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Summer Styling Tour: Outside on the Farm

Decor, Entertaining, Farm Life, Interior Design

Summertime: A time for outdoor living.

Summer Styling at the PondI am so excited to be joining some of my favorite bloggers to share with you some of our favorite easy summer styling ideas. The Easy Summer Styling Home Tour is hosted by my good friend, Kelly, of The Tattered Pew. At the end of my post, you will find links to the blog posts of the lovely ladies involved in this tour. Please follow these links to enjoy some beautiful summer inspiration that these incredibly talented ladies share on this blog tour. They have influenced me in so many ways, I know you will enjoy each and every one of their blogs along with how they style summer in their homes. Have a wonderful time, thank you for joining us!

For those of you joining me for the first time, “Hello and welcome to Cali Girl In A Southern World!” My name is Meeghan and my family and I moved to coastal North Carolina two years ago from Southern California. After spending 40 years in California, my husband and I decided our family was ready for a change. We sold our home in suburbia and moved to a farm complete with animals and land. It’s been an incredible difference in lifestyle, but one we wouldn’t change for the world. I started this blog to share with you my passions for home decor, entertaining, farm life, and cooking. I hope you’ll join me on my journey as I share with you throughout the year.

A few weeks ago, I shared with you how I added summer touches to the inside of our farmhouse. If you missed that post, here is a link. Today, I am excited to share with you some of our outdoor living spaces on the farm. Summer in North Carolina is much different than the summers I am used to in California. The heat and humidity are quite a change. Surprisingly though, with the colder winters here, I’ve learned to embrace the heat of summer in the south and enjoy it while it lasts. We spend a lot of time outside in the summer whether we are taking care of the animals, gardening, mending fences, swimming, fishing at the pond, having a bonfire, or dining al fresco.

Spending so much time outside makes it important to me that I create spaces that are calming, beautiful, and inviting. I’m excited to give you a tour of our outdoor living spaces. I focused on a cool color palette using off white and shades of blue ranging from navy to light blue. It was important to me when designing these spaces that they stayed true to my personal style, sticking with a neutral base of off white and adding pops of blue through pillows, throws, and other accessories.

My outdoor tour starts with our screened in back porch. When we moved into the farmhouse, I knew we were going to be spending a lot of time out here because it has a beautiful view of the backyard overlooking the pool. I split the porch into two separate spaces. A sitting area where we can relax, read a book, and sit and enjoy one another’s company and a dining area because we love to eat outside in the summer. I furnished the sitting area and the dining area with durable teak furniture. I chose teak, because I love the way it turns ashen as it weathers and it lasts a lifetime if it’s taken care of well. Summer Porch Seating AreaIt’s no secret that I love to entertain. With having so many friends and family to the farm, I wanted a table that would seat eight comfortably on the porch without overtaking the space. Our teak table extends in such a way that we can have wonderful and comfortable meals on the porch, whether it is just the four of us or a house-full of guests. I never loved the expansive brick wall outside the porch and always felt that it needed something to add dimension and interest. After rebuilding our chicken coop, I repurposed our old nesting boxes. I gave them a good cleaning and hung the boxes on the wall. I added plants, a farmhouse sign, and some candles. Now, when we have a beautiful view on all sides of the porch and a fun conversation piece! My simple summer tablescape is designed with my favorite summer dishes and an easy, yet stunning, centerpiece with a navy runner down the center of the table, vintage glass bottles of varying sizes filled with summer daisies and tea lights in repurposed small glass jars. I love the way the candlelight bounces off the glass as the sun sets during our meal. It adds so much beauty to a gorgeous summer night!Summer Porch TablescapeOff the back screened in porch is our back patio, pool, spa, and bar area. When we moved from California to North Carolina, we took our patio furniture with us. After a couple of years of enduring more extreme temperature changes here in North Carolina, our patio set did not last. This year we decided to replace our old patio set with a new one. After extensively searching for the perfect patio set, Mr. A and I couldn’t be more pleased with our choice. We got this beautiful sectional set from Ajna Living. The New Standard Set in Oyster is exactly what we were looking for. It is casual, comfortable, and beautifully made. Ajna Living prides themselves on providing high end, beautifully made and well designed patio furniture, that’s affordable. Perfection, right?! My favorite feature of this sectional set is the piece that can be used as a coffee table or an ottoman. It comes with a glass top and a cushion so that you can utilize the piece in such a way that fits your use of the space best.

