Nicole Miller Pillow/CB2 Acrylic Tray Table/Target Welcome Mat/Ikea Side Table/IKEA Lantern/IKEA Candle/Etsy Detroit Print/Amazon Pillows/IKEA Glass/IKEA Carafe

Not only are we moving to a new city, but we are also moving into our first ever house together. It’s been strictly apartment living for both of us ever since we moved out of our parents’ homes, so renting our first house together and having the added space will be nice. I recently made a trip to my local IKEA to pick up a few things for the new place and some items to update our home decor, and it inspired me to create a little collage of my favorite home items for summer. Below are my home decor essentials for summer.

• Floral Pillow: I am really into these bright and colorful, floral pillows as of late. They are so inexpensive and really brighten up a room. I love this option from TJ Maxx for adding some color to our dark couch.
• Acrylic Bar Cart: In the summer, it’s all about the ice cold Moscow mules and fruity cocktails (mock-tails for me this summer…Womp womp), so a bar cart is a great thing to have to house all the necessities for an impromptu cocktail/mocktail hour. I have one that I got at Home Goods years ago that we didn’t have room for in our little apartment, and I’m excited to break it out of storage for the new house. This CB2 cart is pretty similar.
• Summery Welcome Mat: These things are so cheap and never last more than one season anyways, so why not get a really fun, ultra-summery print? I’ve been into anything cactus print lately, so of course this one was my favorite.
• White End Table: Because I moved into Nate’s apartment when we got engaged, I didn’t bring hardly any of my furniture. I have a white IKEA couch from my previous apartment and I’m so excited to bring it to the new place to create a little sitting area. I just needed to add a little end table to hold a book or a glass of wine. I like the white and bright look for summer, so this white end table from IKEA is the perfect affordable pairing.
• Lantern: I got a couple of these lanterns last summer to decorate our wedding reception space, and I’m planning on using them as outdoor decor this summer. A candlelit patio makes for a relaxing mood on summer nights.
• Summer Scent Candle: The beginning of spring and summer to me means yummy summery scents! I love the smell of coconut, mango, peach, and other in-season fruits. I found this (insanely cheap) fig scented candle at IKEA and I can’t wait for the fruity scent to waft through our new home.
• Detroit Print: I’ve been mourning our move out of Detroit months before we even started packing up, so I knew I was going to be incorporating a few Detroit-themed decor pieces to our new place. I absolutely love this print!
• Outdoor Pillows: My grandmother recently offered to give us a wrought iron patio set that used to be at my great-grandparent’s vacation home in FL and we immediately accepted! We didn’t have so much as a balcony at the last place, and now that we will have a yard, we were in need of some type of seating. The vintage chairs have really cool, retro, yellow leather cushions, and I think these outdoor pillows would pair really well with them in addition to making them more comfy.
• Blush Glasses and Carafe: IKEA blew me away with this one. I’ve always lusted over depression era pink glassware, but I have never come across the perfect set in my price range. Even though these glasses and this carafe aren’t really depression era glass, they look very similar and I am totally obsessed with the beautiful blush shade. Plus, you can’t beat those prices!