Freshing up our home for spring: Ikea Wish List

I think we will probably be taking a trip to Ikea in the near future. Ikea is a lot like Costco for us-- it's touted to be the budget friendly option but actually we always end up spending a lot of money there, often more than we had anticipated. It's probably because we always end up buying a lot more in volume, so it should still end up being a good value...in theory.

Early last year, when we were still furnishing and organizing our new home, it felt like we were going to Ikea almost every other weekend. Sometimes we would be driving down the freeway on our way to somewhere else and just happen to pass by an Ikea....and we would of course detour to just make a "quick stop". It was a theme in the 2012 catalog to utilize space-saving furnishings and accessories in tight spaces, which gave us great ideas for our city condo.

Then came the 2013 catalog. I had anticipated for it to come in the mail for weeks and when we finally got it I was so disappointed. I flipped through the whole thing in maybe 5 minutes and nothing stood out to me, nothing seemed new and exciting, it was very uninspiring. The trips to Ikea tapered off fairly quickly and now its been over 7 months since we last stepped foot in the store.

This past week I have been browsing their items online again and I actually found quite a few things I loved. Just in time for freshening up our home up for spring! Here's my spring Ikea wish list (best of all, every item is under $15!)

1) Pretty graphic print with hearts and skyscrapers! $8

2) Butterfly cutouts give this piece of art a little dimension $12.99

3) This pillow would go perfectly with our brown chaise and world map hanging in our reading nook/library area $12.99

4) Hanging planters by the window saves counter/table space and brightens the house with a little fresh greenery $9.99-$12.99

5) Picture ledges make it easy to create a gallery wall and display photos and art without having to put a bunch of holes in the wall $9.99-$14.99

6) A brightly colored watering can for our houseplants $9.99

It was hard loosing an hour last weekend for spring forward but I'm so happy about having more daylight now in the afternoon and early evenings. Happy Friday!