Anja SectionalSummer Outdoor Tour-Anja SectionalAnja Sectional OttomanAlong with the sectional set, we added two new chaise lounge chairs from Ajna Living. The Millennium Chaise Lounge Chairs in Oyster are incredibly comfortable and complete the look I was trying to achieve on our back patio. I found some beautiful and inexpensive throw pillows in hues of blue along with a light throw from Target. In addition, I special ordered some personalized pillows from my favorite pillow maker, Kendra at Linen and Ivory. Her natural linen pillows are the perfect finishing touches to our beautiful new backyard set up. Now we love spending time out here even more!

Anja Chaise LoungesAnja Chaise LoungesThis is one of my favorite places to sit and read while the kids swim. Summer is really the only time it seems that I take the time to sit an truly enjoy a good book. I love getting my hands on a book that is so good that I don’t want to put it down during the summer.  This summer, my favorite read is Chosen, by Sara Hansen and Brandy Bruce. If you love a great book filled with fantasy, suspense, intriguing characters, and a wonderful heroine, you will adore this book. There are so many guilty pleasures that come with summer, for me, reading is one of them!ChosenAfter a wonderful day working on the farm, swimming, reading, fishing, and enjoying the summer sunshine, we love to belly up to our outdoor bar and enjoy some snacks and cool drinks. The kids make themselves smoothies, the adults enjoy a cocktail, and it’s a fun place to spend some time in the shade relaxing. This year I took more time to style and make this space a place that we can really hang out. The bar overlooks the riding arena, so when our daughter is riding, it is one of our favorite viewing spots in the late afternoon.  My favorite addition to the bar this year is the sign that I had made by my favorite sign maker, Meghan at The American Farmhouse. She does such beautiful work and I think it looks perfect. There are many summer afternoons and evenings spent out here and it’s one of my favorite spots in the back to entertain our guests.Outdoor Summer Tour-BarA summer evening would not be complete without a bonfire. Most nights, after dinner and a swim, you will find us here having s’mores and discussing the day. My father-in-law and Mr. A added this fire pit for us and not a day goes by that I’m not incredibly grateful for the hard work they put in. We use it on cool nights in the fall and winter and on warm balmy evenings in the spring and summer. Year round, the bonfire is one of my favorite ways to end the day with the family.

Fire PitIt was such a pleasure to show you around some of the farm. I enjoyed sharing some of our outdoor living spaces with you and giving you some insight on how I styled them for the summer. We are currently working on relocating the garden and doing some work to the barn. It’s hard work! My hope is that by next summer, I can share those spaces with y’all too. Until then, please enjoy the tours of my lovely friends and keep loving summer! Thank you for joining me.

Please visit the other wonderful blogs who have joined me for:

THE EASY SUMMER STYLING HOME TOUR 

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Danielle of Finding Silver Pennies  *  Meeghan of Cali Girl In A Southern World * Kelly of The Tattered Pew  * Erin of Cotton Stem

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Bethany of Crisp Collective  * Kirsten of Bright Yellow Door  * Leslie of My 100 Year Old Home 

 

  1. Carol Aimone says:

    Meeghan,
    We so enjoyed your blog and how creative you are in your decor! Love, love, love the patio furniture and how welcoming it makes you feel especially with the color tones you use. I love the way you can take a simple approach to your designs and make them look so elegant. Than you so much for sharing .
    Love, Mom and Dad A.

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind words and incredibly thoughtful comment. I’m so happy the welcoming and calming feel I was trying to achieve translated successfully in my styling and design. I hope you are having a wonderful summer. We can’t wait to see you soon!

  2. Meeghan this is gorgeous in every way!!! So welcoming and pretty.

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you, Lindy! I appreciate you checking out the tour and leaving me such a kind comment. I’m happy you enjoyed it! Enjoy your summer!

  3. DAnielle says:

    I am drooling over all your images. It’s my dream to have a pool put at our home and yours is stunning. I LOVE all the teak. xx

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you so much Danielle. We were very excited when we found our farmhouse and it had a pool. It was definitely a dream come true and a real necessity to help our family survive the hot summers in the south. I appreciate your kind comment. Thank you for your encouragement and the inspiration you’ve given me.

