HOMEY TOUCH | Bringing in a few personal elements will enhance your enjoyment of a summer rental.  May is easily my favorite month. The trees are still that perky shade of green, it is not furiously hot out yet and Labor Day is an age away.  A few of the best things May has to offer are gull's eggs, lily of the valley—in France they traditionally give these flowers as gifts on May 1—and, just three weeks away, Memorial Day.  BXG5KE Polaroid Land Camera Highlander Model 80, circa 1954-57  For many, that weekend is the start of the summer rental. I always find myself decorating rentals or at the very least doing some serious accessorizing.  There are certain things I can't really be without when I am somewhere else for any length of time. Basically, I like to take some of my own china and bed linens and get the place smelling good. I also find it is usually necessary to hide the uglier stuff left by the landlord.  From a scented point of view, it is fun to choose a fragrance for the summer—something different from what you have at home and definitely brighter than what you've been surrounded by all winter.  Mae Mougin Cereal Bowl, $130, Bloom, 631-725-5940  I have to say that I rarely find much new in fragrance that I like (even though it feels like the world and his wife is designing candles).  Diptyque's single fragrances are hard to beat. For the summer, I want Jasmine, which is such a seductive, heady night fragrance (get the large indoor/outdoor candle to last the season). Freesia and Muguet are also delightful.  Gradiated-Stripe Rug in Citron, 9' x12', $299, westelm.com  Large Deep Bowl in Heather, $145, brickettdavda.com  The exterior is a good place to concentrate décor-wise, as (hopefully) most of your time will be spent outside. I love putting dhurrie rugs down in a garden. West Elm has a cotton stripe one that comes in a terribly au courant citron with a gray edge.  It would be fabulous to take to the beach because it's hardwearing and large, and at $300 for a 9-by-12-foot rug, it is a great deal. For something fancier, there is Madeline Weinrib's Persimmon Olivia, divine Blush Pink Kenmare or the Stilton Jellybaby, which I adore. It is battleship gray with blue and citron crosses and looks so vibrant in the bright sunshine.  Entertaining is the other important area to address. I like to take large serving dishes with me to a rental. It irritates me beyond measure when I find tiny bowls and no serving spoons for salads—the summer let is surely all about having friends over for long lunches and al fresco dinners.  ABC Carpet & Home in New York has a wonderful selection of shallow wooden salad bowls and pretty dishes, if you want to add to what you already have. Astier de Villatte is always a favorite and I will accept the mildest excuse to buy more.  Flea markets are a very good place to look for vintage kitchen mixing bowls, which I love to serve from. These sorts of things are not so summer-centric and are always going to be useful. I like a mix of bowls rather than a matching service but I do tend to collect things in palettes.  Blush Pink Kenmare Cotton Rug, 3½' x 5½', $375, madelineweinrib.com  I always lean toward white glazes and creamware mixed with wood and glass. Two of my favorite designers for ceramics are Brickett Davda and Mae Mougin, whose work is sold at Bloom in Sag Harbor, N.Y. Sadly Bloom doesn't have a website, but if you do make it to the store, which I love, you will find all sorts of baskets, bath robes and things you want to kit your place out with there. It is irresistible.  No summer, let alone summer rental, is complete without a Polaroid. If you can find an old Land Camera, they are the best. An instant camera is so much fun to use and, more importantly, it will have the house looking like yours in no time when you prop your pictures up around the place.  Quite frankly, there is nothing more cheerful. The website welovepolaroid.bigcartel.com has masses of vintage cameras; the film you can find on amazon.com. They also make a really great house present if you are going to stay in someone else's rental this summer.  A version of this article appeared May 5, 2012, on page D10 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Feathering a Vacation-Rental Nest.
Good rugs, large bowls and other things a dwelling shouldn't be without, even if it's temporary. Rita Konig makes a shopping list.