6 Tips From ‘Survivor’ Winner and Interior Design Expert Kim Wolfe to Style Your Home for Summer

Memorial Day weekend has finally arrived, and summer is officially underway. As the days get warmer, it’s time to pack up those heavy throw blankets and brighten your home with light linens and seasonal accents.

Known for transforming everyday spaces into elevated environments, Survivor: One World winner Kim Wolfe — who teamed up with online retailer Wayfair for a curated Americana edit to help you prepare your home for your next summer barbecue — exclusively sits down with First For Women to share her favorite tips and tricks.

Below, Wolfe proves that incorporating a patriotic touch for Fourth of July is a piece of cake and that elevating your interior on a budget is effortless and easy. Scroll down for more.

Adopt the Americana color palette.

“I really do love this Americana palette,” says Wolfe, explaining it usually consists of “washed denims” and “lots of white and creams.”

Wolfe also emphasizes that you shouldn’t be afraid of reds. “I do love a good faded red,” she says. “I know red gets a bad rap, but there is something very summery about that sun-faded terracotta [tone], which is a friend of red.”

Incorporate a patriotic touch without going overboard.

“One of the things I love to do is I have these acrylic frames throughout the house, and I’ll find vintage postcards or greeting cards — whether it’s Easter or Fourth of July — that have [themed] imagery,” Wolfe explains. “I layer them in with some of the stuff on my bookcases.”

Wolfe also advises that “a fresh set of umbrellas on the patio” is a good idea for a seasonal touch. Plus, she likes to switch up her glassware throughout the year. “I use a lot of umbers in the fall and winter,” she says, “and then in the summer I love to bring out the blues.”

Tablecloths offer a high-impact update for a low cost.

“I think tablecloths are an easy and affordable way to bring in a big, fun, fresh, funky pattern,” she says, adding that there are some great melamine or paper plates with blue and white designs that “can set a really great scene without breaking the bank.”

Galvanized beverage tubs are summer essentials.

“For me, it’s all about the ice chests and the drink tubs and making sure that the drinks are super cold,” Wolfe says when it comes to hosting your next summer get-together.

Lawn games, like a vintage croquet or badminton set, are also great to have outside during the summer season. As for Wolfe’s family, she admits, “We’re cornhole people!”

Elevate your space one special item at a time.

“I love collecting things year after year,” Wolfe says. “Over time, as I’m now 43, I have a pretty good collection of things I love. I try not to buy throwaways. So if I can just invest in one cool piece that I could use year after year — and I can add to that over the years — before you know it, you have this heirloom collection of things for the holiday that you’re excited to put out.”

Plus, she adds, each piece is “important to you” and holds really special memories.

Pillows are an affordable swap to usher in the summer season.

“I think throw pillows are always fantastic, indoor and outdoor,” says Wolfe. “I also think — depending on what you spend on rugs — you can do some really reasonable rugs that can completely shift the vibe of a room, and I love these monotone, saturated, vibrant colors where you could do a terracotta or a wasabi green or a faded blue.”