One of the things that I've always loved about the change of seasons outside, is the prompting for the change of seasons inside. We each do this in our own way, whether by putting up garlands and Christmas trees in December, or by switching out velvet pillows for linen in the summer.

When I moved into my apartment, I knew that the living and dining rooms would get a summer switch up - nothing crazy, just a shift to more color, and pattern and a more playful attitude. Today being the first day of Spring, I started to lay the frame work for this mini-shift, at least in my mind.

A room I've long admired for this type of change is the living room of decorator Suzanne Rheinstein at her California home. In the winter months, marked only by the calendar in southern California, Suzanne's living room sports upholstered pieces in velvet, and jacquard stripes.
In the summer, Suzanne pulls out the glacial green and white stripe slipcovers, which are matched to every piece of furniture in the living room:

And she recently had a second set of slips made for the living room from her new fabric line:

It didn't take a full tilt redecoration of the space to get a completely different look. By simply using different fabrics on the furniture, she was able to lighten the mood and formality of her winter look. Another California designer who uses slipcovers to change her interiors with the seasons is Penelope Bianchi.

Her home in Montecito, California is nothing short of extraordinary....