Yay! It's a fun new season, which means a new look for my mantel and my home.
As summer approaches, I always get more and more anxious about the upcoming crazy season. There's so much I love about summer: the pool days, the late nights, the ice cream dates and the lake weekends. But I struggle with the lack of schedule and, to be honest, having my kids home all day, every day. LOL #honestmomthoughts
So when it came time to decorate, I wanted to keep things simple.
I had a small window of time one day last week and ran into Target to look for inspiration for my simple summer mantel, and I hit the jackpot!
I don't always luck out in the Hearth and Hand by Magnolia section of the store, but I fell in love with these dogwood stems. They look very authentic for Target stems.
Dogwood flowers remind me of my beloved grandmother, who had dogwood trees in her yard. When I was a little girl she clipped the "story of the Dogwoods" out of a newspaper, and I've always kept that clipping in her memory. She was such a sweet lady, and these stems make me smile and remember her.
In the store the dogwood stems were in these beautiful glass vases (similar), which I already owned, so I decided to recreate the look on my mantel.
Then I fell hard for this locust garland (similar). I'd never heard of a locust tree or seen locust leaves, but I'm HERE FOR IT. It's so pretty, and the bright green looks so summery. I found out they also sell a locust wreath, locust stems and locust napkin rings! (Hint: you might see some of these on my summer tablescape soon…)
Finally, I've been eyeing this large wood-framed mirror for probably a year. I hadn't seen it in person until I walked into my friend's new home recently and she had it hanging in her guest bathroom. Y'all. It's even more gorgeous in person than online! I knew I HAD to get a couple for my master bathroom. I plan to take down the builder-grade mirror and hang two of these over the sinks.
But before I made it to the bathroom, I set a mirror on the mantel and fell in LOVE with it up there. I've never had a mirror on my mantel, but I love how it reflects light into the room and makes it feel even more spacious. It's simple and beautiful, so it may stay a while. I'm thinking until next summer. LOL And I've already ordered another one for the bathroom. Ha!
Oh, and this "home" pillow (similar) jumped into my cart at Target as I was trying to leave. I'm a sucker for natural textures and navy in the summer, so it just had to come home with me.
With the crazy schedule of summer, this reversible sign (no longer available) had to come home with me too. If it were up to me, it would sit on the "let's stay in" side all summer long. But the other "let's go out" side is more fitting, since we're at the pool, beach or lake all summer long.
Everything else in my living room is something I already had. Those throw pillows work for every season, I've had them for years and I still love them! They're neutral-ish, so I just move certain ones to the front depending on the season. I also found some neutral tassel oversized pillows during my Target trip. I didn't get them, but they'd be perfect if you need neutral pillows for your collection. The natural color and fun texture would be perfect for summer but would transition well to other seasons too.
That's about it! I hope you enjoyed my simple summer mantel and my summer living room tour. I'm so happy with how it turned out, and I hope the simple decor helps us feel calm while our schedules are so crazy this season. Let me know if I've missed something, and if you have a question, ask in the comments!
Summer Living Room Sources:
I always get a lot of questions about my curtains, but they aren't linked here because they're a DIY project. Learn how to stencil curtains here and see my favorite Moroccan-style curtains here!
