Summer Entryway | Refreshing Our Decor + Candles

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Chesapeake Bay Candle.


I like to say we’re autumn people. My husband and I just prefer cold weather: we like the food, the clothes, and the temperature more – and for the most part, our home has a fall-like theme to match, complete with cinnamon candles and burnt orange accessories. While I love these accents, they do feel seasonally inappropriate this time of year. Since I love decorating for holidays, I decided to look at summer the same way and refresh our main floor for the correct season with new candles and some rearranged decor.

I was recently invited to add summer scents to my home with Chesapeake Bay Candle’s Mediterranean-inspired Alassis collection. Since I selected these scents online, the first thing that drew me to them was not the fragrance, but the packaging. These soy blend candles are poured in the USA and housed in hand-blown art glass and come packaged in beautiful gift boxes, making them the prettiest hostess gift. I can give myself a hostess gift, right? Right.

I went with four scents: the Alassis No. 6, 8, 13, and 14. Alassis No. 6 Mandarin & Passionfruit has a semi-tropical scent with a citrus focus. Similarly, the Alassis No. 14 Verbena & Cedar has a great, but toned down, orange scent mixed with sandalwood and cedar (I wouldn’t have known how to pinpoint this fragrance – thanks, Chesapeake Bay Candle website. Ha!) I then selected Alassis No. 8 Black Currant & Rosewood from the ‘fruity’ scent family; it reminds me of all my autumn apple candles, but with a lighter, fresh-apple scent. And finally, I ventured out of my comfort zone and grabbed one from the floral group. Alassis No. 13 Blush Orchid & Plum balances flowers with fruit in a light, airy scent even this typically-anti-flora gal can get behind.

What I love most (besides the gorgeous packaging) about these Chesapeake Bay Candle items is that each scent is mild. There’s no overpowering odor or a punch of fake fragrance. It honestly reminds me more of the level of odor you get from a plug-in with the beauty of a candle. Since I personally like the flickering glow more than most perfumes, that’s a pretty great compromise for me.

Outside of the candles, I moved around decorative pieces from different parts of my house to bring a light and airy look to our entryway. This includes a few framed photos (I only like pictures to be on table frames and never the wall… anyone else?) and some quirky accessories like my game wheel and glass head. There’s no plug on this wall, so I added battery-powered lights for even more brightness.

I used some super-sale craft fabric to make a bright table runner and a DIY wood bead garland using leftover supplies, then wheeled our palm over for a tropical accent and to get it better light. It clearly wasn’t doing well with the light it had in its old spot, so cross your fingers that this fixes the problem. Plants and I have a finicky relationship… to be honest, it’s just so much easier to decorate with candles. Ha!

It’ll be autumn before we know it, but until then – for once – my home is actually summer ready. How do you change up your decor with the seasons?


Thank you for sponsoring this post, Chesapeake Bay Candle! As always, all opinions are my own.

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