  4. Kelly says:

    Meeghan your outdoor space is so dreamy! It feels like a vacation. Thank you so much for joining me on this tour!

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you so much, Kelly! I appreciate your kind comment, friend. Thank you for including me in your tour, I had so much fun joining you lovely and talented ladies!

  5. I’m on my way over….have my prosecco waiting! 🙂 What a gorgeous retreat for your family and friends! So polished, pretty and perfect for summer! Love it all!

    • Meeghan says:

      Perfect, I’ll be waiting on the porch for you, Bethany, Prosecco in hand! 😉 Thank you so much for your kind comment and encouragement! I had a lot fun putting this tour together to share with y’all. I’m so happy you enjoyed it. I hope you are having a wonderful summer!

  6. Tracy says:

    Meeghan your outdoor space is amazing!! I am in love with the patio furniture and how you have styled it!

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you for visiting, Tracy! I’m so happy you enjoyed my outdoor tour. Isn’t the patio furniture gorgeous?! We are so happy with our new set, Ajna Living is incredibly well made, comfortable, and beautiful. I had so much fun adding summer touches to our outdoor living spaces. Thank you for your kind comment. I hope you’re having a wonderful summer!

  7. Meghan says:

    I love it all Meeghan! I’m so glad you loved your sign- it looks perfect in your perfectly styled yard! This makes me miss coastal NC so much! Fabulous job!

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you so much Meghan! We adore the sign you made special, just for our bar. It completes the space perfectly. It’s everything I imagined and more. You do beautiful work! Thank you for your kind comment. Happy summer!

  8. Kellie says:

    Meeghan! I love everything about this post!! What beautiful outdoor spaces you have I totally wish I could go over and visit with you!!

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you so much, Kellie! I appreciate your kind words and you taking the time to leave me such a sweet and encouraging comment. I’m so happy you enjoyed my outdoor tour! I would love it if you could come over and visit with me too, that would be a real treat! I hope you’re having a wonderful summer!

  9. Bonnie Hunt says:

    Just gorgeous my friend! Loved all the beautiful summer touches in your lovely outdoors from the outdoor fire pit to the elegant blues & whites tablescape ? You have such a beautiful style! Thanks so much for the tour ?

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you so much, Bonnie! I am humbled by your kind words and compliments. I’m so happy you enjoyed my outdoor tour. I appreciate you visiting and taking the time to leave me such a wonderful comment. I hope you are enjoying your summer!

  10. BECCA says:

    Wow, Meeghan, what an incredible oasis you have! I love every inch of it from the pool to the palms to the comfy seating everywhere! Please save me a seat at the bar … on my way! Gorgeous!

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you so much, Becca! I appreciate you visiting. I’m so happy you enjoyed my outdoor tour. Thank you for your kind comments and compliments. I will certainly see you a seat and have a cocktail on ice ready for you! I hope you’re having a wonderful summer!

  11. Kelly says:

    I just love you more and more!!! This is all amazing!!! Wish I was your neighbor – lol!

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you so much Kelly! I’m so happy you enjoyed the tour. I appreciate you leaving such a kind comment. I would love it if we could be neighbors! I hope you are having a wonderful summer.

  12. Sara says:

    I love that Hidden Acres sign, Meeghan! And your fire pit scene looks so very cozy and fun! I can imagine roasting some gooey, delicious s’mores there right now! You’ve done a spectacular job with your outdoor space, and every piece and accessory is tastefully done! Thank you for including my book in this post too, you’ve made my day, dear friend!

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you for stopping by, Sara! I appreciate your kind words and sweet compliments. We have lots of fun outside on the farm, that’s for sure. I loved your book! Thank you for making my summer even better by giving me such a wonderful read by the pool. I hope you are enjoying your summer!

  13. Kristin says:

    Meeghan,
    Your outdoor spaces are amazing!! I am so inspired and could easily spend the entire day outdoors at your home! The only problem would be deciding where to sit! It’s all so lovely!!

    • Meeghan says:

      Thank you so much, Kristin. What wonderful compliments! We have lots of fun enjoying our outdoor living spaces on the farm. I hope you are having a terrific summer!

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