can see the garland and wall collage made from colorful paper bags and plates.

I just love the simple vintage booth with benches along the walls.

A Ferris wheel was used for candy and plants.  Pop cans were also used as floral vases.

Now let's head inside for a peek at how they decorated the interior for summer.

Front Porch

This glass table was held up using using a garden fence below.

 

I just loved the vintage rake used as a margarita/ wine glass holder, just fun and summer-y.

Plants stored in vintage lockers was fun and unexpected.

Here they used hay hooks as a decorative ceiling hanger.

Dining Room
This great chandelier was made out of garden fence.

The table settings included a plastic glove mold utensil holder (sadly it's not visible in this picture), bracelet napkin rings, salvaged wood candle trays, silk leaves as decor, and scarves with broaches for chair decor.

The buffet had an adorable beverage set up with different water and lemonade mixtures- perfect summer refreshment!

The wall decor was made from mirrored cake pans and salvaged metal fence pieces.  It was gorgeous!  The wine rack/ table was made from salvaged wood.

Living Room
The wall collage was made from mounted vintage shutters.  I loved they way they layered them perfectly. It even makes me wonder if we have any of those hiding out in the basement or garage.....

This great coffee table was made from salvaged scrap wood and metal fencing. The summer idea house really oozes with DIY spirit (probably because it's finally nice enough to go outside in Minnesota).

I just loved the side tables but I think they may have been vintage reproductions. Forgot to get more info on these, but I love that industrial feel.

Placemats were used as wallpaper above the fireplace.  The mirror frame was made from wood shims and a tree stump was used as plant stand in the hearth. Funny, I think there are a few extra stumps in my neighborhood since last Sunday.

This side table was a vintage hospital tray.

How cute is this vintage file cabinet as a plant stand?

The Sunroom

Here they used another garden fence chandelier.

My favorite part of this room were the salvaged pipe and wood display shelves.

The Kitchen
Love the vintage garden fence turned wall mounted pot rack!

The shelving and jars look so lovely with it.

The always do something fun with the light fixture in the kitchen.  I thought the wooden spoons chandelier was delightful.

This vintage shopping cart was used as pot and utensil storage. Love the addition of the burlap to line the cart basket.

They tied together the 'strawberry' color scheme for the kitchen with green glasses and pops of red textiles.

The Lower Level Bathroom
Wood basket tops were used as wall decor.

This galvanized bin was mounted to the wall for storage.  Also, it is a small detail, but I thought the twine around the toilet paper was so cute!

This clothesline used as a towel holder was also so sweet and charming.

Girl's Bedroom
Different from the Spring Idea House, they seemed to age up the girl's room to maybe a Tween-age girl?  They had even created a daybed from garden fencing.

I loved how they used a vintage window frame for the light fixture

The desk was also made from garden fencing.  The wall decor by the desk included flowers made from cork board mats, trivets, coasters and tape measurers.

Boy's Bedroom
I have to say, the best boy's room I have ever seen was the Spring Idea house.  Again, I think they were age-ing up the boy's and girl's rooms this year.  The theme in this room was skateboarding.  I honestly didn't care for it all that much mostly because this theme lacks vintage style, so I couldn't connect with it all that well (and I am not a boy, ha).  One neat thing was the headboard made from scrap wood and metal.

The wall shelves made from skateboards were fun too along with the skater chalkboard decal.

Master Bedroom
The summer theme here was clear with the headboard made from oars and paddles.  Also, it is hard to see in this picture, but the nightstands were made from clothes-drying racks.

I loved this vintage truck dolly used as a magazine rack.

They used a decorative piece of salvaged wood for scarf and jewelry storage.

Media Room
I thought this was fun and different this time around.  Normally the spare room upstairs is turned into a craft room, but this time it was a Media Room- perfect for entertainment on rainy summer days or nights.  Note in this photo the lamp shade made from photo film and curtain valences made from film reels.

I loved this vintage shelving unit with old bingo cards used for storage.

Vintage lockers and a salvaged wood barn door were turned into the media unit.  Slide carousels were turned into mirrors.

The coffee table was made out of a game table.

Here is a closer look on the chair cushion, it was made from a grain sack, loved it!

Upper Level Bathroom
This photo holder was made from an old garden trellis, ceiling tin and magnet clothespins.

I thought this was hilarious and adorable.  They used a vintage frame around the toilet paper and added the letters 'TP' above it.  How fun!?!

The towel holders embraced the same idea, using wood picture frames, hooks and vintage hangers.

So that's it!  What did you think?  One thing I noticed was how open and clear the spaces seemed in comparison to their Holiday Idea House.  You could tell they intended to make the interiors feel more cozy for the colder months and more open in the warmer months.  I also think they paid more attention to the outdoor spaces this time since that is where most of us prefer to spend our time in the summer.
So, did you get tons of fun new ideas? 

I was so happy to get a chance to see Bachman's Idea House over the weekend, it was a nice way to get back to thinking about normal things after the tornado (which I promise to stop talking about once our house is back to normal).

Maybe I can set up a cute little outdoor party this summer once our house is put back together?  Thanks for stopping by to check out the Idea House!

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PLEASE NOTE: In case you didn't read the top of the post, I just want to reiterate that this IS NOT OUR HOUSE and I am not employed or affiliated with Bachman's in any way (which means I did not decorate the rooms shown). I am a HUGE fan of the Ideas House and love sharing it as long as they allow people take photographs when they visit. It seems some people have been confused about that and I would NEVER want to take credit for something I did not work on. There, I feel better now :)

Hope you found some inspiration, thanks for stopping by!